Edward Nashton (New Earth)

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History

Contents 1 History 2 Powers and Abilities 2.1 Powers 2.2 Abilities 2.3 Strength level 2.4 Weaknesses 3 Paraphernalia 4 Notes 5 Trivia 6 Appearances in Other Media 6.1 Live Action 6.2 Cartoons 7 See Also 8 Recommended Reading 9 Links and References 9.1 Footnotes

Edward Nashton discovered how fun and challenging puzzles were when he was a young boy (he cheated on a puzzle in school to win a prize), and he gradually turned to crime as he matured. Issue 2 of Justice by Alex Ross, suggests that the presence of his father - not absence - was to blame for his compulsion to hide the form of the truth in riddles. His father presumably caught Edward cheating and beat him perpetually after the incident to force Edward to tell the truth and keep him out of trouble. The sad result had Edward telling the truth behind riddles and turning to crime possibly as a result of the abuse.

The Riddler, unlike many of the other members of Batman's rogues gallery, is more of a cerebral than physical villain. Although he is quite suited for physical combat and often has weapons ready for use, he has probably always been among the least homicidal of the major Bat nemeses; indeed, one story showed him lamenting the rise of murderous villains ("What's happened to us? The Joker's killing people, for Christ's sake!").

His riddles are in fact a bizarre obsessive compulsion; his attempts to stop himself from sending them has met with failure time and time again. This extends to the fact he cannot simply kill his opponents when he has the upper hand, but prefers to put them in a deathtrap to see if he can devise a life and death intellectual challenge that the hero cannot escape. However, of Batman's themed enemies, Riddler's compulsion is quite flexible, allowing him to commit any crime as long as he can describe it in a riddle or puzzle. He often has two female assistants that help him, usually named a combination of Quiz, Query or Echo.

The Riddler is one of the few rogues that has deduced the true identity of the Batman. However, there is no major concern that the Riddler will leak the information. As Batman explains: "What good is a riddle which everyone knows the answer to?" playing with the Riddler's obsession with riddles and the greatest riddle of all: "Who is Batman?"

Riddler has since appeared to have gone straight and become a private investigator.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

None known.

Abilities

Genius-Level Intelligence: Supreme problem-solver, criminal mastermind. He is a genius with brilliant deductive power. His mind excels with puzzles, minds games, and manipulations.

• Detective: he possesses great deductive skills and analytic ability.

Independently Wealthy: Riddler has a vast fortune that he has acquired over years of crime.

Strength level

The Riddler possesses the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engages in minimal regular exercise. On one occasion however, the Riddler was injected with a dosage of Venom, which imbued him with super-human strength for a short period of time.

Weaknesses

Those akin to an average human being. His inability to hide his true intentions and/or motives.

Paraphernalia

Equipment: The Riddler has used a variety of gadgets throughout his career, the most notorious of which is a cane with a question mark-shaped brass handle.
Transportation: None, but he has sometimes appeared with a car with question marks decorating the side of it.
Weapons: Traditionally, the Riddler does not maintain an arsenal of weaponry, however he has been known to utilize gimmick-based items from time to time. Such items would include exploding jigsaw puzzle pieces and crossword puzzle throwing nets.

Notes

• Many adaptations of the Batman mythos have given the Riddler the real name Edward Nigma (or Nygma) or E. Nigma. Occasionally his full name has been given as Edward E. Nigma. Some have depicted this as a false name and his real name as Edward Nashton.

• In the French and Quebecois translations of various Batman titles, his nom de plume has been translated to Le Sphinx, as in the riddle-posing monster of Greek mythology that Oedipus confronted.

• In Mexico and Latin America, the Riddler is known as El Acertijo, which literally means "The Riddle". In Brazil, the character is named Charada, which also means "Riddle".

• Although not physically disfigured, like most Batman villains, the Riddler has become darker in recent years. Whereas he was once portrayed as a playful trickster, he is now the victim of an intense obsessive compulsion. This was perhaps best shown in a 1999 issue of Gotham Adventures, in which he tried to refrain from leaving a riddle, but failed: "You don't understand... I really didn't want to leave you any clues. I really planned never to go back to Arkham Asylum. But I left you a clue anyway. So I... I have to go back there. Because I might need help. I... I might actually be crazy."
  

Trivia

• The Riddler has a counterpart on Earth-Three called the Quizmaster who is a member of Lex Luthor's Justice Underground.
• In an episode of the BBC television series Wire in the Blood entitled "Torment", psychologist profiler Tony Hill explains at length the Riddler's obsessive/compulsive nature to a young boy.
• The Riddler is one of the Batman's few foes who has actually managed to discover his secret identity. Others include Professor Hugo Strange, Ra's al Ghul and Catwoman (although Batman willingly revealed his secret identity to Selina).
• The Riddler's online screenname is "Wizard101."
  
  

Appearances in Other Media

Live Action

Batman (TV series)
Frank Gorshin played the Riddler in the 1960s Batman television series and spin-off movie, with John Astin substituting once on the series. The popular television series was inspired by the first Silver Age appearance of the Riddler, with the premiere episode being an adaptation of this issue (Batman #171). Before the television series, the character was a minor villain with only three appearances in two decades, but the exposure of the series - especially with Gorshin's extremely popular interpretation - elevated the character in the comics to a major enemy. Gorshin also portrayed the Riddler in Legends of the Superheroes in 1979.

Batman Forever
Jim Carrey played the role in the 1996 movie directed by Joel Schumacher. Playing the character very close to Frank Gorshin's interpretation, Carrey presented Edward Nygma as an scientist obsessed with Bruce Wayne whose fragile mind cracks under his idol's rejection. When Wayne shuts down his plans for a brain altering device Edward calls "the Box," Nygma spirals into a stalking mentality, leaving riddles for Bruce at his home while slowly transforming himself into a cracked reflection of Bruce. Grasping onto fellow psychotic Two-Face, Nygma draws inspiration for his new identity from a fortune telling machine dressed in the Riddler's classic question marks. After convincing Two-Face to join him in a partnership, the pair ravage Gotham on a crime spree, with Batman unable to stop them. Eventually using "the Box" (which has become the most popular TV accessory ever and feeds Nygma people's throughts and knowledge), the Riddler discovers Batman's identity of Bruce Wayne and kidnaps Wayne's love interest, Dr. Chase Meridian. Once Batman and his new partner Robin deduce the Riddler's identity, the Duo race to Nygma's factory on Claw Island, where Edward tests Batman to see what is more dominant in him, the hero or the man. Once defeated from an overload of thoughts from "the Box," Riddler is brought to Arkham where he now believes himself to be Batman. His costume is seen later in Batman and Robin.

Cartoons

Batman: The Animated Series
In the popular 1990's TV series, the Riddler began as Edward Nygma, a game designer fired for wanting royalties on a popular game. In revenge, Riddler kidnapped his corrupt boss, forcing Batman and Robin through a giant labyrinth to save him. This first appearance does show Batman bringing Riddler to justice, however as Nygma's antics instilled his boss with a deep seeded paranoia, Batman reasoned Edward had won. A later episode shows the Riddler supposedly going straight, only to venture back to crime. His later appearances in The New Batman Adventures became spares after this, as the character was given to highly complex or campy storylines. In all appearances, Riddler was voiced by John Glover.

The Batman
In the Riddlers latest incarnation, he appears to have gone through a drastic overhall. He is portrayed with long black hair and wears a green body catsuit with a black question mark on the front of the suit. He appears to also wear shoulder pads and either has a tattoo of a line going down his arm, ending in a question mark on his hand, though this could be part of the costume. The one thing that hasn't changed is the mask, he still wears the green eye mask he has been portrayed with before, though this one actually covers his eyes with a white material. What is also new is the gothic like green lipstick that continues down to his chin. This modern and younger Riddler was made to look more gothic so that he fitted into the modern world where many categories of people exit. His cane appears to be more showing with a bubble on the end supporting a sharp question mark symbol.

This alternate Riddler has the same obsession for Riddles that his normal counterparts do, he cannot help but "tell the truth through riddles". His first encounter with the Bat was when he was a scientist designing a unique helmet, it was sabotaged and he attempted to kill the person he believed sabotaged it, Batman prevented this, Nigma then taking on the Persona of "The Riddler". The bats first encounter in the episode "Riddled" involved the Bat and Detective Ellen Yin defusing "bombs" placed all over the city by him, in the end this appeared to be a diversion, mearly geletin desert in containers, the clues the riddles left led to the real crime that was being committed, the Riddler was immediately stopped by both. In all his appearances, the Riddler was voiced by Robert Englund.

See Also

• Discuss Edward Nashton (New Earth) on the forums
• Appearances of Edward Nashton (New Earth) (Chronological)
• Appearances of Edward Nashton (New Earth) (Alphabetical)
• Character Gallery: Edward Nashton (New Earth)
• Fan-Art Gallery: Edward Nashton (New Earth)
• Quotations by Edward Nashton (New Earth)

Recommended Reading

• None.

Links and References

• Edward Nashton (New Earth) at DCComics.com
• Riddler at Wikipedia.org
  
• "Origin of The Riddler" at DCComics.com
• Riddler article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
• Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #19 (Riddler biography page)
• The Riddler at the DC Animated Universe Wikia
  

Footnotes

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