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"Are you ready for some more? Explore! Find my challenges. And when you fail to solve them and lie blubbering like an ignorant child on the floor, you will know that The Riddler is better than you."
—Riddler[src]
"One way or another I'm shutting you down."
—Batman
"It was funny at first. You bring Riddler in. Him lecturing anyone who walked by about how he would beat you. But then one day, he changed. Stopped taking care of himself. Then it stopped being funny. You can see it in his eyes. He's broken. YOU broke him."
Officer JT Wicker blames Batman for Riddler's insanity

With an obsessive need for attention and a genius-level intellect, Edward Nigma (formerly Edward Nashton) was determined to be the most outlandish of Gotham City's criminals, and concocted an elaborate series of clues and riddles around his crimes. Batman had proven to be a worthy opponent, capable of deducing the Riddler's plans, but Nigma was still dedicated to creating a mystery that would stump even the Dark Knight, even if he had to kill someone to do so.

Riddler grew increasingly frustrated and delusional over the years, believing Batman was a cheater who couldn't beat his challenges. The desire to prove himself better than Batman had finally consumed him. This eventually drove him to ensure the Dark Knight didn't have a chance of winning, by eliminating any fair play.

Incident Reports

Before Arkham Origins Incident

The future Edward Nigma committed his first crime when he was still in grade school. Constantly belittled and called a moron by his abusive father, he entered a school contest to win everyone's approval; solve a puzzle and win a prize. Nashton broke in late at night and put the puzzle together as many times as possible until he had the winning solution. His father accused him of cheating and beat him for lying.

Undeterred, Edward dedicated himself to learning, and became a skilled engineering and computer hacking genius. He found employment as a member of the GCPD's Cyber Crime Division and became convinced that Gotham's long history of corruption was the result of intellectual and moral failing rather than economics. To "improve" the city's standing, Nashton used his position and skills to coordinate a large network of operatives and compile a large collection of blackmail material connected to prominent Gotham officials.

Before Christmas Eve, Nashton collected and hid extortion data files while also searching for the real identity of Batman, whom he believed was either Harvey Dent or Bruce Wayne. To maintain his cover within the GCPD, Nashton may have cultivated genuine criminal ties himself as he was soon contacted by Black Mask (or so he thought) to distract the vigilante.

Arkham Origins Incident

"Well, well. If it isn't the King Thug himself."
—Enigma
275Enigma

Enigma's first encounter with Batman at the Coventry GCR tower.

Nashton, under the alias of Enigma, used an army of informants to collect a cornucopia of blackmail information about the city's most corrupt individuals. Enigma planned to release this information to the public on Christmas Day, and intended to trigger a chain reaction that would end in Gotham City's collapse.

Enigma recognized Batman as his greatest obstacle and had set up multiple layers of fail safes that included: hiding his servers behind a billboard, planting signal jammers inside the Gotham City Radio Towers that Batman had used to pilot the Batwing, set up dozens of relays across the city, employed an army of Thugs to hamper him at every turn, and had used his informants to hide all of the extortion data that he had collected all throughout Gotham.

"Well, it's certainly kinder than the beatdowns you deal out"
—Enigma suggests blackmail is easier

Enigma continued to taunt Batman as he attempted to disrupt all of the radio towers, but eventually Batman succeeded. Finally, after destroying all relays, interrogating all informants, and collecting all the data packs, Batman came back to Enigma's HQ and destroyed his server. Enigma accepted temporary defeat, while he claimed that he had held onto the biggest, dirtiest secret that had put his collection of data to shame. Batman later unlocked Enigma's secret room, which revealed several items of interest: newspaper clips that indicated Enigma's research on Batman's identity (With the two main suspects that were Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent), pressure pads, cages, and one green glowing question mark that would later become the Riddler Trophy. Later, Enigma was deduced to being Edward Nashton, who was the head of the GCPD's Cyber Crime Division, by Alfred Pennyworth in a conversation with Batman in the Batcave.

A coded message within the GCPD Server and Telecom Rooms revealed that Nashton had only recently joined the organization as its Cyber Crime Division head, and revealed that he had only joined the GCPD simply to gain inside information through his newly acquired access to the entire city's infrastructure and files, which was eventually used as extortion data on all of Gotham.

Cold Cold Heart Incident

The next day, just as Mayor Hamilton Hill was about to appoint Peter Grogan to replace the deceased Gillian B. Loeb as GCPD Commissioner, various media outlets received envelopes from an anonymous individual containing evidence that implicated Hill and Grogan as having ties with the Maroni Family. It was strongly implied that Enigma had been the one who was responsible, as he had yet to reveal his "biggest, dirtiest secret."

6 days of public protest ensued until New Year's Day, when Mayor Hill resigned from office in disgrace, although he had not ruled out a possible attempt at re-election during the new year. Regardless of whether he ran for office or not, his resignation meant that Grogan did not become Commissioner.

This meant that, ironically enough, Enigma's plans had a profoundly positive effect on Gotham City as they had finally revealed the corruption and conspiracy within Gotham's politics to the world at large, so the public could force their corrupt public officials out of office and appoint more ethical and principled individuals instead. Whether this was Engima's true intention was unknown, though his previous statements of wanting chaos in the streets seem to make it unlikely, as the resolution to the scandal ended on relatively peaceful terms.

Between Arkham Origins and Assault on Arkham Incident

Nashton was presumably apprehended by either Batman or the GCPD. He escaped custody on multiple occasions, but his confrontations with Batman caused a decline in his mental health, and transformed him into a quizzical psychopath fixated on outsmarting and ultimately killing Batman. He also changed his name from Edward Nashton to Edward Nigma to fit his new compulsion for puzzles, as well as possibly honouring his first alias, and officially became The Riddler.

Two years before the Arkham Asylum Incident, the Riddler was captured and was forced to work for Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad. To ensure Riddler's cooperation, a nano-bomb was implanted in his neck, with Waller in control of it. The Riddler, however, managed to defuse his bomb by putting enough electricity through his body to fry it and escaped.

Assault on Arkham Incident

"I'm the one who asks the questions here. Pay attention, would you?"
—Riddler taunting Waller

A week later, back in Gotham, the Riddler contacted Waller in order to boast his genius over her and to tax her with riddles. The inquisitive quizzler of queries did what does best, annoy people and brag. Waller only needed to let him talk long enough for her A.R.G.U.S. agents to pinpoint his location. The agents broke through his skylight, pinning Riddler to his computer. Waller ordered him to be executed painfully. However, with a smirk, he asked he one last riddle: "Why didn't he stop when he was ahead?"

At that moment, the lights went out, and Batman appeared to take him into custody; Riddler had lured Batman there as insurance against Waller. While the Dark Knight fought off the agents, Riddler attempted to escape through a vent, losing his hat; however, as his hands had been tied up, he didn't get far. Batman pulled him out, demanding to know the location of a dirty bomb hidden by the Joker. As the Riddler knew nothing of Joker's plan, however, and Batman took him back to Arkham Asylum.

Waller then sent out a new Suicide Squad, composed of DeadshotHarley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Black Spider, Killer Frost and King Shark, to Arkham Asylum. Waller told most of them that the Riddler had stolen top secret information about her Suicide Squad operation, and only briefed Killer Frost about her real motive: kill the Riddler.

Unknown

The Riddler revealing the ace up his sleeve to Killer Frost

""What I don't get is why Waller didn't blow your head off with your nano bomb."
"It's the same reason she wants me dead: I know how to diffuse them."
"Wait, what!?""
—Riddler bargaining with Killer Frost

When the Suicide Squad had a confrontation with Batman, Killer Frost escaped in the aftermath and tracked down the Riddler who was calmly reading from a riddle book in his cell. Riddler stated that he was expecting someone to come for him, as he had arrogantly believed himself too clever for Waller to keep alive. As Killer Frost moved to assassinate him, she asked why Waller had not just detonated his nano-bomb. He explained that it was the same reason that she wanted him dead in the first place: because he knew how to defuse them. Killer Frost quickly opted to spare him, even though she instantly despised his irritating personality.

The pair then managed to regroup with the rest of the Suicide Squad, and the Riddler promised to deactivate all their bombs if they got him to the Medical Center. After King Shark mowed down the Special Crimes Unit Officers that had blockaded the Facility, the Riddler confiscated a Pistol from one of the fallen guards. Upon arriving, the Riddler revealed that he had planned to use the electroshock therapy machine to fry their bombs. Black Spider volunteered to keep a lookout while the rest of the squad were hooked up. The Riddler then sent 1,000 volts through them to deactivate most of their bombs, except for King Shark, whose thick skin had prevented the electricity from working. His head then exploded when an enraged Waller had detonated the bombs. When Captain Boomerang asked why Black Spider's bomb had not exploded at the same time, the Riddler then had a realization and started laughing.

Nygma had deduced that Black Spider was actually Batman, having defeated the real Black Spider during their fight earlier, and had switched costumes. The real Black Spider, in Batman's costume, had died when the bombs had detonated. Riddler then opened fire on Batman his stolen gun, but the Dark Knight dodged his shots, threw a Batarang that lodged in his shoulder, and then knocked him out.

When the Joker broke free, set all the patients of Arkham loose and activated his bomb, the Riddler took advantage of the ensuing chaos and escaped.

Batman confronted Waller telling her that the plan was doomed to fail. He figured out that she plotted to kill not only the Riddler, but the entire Suicide Squad with the help of GCPD's Special Crimes Unit. Waller was disappointed that she unable to find the Riddler in the chaos and decided to kill him another day.

Before Arkham Asylum Incident

"You forget, doctor, I'm the one who asks the questions."
—Riddler refusing to answer a panicked Dr. Young.

Nigma was eventually recaptured by Batman and sent back to Arkham Asylum. Dr. Penelope Young was assigned as his psychiatrist. She had several uneventful interviews with her new patient, but Riddler did tell her about his father and how he saw everyone as "morons". In order to prove that, he began writing riddles on the asylum's walls, in order to see if anyone could solve them.

During his time at the asylum, Riddler began to believe that Batman was a criminal, and who took money from his defeated foes in order to fund his war on crime and to pay off Commissioner James Gordon to not arrest him for abstracting justice.

The Joker, who had escaped Arkham several months prior, told Riddler of his master plan to break out all of the asylum's patients and to destroy Gotham with Titan-empowered Henchmen. The Riddler accidentally revealed this information to Dr. Young in one of their interviews. Knowing that the World's Greatest Detective would show up to stop Joker, Riddler organized a series of riddles around Arkham Island, which ranged from hiding a number of small Riddler Trophies, leaving riddles to be solved, creating elaborate Perspective Riddles, and cataloged the Chronicles of Arkham.

Arkham Asylum Incident

"My goal is simple, you complete a set of amusingly taxing challenges and well.. you'll see."
—Riddler

The Riddler was one of the many inmates who escaped Arkham Asylum after the Joker had taken control of the island. The Riddler made his way to a hidden location in Old Gotham and contacted Batman by hacking into the same communication signal that the Dark Knight had also used to contact Oracle. After escaping, he challenged Batman to find these, along with the additional challenge of solving riddles that had described specific objects in various rooms.

Ark masn secure intensive1406

The Riddler sending Batman a riddle via his communications system as he entered a room.

For his first few riddles, the Riddler explained that they were meant to be easy; or that he had simply run out of time prior to breaking out to make the location harder to find. Whenever Batman picked up a map of where all the challenges where in a section of Arkham, Riddler mocked him for needing help when the Dark Knight was supposed to be the World's Greatest Detective.

Through out the night, Riddler pestered Batman by bragging about his genius; however, he began respecting him once 40% of the challenges were done. However, once Batman got to 70%, Riddler began thinking that the Dark Knight was cheating.

Before solving the last few riddles, Batman located the Riddler's signal and notified the police. After Batman had solved his final riddle, the Riddler declared he had begun to implement Gotham's "greatest riddle." At that moment, the GCPD broke into his hideout on 229 O'Neil Avenue in Old Gotham, and arrested him. As he was dragged off, Riddler accused Batman of cheating in solving the riddles.

The Riddler's question marks in Dr. Young's book were found on his page and many other villain's pages. Riddler saw the book and wanted to know about a professional's opinion on the inmates, as he wanted to know who could be manipulated or who could serve as a possible ally.

Between Arkham Asylum and Arkham City Incident

"A lesser man would blame the merchant, but I blame whoever they hired to do the work. Oh well, this will be like solving another riddle."
—Riddler ponders on how secure his lair is after a homeless man gets in.

After being captured by the authorities in Arkham Asylum, the Riddler was placed back into his usual holding cell. He e-mailed the Broker a riddle to do business with him; Nygma wanted new lairs within the Arkham City limits, to eliminate more of the "morons" infesting Gotham. Once the Broker solved the riddler, they met in the visitor center. The Broker gave him the information and told him everything was up to his specifications; though he did voice his annoyance that only Riddler made him "jump through hoops" unlike the rest of his clients. With the information memorized, Riddler paid Poison Ivy for help; she provided him with a vial, which when smashed, would release a man-eating plant to distract the guards.

TheRiddler AC

Riddler ready to play in Arkham City

Being escorted from his cell, Riddler unleashed the plant and fled Arkham, immediately proceeded to his new headquarters, which contained numerous green suits customized to have his question mark motif. To his expectations, the Riddler found his lair had the custom monitoring surveillance system he requested; with it, he could watch several unfortunate victims be "tested" throughout all of his vicious death traps. To Riddler's surprise, he found a homeless man had entered his lair, seeking shelter. Upon learning Riddler owned the building, the hobo offered his services to the Riddler. Seeing a chance, Riddler tricked the hobo into standing on a trap door; he dropped the poor man down, telling him that he'd get back to him about the job.

The Riddler was also briefly mentioned by Hugo Strange. Strange declared that Riddler's delusions of grandeur and his obsessive riddle compulsion had continued to rule his every move.

The Riddler made contact with Strange using his communications network and revealed he knew a lot of his secrets; such as the fact that he was using Jervis Tetch to control Mayor Quincy Sharp and that he secretly wore a "suit" and wondered if he was worthy of wearing it. The tables turned however, when Riddler mentioned that he would know who Batman was once he defeated him. Strange, basking in Riddler's shock and humiliation, revealed that he already knew who Batman was and did not resort to childish games and puzzles to figure it out. Riddler begged him to tell him, but Strange scoffed, and said that if he could do it, it must be child's play for him. Riddler never contacted Strange again after that, and decided to prove whether or not he was right.

Arkham City Incident

"You're insane.
NO! That would imply mental illness or derangement. I suffer from neither!"
—Batman tells Riddler the truth

In Arkham City, the Riddler constructed a set of intricate traps inside each of the buildings he had purchased from the Broker, and recruited a number of Riddler Thugs to hide trophies across the city; he also had them infiltrate the gangs of Penguin, Two-Face and Joker, so he could stay informed about anything that might prove a problem to him. Upon learning Batman was in Arkham City, Riddler decided to use Batman's morality against him by taking the staff of the Medical Center hostage, including Aaron Cash. Riddler gave the Enigma Machine to one of the guards and a radio signal, explaining that it would help Batman when he found him; Riddler then proceeded to have the guard kept under watch by one of his thugs undercover in Two-Face's Gang, as Two-Face had abandoned the Solomon Wayne Courthouse after Batman and Catwoman humiliated him. He proceeded to place a victim each in his five death traps, while locking the rest of the staff in his lair, where they would be forced to walk forever on a track, with explosive helmets on their heads.

Batman overheard a TYGER radio transmissions that mentioned the church was no empty of any life, deciding to return and check it out. The church was now adorned with banners filled with questions marks. A glowing "?" on the bell tower caught his attention; once a Batarang was thrown at it, Riddler hacked into his radio and told Batman to enter the church. Once Batman entered, Riddler informed him via a projector that he will have to solve his challenges to earn the right to know where the victims were. After giving Batman his first riddle, Nygma told him to go to the Solomon Wayne Courthouse for the first victim.

As the night went on and Batman rescued more and more hostages, Riddler grew frustrated that his attempts to beat Batman were being thwarted by the Dark Knight's gadgets. All the while, Riddler encouraged Batman to just let the death traps do their job and end the Dark Knight's crusade. When the final victim was rescued from the fifth building, Riddler was left flabbergasted as he designed the room to be unbeatable. Riddler vowed to create a puzzle that would be so demanding, that it would kill him.

""Get you're ass moving. Do I need to press the button?"
"You'll pay for this Dark Knight. You'll all pay!""
—Riddler vows revenge as Cash bluffs that the explosives work

Riddler continued to taught his hostages while he worked on trying to figure out news riddles for Batman. However, unfortunately for him, Oracle figured out the Broker gave Riddler his hideouts; the only other property owned by Riddler was an abandoned train-yard under the bridge next to the Iceberg Lounge. Riddler ensured his security by having an electric fence put up to keep Penguin (and later Two-Face's) thugs from getting in. However, Batman was able to get past the fence using his Line Launcher.

Batman snuck in, avoiding the remaining hostages who were forced to walk with machines, otherwise the helmets on them would explode and kill them all. Batman found a weak spot in the floor that Riddler was standing on, and took him down. Batman strapped Riddler to his own machine, and set him walking around his headquarters. Nigma did not learn that the bombs had been disarmed until Cash decided that he had enough punishment, at which point the medical team returned to the Church with him in tow.

After Arkham City Incident

After the events of Protocol 10 were made public, many criminals filed a lawsuit against the Gotham Municipal Government for the numerous illegal activities that they condoned. Nigma was one of these criminals. Riddler ended up winning the case, with Commissioner Gordon being forced to let him go free despite protesting that Riddler was insane. The inquisitive quizzler of queries simply mocked the commissioner for not being smart enough to convict him.

Riddler later attempted to expose Batman's brutal actions against criminals via the Internet, although this ended up massively backfiring when various people insulted and berated him for trying to attack Gotham's hero. In his fury, the Riddler deleted his emails and then tried to rip out the 128 gigabytes of RAM from the computer's motherboard (which resulted in him getting electrical burns). Riddler seriously considered breaking his laptop, and once again devised plans of revenge against Batman, possibly causing him to lose even more of his sanity. The only reason that he didn't smash it was because a message was sent to him by Scarecrow.

Before Arkham Knight Incident

""I know what you're doing Crane. You've taken me away from all those others in an attempt to appeal to my ego."
"Is it working?"
"Ha! I don't have an ego. I'm far too brilliant.""
—Riddler overestimates himself

Some time later, Riddler joined a select group of criminals (specifically, Two-Face, Penguin, Scarecrow, the Arkham Knight and Harley Quinn) in planning how to kill Batman. He was invited to a meeting at the Arkham Mansion, where Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight laid out their plans to take over the city and kill Batman. Riddler did not seem to interested because he had his own plans in mind. After the meeting, Scarecrow, in an obvious attempt to appeal to his ego, drew Riddler away from the crowd and indirectly suggested that he make his scheme coincide with Scarecrow's plans, saying that a concerted attack by so many villains would prevent Batman foiling the Riddler through underhanded means.

When Scarecrow made his move on Gotham on Halloween nine months after Joker's cremation, Riddler proceeded to modify the Grand Central Station to be a deadly race course as part of his plan to "best" Batman, and also proceeded to create robots from the remains of technology he discovered in Wonder City to act as henchmen, tired of having living people do the dirty work, also making sure they were hack-proof.

Needing bait for Batman, and thinking that Nightwing or Robin would have been predictable, he settled for Catwoman. Riddler then called Catwoman and managed to convince her to conduct a burglary job for him (though his barely-concealed smugness nearly drove her away). When working on another robot, Riddler pretended to have difficulty getting it to operate in order to give Catwoman the dummy job of stealing power cells from Wayne Enterprises. After luring her to see what the batteries were, the robot then came to life and grabbed her, and Riddler revealed his actual plan to settle his score with Batman. Riddler outfitted Catwoman with an explosive collar, which needed 10 keys to be removed without detonation. The collar was also linked to the security gate, to keep Catwoman from getting any ideas about trying to leave too soon.

Arkham Knight  Incident

"Once I defeat you, these racetracks will become monuments to your failure, and to my success. Schools of children will come from miles around to see where you died, and where I have beaten you. They won't understand anything of course, but they WILL come."
—Riddler starting to think towards a future without Batman

Having gained access to Amanda Waller's nano-bomb technology, Riddler decided to see what it was like to hold someone's life in his hands; calling in some of his lackeys (specifically murders), Riddler secretly planted nano-bombs in their brains, having reprogrammed the devices to go off the moment the victims lost consciousness; effectively Halloween would be their final night of life. Despite this, he was not able to remove the defect of the bomb becoming inactive once the host was given a powerful jolt of electricity.

Batman looked into why Riddler was at the train yard. This lead him to a shutter door, prompting Riddler to hack into his radio, telling Batman that he needed the Batmobile; once this requirement was met, Riddler opened the door, which lead to an elevator big enough for the car. Riddler taunted Batman, telling him that this racetrack was specifically created humiliate and kill him. Riddler began explaining rules to Batman, which included a humiliating rule about bathroom breaks. While explaining the rules, Riddler was shocked by Batman hacking the doors' operating frequency; he quickly passed it off as the first riddle of the night. Annoyed that Batman survived the track, Riddler dismissed it as beginners luck as it was the easiest racetrack of the several more he had set up throughout Gotham city. He told Batman more races were in store for that night.

Afterwards, Riddler transmitted a message to Batman (who at the time had just accessed the bridge controls to Miagani Island in pursuit of the Arkham Knight and Barbara Gordon) and demanded that he come to the abandoned Cyrus Pinkney Orphanage or else Catwoman would die. Upon Batman's arrival, Riddler then revealed his line of robots to them. After they were destroyed, Riddler then informed them of the collar and challenged Batman to beat his riddles (being races and other puzzles) to free Catwoman with nine keys from the collar. As Batman had already beaten one of his races, Riddler decided to reward the Dark Knight for the effort, and turned the counter on the collar down by 2 points for the first key.

"Get all the keys, and the kitty goes free. Remove the collar too soon, and the kitty goes boom!"
—Riddler's taunt

As Batman continued to win the races, Riddler found that all his ideas on how to take advantage of momentum and gravity to beat the Batmobile had failed miserably, as the Batmobile's afterburner produced enough speed to overcome these limitations. During this time, Riddler proceeded to improve the robots to take into account Batman and Catwoman's respective abilities, and began working on his mech suit. The robots now appeared blue or pink, and could only be hit by Batman and Catwoman respectively; although this new restriction could easily be circumvented with the use of a Double-team Takedown. Riddler also challenged Batman to save his bomb victims; annoyed Batman chose to deactivate the bombs and not to let them go off, Riddler pointed out that they were murders and morons that held no value in the world and wouldn't be missed.

Riddler mech

"DIE, FATHER! I mean, Batman!"

Eventually, Batman and Catwoman managed to beat the challenges and removed the collar. Riddler surprised them the moment they attempted to leave, revealing his new mech. They proceeded to destroy his Riddler bots again and beat him inbetween waves. Annoyed with the idea of losing again, Riddler activated a force-field to repel them.

Declaring that he will only fight Batman once the right is earned by solving all 243 of his riddles, Riddler retreated underneath the floor of the orphanage to wait for Batman. However, Catwoman quipped they could just leave him down there to die instead.

Once Batman "earned the right", Riddler continued the fight although Catwoman returned, which ultimately resulted in Riddler's defeat. He was knocked out and locked in the back of the Batmobile. Upon waking, Riddler wondered where he was, and Batman told him to figure it out. Riddler was angered by his defeat, declaring his fight with Batman was fair; if he could hack the complex systems of the robots and reprogram them. Seeing that Riddler had gone completely off the deep end, Batman noted he needed help. However, Riddler yelled that he didn't need help as they pulled into the GCPD Lockup parking garage.

Upon entering GCPD, Riddler was immediately mocked by Cash - "Riddle me this: what's green, proud and ass-kicked all over?" Nigma retorted that he would not need a lawyer and would defend himself when he went to trial. After Scarecrow revealed Batman as Bruce Wayne to the world, Riddler was still not convinced that it's the truth, either because he's so deluded himself with his belief that "no one was that selfless", or that he was repeatedly beaten by a playboy billionaire, or because he was upset that he wasn't the one to be remembered as the man who unmasked Batman after so many others had beaten him to the punch.

It appeared that Riddler's mental health had suffered immensely as he had managed to convince himself that he was Batman's greatest nemesis and the Dark Knight got lucky in solving his Riddlers, even when he was witnessing Batman circumvent his obstacle courses such as when Batman managed to decrypt the sonar pulse to operate the moving shutters while Riddler was explaining the rules. His delusional state had become so bad that he had developed a severe superiority complex where he regularly boasted to Batman how much better he was even going so far as to claim he had a "Riddlemobile" but lamely stated that he couldn't show it because it was "in the shop".

"You forget, you bothersome bat: ever time you overcome my challenges, I learn that little more about you. It won't be long until I devise a riddle that leaves you dead."
—Riddler completely lost touch with reality

Riddler's inferiority complex was so bad that he misinterpreted anything said to him that implied that he needed help or assistance of any kind as he was not good enough. Ironically, he constantly accused Batman of cheating when he constantly solved the Riddler's death traps and riddles. He even cheated himself by forcing Batman and Catwoman through another death trap before he gave them the final key and finally rigging the robots so Batman could not attack them on his own in order to win. The Riddler told Batman to battle him if he solved all 243 of his riddles throughout Gotham.

After solving all the riddles, Batman and Catwoman defeated him and the Riddler was sent to the GCPD Lockup. There, Riddler was annoyed by Deacon Blackfire, Professor Pyg, Deathstroke and Azrael, while trading barbs with Penguin and Two-Face. Once Batman was unmasked, Riddler was in denial.

Catwoman's Revenge Incident

Still in prison, Nigma called his computer on his lair under Winslow's Toy Shop, and planned to use his Riddler Robots to break himself out. He tried to tell the computer to run the jailbreak prototcol but it didn't understand the word, "run", thus forcing him to use the keypads on his phone to manually program in the jailbreak protocol. His plan was interrupted by Catwoman, who had infiltrated the hideout, and planned to first rob it and then destroy it as revenge for being held captive by Nigma. Pretending to be talking to his lawyer, Nigma instructed his computer to activate several traps along Catwoman's way, such as robots, lasers, and even an electrified floor, which covered more area over time. However, Catwoman still proved victorious and enters the main computer room by tricking Riddler into opening it by having him speak so the computer would accept his voice print. Hearing this, Nigma yelled to the phone furiously, to which Cash responded by tasering him and returned him to his cell. With his underground robot factory destroyed, he was left bankrupt at Catwoman's hands, and had no means of escape.

Kill the Justice League Incident

At some point in between the five years following his defeat at both Batman and Catwoman's hands, Nigma manged to escape Arkham Asylum by helping some of the more corrupt guards cheat on their taxes. Following his escape to an unknown location, Riddler was considered as a protentional candidate for Amanda Waller's Task Force X, however Waller would decide against recruiting Riddler and would instead bring in Gizmo to join the team. This decision enraged Nigma, as his ego wouldn't allow anyone but himself to be seen as ideal for anything Waller had in mind, because of this the Riddler would hack into Task Force X's communication systems and reveal to the group he had planted riddles, challenges and AR versions of his infamous Riddler Trophies all around Metropolis in an effort to get back at Waller by hindering Task Force X during their missions.

After the team complete all his challenges and find all his riddles and trophies Nigma sarcastically congratulates them, but rather than lose his composure as he did with Batman, Riddler refuses to admit defeat, and declares he'll be creating more challenges for Task Force X to solve, completely determined to prove Waller wrong on not recruiting him.

Personality

BACROB

Nigma taunting Batman in Arkham City

""Another one? What's Eddie's problem?"
"Fanatic narcissism, egocentrism and megalomania crossed with severe obsessive compulsion"
"Thanks.""
—Batman explains Riddler's mental health to Catwoman

Edward Nigma was defined by his insanity, inferiority complex, violent behaviour and intense narcissism, likened with hubris. However, he was extremely emotionally immature and his nature was that of an overgrown man-child as he was still traumatised by his cruel childhood and his abusive father who undermined him at every turn. Nigma's image of self-awareness is extremely misguided as he deludes himself into believing that he is a flawless and infallible human "colossus" (or in his own words "The World's Greatest Everything"). Another of his delusions is his incapability to understand his own insanity and when Batman calls him out on this, although he gives a detailed definition he says he suffers from none of the sort. Nigma displays anti-social behaviour and his characteristics, even into adult years are similar to that of an adolescent teenager. Amongst these traits of his childishness are competitiveness, recklessness, stubbornness, pride, rash outbursts, fiery temper, aggressive tantrums and sullenness.

Despite being megalomaniacal, psychopathic and egocentric, at his core Nigma is deeply insecure and emotionally scarred. Having never received the recognition he deserved (or at least believed he deserved), it stands to reason that he pathologically has to prove how smart he is, especially to himself and displays what appears to be an inferiority complex in contrast to his overconfident demeanour. He has made it his one and only goal to degrade others, especially Batman, as being stupider than him with with either arrogant insults designed to lower his victims self-esteem or using the unfounded results from his tests (death traps) as evidence of this. In a moment of complete self-righteousness he claims his tests were for the good of society by weeding out those who are intelligent and those who fail, who are by Nigma's definition "stupid", always die. Nigma's magnificently over-fed ego is never damaged, ignoring that he has been defeated, humiliated and imprisoned multiple times, he constantly believes he will come out on top, never thinking history would repeat itself. He is not above cowardice or dropping his arrogant façade by pathetically pleading. An example is when Catwoman, out of revenge for kidnapping her on Halloween began stealing all of his funds and he desperately begs her for mercy.

He often displays hypocritical arrogance. While he assures his hostage, Catwoman that he does not cheat he actually admits during patient logs to Doctor Young that he once did cheat in his school's competition as to impress his father who saw through this and hit him for lying. Later in the game he actually places his adversary, Batman in a "fight he couldn't win" by swarming him with Riddler-Bots that only Catwoman could hit. Nigma defends this while being taken to the GCPD stating that Batman should have been able to hack into the robots mainframe and defeat them all. Undeniably his greatest weakness was that he considered himself undefeatable (ignoring that he has been countless times in the past) and his arrogance makes him grotesquely reckless and overconfident. Examples include when Batman had defeated the final Riddle Room and rescued the hostage, he gave her no code, showing that he had no doubt in his mind that Batman would not be able to defeat his final room. His egomania was so powerful that in captivity at the GCPD while being confronted by Aaron Cash with a taser he still continues to defy his captor which leads to him being electrocuted. Nigma is also careless enough to relay important information to common thugs who break instantly and reveal everything over Batman's intimidation. 

""Riddle me this: what do you call the man who kills the Bat? "
"What?"
"A frickin' hero, that's what. Nigma has a plan that will put the Bat in his grave."
"You sure?"
"Of course I'm sure, the guy's IQ is through the roof.""
—Riddler's thugs discussing him


BAKRCWB

Riddler onlooking Batman

As the Arkham Series continues, or more specifically as he continued getting defeated, Nigma becomes more deluded and his mental health state deteriorates even further. While in Arkham Origins he focuses solely on releasing blackmail data to the general public, and isn't seen getting frustrated by Batman, in later games he obsesses totally over assuring intellectual dominance over Batman, viewing him as a cheater despite Batman constantly winning fairly. In moments of extreme frustration, despite his intelligence, he will use illogical and quite frankly, lame excuses when he is about to be defeated. Nigma's delusions are extensive enough that, during the beginning of Arkham Knight he refers to himself as Batman's "one true enemy", ignoring the Dark Knight's truly dangerous opponents such as (Joker, Scarecrow, Bane etc.). This is further emphasised when Scarecrow reveals Batman as Bruce Wayne to the world and Nigma mocks him over thinking he could hide his true identity from him, Nigma is shown either refusing to or, because of his mental decline and his compulsive need to demonstrate his intelligence by besting and figuring out his true identity himself, he has deluded himself to the point that he doesn't believe Bruce Wayne has been Batman this whole time, believing it to be an "implausible charade" and won't accept the truth despite it having been aired live for the world to see. Ironically, before his mental state declined to the point he couldn't accept the truth, Nigma actually believed at one point that Batman was Bruce Wayne, in Arkham Origins he had been narrowing down people he believed fit Batman's profile and had a chart with two people who he believed could the Bat; Wayne himself and Harvey Dent. However after Dent became Two-Face, Nigma would, for unknown reasons, completely disregard Wayne as a possible candidate for being Batman. Five years following Batman's identity being revealed Nigma is shown still not believing Bruce Wayne is the Dark Knight, claiming there isn't "conclusive" proof despite it being public knowledge, King Shark dubbing Nigma a "Bruce Wayne truther" or "Bru-ther" in response to Nigma's continued refusal to accept he lost the chance to figure out Batman's identity himself for years.

Though the full aspects of Nigma's past have not been divulged, it's been hinted he was constantly bullied, by both his father and peers. In these regards it is a second factor of his intense resentment towards the Caped Crusader, not only how Batman constantly undermines his intelligence by defeating, imprisoning and humiliating him but how he has begun to compare the Dark Knight to his childhood bullies, specifically how he constantly uses physical force to arrest him, something that only worsened his obsession in defeating him. He even goes as far to describe Batman as both a "pugilist" and a "thug" and admits that he has a perfect memory of every time the latter hurt him. Nigma possesses a deep-rooted hatred for his father, shown during his final battle with Batman at the orphanage he scream in his direction, "DIE FATHER! I mean Batman!".

"STOP NOT DYING!!!"
—Riddler, snaps as Batman beats his final racetrack
Riddler observing the Riddler Rooms

Riddler observing the Riddler Rooms

Aside from his signature tendency for riddles, Nigma was also highly knowledgeable of people's metaphorical "skeletons" in their closets, dark pasts and secrets due to having amassed an extremely complex web of spies and informants in both Gotham and Arkham City. He was able to amass enough data as to use it as extortion and blackmail in Arkham Origins which he planned to release to the general public. It's unknown what Nigma's incentive is in this, although there have been hints that Nigma considered this another form of vigilantism but states that his methods were more "refined" than Batman's, he was fully aware of the repercussions if said data was released; pure anarchy. His knowledge of people's buried secrets was further shown during the Interview Tape with Strange in which he reveals he knows of him manipulating Jervis Tetch to use his mind control formula as to manipulate Quincy Sharp into opening Arkham City, as well he was also aware of Strange's custom-made Batsuit that he cried into, doubting that he "wasn't worthy" [to be Batman]. Nigma is greatly frustrated about, unlike Strange, he had no idea who the Batman was and when he discovered such he demanded for Strange to tell him, which he refused, leaving him totally blank for words.

He is also knowledgeable in psychology to some degree and anticipating people's next actions, as he predicted that Amanda Waller would not only send an assassin to off him in Arkham Asylum, but that Killer Frost was that assassin, and also calmly informed her that he knew how to defuse the bombs imbedded in her and her other teammates necks, and that this was the real reason Waller wanted him dead, thus having her decide to spare him. Similarly, despite his insanity, he also had enough common sense to realize that "Black Spider" was actually Batman in disguise when the latter's head didn't explode despite not actually being subject to electroshock therapy.

Physical Appearance

Arkham Origins

In Arkham Origins, Enigma had brown hair with glasses. He wore a purple vest with his GCPD tag on his neck, a white shirt and tie, fingerless gloves, and on his left hand he wore two watches on his wrist. He also wore dark green pants with keys on his belt loops, and brown shoes.

Arkham Asylum

Although he did not physically appear in the game, the Riddler had made the transition from Enigma to Riddler at this point. It was more than likely that he had worn the same outfit as the one that was shown in Arkham City.

Arkham City

In Arkham City, Riddler had messy brown hair with glasses. He wore purple, fingerless gloves with covered question marks. He was also wearing his signature green business suit with yellow question marks and, on occasion, his green bowler hat. He also held his question mark cane in his hand.

Arkham Knight

In Arkham Knight, Riddler returned for his final showdown with Batman with a more broken down look, and sported a green short sleeved dress shirt with black and white question marks throughout. At some points in the game, he was seen with small circle rimmed glasses with orange lenses and combed brown hair.

Psychological Profile

Riddler

Real Name: Edward "Eddie" Nashton Nygma

Dr. Penelope Young

"As with many of the inmates here, Nigma has an abnormally high IQ, but this is tempered by his intense narcissism and his obsessive-compulsive need to devise and disseminate his (surprisingly ingenious) riddles and puzzles. If there were a way to break his histrionic behavior and its underlying ego-maniacal causes, he could be cured. It is a puzzle only I am truly capable of solving."

Additional Notes "I cannot help but admire the complexity, and yet apparent simplicity, of the many conundrums and riddles Nigma regularly presented me with in his treatment sessions. Often I find myself working through them in my (infrequent) free time.

His obsession with displaying his own intelligence is the central trigger of his many personality disorders."

He seems to be hiding some sort of secret artifacts on the asylum's grounds.

Dr. Hugo Strange

Edward Nigma A.K.A The Riddler

Attributes

  • Super intelligent, yet highly overconfident in said intelligence.
  • Compulsion to create riddles, puzzles, and lethal deathtraps.
  • Emotional instability can make him go into brief periods of extreme aggression. (Mentioning Batman, Riddler's father or something stupid will cause Riddler to lose his temper.)
  • Master engineer
  • Possesses a large hidden fortune from years of successful crimes for financial backing in his deathtraps (Until the Catwoman's Revenge DLC).
  • Expert escape artist
  • Master of all fields of computer programming.
  • Driven by a need to test his wits against law enforcement by leaving clues to his planned crimes
  • Compulsive need for attention. (Riddler constantly broadcasted and announced his plans to Gotham.)

Patient Interviews

Patient Interview #21, May 27th

In the first patient interview, Dr. Penelope Young confronts the Riddler on the matter of writing threatening riddles on his cell walls. The Riddler, on the other hand, states that one should have to be severely paranoid to derive threats from harmless riddles. He asks Dr. Young if he can test one on her, to which she agrees. The Riddler asks the well known riddle: What walks on four legs, then two legs and finally three? Dr. Young answers with the correct answer of a human being: crawling on all fours as a baby, walking on two as an adult and finally uses a cane in old age. The Riddler commends her on her answer yet states that correct one is a baby for all three. He claims that it's true a baby crawls on all fours but if you cut off its legs it can only move with two, give it a crutch and it can hobble along on three. Dr. Young, obviously disturbed, asks how the Riddler can joke about such things, to which the Riddler replies "Easily doctor. It's not my baby..."

Patient Interview #39, July 29th

The second interview begins with Dr. Young still undecided of whether to use the Riddler for the Titan process. Dr. Young begins by wanting to ask about the Riddler's childhood which she believes his fascination of riddles began and would also explain his compulsive behavior. Reluctantly, the Riddler agrees, stating that his father hated him and always called him a moron, causing the Riddler to try and prove him wrong. As a result he entered a contest at school, a $20 prize for the child who solved an almost impossible logic problem. The Riddler claimed that "I won of course" yet his father kept yelling "You must have cheated! Admit it you moron, you cheated!." He swore he didn't and his father beat him for lying. Dr. Young, feeling pity for the Riddler, is sorry to hear about the incident to which the Riddler replies "Don't be. He was right."

Patient Interview #44, August 21st

In the third interview, Dr. Young attempts to discuss the Riddler's large variety of riddle-based schemes in his career, which resulted in numerous deaths. The Riddler claims that society should be thanking him, for ridding the city of the stupid and the ignorant. He goes on to claim that if the citizens of Gotham was smarter, his riddles would be mere distractions for amusement, to which he tells Dr. Young that he'd be sure she would be able to solve them. He then turns his attention to a family photo on Dr. Young's desk, causing Young to panic and call for security.

Patient Interview #55, October 4th

The fourth interview has Dr. Young trying to delve into the Riddler's obsession with Batman. The Riddler, on the other hand, claims they're merely "observations"; observations that Batman is himself a criminal and no different from criminals such as Two-Face, the Joker or even himself. He states that Batman must be stealing from the criminals he defeats in order to pay for his high-tech equipment and vehicles and that he must also be bribing Commissioner Gordon so as to keep the GCPD off his back. When Dr. Young states that most see him as a hero, the Riddler becomes enraged with her, causing Dr. Young to call in the guards.

Patient Interview #76, January 16th

The final interview with the Riddler has Dr. Young state that she can no longer put up with his mood swings and will be transferring him to Dr. Gretchen Whistler. The Riddler appears incredibly cheerful, much to Dr. Young's surprise. After asking why him why he appears this way, the Riddler states that he's "always in rare spirits when he's about to be released". Young becomes confused as the Riddler can't go for parole for another three years. The Riddler seems to ignore this statement, going on that the first thing he'll do is go to a particular Italian restaurant, hoping that the Joker hasn't destroyed Gotham by then. Dr. Young becomes particularly worried that the Riddler may have had contact with the Joker, who had escaped a few weeks earlier. The Riddler states that he heard something about Joker's future plans for a "surprise party" involving Batman, saying "you know Joker, yak yak yak". Dr. Young demands that the Riddler tell her what he heard, as lives are at stake. The Riddler finally replies, "You forget doctor, I'm the one that asks the riddles..."

Quotes

Main Article: The Riddler/Quotes

Dialogues

Arkham Asylum

In Arkham Asylum The Riddler talks alone with Batman via Batman's communication system, like Oracle (except for his interview tapes in which he talks to Doctor Young). Batman doesn't answer to Riddler's quotes during the game.

Arkham City

Church/Medical Center

  • Riddler: "Oh no, where have they gone? Could it be that while you were out doing what you do, I, the Riddler snuck in and took all those poor, stupid fools?"
  • Batman: "Where have you taken them?"
  • Riddler: "Questions, questions, Dark Knight. It's not you who needs answers here, it's me. You answer my riddles, and I tell you where they are. You answer my riddles, and they don't die. So, shall we begin?"

1st Riddler Room

  • Riddler: "So you decided to finally show up, did you?"
  • Batman: "Let them go, Riddler. They're innocent."
  • Riddler: "Don't be stupid, Dark Knight. They wouldn't find themselves in this predicament they are currently in if they had tried to think just few steps ahead now, would they? Now if you solve the room ahead and four other equally challenging ones, you save them. If you don't, then they die, and we'll see if society crumbles at their passing."
  • Batman: "You're insane."
  • Riddler: "No, that would imply either mental illness or derangement. I suffer from neither. Oh, and yes, I can see you, Batman, and I look forward to watching you fail."

Riddler's Headquarters (1st dialogue)

  • Riddler: "That's right, worms, keep walking. You remember how to walk, don't you?"
  • Aaron Cash: "Riddler! When I get out of here, I'm gonna hurt you for this! You hear me!?"
  • Riddler: "Come now, Mr. Cash. In order to hurt me, you would have to break free from the predicament you currently find yourself in and attack me in such a way that does not cause me to press this remote detonator, distributing your primitive DNA all over the walls."
  • Aaron Cash: "I'll do it!"
  • Riddler: "You'll try. I'll give you that, but I doubt you will succeed without blowing yourself up. Oh, and I'm sure I mentioned the remote detonator I have here. One press, Cash, and you ignorant buffoons will be all over the walls."
  • Aaron Cash: "I can walk all night, Riddler!"
  • Riddler: "Good. Let's see if you still feel the same tomorrow."

Riddler's Headquarters (2nd dialogue)

  • Riddler: "This cannot be happening! Do you really expect me to fall for this, Dark Knight? I know you won't kill me."
  • Batman: "True. But you can't say the same about the others, can you?"
  • Aaron Cash: "Get your ass movin', Riddler."
  • Riddler: "You can't tell me what to do!"
  • Aaron Cash: "Do I need to press the button?"
  • Riddler: "What? No. Oh, you'll pay for this, Batman!"
  • Aaron Cash: "You sure this thing won't work?" (The explosive device on Riddler's head)
  • Batman: "No. But there's no point in let him know that, is there?"

Arkham Origins

(Note: In Arkham Origins, Edward Nigma hadn't proclaimed himself as The Riddler yet, and Batman chose to call him Enigma)

1st Tower

  • Enigma: "Well, well. If isn't the King Thug himself. Figured it was only a matter of time before you showed up. Sorry about the mess downstairs."
  • Batman: "Who is this?"
  • Enigma: "Think of me as a great big mystery! One you're never going to solve."
  • Batman: "Enigma, then."
  • Enigma: "Oh ho ho. you must think you're so clever. Well how's this for clever: I've taken control of towers all over the city. As long as they're active, your Batwing's useless. And it looks like it's gonna stay that way. I mean, this one is practically BEGGING to be taken offline and you still can't hack it. Pun intended, of course."
  • Enigma: "Hmmm... Black Mask's not going to like this".
  • Batman: "What are you talking about?"
  • Enigma: "Wouldn't you like to know."

2nd Tower

  • Enigma: “Congratulations are in order! Maybe you’re not as stupid as I’ve been led to believe.”
  • Batman: “Why are you doing this, Enigma?”
  • Enigma: Direct! I like it. So I’ll tell you. Gotham’s sullied. It’s filled with brutes who control this city through violence and intimidation.
  • Batman: “You didn’t answer my question.”
  • Enigma: “Because you didn’t let me finish! I want to get rid of them, Batman. To improve Gotham’s intellectual and moral standing. But I’m not a thug like you. My approach is a bit more refined.”
  • Batman: “What you’re doing is no different than stealing. There’s nothing refined about it.”
  • Enigma: “Your response is as predictable as it is banal. Goodbye.”

3rd Tower

  • Enigma: "Interesting! Watching you figure that one was a real treat. I'll make sure the next one is even more provocative."
  • Batman: "This isn't a game, Enigma."
  • Enigma: "Oh, but it is! And one that you're more than welcome to stop playing. Now - you need to stop interfering with my work. Tackling these towers is one thing - but...My handlers. My data. My network relays. Those aren't meant for you. So back off!"

4th Tower

  • Enigma: "But h-how?! I...I was sure you'd fail. No one is this lucky."
  • Batman: "You need to stop this."
  • Enigma: "Stop what? Cleaning up the streets? Ensuring the GCPD actually does its job? Removing corruption from the system? Was it one of those in particular you took issue with, or all of them?"
  • Batman: "You're using the data you've stolen to blackmail people."
  • Enigma: "So? It gets the job done. And it's certainly kinder than the beatings you're so fond of doling out. Think on that."

5th Tower

  • Enigma: "You're cheating aren't you? You're getting help from someone. But who...Who's smart enough to outsmart me?!"
  • Batman: "No one's helping me, Enigma. Did you ever consider maybe you're not as clever as you think?"
  • Enigma: "Says the man who seems to have mistaken Christmas Eve for Halloween! In case you haven't noticed - I've got the entire city under surveillance, feeding me all of its dirty secrets. And I did it all on your watch, oh Great Guardian of Gotham. So what do you have to say to THAT?"
  • Batman: "I'm taking your network down."
  • Enigma: "Spoken like a true Neanderthal. Well - you can certainly try."

6th Tower

  • Enigma: "Alright, you've made your point. So why don't we just agree to disagree and go our separate ways."
  • Batman: "I don't think so."
  • Enigma: "What's wrong with you? It's not like I'm backing the bad guys here. Well - not usually."
  • Batman: "You're invading people's privacy."
  • Enigma: "You've got how many Assassins running around out there, and you're lecturing me on selling personal information? Way to prioritize! You're going after Gotham Optics next? Or maybe some telemarketers? Oooo!"
  • Batman: "If that information gets into the wrong hands, people could get hurt because of you."
  • Enigma: "And people DO get hurt because of you. So I assume you'll be handing yourself over to the police now? That's what I thought."

Final Tower

  • Enigma: "You must be feeling pretty good about yourself, Batman. I mean, you took down all the towers! Which means you foiled my plan...Except, oh wait, I already have all the data I need. And as soon I'm done uploading it - so will everyone in Gotham."
  • Batman: "There's still time for me to put an end to this."
  • Enigma: "True. There is. Just not very much. It was a valiant attempt, though. You get an A for effort! But an F for impact."

Enigma's Headquarters

  • Batman: "Enigma? Where are you?"
  • Enigma: "I'm right here! Well - figuratively speaking anyway. Disappointed I didn't choose to meet up in person?"
  • Batman: "What's this about? Sionis hire you to throw me off his trail?"
  • Enigma: "Think of me as an information broker. I've got data handlers everywhere - feeding me all kinds of interesting stuff!"
  • Batman: "And you think this is going to destroy Gotham?"
  • Enigma: "Oh, yes. See - bullet wounds and broken bones will eventually heal. But incriminating photos? Videos? Emails? That kind of damage can never be repaired. Tomorrow morning - when I release everything I've got, the city's going to collapse. Resignations. Arrests. Deaths. It'll be chaos in the streets, Batman! And there's not a thing you can do to stop me!"

Arkham Knight

Public broadcast

  • Batman: "Alfred, I've re-enabled the bridge controls."
  • Alfred: "Marvelous. I am rebooting the network now."
  • Riddler: (via public broadcast) "Forget Scarecrow. It's time to face your one true nemesis, Batman."
  • Alfred: "Oh dear, is that who I think it is?"
  • Batman: "Nigma... Contact me when you're ready with the bridge."
  • Riddler: "Riddle me this. Why would a Batman visit an abandoned orphanage?"
  • Catwoman: "Eddie, swettie, you’ve confused me with Robin. The big guy and I aren’t all that close."
  • Riddler: "Oh, I know! It’s because of what will happen to his feline friend if the doesn’t get here in time. Shocked, Dark Knight? You didn’t expect this, did you? That is because you are no match for me, Edward Nigma, the Riddler and your intellectual superior. Did you think I would forget our last meeting, Dark Knight? You HUMILIATED me. I know you will not beat me this time. It is utterly impossible. You cannot do it. I have won already. I will mock your attempts to solve my conundrums. I will stand triumphant over your bloodied corpse. And as the dim light fades for good in your tiny dullard’s mind, you final thought will be how I have bested you. Come to the Orphanage, detective. Or she dies."

Videos

Batman_Arkham_Origins_-_Game_Over_Enigma

Batman Arkham Origins - Game Over Enigma

Batman-_Arkham_Knight_-_Game_Over-_Riddler

Batman- Arkham Knight - Game Over- Riddler


Quotes

The Riddler/Quotes

Trivia

  • If you stood in his path while the explosives were on him, Riddler would panic and yell for you to get out of the way. Batman would then automatically move out of the way.
  • The Riddler had looked into Dr. Young's notes, and had put his mark on specific people such as Zsasz, Clayface, Scarecrow, Penguin, Mad Hatter, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Great White Shark and Quincy Sharp.
  • At one point in Arkham Asylum, Riddler nearly broke the 4th Wall, and claimed that Batman was using the internet to locate all of the riddles.
    • The only way the 4th wall would break was if the player really did access the internet to try and beat the Riddler, but as some of the trophies and puzzles were in obscure places, it was most likely that someone would.
    • By Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, this has become true for the players as there is no way to find the riddles or Trophies easily.
  • In the early magazine articles for the game, images of Riddler's cell were shown to have question marks in red rather than green, and an inscription on the wall was written in French which did not appear in the game. It was translated, which read: "I loved, I suffered, now I hate."
  • On the GameInformer cover for Arkham Origins, a Riddler Trophy was visible. However, the design of the Riddler Trophy was drastically different to the in-game appearance.
  • In Arkham Origins, after gaining access to Enigma's secret room, you would find out that he had been investigating Batman's secret identity and had two possible suspects: Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent. Since Enigma wasn't aware of who Batman was in Arkham Asylum or Arkham City, one could assume that he had either given up on his investigation, couldn't find conclusive evidence to support his theory, or Batman himself had leaked information to him to bring him to drive him away from his real identity.
    • Ironically, in Arkham Knight, Riddler was the only criminal who refused to believe Batman and Bruce Wayne were one and the same despite it being publicly revealed on the news thanks to Scarecrow.
  • It seemed that as the Arkham series moved forward chronologically, the Riddler became more frustrated, which indicated that with each defeat at the hands of Batman, he grew more obsessed and desperate on taking him down. In Arkham Origins, Riddler had no desire to kill Batman, only to blackmail people in order to throw Gotham into chaos. In Arkham Asylum, he wanted to prove that he was smarter than Batman, and in Arkham City, he had set up death rooms for Batman to solve and ultimately to kill him in the process, but failed. By the time of Arkham Knight, Riddler's ego and frustration had finally reached their ultimate level, given that he believed Batman would fail his challenges despite always beating them, and that he had a breakdown after being beaten by Batman and Catwoman, who pointed out he cheated.
  • It was interesting to note that even though he had constantly criticized Batman for cheating, The Riddler himself cheated in a variety of his challenges, with certain challenges that broke his own "rules", and with others being a dead end, and required you to "cheat".
  • It's worth noting that Riddler knows when one of his riddles is scanned by Detective Mode, in most of the games; this implies he can hack into its frequency to keep tabs on what Batman is investigating. However, this also implies that Riddler isn't smart enough to manipulate Detective Mode to suit his needs, as anytime Batman misreads Detective Mode, it's due to being poisoned by something.
  • Noting some of his riddles in Knight, Riddler appears to have been aware of things that Batman wasn't. Such as the League of Assassins' internal conflict, new enemies like Professor Pyg and Man-Bat, Deathstroke's return. He even seemed aware that Barbara Gordon was Batgirl. However, Riddler could have set up these riddles by keeping tabs on Detective Mode.
  • In Arkham Asylum, Riddler was the only character who didn't physically appear, but had unlockable Interview Tapes. Something similar happened with Clayface, who actually appeared, but had no interview tapes.
  • Although Riddler never called himself Enigma in Origins, given Batman's focus on Gotham's crime, it was likely that he came across some person called Enigma, who he figured out was the person he was talking to as Riddler was the only one who matched Enigma's profile. That would account for how the thugs knew his codename as well.
  • Riddler was the only one of two characters within all four games that had been voiced by the same voice actor: Wally Wingert, as numerous other characters that had appeared in all four games such as Batman and Harley Quinn had been voiced by different actors. The only other actor to reprise their role as the same character in all four Arkham instalments was James Horan, the voice of news reporter, Jack Ryder.
    • He was, however, given a different voice actor in the direct to video film Batman: Assault on Arkham, and was voiced by Matthew Gray Gubler.
  • In Arkham Origins, it was unknown how Enigma knew Batman's plane was called the Batwing. Quite possibly, he had been spying on Batman for some time, or had simply guessed based on the hero's motif.
  • Although not mentioned in Cold Cold Heart, it's possible the secret Enigma had referred to after Batman destroyed his server, could be related to Mayor Hill's resignation, as several media outlets received evidence linking his Police Commissioner candidate, Peter Grogan, to the Maroni Family.
  • Riddler adamantly believed himself to be sane; he didn't think of himself as deranged or mentally ill. When Catwoman asked what Riddler's "problem" was in Arkham Knight, Batman gave a detailed explanation.
  • During the Riddler's first interview with Dr Young, he mentioned that he would have been fine with harming a baby as long as it wasn't his own. That was a possible reference to the comics, where the Riddler had a daughter.
  • The way that Riddler had kidnapped his victims and placed them in death traps was similar to the fictional serial killer, John Kramer, also known as 'Jigsaw' from the horror franchise, 'Saw'. However, Jigsaw placed his victims in death traps in order to test their wills to live; Riddler performed his crimes in order to test his victim's intelligence. (In one way, choosing to avoid these traps shows intelligence.)
  • In his interview tapes, Riddler explained his "death traps" were actually meant to weed out the incompetent, and that they would actually be viewed as entertainment by intelligent people.
  • The Riddler's appearance in Arkham Knight, was very different to his appearance in Arkham City. He appeared very thin and gaunt, his eyes were sunken, and his hair was messier. His clothes were also less eloquent, perhaps indicating that he was beginning to divert more time to trying to prove himself better than Batman, and less time towards grooming himself, or possibly even beginning to be completely overwhelmed by his obsession of proving himself better than Batman.
  • At one point in Arkham Knight, Riddler wondered if he should be his own arch nemesis because Batman was slow to solve the riddles. This is both ironic and humorous, as Riddler already is his own worst enemy, as he's refused help with his mental instability and had by the time of Knight, grown so obsessed with killing Batman, that he made their final showdown completely unfair.
  • The Riddler claimed that he had a Riddler-mobile that was faster and superior to Batman's Batmobile in every way, but was "in the shop" at the time of Batman: Arkham Knight. It was unknown whether this was indeed the case, or a lie crafted by Riddler in order to boast his intelligence to the Dark Knight.
    • The "Riddler-mobile" was actually released as a downloadable skin for the Batmobile, however, rather than it being a unique vehicle owned by the Riddler himself as he claimed, its just the Batmobile with the Riddler's crazed writing and question marks all over the vehicle, implying the Riddler was indeed lying about having his own superior vehicle.
  • It was implied via dialogue at various points of Arkham Knight that the Riddler is an atheist or, at the very least, didn't believe in the supernatural.
    • During one of his broadcasts to Batman after Scarecrow was defeated, Riddler, when telling Batman what Miagani Island was named after, commented the tribe were morons for worshipping bats.
    • While locked up in the maximum security cell, should Deacon Blackfire be present, Riddler would infer that Blackfire's belief in God was "superstitious nonsense." He also said something similar to Azrael should the latter be locked up, referring to his and his order's beliefs as "mindless superstition."
    • He does say "Thank the Lord" in Arkham Asylum, possibly meaning he was a believer at one point, but converted somewhere between the games. It is possible that he lost his faith after the repeated failures against Batman. Though it's possible that he just said it as an expression, as some people don't believe in a god, but DO say that when they are relieved.
  • Even if Riddler was taken down before Scarecrow, he would still make emergency broadcast messages taunting Batman as if he were still on the loose, which indicated that they were actually pre-recorded.
  • When telling Batman to challenge him after finding the last riddle, Riddler mentioned that he intended to deconstruct him "like a flimsy philosophical position," which referred to the philosophical school of deconstructionism popularized by Jacques Derrida.
  • In Knight, Riddler plants bombs in the brains of some rioters. Ironically, he makes sense to some of the players; Riddler repeatedly notes that the rioters are murderers the world wouldn't miss. He even voices anger and sarcasm when Batman saves the rioters from having their heads explode.
  • As revealed in the Gotham City Story: Social Outcast, Riddler created a company called Enigmatic Holdings Ltd., which bought the disused sewerage and water processing facilities beneath the city, which explained how he made his race tracks and non-race track places in the Most Wanted Side Mission: "Riddler's Revenge".
  • During the events of Arkham Knight, it's possible that Riddler started to doubt his ability to kill Batman. In one of his game over screens, he is surprised that Batman was actually killed by one of his traps, then quickly states that he knew he would eventually kill Batman.
  • The second time the Riddler's origin tied into being a member of the GCPD is in the crime-drama TV series Gotham, where Nygma is a young, awkward, and brilliant forensic scientist, and who is remarkably older than a 12-year-old Bruce Wayne. A notable difference is that Nygma in Gotham was a genuine member of the GCPD, while Nygma in the Arkham games was implied to have simply infiltrated the organization as part of his agenda.
  • In Gotham, the Riddler also had suffered from mental illness. However is was not narcissism or egomania, but multiple personality disorder. There was the nice Edward and the evil Riddler; the two personas later merged into one, leaving the regular Riddler.
  • In the Arkham Knight's ending scene, The Riddler was alluded to in the Batman's hallucination (Joker's fear), where a newspaper article stated that no one had cared that the Joker was dead, and revealed that he had married Harley Quinn. Also they had a child on the way.
  • At the start of the same hallucination, The Riddler will take Sergeant Hanrahan hostage and claim that "There must still be things you won't do." if the player kills her, he will say in a shocked voice, "I can't believe you!"
  • After being arrested, Nigma says that he would defend himself in court. However in Catwoman's Revenge, he claimed to be on the phone with his defence attorney.
  • King Shark is the only character in the series who genuinely finds enjoyment and satisfaction in the Riddler's antics, rather than the annoyance Batman, Catwoman, and his teammates openly display.
  • Riddler is the only character in the series who doesn't believe Batman's true identity is Bruce Wayne.
    • This denial possibly stems from Nigma's superiority complex and obsessive need to figure out Batman's identity first in order to demonstrate his intellect, as shown by his hysterical reaction to Hugo Strange's reveal that he had figured out who Batman was long before Nigma had the chance to.
  • In Arkham Knight during one of his transmissions following Poison Ivy's sacrifice to eliminate the effects of the Cloudburst, Riddler will actually reveal the location of Scarecrow's hideout in the abandoned shopping mall on Founder's Island before the player is supposed to find out themselves. This is either a developer oversight, as at random points during the game either Scarecrow or Riddler will transmit themselves across Gotham during free roam and say different things depending on what happens in the story, or this is an example of the Riddler's extreme narcissism, ego and obsessive need for attention on display: Riddler would out the location of the current threat in Gotham just so he can get Batman to continue focusing on him and solve (or from his point of view, try and solve) his riddles and challenges.

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