| “ | 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! | „ |
| ~ The Riddler |
Edward Nigma, better known as The Riddler, is one of Gotham City's most professional criminals who is obsessed with proving to the world that he is smarter than a majority of his nearby region, specifically the city's loyal protector, Batman.
The Riddler serves as a prominent antagonist in all three Arkham games where he tasks the Caped Crusader to optionally find his personal trophies and solve certain riddles in a series of challenging puzzles.
History
Becoming the Riddler
| “ | Think of me as an Information broker. I've got data handlers everywhere-feeding me all kinds of interesting stuff! | „ |
| ~ Enigma |
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Enigma in Batman: Arkham Origins
Edward makes his first chronological appearance in the prequel Batman: Arkham Origins where he enters the city as a new criminal who goes only under the alias "Enigma". After gathering endless amounts of blackmail information that makes Gotham's officials look bad, Enigma plans to publically release this info on Christmas Eve, coincidentally the same night the Bat is being hunt down by Black Mask hired assassins, so the Gotham citizens will lose all hope in their officials and ultimately end up in the fall of the city politically. The genius criminal realizes that the only real obstacle standing in the way of his devious plan is Batman himself. So, he hires armies of brutal henchmen, plants Batwing jamming jammers around town, and cleverly hides the information's servers in order to slow down his new enemy, whom he later considers his first mentally challenging foe. However, Enigma's plan led to failure, as the Bat used his master interrogation and hacking skills to track down Edward's location and defeat him. After he was apprehended, the newly proclaimed "Riddler" was put into Arkham Asylum only to constantly break out again and cause chaos amongst the city, fueling the rivalry between the Dark Knight and himself.
Escaping from Arkham Asylum
| “ | Good try, but the answer to all three is a baby. True, it crawls on fours, but cut off its legs and it can wiggle on two limbs. Give it a crutch, and it can hobble on all three. You see? | „ |
| ~ Riddler to his Doctor |
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Riddler Character Bio in Batman: Arkham Asylum
The Riddler makes an appearance as an unseen antagonist in Batman: Arkham Asylum where he, like all criminals, break out of the asylum in the Joker's intelligently orchestrated riot. Instead of staying on the hellish island like most, he leaves and hides out in his secret headquarters where hacks into the Dark Knight's communications to challenges him to solve all of his riddles, find all of his maps, and discover all of his cleverly hidden trophies. This is optional to the player, however, but Nigma will constantly taunt them for their "idiocy" until all of the puzzles are solved, Batman sends the cops a tracked signal planted on Riddler's HQ, and the police force burst into his unidentified placement before arresting him.
Taking hostages in Arkham City
| “ | Do you know any other inmate in your twisted little penitentiary who is a genius enough to arrange this little chat? | „ |
| ~ Riddler to Hugo Strange |
The Riddler makes a third and currently final chronological appearance in Batman: Arkham City. After the asylum is torn down and is instead replaced with Arkham City, an isolated area of Gotham where the criminals are free to roam, the Riddler sets his crime syndicate again and sends his men out to intercept the Joker's, Two-Face's, and Penguin's ranks. With even more complicated traps and even larger burning hatred for Batman, the Riddler turns his evilness up a notch and captures a band of innocent security officers and doctors, setting them around in city in Saw-like deathtraps where the World's Greatest Detective must find them and save them before they're brutally murdered. After the knight saves a good handful, he moves on to the final location where he traced where the rest of the hostages and Riddler himself are. After entering, Batman witnesses that all of the hostages are forced to push a lawnmower like contraption on a railing. The gadget is strapped with explosives, and if the hostages were to stop for even a second, it'll detonate. After Batman managed to sneaks up to the Riddler's office and incapacitates him, Batman frees all the hostages and straps Edward to his own contraption, forcing him to tirelessly walk around with it at the possible cost of his life (but unbeknownst to him, it's deactivated). The Riddler was likely arrested afterwards.
Batman: Arkham Knight
Its been confirmed the Riddler is returning in Batman: Arkham Knight. How much of a role he will have is presently unknown.
Quotes
- "Can you hear me, Batman? I know you can. It is I, Edward Nigma, the Riddler! And you're intellectual superior."
- "Does you're head hurt, Batman? Understandable. You're no match for me."
- "Can we just agree I'm cleverer than you?"
- "It's the E. Nigma Show!"
- "I am Edward Nigma. The world's greatest detective."
- "Riddle me this!"
- "I pity you trying to defeat my challenges."
- "Can you defeat a mind such as mine?"
- "There's no shame in cheating. If you admit you cannot solve my challenges."
- "Fiddle diddle diddle. Answer my riddle."
- "Puzzling, isn't it?"
- "This is hardly a surprise. I always knew I was better than you."
- "Well, well. So the shaved monkey has failed. How utterly, utterly expected."
- "What's wrong? Has you're primitive brain given up and accepted I, the Riddler, am better than you?"
- "Riddle me this. What lies on the ground, is full of holes, and gives off a slight burning smell?"
- "Question: what do you call someone who prevented a guard from turning to minced-meat? Answer: not you, Batman."
- "You picked wrong, Dark Knight!"
- "Well, well. If it isn't the King Thug himself."
- "You're cheating arn't you? You're getting help from someone. But who...who's smart enough to outsmart me!?"
- "You're response is as predictable as it as banal. Goodbye."
- "You're quickly approaching the point of no return. I'd turn back if I were you!"
- "I'm dissapointed, Batman. You do realise there are other ways to overcome obstacles beyond smashing them!?"
- "Crawling around in vents like a common rat. How...expected!"
- "You must be feeling pretty good about yourself, Batman. I mean, you took down all the towers! Which means you've foiled my plan...except, oh wait, I already have all the data I need. And as soon as I'm done uploading it-so will everyone in Gotham."
- "Brains always triumph over brawn, my friend! Always!"
- "And here I thought I'd finally met my intellectual equal. So much for that."
Trivia
- In all three titles, Nashton is portrayed by Wally Wingert, who also voiced one of the Almighty Tallest in Invader Zim.
- As one would expect, the closer the player gets to beating the Riddler, the angrier and more aggressive he gets. At first, he is a level headed taunter, but later, he is bursting into outraged tantrums. He even slightly breaks the forth wall by accusing the player of looking the answers up on the internet.
- As the game series progresses, The Riddler become more and more filthy. It's possible that the Riddler has become so obsessed with outsmarting Batman with his riddles and traps, that he began to ignore his moral hygiene.