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Someone is very bright. Step into the light...so the Riddler can see you.
~ Riddler

The Riddler is a recurring antagonist of the animated show The Batman.

He was voiced by Robert Englund, who also played Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, Bill Gartley in The Mangler, Lucifer in Married with Children, Anti-Pops in Regular Show, and the title character in the 1989 adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera.

Biography[]

Past[]

As a child, Riddler (real name Edward Nygma) was an intelligent boy who suffered physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his father, who envied his son's intellectual prowess.

When he got older, Edward got a job at Gotham University, where he and his partner (possibly love interest) Julie invented a device which would enhance the human brain, giving its user amazing brain power. During the development stages of the device, a man named Gorman kept trying to get Nygma to sell the right of the invention to him, an offer which Nygma refused. During the demonstration of their device to the dean, however, the device malfunctioned, and Nygma accused Gorman of sabotaging it and decided to get revenge years later by booby trapping Gorman's house with deadly traps and puzzles, transforming the house into a death trap. While trying to survive the house's traps, Gorman called the police and the Batman arrived to rescue Gorman. Batman soon found and confronted Nygma, but he escaped and took on an alter ego; the Riddler.

The Batman[]

In his first appearance, the Riddler plants fake bombs around Gotham City and challenges GCPD Detective Ellen Yin with solving multiple riddles to defuse them. When Batman and Yin realize the bombs are fake, Riddler's henchmen attack and subdue Batman, rendering him helpless as Riddler sprays sleeping gas at him, knocking him unconscious.

Riddler then traps Batman and Yin and challenges them to a series of 20 questions to deduce Batman's true identity. If Batman answers falsely, Yin will be electrocuted. Eventually, Yin pushes the Riddler in front of the blast of electricity and electrocutes him, and Batman uses this opportunity to escape along with Yin.

Batman fights the Riddler while Yin takes down his henchmen, and eventually both of them defeat the Riddler is defeated. The Riddler tries to tell Yin's superior officer, Chief Rojas, that Yin is working with Batman in violation of department policy, but Rojas doesn't believe him and locks him up in Arkham Asylum.

The Riddler breaks out of Arkham Asylum many times after his first arrest. One time he tries to distract the police with numerous riddles spread throughout Gotham City as he stole all the electronic information in the city's mainframe. In another caper, he tries to pit Joker, Penguin and their respective goons Punch & Judy and the Kabuki Twins together in a fight to defeat Batman and finally take off his mask. Both crimes end in failure.

One day, Riddler kidnaps Gorman and launches an intricate plan to finally get revenge against the man he believes ruined his life. Batman soon arrives to rescue Gorman, and fights Nygma and his henchmen. Gorman escapes by himself and uses a detonator to destroy his own ship, with Batman and Riddler aboard, Robin rescues the two, and then Riddler goes to the university to kill Juile, who is revealed to be the one responsible for the failure of Nygma's invention. Batman and Robin arrive in time to finally defeat Riddler and apprehend Julie, leaving them both for the police.

The Riddler is later kidnapped by the vigilante Rumor, who wants to eliminate all the supervillains in Gotham. When Batman defeats Rumor, the Riddler is returned to Arkham along with the other members of Batman's rogues gallery.

Powers and abilities[]

The Riddler is a highly intelligent master criminal who plans his crimes around intricate puzzles and places death traps around Gotham City. The flip side of his mastery of riddles and puzzles is his irresistible compulsion to follow them to the letter, which Batman is able to exploit in order to trip him up.

Equipment[]

  • Lie Detector: A machine that the Riddler used to electrocute Yin with everytime Batman answered a question falsely.
  • Question Mark Sickles: Two sickles shaped like a question mark that Riddler used to fight Batman on a cargo ship.
  • Laser: A laser Riddler tried to use against Julie.
  • Cane: A cane Riddler used to fight against Batman, the cane has many features.
  • Sleeping Gas - Riddler used sleeping gas against Batman while he was subdued by the Riddlemen, gassing him with it and making him fall asleep.
  • Remote - A remote on his cane that Riddler used to control many objects to fight Batman with.

Appearances[]

  • Riddled
  • Night and the City
  • Riddler's Revenge
  • Rumors


The Batman Strikes![]

  • Issue 17
  • Issue 34 " Shtick Shift"
  • Issue 39 " Hostile Takeover"
  • Issue 40 "The Burning Question"
  • Issue 50

Quotes[]

Someone is very bright. Step into the light...so the Riddler can see you.
Call me... the Riddler.
I do riddles. I don’t tell jokes.
What is at the beginning that’s also at the end? You and Gorman were at the beginning and now the end of my career as the Riddler.
As I said before, Batman. You were at the beginning. And now, you’re here, at the very...bitter...end.

Navigation[]

           The Batman Villains (2004 cartoon)

Joker | Penguin | Bane | Catwoman | Mr. Freeze | Ethan Bennett | Killer Croc | Man-Bat | Firefly | Riddler | Punch & Judy | Kabuki Twins | Hugo Strange | Cluemaster | Cluemaster's Henchmen | Ragdoll | Temblor | Poison Ivy | Tony Zucco | Count Vertigo | Harley Quinn | Maxie Zeus | Basil Karlo | Gearhead | Francis Grey | Killer Moth | D.A.V.E. | Dracula | Rumor | Toyman | Mirror Master | Lex Luthor | Black Mask | Sinestro | Joker 2.0 | Prank | Killgore Steed | Team Penguin | Julie | Spellbinder | Blaze | The Joining | Cosmo Krank | Marty Slacker | Nolan | Warth and Scorn | Metallo | Shadow-Thief | Mercy Graves

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