The Riddler (DC Animated Universe)

History
Edward Nygma was a former computer software designer. After losing his job, he became the supervillain known as The Riddler.

I n his first appearence "If Your so Smart Why aren't You Rich?" Edward Nygma {greek for "Puzzle"} was a brilliant man, a genius in many fields, with an absorbing love for puzzles and games. As a computer software designer for Competitron, he designed "The Riddle of the Minotaur" a game that quickly became a smash hit. Competitron's sales soared, and several people became very wealthy, including Competitron's corporate chair Daniel Mockridge. However, Mockridge fired Nygma, callously dismissing Nygma's efforts as insignificant, and attributing the company's success to its skill with business negotiations and obtaining favorable contracts (i.e., to himself). In fact, Mockridge was attempting to give Competitron exclusive rights to the game, with an eye on a lucrative sale of the company.

Two years later, Mockridge was arranging a deal to sell Competitron to Wayne Enterprises. Nygma resurfaced as "The Riddler," kidnapping Mockridge and planning to kill him. The Riddler offered Batman a chance to save Mockridge, presenting a series of puzzles and riddles to solve, ending with a run through the maze at the Riddle of the Minotaur amusement park (an actual simulation of the game).

Confident in his genius, the Riddler was unprepared for an encounter with a rival intellect; Batman outwitted him, solving the final riddle. Though the Dynamic Duo survived the maze and saved Mockridge, the Riddler had escaped, leaving Gotham City altogether. In a way, Riddler still had his revenge: though Mockridge made millions from the sale of Competitron, he was paralyzed by fear of Nygma's return, seemingly for the rest of his days.

In his second appearence "What is Realty?" Because Batman has figured out his true identity, the Riddler undertook a campaign to eliminate all traces of his former self, breaking into banks and government buildings to destroy records bearing his name. He also sent a computer to the Gotham Police with a virtual reality simulation that ended up trapping Commisioner Gordon. Batman entered the virtual reality world to rescue Gordon, and in his concentration on defeating Batman, Riddler accidentally caused his dream world to disintegrate- Batman gave Riddler a Riddle he couldn't solve-How can someone split his conscious mind in over 30 directions while keeping the mind concentration for virtual reality? {Answear-you cant!} Batman and Robin found Riddler at his hideout, where his brain had been temporarily suspended onto Virtual reality through an electronic backlash. {Batman had figured out Riddler's last Riddle-"If the World was equatible-I'd still have my old job". Answear: If the World was Fair {World's Fair} I'd still have my ex-position {World War Expostion}

He recovered sometime later, though, briefly appearing as a member of the jury and court prosecuting Batman in Arkham Asylum. Riddler was absent, however, from the final third of the trial. This suggests he knew the inmates' freedom was to be short-lived, and fled before Batman could nab him. If so, Riddler was arrested once again.

Some time later, the Riddler was released from Arkham and appeared to have reformed. Joining with one of Gotham's well-known toymakers, Charles Baxter, the Riddler invented several puzzles that quickly became popular with children, also using his Riddler persona to boost the company's profile.

However, in secret he continued to commit daring robberies, and leaving clues through his company advertisements. Although Batman was stumped, he confronted Riddler, telling him that he knew Riddler would never be able to stop being a criminal, and that he, Batman, would catch him sooner or later. Riddler decided he was right, and lured Batman into a booby-trapped warehouse. Batman survived, however, and Riddler was returned to Arkham. He appeared to have been driven insane by his perplexity about how Batman escaped from his "perfect" trap, which Batman refused to tell him.

When The Judge was incarcerating rogues, The Riddler appeared conducting a random heist. The Judge dropped an over-sized book on him, which seemingly killed him. He survived to resurface once again though, against all odds.

Riddler, the Mad Hatter, and Bane banded together to control Gotham during Batman's mysterious absence. With Batman mysteriously gone, few could challenge them. However, Superman had arrived in Gotham and, impersonating the Dark Knight with Robin's aid, quickly foiled their scheme. The Riddler was handcuffed to a cage by Robin, and presumably arrested.

The New Batman Adventures
Like most of Batman's rogues, the Riddler underwent a revamp when he transferred from Batman: The Animated Series to The New Batman Adventures. His outfit changed significantly, sporting a green, question mark branded jumpsuit as opposed to the question suit-coat. His appearances in the latter series were brief cameos, and he had no episodes specifically featuring him. But as you see in this picture The Riddler did not have his trademark purple mask, in the New Batman Adventures. But did have it in the Batman the animated series.

Batman Beyond
While the Riddler was not seen in Batman Beyond, an android version of him appeared as part of the training course in the Batcave, and the Riddler's outfit from the New Batman Adventures could be seen on display. A target of the Riddler has also been glimpsed in the Batcave for batarang practice.

Abilities and Equipment
The Riddler had no metahuman powers, but had a genius level IQ. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of a wide variety of subjects, which he incorporated into his riddles and puzzles. He was also quite skilled with technology, and had developed several cutting edge inventions.

His question-cane incorporated several different weapons, including firearms and hacking equipment.

Batman understood that his major weakness was his inability to resist showing off how smart he was, by leaving clues that invited someone to try and catch him. To do him credit, Batman was usually the only one who could, which Riddler acknowledged, calling Batman "the only one worthy of the game."