- "If you are justice, please do not lie. What is the price for your blind eye?"
- ―The Riddler[src]
The Riddler is an alias adopted by serial killer turned terrorist Edward Nashton. Orphaned from a young age, he was a former residence of the Gotham Orphanage, which fell into disrepair and poverty due to the illegal usage of the charitable funds by the city's corrupt politicians. During Batman's first years of operations, Nashton uncovered the conspiracy through work, leading him to murder associates of the Falcone Crime Syndicate and bring revenge on the city. Despite his admiration of the Dark Knight, his operations drew him into conflict with the vigilante.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Nashton as a child
Edward Nashton was born to an unknown woman who abandoned him at the Gotham Orphanage shortly after his birth. He was left with only a basket and initials, with it suggested he was given his name by staff. Though highly intellient, Edward grew up an outcast due to his inability to speak or communicate with others. At a young age, he learned that his mother had been committed to Arkham Asylum, eventually dying whilst being treated at the hospital.[2]
At the orphanage, Edward suffered its harsh conditions due to lack of funding, with rat infestations and lack of heating leading to the injury and deaths of some of his fellow residents. One traumatic incident was when he was bitten by a rat. Edward was also bullied from other children for his lack of commutation and apparent difference from them. He would turn to puzzles and riddles to distract himself from his suffering. Edward also took an interest in chemistry, being able to create glowing jars and explosives. One account suggests he once took revenge on one of his tormenters by tricking him into mixing an explosive concoction incorrectly, leading to the bully's disfigurement.[2]
During as a child, Edward was part of the orphanage's choir, being able to sing despite not speaking. He was among those who performed during the announcement of Thomas Wayne's mayoral campaign and the announcement of the Gotham Renewal Program.[3] According to one account, Edward began to despise Wayne's son Bruce after perceiving a look from their son to mean he believed himself to be better than him and the other orphans.[4] Another account suggests that Edward personally met with Wayne during the event, during which he spoke publicly for the first time in his life. The same one suggests that he began idolizing the billionaire due to his promises for his future. He also applied for the Renewal Fund after its announcement, directing it directly to Wayne.[2]
However, Wayne and his wife were killed in an apparently botched mugging. Shortly after, Edward's application for Renewal was rejected, which constricted his chances further. Edward would make further applications for Renewal, all of which were rejected, whilst it failed to help conditions at the orphanage further. Around this time, he began to harbor contempt towards Bruce Wayne, who he believed to be taking sympathies because he was rich and was cared for by someone.[3][2] Nashton remained at the Orphanage until he was legally old enough to leave, later taking residence in an apartment in Gotham's Tricorner district.
Early Brushes with Crime[]
One account suggests that Nashton, aged seventeen, served as a delivery boy for a restaurant to fund his education. During one of his shifts, he noticed a street race being set up by the wealthy teenagers around Gotham. Fueled by his personal resentment for them, Edward created an improved bomb and placed it in one of the cars for the race. Nashton planned to this to cause a pileup and expose their activities. However, this plan was foiled by a disguised Bruce Wayne.[4]
This account also suggested that Edward began his criminal career a year before Batman's crusade began. After driving by the Gotham Orphanage, Nashton was reminded of the traumatic memories and decided to burn it down. After several nights of planning, he broke into the orphanage one night with a can of gasoline. Activating the fire-alarm to evacuate the building, Nashton doused the floor with the fuel and set it alight, managing to avoid detection or leaving evidence to link him to the arson. However, he found himself disappointed by the crime, though found he'd actually enjoyed warning the residents before it. The account heavily suggested this incident may have inspired Nashton's M.O. much later.[4]
The Riddler: Year One[]
However, another account claimed that Nashton enrolled in Gotham Community College. In his first semester, he impressed his teachers with his abilities. After a recommendation from one of them, Edward was hired by KTMJ as a forensic accountant.[2] Over the five years he work at the firm, he was constantly passed over for promotion, which he blamed on his upbringing and lack of access to education. His resentment for Bruce Wayne and the rich of Gotham had also grown to encompass the entirety of Gotham, which he believed was only profiting those at the top. Edward had also begun to develop mental health issues, with symptom including hallucinations and suicidal thoughts. He also suffered from self-loathing, even blaming himself for his own upbringing.[1] It is indicated he was seeing a person called Rene, who acted as a councilor or therapist for him.[5]
Initial Discovery[]
During the November of Batman's first year, Nashton finished several cases for his firm, including a client account and financial investigations for a divorce paper. The latter was completed before schedule, with him managing to uncover an offshore account owned by the husband. During that night, Nashton spent time on online message boards, including the puzzle-based nigma.org. On one, he learned of the vigilante Batman and his activities around Gotham, beginning his admiration for the vigilante.
Due to his quick work on the divorce case, his manager Zach Morely assigned Edward to investigate the file of New Beginnings Animal Rescue for the legal team. Agreeing to do so, he discovered the company had been making a series of financial payments which all added to $10,000. Suspicous, he quickly traced them to an apparent parent company called Waterfront Industries and realized they split into smaller payments to avoid detection by computer systems. On his way home that night, Edward witnessed the Batman rescue a woman being attacked by two thugs. He quickly posted it on a Nigma page, leading to comments from other users who admired the vigilante. The encounter gave Edward a sense of hope, believing he stood up against the city itself.
The following day, Edward turned his findings to Zach and voiced his suspicions to him. Though these were taken to their boss Mr. Stone, his discoveries were both brushed off and taken credit by Zach. Upset and angered by these, Edward followed Stone to the Corner Diner to ask further. His boss continued to brush off the discovery and, deducing that he'd followed him, threatened to fire him if he continued to investigate or broke rank again.[1]
Investigating New Beginnings[]
Whilst contemplating what to do next, Edward learned that one of the thugs he'd seen fight Batman, Higgins, was standing trial. Attending the proceedings, he almost left until learning the man was actually employed by New Beginnings, as well as a former member of the Maroni Organization. Despite Stone's warnings, Edward decided to investigate further, visiting the pen in the Tricorner area. During the meeting, he was confronted by Higgins and became intimidated, causing him to flee. As he recovered his composure outside, Edward noticed both Stone and Zach visit the club next door to the shelter and meeting the woman Batman had rescued. This led him to realize these were all connected together.[1]
The following night, Edward broke into Stone's office to doublecheck his figures. Whilst there, he uncovered evidence that KTMJ also represented Waterfront Industries and discovered Stone had shredded files related to financial information. Edward also learned that the Renewal Corporation was one of the primary recipients of these payments, leading to him to begin to lose some grasp on reality. Whilst returning home, he was confronted by a smoking figure who suggested he killed them.
Edward soon began investigating the New Beginnings, learning that it was owned by John Joon. He soon began stalking Joon, learning that he was making payments to an unknown woman. Edward quickly became suspicious, but began to wonder why Joon didn't live in a better development despite his earnings. Through nigma's message boards, Edward learned to hack into CCTV feeds and used it to investigate their operations. He soon learned that Drops were distributed from the organization, leading him to realize Waterfront was laundering it for Renewal.
Skill of Invisibility[]
Some time later, Stone asked for a meeting at his office. Initially suspecting he knew about his continued investigations, Edward soon caught aback when he claimed he was investigating and thanked him for his discoveries. Stone then asked about any feelings he had with Wayne Enterprises, leading Edward to indicate he was neutral. This led to him being asked to investigate their books for a case being made by the company. Despite some optimism, Edward still remained cautious about Stone's intentions.
Inspired further by Batman, Edward soon decided to begin his own vigilantism to cut through any boundaries he faced at work or with corrupt officials. However, he came to believe that he was bringing vengeance to Gotham and its citizens rather than the criminals. He soon bought equipment from a weapons shop, planning to use it in his own investigations.
Soon after, Edward used everyone's apparent ignorance of him to plant an earpod on Joon. Whilst spying on him, he witnessed a confrontation with Stone about someone skimming from the New Beginnings' Drops earnings. The conversation revealed that Joon was giving money to his daughter so that she could move away from Gotham and that they all worked for Carmine Falcone. With Stone convinced that Joon was skimming, Edward watched Higgins and other thugs bring him around back and execute him. During it, he learned that it was actually Higgins skimming from the earnings.[5] Having recorded the confrontation, Edward sent a message to the GCPD, specifically Commissioner Savage, under the alias Patrick Parker in the hopes that they would investigate.
Investigating Waterfront[]
Edward continued to investigate Wayne Enterprises, though was unable to find something for Stone. During one confrontation, he was concerned Stone was watching him, though quickly realized he was unaware of his activities. Whilst watching New Beginnings one night, Edward saw Joon's daughter, Ana, at the counter and realized they'd forced her into his position. Edward also receive threats from the same smoking figure, which only heightened his paranoia.
After several days, Edward realized the GCPD were not going to investigate. He soon sent an email to Ana, sending her a link to a chat program. After she joined, Nashton informed her of witnessing her father's murder and learned that the police weren't getting involved. However, she quickly cut off contact after he asked why the authorities weren't investigating. Realizing that no-one would come to look into it, Edward decided to investigate Waterfront on his own.
Tracking it to a warehouse in Gotham Docks, Edward broke into the building and discovered evidence of a police investigation. He broke into the office to uncover files, during which he hallucinated that Batman was with him. Edward soon uncovered files indicating that Maroni and his organization had previously run Waterfront and KTJM. He also noticed a drug deal between Higgins and a cop, indicating that the GCPD were involved.
After the visit, Edward once again approached Ana via the same method. Though she tried to cut contact with him soon after, he managed to convince her to listen but not confirm information if it was correct. Nashton revealed he knew she and her father were in the country to act as fronts for New Beginnings, using their finances to launder Drops earnings to the Renewal Program. As he asked why they were doing so, he learned from Ana that other fronts for did this for someone powerful in the city. However, she cut off contact as he enquired their identity.
Renewal is a Lie[]
By April 9, Edward began investigating the fate of Maroni's fronts, leading him to learn they were taken over as various Renewal Projects. Deducing it was a KTMJ client who ran the operation, he soon began to investigate the client base to learn who was profiting from Renewal, believing it had to be someone rich and powerful in the city. To investigate it's books further, Edward met with Stone and claimed he had discovered anomalies with Bruce Wayne's finances, but needed to investigate the records further. Stone was convinced and ordered for him to gain further access to files.
Learning that all of Gotham's files were sent to the Gotham Mountain Security company, Edward began searching nigma's for someone to help him. Eventually, he was sent a message from a user called "Nobody", an employee at Mountain Security with several interests with him. Sending him to an encrypted chat, Edward was able to convince him to help break into the storage facility and access KTMJ's files. He gained trust in Nobody due to their shared admiration of Batman. That night, he followed their instructions to sneak into the company's storage facility and access the files. Over the next couple of months, Edward would visit the KTMJ rooms to investigate each client. However, these proved fruitless, despite checking multiple dates and years. This continued until July, with his sanity deteriorating further over that time.
On July 16th, Edward received a file related to Renewal on his desk, leading him to realize KTMJ represented them as well. That night, he investigated their records on Renewal, quickly uncovering the truth. Renewal was being used by criminals to launder their money and bribe officials as political donations. These covered various sectors and officials in Gotham, including Mayor Don Mitchell Jr., Police Commissioner Pete Savage and DA Gil Colson. Edward also realized these were how Renewal's donations were being used, going to the wealthy of the city rather than the needy. With this, he realized his life of neglect and abuse was their responsibility.[6]
Initially, Edward planned to hand over the evidence to Batman, believing the vigilante would expose it and take down Falcone. However, after witnessing the lighting of a signal with a bat on it, he instead decided to become something like Batman and expose the conspiracy himself.[6]
Becoming the Riddler[]
In the months after his discovery via Renewal, Edward continued to investigate Renewal and the corrupt officials using it. He soon discovered that Falcone was the ringleader of the operation, having made a deal with Colson to inform on rivals like Maroni. He continued his investigations into Renewal, which led him to discover that it was actually under the control of Falcone since Thomas Wayne's death. He gradually deduced that Falcone used his rivals' falls to gain control of their resources, including the Renewal Fund. He further traced this to a joint ownership with Maroni and learned that the historic Maroni Drug Bust had given him access to both Renewal resources and Drops operations in Gotham.
Investigating the Renewal accounts further, Edward eventually began learned about Thomas Wayne's attempt to bribe Edward Elliot, a journalist who had uncovered his wife's history with mental health. He soon learned of Elliot's murder and learned that Wayne had hired Falcone to help him, leading his image for Thomas to fracture. With these discoveries, Edward's faith in Gotham was destroyed and led him to believe the city was utterly corrupt.
At some point, Edward decided to use his love of riddles and puzzles to expose Gotham's corruption, deciding on the name Riddler. Deciding to move operations away from Nigma, he set up his own website and contacted individuals who, like him, idealized Batman's crusade. To recruit the ones he throught were smarter, he left messages that contained puzzles and clues that gave them access to an extremist blog, where he routinely exposed Falcone's conspiracy. To disguise his appearance, Edward began wearing a cold mask and using a voice modulator. Over time, the Riddler was able to recruit roughly 500 likeminded Gotham citizens, with whom he shared the information with and possibly radicalized into his followers.
By roughly October of that year, Edward had moved into an apartment overlooking the Iceberg Lounge, a nightclub visited by Falcone's associates to access the underground 44 Below. From it's windows, he was able to take compromising photos of Mitchell, Savage and Colson, which he later used to expose their corruption. Edward also began to use the apartment to develop devices, traps and explosives for his ultimate target: Gotham.[7]
Preparing Vengeance[]
In the weeks approaching Halloween, Edward booked tickets for Ana and her child to Metropolis, sending it to her with a message asking her to contact him. During the conversation, he asked her to leave the back of New Beginnings open, having deduced that her father had been fed to an alligator kept in the back of the building. Having decided to flood Gotham, Edward visited Arkham Asylum as a potential location to hide before the event. During the visit, he wondered about his mother and if she'd willingly abandoned him or been force into it, even wondering if she's actually committed suicide.
On October 24th, Edward stalked his targets and began finalizing the details for how he would murder each of Falcone's figureheads. He also watched Drops operations from New Beginnings and how it was leading to several serious crimes, including a mugging of a family. Edward briefly fantasized about Batman stopping them and discovering messages from him, including teaming up to execute his plans.
On October 30th, Edward sent Ana containing as slab of meat mixed with several sleeping pills, and a message asking her to feed it to the alligator and leave the door unlocked before leaving. After Ana performed her task, Edward broke into New Beginnings and cut the chain holding the animal. This ultimately led to Higgin's death when he investigated the area. That night, he also broke into Stone's computer and left files implicating him with the Falcone Crime Syndicate and his responsibility in the death of Joon.
At work on October 31st, Edward sent a message to Zach pretending to be a potential date to lure him to the Mayor Election celebrations, possibly planning to have his followers assassinate him. As the day came to an end, he hacked into Stone's computer and gave him the choice of sending the files to either Falcone, possibly revealing his failure to identify Higgins as the skimmer, or his family, outing him as a criminal to them. Edward left as the workday came to an end alongside his colleagues whilst Stone committed suicide in his office.[8]
The Batman[]
Mayor Mitchell's Murder[]
Returning home and changing into his costume, Riddler began enacting his plans to kill Falcone and his allies, and expose their usage of Renewal. His first target was Mayor Don Mitchell Jr., who he'd frequently seen in the vicinity of the Iceberg Lounge. After watching Mitchell's wife and son leave to go Trick or Treating, Riddler broke into their house through the sunroof.
After watching Michell from the shadows and his discussions of a recent debate with rival Bella Reál, Riddler finally attacked the mayor, bludgeoning him to death with a carpeting tool. He then severed his thumb, duck-taped over his face and vandalized the apartment, leaving messages related to the Maroni bust and clue messages for Batman to find. Riddler then left an encrypted thumb-drive in his car for the vigilante to find, programmed to hack the device's email and send pictures of Mitchell's activities to the press.
Going Public[]
After Commissioner Savage publicly vowed to capture him, Riddler decided to make him his next target. Tracking down the officer to his gym, Riddler ambushed him, using rat poison to knock him out. He then placed Savage into a contraption designed to release hungry rats. In a public livestream, Riddler showed his capture of Savage and murdered of the corrupt commissioner, during which he declared his alias to Gotham and the mission to expose the truth of the city. Afterward, Riddler then left the Savage's corpse for the GCPD to find, along with the murder weapon and another message for Batman to find.
Funeral Crashing[]
The following night, Riddler prepared an ambush for District Attorney Gil Colson whilst he visited the 44 Below. Breaking into his car, he waited until the DA returned and knocked him out using the tucker from Michell's murder. He then gagged Colson and strapped him with a bomb collar, rigging him with a phone and a third message for Batman. Under threat of death, Riddler forced Colson's compliance in his next plan.
Nashton and a number of his followers attended Mitchell's funeral at City Hall. During it, he was noticed by Bruce Wayne when Colson began to drive into the funeral. After the DA crash and caught everyone's attention, Edward fled the scene unnoticed. Once clear, he began a video call with the phone attached to Colson's hand, in the hopes that Batman would answer it. Returning home, Riddler fled to his apartment and waited for the vigilante to respond.
When Batman finally arrived and answered his call, Riddler greeted the vigilante and indicated his plans, including the vigilante's role in them. He then began streaming their call to the public and turned his attention to Colson. As the DA pleaded for his life, Riddler lost his temper and loudly berated Colson, declaring that he deserved to die for his corruption. Offering him a chance to survive, Riddler offered to spare Colson if he solved three riddles within two minutes, the answers of each indicating his compliancy with criminals and corruption. Though Colson answered two with Batman's help, he refused to answer the third, which would give Falcone up as the "rat" in the Maroni bust if answered. As the time ran out, Riddler detonated his collar, presumably ending the stream shortly afterward.
Exposing the Waynes[]
At some point prior to that night, Nashton prepared a letter bomb and sent it to Bruce Wayne, hoping to kill him and take retribution for his father's compliance with Falcone. He also hid another clue for Batman that indicated safety from his upcoming attack on Gotham. Riddler also gained access to the ruins of the Gotham Orphanage, during which he set up a projector playing Thomas Wayne's announcement of mayoral campaign, presumably as a precaution to Batman not realizing the meaning of his clues.
After Batman accessed his website after realizing the meaning of his second clue, Riddler made contact with the vigilante. Asking about whether he'd learnt the "rat's" identity, he seemed disappointed when Batman indicated he thought the Penguin to be involved and decided to indicate further. Providing another riddle hinting towards the Gotham Orphanage, Riddler ended communications when Batman provided the right answer. It is unclear how active he was during the night, though his plan to kill Bruce Wayne was unsuccessful and only resulted in the hospitalization of his butler, Alfred Pennyworth.
After the attack, Riddler released a video to the public. During it, he detailed Thomas Wayne's association with the Falcone Crime Syndicate, hidden details about Martha's family and her history with mental illness, and how these were almost uncovered by reporter Edward Elliot. Riddler went on to reveal that Thomas Wayne turned to Falcone after the reporter had refused multiple offers to hide the truth, alleging that he'd asked for his assassination and done so to help his campaign. Though many of these claims seemed to be conjectural, Riddler's video damaged the Wayne family's public reputation and appeared to help bolster his own.
Murder of Falcone and Capture[]
By the day of the mayoral election, Riddler had managed to set up seven vehicle bombs along Gotham's Sea Walls. During the day, he recorded a final video communicating with his followers and giving them his plans. Knowing Reál would likely be elected, Riddler told the group to set up an attack at Gotham Square Garden and to assassinate both her and other officials, allowing them to tear down the Gotham's corrupt infrastructure. His plans following this event are unknown.
As Batman and the Gotham City Police Department took Falcone into custody, Riddler waited in his apartment for the police to bring Falcone to the street. During a confrontation with the mobster and Penguin, he used the ensuing argument as a distraction, fatally shooting Falcone from afar as it appeared to turn violent. Moments after Falcone's death, Batman noticed Riddler at the window, causing him to flee his apartment. Using the fire escape, Riddler successfully left the building, and went to the Corner Diner across the road to ensure that the police caught him.
As he waited for his arrest, Nashton ordered coffee and pumpkin pie, drawing a question mark in his drink as he waited. When the police arrived, he surrendered rather than put up a fight. He also mockingly refused to give up his identity to his arresting officer, having kept a fake ID on him. As he was taken away, Nashton noticed Batman watching from outside and smiled with the belief that the vigilante had assisted him as planned.
Imprisonment[]
Edward at Arkham State Hospital
Shortly after his arrest, Edward was sent to the Arkham State Hospital. During it, he requested a meeting with Batman, hoping the vigilante had learned of his plans and wanted to join him in safety. During the interrogation, Edward bemoaned the fact he'd failed to kill Bruce Wayne, with his comments initially making Batman suspect he'd deduced his identity as Wayne. Eventually, Riddler revealed he was actually inspired by Batman and expressed his belief that they worked together to take down Falcone. Batman rejected the notion and dismissed this as a delusion he'd created, causing the Riddler to have a breakdown as the conversation derailed. Losing his composure, Edward made comments revealing he and Batman were meant to be safe from his next plans at Arkham, inadvertently revealing his plans to Batman. However, he quickly realized the vigilante didn't know about his upcoming plans and outsmarted him. As Batman frantically tried to get him to confess his plans, the Riddler joyously celebrated, singing "Ave Maria" as Batman struck the window in anger.
After Batman left, Riddler was returned to his cell to watch the coastal car bombs go off around the city. He witnessed the event, gleefully predicting the explosions. However, his followers' attack was foiled by Batman, Catwoman and the GCPD, with Reál surviving despite being shot in her torso. After learning of their failure and Batman's interference, Riddler's sanity finally reached breaking point, leading him to have a breakdown in his cell. Eventually, Riddler was comforted by a fellow inmate in a neighboring cell, who encouraged him and promised he'd do better. As Edward enquired who he was, the man simply introduced himself as a "friend" with a riddle.
Personality[]
Due to neglect and mistreatment he'd endured as a child, Nashton bore anger towards both Gotham's officials and mobster Carmine Falcone. The drive to obtain "vengeance" upon them also extended to Gotham City, with his plans to tear down its social and political systems. The Riddler also bore an incredible intelligence, with him able to predict his victims behavior and create convoluted puzzles to indicate his plans. He also enjoyed solving those created, due to them providing a distraction from his upbringing. Contrary to Batman's belief, Riddler was actually inspired by the vigilante, believing they shared the same goals and would work together. He was also uninterested in his identity, despite clues around his apartment indicating he could have deduced it was Bruce Wayne.
Equipment[]
- Riddler Costume
- Binoculars
- Carpet Tucker
- Drone
- Duck Tape
- Thumb Drive
- Rat Releasing Death Trap
- Messages
- Earpods
- Explosives
- Bomb Collar
- Rigged Message
- Van Bombs
- Laptop
- Sniper Rifle
- /www.rataalada.com/
Appearances[]
- The Batman
- Before the Batman: An Original Movie Novel
- Step Into Reading: The Batman
- The Riddler: Year One
Behind the Scenes[]
Riddler in press material
Riddler was heavily inspired by the Zodiac Killer, a notorious serial killer and criminal who operated in California in the late 1960s. Like real life murderer, he wears an executioner-style hood with clip-on glasses during one of his crimes and taunts authorities with cryptic puzzles. A number of his crimes and death traps were inspired by a number of real-life crimes and urban legends, most notably the kidnapping and murder of Gil Colson being inspired by both the killer in the backseat legend and the death of Brian Wells.
Riddler also shares similarities with the version seen in Batman: Earth One, notably being a serial killer targeting corrupt officials and members of Gotham's organized crime. Riddler also parallels the killer "Holiday" from Batman: The Long Halloween, a serial-killer who targeted members of Gotham's organized crime connected to Carmine Falcone and beginning their attacks on Halloween. His contempt for Bruce Wayne also parallels the supervillain Hush, who targets Bruce Wayne for his apparent involvement in a childhood misfortune.
Trivia[]
- Riddler's messages feature several references to Batman comics and characters, most notably:
- During the reveal of Thomas Wayne's actions with Edward Elliot, the word "Hush" can be seen on screen, referring to the character.
- Riddler's "See you in Hell" message is a reference to Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, where the titular location is often referred to as such. The phrase was also used by the Joker in the third issue of Frank Miller's 1986 Dark Knight series.
- Ironically, this version of Riddler idolizes Batman and hates Bruce Wayne, though he too hates Batman for rejecting him and foiling his plan. While the version from Batman Forever idolizes Bruce but then hates him for rejecting his project. Adding further irony, this Riddler hasn't figured out Bruce and Batman are one and the same, despite the proof being right in front of him.