The Riddler: Bio, Origin & History

Real Name: Edward Nigma

First Appearance: Detective Comics #140 (October, 1948)

Powers: Genius Level Intelligence

Affiliation: Secret Six, Legion of Doom, Secret Society of Super Villains

Love Interests: Dr. Chase

Enemies: Batman

Did You Know: The Riddler has a daughter named Enigma.

A Little History

Edward Nigma grew up in Waterbury and continually annoyed all around him with his never-ending string of queries. To feed his ever-growing ego, he’d try to become the go-to person, or the person with all the answers, even if that meant that he would have to form the questions.

His obsessive need to have the answers was pushed to an extreme when, while in class, the teacher created a contest that would reward the winning child a book of riddles. To ensure that he would win, Edward snuck into the school after hours and worked on the problem until he could do it in under a minute.

Realizing that his cheating afforded him to victory, he became fixated on finding other ways in which he could benefit from cheating. This realization started him down a life filled with crime as the costumed villain, The Riddler. The Riddler’s identity became not only one that could steal massive amounts of riches but on that would be able to prove Edward’s superior intelligence over all that was around him, including Batman.

As time passed, he has become known for his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, as well as his smooth talking and quirky personality. He became very famous by, unlike other villains who tried to kill their enemies, placing his enemies in elaborate traps.