If you ask Batman fans who their favorite villain is, I think a great deal of them might not say The Riddler. Personally, I find Edward Nygma (or Edward Nashton, his real name) to be one of Batman’s best villains. This colorful villain may not be on the same threat level to Batman as Bane or Ra’s al Ghul, but that really doesn’t matter.
There’s a reason why The Riddler is considered to be among the most significant and staple Batman villains of all time. For one, he’s been a part of Batman’s rogues gallery since the early days of comics. When The Riddler made his debut in Detective Comics in October of 1948, he seemed like an appropriate villain for that time. His first comic, Detective Comics #140, put him in the spotlight as a different kind of villain.
What separated The Riddler from the other Batman villains is that he wasn’t interested in controlling crime in Gotham City. His main goal was to prove that he was Batman intellectual superior. His first encounter with Batman and Robin was trapping them both in a booby-trapped maze on a pier. Of course, Batman and Robin managed to escape the maze, but The Riddler had a contingency plan. As the Dynamic Duo escaped, he rigged the maze to explode, but the heroes still managed to escape and the villain was knocked into the sea by the explosion. The only trace of him left was his famous trademark question mark symbol from his clothing floating to the top of the sea.
This was a strong debut for a villain, and learning about his backstory was even more intriguing. It is here where we learned the true identity of The Riddler. As a boy, his name was Edward Nigma (with an “i” back then) and the most definitive part of his backstory was cheating to win a contest in school. The contest was to his liking: solve a puzzle. But in typical Riddler fashion, the young Edward Nigma broke into the school the night before and solved the puzzle. And when he came into school the next day and solved the puzzle he already solved, he was awarded with a book of, guess what? Yes, a book of riddles.
The adult Edward Nigma used his devious passion for puzzles and riddles as a carnival employee, scamming people out of their money with his impossible games. But how did he come across Batman? Well, Edward Nigma aspired to meet a foe worthy of rivaling his intelligence, and once he heard of Batman, his villainous identity of The Riddler was born.
That’s an interesting concept that separates him from other Batman villains. The Riddler actually went to Gotham City with the hopes of challenging Batman because he thought he would be a worthy adversary. There was no desire to rule Gotham City or begin his own crime mob, he just wanted a greater challenge. That’s something to take note of, as it can be argued that The Riddler’s presence in Gotham City is because of Batman. We can trace this whole “which came first?” argument back to their enmity, but the impact of The Riddler goes far beyond that.
I do feel like The Riddler isn’t appreciated as much as he should be. Now I understand why fans poke fun at him, but there is a reason for his behavior. For starters, let’s look at his iconic outfit and how that has changed throughout the years. His first and most popular costume is the green unitard that is always covered with small, black question marks. He also wears the small domino mask that is usually black or purple. Heck, even if you don’t read comics, you should know that costume, thanks to Jim Carrey’s portrayal of The Riddler in Batman Forever. Now that certainly was over-the-top, but you know what? That’s pretty much who the Riddler was back in his early days, so props to Jim Carrey.
When you look at The Riddler’s crimes, he’s not really as violent as The Joker or Two-Face. He doesn’t just rob a bank or murder an innocent civilian. After he robs the bank, he’ll leave a clue for Batman to follow him. If he does kill someone, he’ll set a trap for them so they can solve a riddle and have a chance to escape. But of course, these riddles and traps are rigged because the villain loves to cheat his way to victory. Batman, just because he’s Batman, sees this coming every time and that’s why he’s able to outsmart him.
As The Riddler’s time in comics extended, he was always that gimmick villain who most fans didn’t take too seriously. However, as we got to the more modern age of comics, the villain has really evolved overtime. For starters, he ditched the green unitard and began wearing a green and purple suit with a bowler hat. His signature cane with the question mark head was always at his side. This cane was a weapon of many capabilities. He could use it to manipulate his traps or just take on Batman head on.
But the suit was the only changes the villain made. The Riddler stopped acting like a prankster villain and evolved into a cunning schemer who became very similar to Jigsaw from the Saw movies. He kept using his elaborate traps to kill his victims, but like Jigsaw, he always gave them a chance to escape. This is what really made him stand out as a villain. To this day, he’s still a flamboyant villain next to the rest of Batman’s rogues gallery. That’s the way he should be because that’s who is he. The only difference between now and before is that he’s far more menacing. He traps his victims and can be very scary while doing it.
Speaking of which, have you seen the latest image of Paul Dano’s Riddler? That just gets me even more excited for The Batman. It looks like this version will have a look that resembles the Zodiac Killer. It’s a different look, but I’m hoping he’ll have a question mark somewhere on him. Either way, he looks mysterious and I think that’s what matters. Paul Dano’s Riddler will operate from the shadows and challenge Robert Pattinson’s Batman mentally. That’s what the true villainy behind The Riddler and why he should appreciated as a Batman villain. He challenges the Dark Knight like no other. I seriously can’t wait for The Batman.
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