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Adaptations of Riddler in other media
A cosplayer dressed as the Riddler
Created byBill Finger
Dick Sprang
Original sourceComics published by DC Comics
First appearanceDetective Comics #140 (October 1948)
Films and television
Film(s)Batman (1966)
Batman Forever (1995)
The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
The Batman (2022)
Television
show(s)		Batman (1966)
The New Adventures of Batman (1977)
Challenge of the Superfriends (1978)
Legends of the Superheroes (1979)
Super Friends (1980)
Batman: The Animated Series (1994)
The New Batman Adventures (1997)
Superman: The Animated Series (1998)
Batman Beyond (1999)
The Batman (2004)
Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008)
Young Justice (2010)
DC Nation Shorts (2011)
Gotham (2014)
DC Super Hero Girls (2015)
Justice League Action (2016)
Harley Quinn (2019)
Batwheels (2022)

The Riddler, a supervillain in DC Comics and an adversary of the superhero Batman, has been adapted into numerous forms of media, including feature films, television series, and video games. The character has been portrayed in live-action by Frank Gorshin and John Astin in the 1960s television series Batman, Jim Carrey in the 1995 film Batman Forever, Cory Michael Smith in the 2014 Fox series Gotham, and Paul Dano in the 2022 film The Batman. Actors who have voiced the Riddler include John Glover in the DC Animated Universe, Robert Englund in The Batman, and Wally Wingert in the Batman: Arkham video games.

Television

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Live-action

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The Riddler, portrayed by Frank Gorshin in the 1960s Batman TV series (left) and Cory Michael Smith on the TV series Gotham (right).

Animation

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The Riddler as he appears in Challenge of the Superfriends
The Riddler as he appears in The Batman (2004)

DC Animated Universe

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The Riddler as he appeared in Batman: The Animated Series (left) and The New Batman Adventures (right)

Edward Nygma / Riddler appears in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), voiced by John Glover.[4] To avoid confusion with the Joker, the producers of Batman: The Animated Series chose not to portray this version as Frank Gorshin's cackling trickster from Batman (1966); instead portraying the Riddler as a smooth intellectual who presents genuinely challenging puzzles and dresses in a sedated version of Gorshin's preferred costume for the character. The series creators also admitted they did not use him often because his character made story plots too long, complex, or bizarre, and they found it difficult to devise the villain's riddles.[9]

  • The Riddler first appears in Batman: The Animated Series (1992),[4] with his design consisting of a green suit, purple mask, and a staff that lacks the usual question mark-shaped design. Introduced in the episode "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?", Nygma was originally a video game developer before being unjustly fired by his greedy boss, Daniel Mockridge, who stole his ideas.[4]
  • The Riddler makes minor appearances in The New Batman Adventures, now sporting a unitard with a large question mark and no hair and mask.
  • The Riddler makes a minor appearance in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Knight Time".[4]
  • An android drone of the Riddler makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Batman Beyond episode "Terry's Friend Dates a Robot".[citation needed]
  • The Riddler was originally planned to appear in the third season of Justice League Unlimited as a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society as a tribute to his appearance in Challenge of the Superfriends (see above).[10] However, due to rights issues caused by the "Bat-embargo", the plan was scrapped.[citation needed]

Film

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Live-action

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Jim Carrey as Edward Nygma / The Riddler in Batman Forever (1995)
Paul Dano as Edward Nashton / The Riddler in The Batman (2022)
  • The Batman (1966) incarnation of the Riddler appears in the self-titled film adaptation, portrayed again by Frank Gorshin.[11][12]
  • Edward Nygma / Riddler appears in Batman Forever, portrayed by Jim Carrey.[13][14] This version is an eccentric, amoral Wayne Enterprises inventor who designs "The Box", a device seemingly capable of projecting images into a person's mind while transferring neural energy into others to enhance their intellects. After Bruce Wayne rejects his invention due to ethical and safety concerns, Nygma becomes the Riddler to prove his superiority to him by obsessively sending him puzzles to solve. Nygma later allies with Two-Face and goes on a crime spree to fund his own company, NygmaTech, mass-produce the Box's technology, and market it as a means of enhancing how viewers watch television; allowing him to absorb all of Gotham City's citizens' intelligence and deduce that Bruce Wayne is Batman. Ultimately, Batman shatters the master box, which overloads the information flow into Riddler's brain, damaging the latter's mind and driving him insane before he is incarcerated at Arkham Asylum, thinking he is Batman.
  • Edward Nashton / Riddler appears in The Batman (2022), portrayed by Paul Dano.[15][16][17] This version is a masked serial killer, partly based on the real-life Zodiac Killer, who seeks to "unmask the truth" about Gotham City's upper class while leaving cryptic messages for Batman, wears military cold weather gear, and uses the alias "Patrick Parker", a name that was falsely added to Wikipedia in 2013.[18][19][20][21][22] Additionally, Nashton grew up in Thomas Wayne's orphanage, which was underfunded after corruption siphoned off its endowment, holds a grudge against Bruce Wayne for his privileged childhood, and ironically sees Batman as a kindred spirit. After killing three corrupt city officials and crime boss Carmine Falcone, Nashton allows himself to be captured and sent to Arkham Hospital so that Batman can discover his ultimate plan: bombing Gotham's breakwaters and flooding it while his online followers carry out a massacre at the opposing mayoral candidate's election night rally, which Batman narrowly thwarts.

Animation

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Video games

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The Riddler as he appears in Batman: The Enemy Within

Batman: Arkham

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Main article: Batman: Arkham
Concept artwork of the Riddler for Batman: Arkham City

Edward Nashton / Enigma / Riddler appears in the Batman: Arkham video game series, voiced by Wally Wingert.[4] This version had an abusive father who accused him of cheating in a riddle solving contest before beating him. This resulted in Nashton becoming obsessed with riddles and proving his intellectual superiority. He would later go on to become a police consultant and the apparent head of the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD)'s Cybercrime unit, during which he operated as Enigma before eventually becoming the Riddler.

  • While the Riddler does not physically appear in Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009),[4] he hacks into Batman's communication system and persistently challenges him to solve various riddles located throughout Arkham Island and its various facilities. Upon completing all of the Riddler's challenges, Batman triangulates the former's location in Gotham City and has him arrested by the GCPD.
  • The Riddler makes his first physical appearance in the sequel Batman: Arkham City (2011).[4] He, along with many of Gotham City's criminals and supervillains, was captured and sent to Professor Hugo Strange's Arkham City, a lawless, walled city whose inhabitants are free to wreak havoc. The Riddler kidnaps former Arkham guard Aaron Cash's medical protection team, places them in death traps, and threatens to murder them to force Batman to solve his riddles and challenges, which he has scattered throughout Arkham City. Additionally, the Riddler employs moles embedded in the Joker, Penguin, and Two-Face's gangs. After Batman eventually outwits the death traps and rescues some of the hostages, Oracle discerns the location of the Riddler's hideout, where Batman rescues the remaining hostages and subdues the Riddler.[28]
  • A young Nashton, as Enigma, appears in the prequel Batman: Arkham Origins (2013).[citation needed] He establishes a series of signal jammers throughout Gotham City to disrupt Batman's Batwing and hacking transmitter as part of a plot to blackmail Gotham's most prominent citizens and rid it of the corrupt despite putting innocent lives at risk. To further his plot, Nashton also has informants and pieces of extortion recordings scattered throughout Gotham. After uncovering and decoding the recordings and destroying the jammers, Batman finds Enigma's hideout, but the latter has gone into hiding by then.
  • In Batman: Arkham Knight (2015),[4] the Riddler allies with the Scarecrow and Arkham Knight to kill Batman, builds robotic assistants, establishes more challenges for Batman, and coerces him into completing them by taking Catwoman hostage via an explosive collar. As he completes the challenges, Batman locates the keys needed to remove her collar before the pair confront the Riddler in a "Riddler Mech" and his army of robots. After defeating him, Batman takes the Riddler to GCPD headquarters. In the "Catwoman's Revenge" DLC, set after the events of the main game, Catwoman infiltrates the Riddler's lair while he is incarcerated and transfers his money from his account to hers before leaving his lair to self-destruct.
  • The Riddler appears as an unlockable playable character in the mobile game Batman: Arkham Underworld.[citation needed] For this game, he wields a sawed-off shotgun along with his cane, which he can use to electrocute enemies, create holograms, and sabotage electronic devices. He can also summon two of his robotic minions for assistance.
  • The Riddler appears in Batman: Arkham VR.[4]
  • The Riddler appears in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Amidst Brainiac's invasion of Metropolis, the Riddler hacks into the Suicide Squad's neck bombs and demands they solve his riddles and complete his challenges as revenge against Amanda Waller for selecting perceived inferior villains over him.[citation needed]

Lego Batman

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Main article: Lego Batman

Merchandise

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A Riddler action figure from the "Super Amigos Collection"

Music

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Attractions

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Miscellaneous

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References

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  1. ^ Bricken, Rob (February 25, 2014). "What We Learned from the Script for Gotham's First Episode". io9. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  2. ^ "Inside TV Fox's 'Gotham' scoop: The Riddler cast". Entertainment Weekly. April 1, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  3. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (May 12, 2014). "Fox's 'Gotham' Promotes Three to Series Regular". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag "Riddler Voices (Batman)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 14, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  5. ^ "TV Tonight Schedule for October 30th, 2010" (PDF). Retrieved December 25, 2010.
  6. ^ Chris Arrant (March 15, 2016). "STAR TREK Actor Joins JUSTICE LEAGUE ACTION as THE RIDDLER". Newsarma.
  7. ^ "Photos from Life After Community". E! Online.
  8. ^ "'Batwheels' Adds Gina Rodriguez and Xolo Mariduena to Supervillain Lineup (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 19 May 2022.
  9. ^ Comics Scene #43, published by Starlog
  10. ^ "Season Five". Jl.toonzone.net. Archived from the original on 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  11. ^ "Hollywood Flashback: In 1966, Frank Gorshin Was Batman's Original Riddler". The Hollywood Reporter. 4 March 2022.
  12. ^ McKinley, Jesse (19 May 2005). "Frank Gorshin, 'Batman' Riddler, Dies at 72". The New York Times.
  13. ^ "Why Jim Carrey Was the Perfect Riddler in 'Batman Forever'". Collider. 4 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Jim Carrey Was Batman's Perfect Riddler (Even Better Than Dano's)". Screen Rant. 23 February 2022.
  15. ^ Kit, Borys; Couch, Aaron (October 17, 2019). "'The Batman' Casts Paul Dano as the Riddler". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  16. ^ Kroll, Justin (October 17, 2019). "'The Batman': Paul Dano to Play The Riddler". Variety.
  17. ^ Travis, Ben (December 22, 2021). "The Batman: Paul Dano On His 'Very Intense, Powerful' Riddler Costume – Exclusive". Empire. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  18. ^ Cronin, Brian (2 April 2022). "Where Did Riddler Get the Aliases He Used in The Batman?". Comic Book Resources.
  19. ^ Freeman, Molly (August 23, 2020). "The Batman Trailer Reveals Riddler Is The Main Villain & Catwoman's Costume". ScreenRant. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  20. ^ Chuan, Lu (October 17, 2021). Chinese Filmmaker Lu Chuan Conversation with The Batman Cast. Retrieved February 2, 2022 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ Cecchini, Mike (August 24, 2020). "The Batman: Riddler Riddle in Trailer Cracked by Amateur Sleuth". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  22. ^ Chitwood, Adam (August 22, 2020). "'The Batman': Matt Reeves Explains How Catwoman, Penguin and The Riddler Factor into the Plot". Collider. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  23. ^ "Bruce Timm Talks 'Batman: Under The Red Hood,' Potential 'Green Arrow' Animated Feature". MTV. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  24. ^ Burton, Jon (2013-05-21). "LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  25. ^ "Warner Bros. Brings "Batman: Assault On Arkham" To DVD/Blu-Ray August 14". Comic Book Resources. May 7, 2014. Archived from the original on May 7, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  26. ^ Slead, Evan (August 17, 2016). "Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar return for animated Batman movie". Entertainment Weekly.
  27. ^ Nunneley, Stephanny (July 19, 2017). "The Wolf Among Us 2, The Walking Dead: The Final Season coming in 2018, Batman: The Enemy Within out in August". VG247. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  28. ^ "Batman: Arkham City Villain Preview #2 in High Definition". G4tv.com. October 4, 2011. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  29. ^ Game Informer features a two-page gallery of the many heroes and villains who appear in the game with a picture for each character and a descriptive paragraph. See "LEGO Batman: Character Gallery", Game Informer 186 (October 2008): 93.
  30. ^ McWhertor, Michael (May 30, 2018). "New Lego game lets you team up with Joker, Harley Quinn and other DC bad guys". Polygon. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  31. ^ "Riddler: WGSH Gallery: Mego Museum : Mego Riddler : Mego Corp". Mego Museum. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
  32. ^ "Mohammed Fairouz's "The Rogues Gallery"".
  33. ^ "La Venganza del ENIGMA". Parque Warner Madrid.
  34. ^ The Batman Adventures #2. DC Comics.
  35. ^ The Batman Adventures #11. DC Comics.
  36. ^ The Batman Adventures #12. DC Comics.
  37. ^ "Batman Adventures: Tribute - The Comic - Ty Templeton". Worldsfinestonline.com. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
  38. ^ Teen Titans Go! #15. DC Comics.
  39. ^ Injustice: Gods Among Us #15. DC Comics.
  40. ^ Injustice: Gods Among Us #16. DC Comics.
  41. ^ "Batman Unburied". Spotify. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  42. ^ Spangler, Todd (2023-03-08). "Hasan Minhaj to Reprise Role as The Riddler in New DC Podcast Series for Spotify". Variety. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
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