Edward Nygma

**NOTE: This character's 2nd network file await sponsorship. You can sponsor them here. Your support will allow this character to be explored in Earth-27.**

* Biography
* Threat Assessment
* Trivia and Notes
* Gallery

## Riddler

* The Riddler
* Edward Nygma

## Identity

### Known Aliases

The Riddler (Ops Moniker)
Arthur Wynne, Conundrum Champion, Patient #48140, Prince of Conundrums, Prince of Puzzles, Puzzle King, Quiz Daddy, Quizard, Quizmaster Supreme (Aliases)
Edward Nashton (Birth Name), Enigma, Mockingbird (Former Aliases)

### Status

ARGUS Most Wanted — Known Criminal and Terrorist

### Relatives

Edgar Nashton (Father)
Sarah Nashton (Mother)
Emily Nashton (Daughter, Legally Deceased)
Edith Monet (Daughter)
Lucy Quinzel (Goddaughter)
Scandal Savage and Kaye Ou (Daughters-In-Law)

### Affiliation

Masterminds (Moderator)
Quizmasters (Leader)
Legion of Doom (Member)
The Light (First Circle Operative)
Task Force X (Former Member)
Safinat Dakhma (Ally)
Gotham City Sirens (Ally)
Secret Six (Leader as Mockingbird, Formerly)

## Biographical Information

### Education

Master's Degree, Business Management
(Midwestern University)

### Occupation

Criminal/Terrorist
Private Investigator (Formerly)

### Marital Status

Dating, Polyamory (Nina Damfino and Diedre Vance, Lovers/Lieutenants)
Divorced (Kristen Wells, Ex-Wife)
Exes (Josette Monet, Ex-Lover)

### Residence

Normally Operates in Gotham Village & The Coventry

## Physical Description

### Edward Nashton: 1970 - 1987

Edward "Eddie" Nashton was born in a quaint little neighborhood of Bristol called Mystery Miles. Eddie seemed to have had a charmed upbringing. However, what his neighbors did not know was that Eddie's mother was constantly absent and that his father was abusive. Of course, Eddie knew what the implications of this meant. He was a smart lad even then. Eddie deduced that his father beat his mother regularly and she would escape into the arms of her many lovers to escape the reality of her hellish life. Neither parent ever seemed to care for their son.

Despite his parents' lacking of guidance, Eddie faired well in school, at least in regards to his grades and test scores. However, the school took notice that there was something not quite right with Eddie. His school counselors made several pleas for his parents to seek counseling for their troubled son, but those warnings would go more or less unnoticed.

In high school, Eddie became aware of a puzzle contest with a prize. For some reason, Eddie became strangely excited at the idea of solving this puzzle. To increase his likelihood of winning, Eddie sneaked into the school at night and practiced the puzzle. He did end up winning, and was awarded a riddle book as a prize. Eddie would later describe this as the first time he felt truly satisfied with his life. The joy he had from proving his mental superiority over his peers became an instant addiction. Since that time, he has dedicated his life to mastering puzzles, mind games, and riddles.

### Edward Nashton: 1987 - 1993

Edward was profoundly intelligent. He graduated high school early and was offered a full university scholarship from the Wayne Foundation. A week into Eddie's college classes, Mr. Nashton had claimed that Eddie forged his signature on the parental permission forms. Eddie disputed this. When the matter was taken to the Board of Education to determine, neither of Eddie's parents arrived to the scheduled hearing, leaving the Board to side with Eddie in its determination.

Eddie got back into his studies, only to be harassed by police who suspected his involvement in his parents' disappearance. Two weeks after the hearing's resolution, school was suspended due to the Manhattaning. Within a month of the Manhattaning, evidence was found suggesting the Nashtons were in Chicago on the date of the event — though that evidence's authenticity has been questioned.

Following the closure of his parent's disappearance, Eddie used his inheritance to help him transfer to Midwestern University to escape the stigma associated with his parents' disappearance. In Keystone City, Eddie found comfort in the romantic pursuit of Kristen Kramer. A forensic science major, Kristen fell in love with Eddie's brain and the two were married before the end of Eddie's sophomore year.

Their marriage was not an ideal one. Eddie struggled to make his relationship work, but Kristen was not comfortable with the less conventional kind of intimacy that Eddie was taking an interest in. Still, Kristen was overjoyed when she became pregnant.

### Edward Nygma: 1993 - 1997

    After college, Eddie and Kristen moved to Gotham and began to form a life together. For a while, the change in scenery helped their relationship, as did the birth of their daughter Emily. However, as Eddie struggled to find work that satisfied him mentally, he became increasingly unhappy and his stress began to affect his relationship.
Eddie suspected part of his issue in landing employment was his connection to his parents. Eddie resolved this by having his surname legally changed to Nygma and adopted an eccentric persona, complete with flamboyant mannerisms and wardrobe. This attention-grabbing technique paid off, as Edward soon landed employment at Wayne Enterprises as a strategic consultant for the CEO Phillip Kane.

### Edward Nygma: 1997 - 1998

Edward Nygma was far too intelligent for his own good, becoming the real power behind the throne for over a year. Nygma was planning a complete takeover of the company, but the return of Gotham's prodigal son Bruce Wayne derailed his plans.

## Arkham Files

### Medical Profile

* Patient is in good physical health, especially considering that his medical records indicate that he was previously diagnosed with terminal cancer, but all tests thus far have appeared cancer-free.

### Psychological Profile

* Patient has a brilliant mind tainted with histrionic personality disorder, giving him a pathological need to prove his intellectual superiority over others.
* Patient also has an obsession with riddles, puzzles, and mind games. Patient even legally changed his name from “Edward Nashton” to “Edward Nygma” in order to complete his fixation on puzzles (E. Nygma, get it?).

### Behavior Profile

* Patient enjoys proving he is smarter than others by playing mind games and suffers from violent outbursts when he is frustrated, beaten, or ignored.
* Patient agrees to undergo counseling sessions but tends to only engage in wordplay, mind games, and sadistic riddles, instead of any productive therapy.
* Patient was once successfully rehabilitated; but a head injury caused him to relapse, resulting in him murdering his own daughter.
* Patient claims to know the identity of the Batman, but says that he cannot divulge that information as to do so would be giving away the answer to the “Greatest Riddle of All." Personally, I think he’s bluffing.
* **Threat Assignment:** High
* **Treatment Ranking:** 5-Defiant
* **Intake Interviewer:** Dr. Roy Westerman
* **Assigned Patient Coordinator:** Dr. Roy Westerman

## Threat Assessment

### Resources

* **Genius Intellect:** Nygma is genuine genius with an incredible intellect.
	+ ***Computer Hacking:*** Nygma is a world-class computer programmer and hacker. He has brought down the networks of ARGUS, DEO, and the Justice League's Watchtower. He has even hacked the Batcave in the past (before it was upgraded with Kela).
	+ ***Deception:*** Nygma is a particularly crafty liar. He has proven himself able to defeat and utterly manipulate results from a polygraph. Nygma has even experimented with complex thought compartmentalization techniques that have enabled him in the past to fool certain mystical and psychic means of detecting deception.
	+ ***Deduction:*** Nygma is a master of deduction and logical reasoning.
	+ ***Demolition:*** Nygma has proven himself a talented chemist, able to not only design his own explosives but also place them in the proper locations to achieve the exact results he wants — whether that means more destruction or precise explosions.
	+ ***Escapology:*** Nygma is a world-class escape artist. He claims to have devised over forty ways to escape his cell at Arkham that there are no reliable means to counter. It could be a lot of cheap bragging but given his escape record, I would believe him. Nygma has also proven himself able to defeat straight jackets, handcuffs, and the Lasso of Truth. Nygma even escaped the Phantom Zone.
	+ ***Investigation:*** Nygma is world-class investigator. When he enjoyed a measure of sanity, Nygma was a close ally to Batman. With his own criminal expertise, Nygma has proven himself able to solve cases that have stumped the World's Greatest Detective.
	+ ***Leadership:*** Nygma is a talented leader. Among the Masterminds, Nygma's minions the "Quiz Crew" are the most well-paid and have the best overall benefits package (with a vacation plan, dental and medical insurance, and even a 401k). The Quizmasters, in turn, are extremely loyal to their boss — especially his lieutenants.
	+ ***Mechanical Engineering:*** Nygma is a skilled gadgeteer who has made multitude of clever devices to be outfitted in his mask (or glasses), hat, jacket, and cane (or staff). He has also souped-up a fleet of cars used by himself and his criminal associates.
	+ ***Memory:*** Nygma has an exceptionally potent photographic memory. Nygma is able to reliably recall long sequences and minute details from years ago.
	+ ***Occult:*** When possessed by Azazel, Nygma took advantage of that opportunity to acquaint himself with the paranormal. He knows ritual magic and speaks Enochian.
	+ ***Pedagogy:*** Nygma is an exceptionally good teacher and instructor. His wife credits her skill to having studied with her husband when they were married. Likewise, Emily Nashton credits her father for her ability to become a Titan and later go on to run the Secret Six. Nygma's lieutenants also went from bungling convenience store robberies to pulling off exceptional heists in a short amount of time under Nygma's tutelage.
	+ ***Surveillance:*** Nygma is a master of stealth and disguise, enabling him to observe a person or location without detection by the subject or any security employed to counter tails or trespassers. However, Nygma often finds this to be boring work and often has his minions or lieutenants do this instead.
	+ ***Tactical Analysis:*** Nygma is a strategic prodigy, able to reliably predict the actions and movements of others - both short-term and long-term.

### Weaknesses

* **Cancer:** Though believed cured by a soak in the Lazarus Pit, Nygma's brain cancer may only be in remission. It is possible that his cancer is responsible for not only his genius but also his insanity. As he has relapsed, it could be a sign of his cancer returning.
* **Histrionic Personality Disorder:** Nygma has a pathological need for attention, talks and acts dramatically, goes through sudden emotional shifts, and tends to have delusions regarding the nature of certain relationships. His preference for others' attention is for him to be acknowledged as being incredibly intelligent.
* **Obsession — Puzzles:** Nygma is obsessed with puzzles, riddles, trivia, quizzes, and mind games. He is insatiably curious and cannot stand secrets being kept from him.
* **Migraines:** Edward Nygma suffers from debilitating headaches, usually triggered by the stress of failure. He has found sex to be remedy that works best for him.

### Analytics

* **Physicality:** 2 — Basic / Typical
* **Occult:** 4 — Expert / Enhanced
* **Weaponry:** 4 — Expert / Enhanced
* **Expertise:** 7 — Legendary
* **Range:** 4 — Expert / Enhanced
* **Strategy:** 7 — Legendary
	+ **TOTAL:** 132
	+ **RANKING:** High Threat

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

#### General

* Riddler found out about Batman's secret identity from the Lazarus Pit.
* His criminal activity falls under GCPD jurisdiction.
* When he's in Arkham he's housed in the Intensive Care Area. He requests Sudoku puzzle books from the library.
* He has a bachelor's degree in sociology.
* He is a true disciple of the Light.
* He stole the identity of Mockingbird from Amanda Waller to screw with her and then gave it to his daughter. With help of Duela Dent they orchestrated a break out in the Arkham Asylum.
* He delivered Lucy Quinzel during the night of Jason Todd's murder.
* He used to have a green and purple muscle car. The car currently belongs to his daughter.
* He was possessed by Azazel and tricked Albert Davis into releasing demons into the world.

#### Query and Echo

* Diedre Vance and Nina Damfino moved into his territory to break away from the Sons of Batman.
* Though it's likely Diedre Vance's love for Nina Damfino outweighs her love for Edward, it's no secret that Diedre was the one to have fallen in love with the Riddler and convinced Nina and Edward to join her in a threesome relationship.
* Nina is very loyal to Edward and is willing to risk her life in his service and feels he would never sacrifice her needlessly. That said, she's also the most likely of the Quiz Crew to talk back to Nygma when his obsessions and eccentricities are endangering their criminal organization.

#### Subrealities

* His Sub-Reality counterparts include
	+ E. Nygma from the Sub-Reality B.

### Notes

* Riddler's Patient number (#48140) is a nod to his first comic book appearance: *Detective Comics #140*, in 1948.
* Roy didn't expect that Earth-27 would become this big and in the process made some decisions that cut out certain possibilities. Among these things was the Riddler's good guy persona as Earth-27's smarmy detective with questionable morals.
* Being Philip Kane's consultant is a nod to *Zero Year*.
* Edward Nygma having cancer is a nod to the *Batman: Hush* storyline.
* Riddler being Mockingbird is a nod to *Secret Six, Vol. 4*.
* In the "City Walls" storyline from *Green Arrow Vol. 3* it was Albert Davis who tricked Riddler into helping him with summoning demons and being a distraction to the heroes.
* Josette Monet is Quelle, a one-time henchgirl of The Riddler.
* His Hawaiian shirt is an homage to *Magnum PI* TV series.
* To see the Earth-2027 version of the character click HERE.
* Arthur Wynne is the inventor of the modern crossword puzzle.

## Gallery

RiddlerRiddler (Unmasked)Edward Nygma (Locked Up)The RiddlerEdward Nygma, PI
## Oracle, Network, & Arkham Files

Oracle Files: Edward Nygma 1Oracle Files: Edward Nygma 2Network Files: Edward Nygma 1Arkham Files: The Riddler
## Appears In

Legion of DoomVile 52Riddle Me This...Quizmasters

## Links and References

* Appearances of Edward Nygma

1. ↑ Network Files: Edward Nygma 1
2. ↑ Arkham Files: Edward Nygma
3. ↑ Network Files: Emily Hashton 2
4. ↑ Network Files: Duela Dent 2
5. ↑ Network Files: Lucy Quinzel
6. ↑ E27 Journal: Tales of the Secret Six
7. ↑ Roy Reimagines... the Ghostbusters!!!
8. ↑ Network Files: Diedre Vance 1
9. ↑ Network Files: Nina Damfino 1
10. ↑ E27 Journal 44: Reflections and Predictions