The Riddler

**Edward Nashton** was an American private detective, criminal and serial killer known as **The Riddler**. Between 2014 and 2019 he killed 38 people in Gotham City, New Jersey, and around the United States. With an obsessive-compulsive need for attention, Nashton sent taunting letters, riddles, cyphers and puzzles to police and media outlets detailing his crimes and challenging the authorities, as well as the vigilante Batman. Nashton was arrested in 2019, leading to his arrest, trial and subsequent guilty plea in 2022.

## History

### Background Information

Edward Nashton was born into a broken home. His mother was absent and his father was abusive. Edward Nashton committed his first crime when he was still in Hilltop Elementary School. Constantly belittled and called a moron by his father; he entered a school contest to win everyone's approval; solve a puzzle and win a prize. Nashton broke in late at night and put the puzzle together as many times as possible until he had the winning solution. His father accused him of cheating and beat him for lying. Regardless, Nashton was awarded a riddle book as a prize. He was neglected and shunned by his peers for his love of riddles and puzzles, further giving him an escape in the mind-games. Undeterred, Edward dedicated himself to learning, and became a skilled criminal science expert and an engineering and computer hacking genius.

Living in poverty combined with a bitter interaction with Bruce Wayne at a young age, in which Wayne smiled at Nashton, which he took as his way of saying he was better than them because of his money, Nashton grew up quiet and bitter at those around him, especially the elite of Gotham City, feeling himself superior to everyone else who thought him invisible.

At seventeen, Nashton held a job as a delivery boy at an Italian restaurant known as Fumento's, which he got so he could pay for his education. One day, Nashton noticed an illegal race with a group of rich teenagers being set up through Gotham. Still angry at the city's socialites, Nashton decided to finally get back at them by placing an explosive in the car of Dex Starling. A few days later, he put his plan into action, hoping to cause a pileup and seriously hurt the racers, but another racer helped out Starling and a pileup was avoided.

Despite being a high school dropout, Nashton earned his degree at Gotham City University. When Nashton was in University, he also became a carnival performer, using his skills to cheat carnival-goers out of their money. At some point, he won the Whippleburn Prize for excellence in criminal science writing for an article titled "What’s Wrong With This Right? Preventing False Positives at Crime Scenes." He also authored other pieces for journals such as *Evidence Quarterly, For Your Record* and *Post-Mortem Monthly.*

In 2011, Nashton became a trusted researcher under the employment of Wayne Enterprises, despite having what was described as a "questionable past". When Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham and threatened to uproot Nashton’s plans, after having developed a device to beam television directly into a person's brain; Fred Stickley, the head of the research department, was not impressed and put a halt on it, terminating the project on behalf of Bruce Wayne. His position at Wayne Enterprises now compromised, Nashton departed to begin his new career, giving Bruce Wayne his resignation in the form of trapping him in his office with a magnet.

After leaving Wayne Enterprises, Nashton secured a job in accounting. To "improve" the city's standing, Nashton used his position and cybersecurity skills to coordinate a large network of operatives and compile a large collection of blackmail material connected to prominent Gotham officials.

Two years later, Nashton was hired as a criminal profiler and CSI for the GCPD.

### Gotham

Whilst working at GCPD, Nashton began to romantically pursue department archivist Kristen Kringle, at first angering her by reorganising her filing system in an attempt to improve it, and giving her a cupcake with a bullet in it and declaring that "it's a riddle." Kristen, finding it "menacing and weird and inedible," promptly returned it to him. Nashton later visited her in the records annex to explain what the gift was intended to represent--that "a beautiful woman is a dangerous thing"--but before Kristen could respond, Detective Arnold Flass appears and orders him to leave Kristen alone. Assuring her that he never meant to offend her, Nashton makes his way out and happens to overhear Kristen thanking Flass and remarking on how weird Nashton is.

Unwilling to give up just yet, Nashton made a card for Kristen and wrote a short poem inside. When he came by later to see what she thought of it, he found Flass and some of the other police officers mocking it. In spite of Kristen telling them to stop, they began to tease him, and he left in embarrassment. Later, Kristen apologised for Flass' behavior, telling him that Flass happened to find the card on her desk and that she thought his card was "thoughtful." A few weeks later, after having earlier been physically affectionate, Nashton approached Kristen with a bouquet hidden behind his back and asked if she had any dinner plans. Startled and regretful, Kristen does, and introduced Nashton to her new boyfriend, Officer Tom Dougherty. Nashton remained polite, managing to retain his composure; but as the couple left the GCPD, Kristen cast another sympathetic glance back at Nashton; to which Nashton tore up his wilted bouquet in a fit of heartbroken rage and threw it into a garbage can.

Some days later, Nashton noticed bruises on Kristen's arms, which she admitted were Tom's doing. Kristen shrugged off Nashton’s concern, not wanting him to get involved. Infuriated, Nashton confronted Tom himself. Tom asked Nashton if he'd ever been with a woman before, and when Nashton said nothing Tom declared that sometimes women "need a firm hand." Nashton insisted his behaviour was wrong, and Tom asked him what he intends to do about it, again reducing him to silence.

Undeterred, that night Nashton waited outside of Kristen's townhouse for Tom. When Tom showed up, he declared he wouldn’t let Tom hurt Kristen any longer and told him that he should leave Gotham. For the first time, Tom fully realised that Nashton had a crush on Kristen. He punched Nashton in the stomach, but before he could land a second punch, Nashton impulsively drew a knife and stabbed him. Nashton flew into a rage, stabbing him ten more times.

The following day, Nashton returned to the GCPD with the now-dismembered corpse, intending to dispose of it in the morgue. As he prepared to dissolve the flesh from the bones, Kristen walked in to ask for some files back and recoiled at the sight of the carnage. Nashton constructed a hasty lie, claiming that the body parts were from a victim that was sliced up in an industrial accident. Kristen said that she can't understand how Nashton was able to deal with those sorts of things on the job, to which Nashton said "one must have a sense of humor." She asked him whether he'd seen Tom around, he told her that he hadn’t and quickly ushered her out.

Nashton smashed Tom's bare skull whilst wondering aloud whether he should write Kristen a note in Tom's name to explain his sudden disappearance. He typed one out and played dumb when he found Kristen reading it. As Kristen questioned her choice in men, Nashton told her to read between the lines. Upon realizing how oddly unsatisfying the crime was, Nashton decided to leave a clue and in this case, the first letters of each line spelt "NYGMA" down the left margin.

However, Kristen eventually noticed Nashton’s clue and became suspicious. When confronted, Nashton denied knowing anything. The fear of being caught, along with the shame of leaving such an easy clue, drove Nashton to criticize himself. One month later, Nashton began hallucinating, talking to his inner self. When his inner self teased him, telling him to pursue Kristen Kringle, Nashton told him to be quiet and stormed out.

A week later, Kristen met Nashton at his home for dinner. Kristen apologised to him, claiming that she felt that she’d been mean to him for the longest time, to which Nashton admitted to thinking that he'd just been annoying her. She began to reminisce about Officer Dougherty, wondering how she ever let him push her around as he did. Nashton said "I'm glad he's dead." Kristen recoiled in disbelief, adamant that Tom was alive. Nashton quickly explained it away as a figure of speech, that Tom was only dead to her. Kristen, feeling awkward, excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Nashton to dwell. Nashton’s alter ego appeared and chastised him for blowing his chance with Kringle. Nashton retorted for him to leave, unaware that Kristen was now in the room. She mistakenly believed that Nashton was asking her to leave, but Nashton stopped her and explained his illusions, which Kristen merely shook off. She then pulled Nashton in for a kiss.

### Post-Gotham

Sometime in the next few years, Nashton left his position at the GCPD and began working as a private detective and criminal profiler.

### The Long Halloween

During the events of the Long Halloween, the Riddler became an informant for Gotham city crime lord Carmine Falcone.

## Chronology

* 1989 - Edward Nashton is born to Mr. Nashton, Sr. in Gotham City.
* 1995-1999 - Ed wins a riddle book as a school prize.
* 2005 - Ed drops out of high school.
* 2006 - Ed begins working as a delivery driver to fund his university education, and begins attending Gotham City University.
* 2008 - Ed begins working at a carnival to fund his university education.
* 2011 - Ed graduates from Gotham City University and begins working at Wayne Enterprises.
* 2012 - Ed loses his job at Wayne Enterprises.
* 2013 - Ed becomes an accountant and begins to gather private information on key political and powerful figures in preparation to blackmail them.
* 2014 - Ed begins working as a GCPD CSI and forensics expert.
* 2014-2019 - Ed begins working as a private detective and a criminal for hire; all the while continuing to blackmail key figures and govern a terrible reign of terror as a serial killer.
* 2019 - Ed is arrested and placed in Arkham Hospital to await trial. Ed is broken out of Arkham.
* 2020 - Ed helps with the investigation into the Hangman Killer. Ed tries unsuccessfully to obtain Batman’ identity out of Catwoman.
* 2021 - Ed is found and placed back in Arkham Hospital.
* 2022 - Ed’s trial takes place and he unmasks the truth, ditching his three-year-buildup to the trial and pleading guilty to his crimes.