E. Nigma, Consulting Detective

"**E. Nigma, Consulting Detective**" is the fortieth episode of Justice League Action.

## Summary

The Joker has captured Batman and threatens to dispose of him at dawn, and the Justice League is forced to accept the dubious help of the reformed Riddler in an effort to locate its colleague.

## Story

The Joker broadcasts a televised message to Gotham City in which he shows that he has captured Batman. However, he is in a sporting mood (the message has a hunting theme) and allows until dawn for any superheroes to locate and release the captive before he sets the hounds on him.

Subsequently, in the streets of Gotham, the hard-headed duo of Wonder Woman and Green Arrow accost various minor crooks and attempt to beat out of them the location of the Joker, but this approach achieves nothing. Luckily, from a side alley steps forward Edward Nigma, The Riddler, and as an expert in riddles offers his services to help save Batman, but the two superheroes do not trust him. Riddler puts his hand in the Lasso of Truth and honestly admits that he resents that the Joker has stolen his method of leaving clues everywhere and wants to stop him. He produces a small media player and shows the clues that Joker has left in his message that suggest a name. The dull superheroes struggle to see it but have no alternative but to follow Riddler.

He leads them to Arkham Asylum where he opens the high security cell of Solomon Grundy and, while he distracts the monster with a childish toy, finds the clue left by Joker that suggests they should go to the nightclub of The Penguin and acquire a particular umbrella. At the Iceberg Club, Penguin is not happy to find them sneaking around and sends his henchmen to deal with them while he opens fire with his umbrella. A fight ensues in which Wonder Woman and Green Arrow defeat the villains, enabling Riddler to seize Penguin's umbrella. He shows the superheroes the clues inside it that suggest they should go to a show at the Institute of Art.

When the three enter, the pop art exhibition consists of gigantic examples of everyday objects (as you might expect with the Joker). The Joker welcomes them and they see Batman suspended upside down, close to a big statue of Lady Justice that holds a large sword upright. Green Arrow becomes bound up by one of Joker's weapons and Wonder Woman is warned to stay still else she will trigger the fall of the sword which will decapitate Batman. This still leaves Riddler free to engage in fisticuffs and a war of words with Joker, accusing him of stealing his ideas. Eventually, he pins Joker down, but the latter gives him a riddle to solve and warns that a microphone nearby will trigger the sword. Riddler cannot resist and gives the solution but, as the sword falls, a freed Green Arrow shoots at the rope and Wonder Woman catches her falling colleague. The Arrow finishes by knocking down the fleeing Joker.

Later, outside, as Batman hauls Joker away, Riddler learns that all of this had taken place to get back at him for having once eaten Joker's donut while in prison.

## Notes

### Cultural References

* When Joker is addressing the public about Batman's capture, there is a leg-shaped lamp next to him. Said lamp has a green elf shoe like the one Robin would have worn in early comic book appearances and is based on a similar lamp from the Bob Clark movie *A Christmas Story.*
* The Riddler being a private eye and going straight as a law abiding citizen is directly lifted from Batman comics which came before the New 52 reboot.
* The Pop Art Exhibit at the Gotham City Institute of Art features giant objects on display such as a giant typewriter, a reference to Batman comics of the Silver Age which featured "Giant Props" as a story element of crime capers.
* At the end of the episode, Riddler proclaims "Riddle Me This!", his signature catchphrase which was popularized by Frank Gorshin's portrayal of the character in the 1966 Batman live action TV series.
* While the Penguin resembles his The New Batman Adventures incarnation, he has flipper hands similar to his appearance in Batman Returns.

### Errors

* Wonder Woman refers to the Iceberg Lounge as the Iceberg Club. A later scene in the establishment clearly shows its name is the former.