Batman Villains: The Riddler

Bio: As a child Edward Nigma steals a puzzle book from his teacher and masters the art of puzzle solving. He gets through school with ease, yet is abused by his jealous father, for not possessing the intelligence of his son. As a young adult Edward works many jobs, such as a carnival performer where he uses his mastery of puzzles to cheat customers out of their money. He eventually gets bored with this lifestyle, and longing for a greater challenge he creates the disguise of the Riddler. Dressed in a green suit, green hat, mask, and a notorious question-mark cane. He starts as a double informant for the criminal underground as well as for Batman, whom he considers his biggest adversary. The Riddler eventually becomes one of Batman's biggest enemies. He drives Batman insane by always testing his analytical problem-solving skills to their limit.

Powers and Abilities: He is extremely intelligent and a master problem-solver. His specialties are puzzles, mind games, and manipulation. He also has a wealthy fortune of which he has acquired from crime. He always walks with a cane that has a question-mark as a handle. He does not carry many weapons, unless it's something related to a puzzle gimmick. His brain power makes up for his average physical strength.

Media Portrayal: In the comics the Riddler always sets up a scenario where Batman has to choose the outcome. Yet in almost every case the Batman manages to find a third option and escape a potential life threatening puzzle.

The most memorable portrayal of the Riddler to date was Jim Carrey's performance in the 1995 film, Batman Forever. I must say I enjoyed the film at the time, and it brought me a further appreciation of the franchise. I remember Philip and I purchased the video game for Super NES, yet could never beat it. I think Jim Carrey was a good choice to play the part, and to my memory he did a fairly decent job. Yet my biggest complaint was it lacked seriousness or darkness. Instead he was dressed in ridiculous skin-tight green pajama suit, and had a terrible orange hairstyle. The storyline had a complex theme that was true to the Riddler's character, yet at the same time it was just flat out cheesy. All-in-all I'd say the portrayal was simply mis-directed.

Rumor has it The Riddler will be the main antagonist in the 3rd installment of Nolan's darker series. The question is who could play the part. There's much desire for Depp to play the villain, and I have no doubt that he would be a perfect fit, yet I don't think it's fair to count others out. I mean who would have ever thought that Heath Ledger, Mr. Brokeback Mountain himself, could create one of the most memorable villains in movie history. Therefore, I have faith in Nolan's casting decisions.

The Appeal: He is the one super-villain who doesn't need weapons or combat to defeat Batman. Instead he uses his brain as his ultimate weapon. He is a master schemer and comes up with extremely complex puzzles for the Batman to solve. Just like the Joker or Harley Quinn everything is a big game to The Riddler, and he is willing to destroy Gotham City, only so he can prove that he is the smartest man alive.