The Riddler

Character Bio

Personal Information

• Legal Name: Edward Nygma
• Alias: The Riddler
• Age: 32
• Sexuality: Bisexual/Switch
• Part of Gotham Residing In: Uptown

Physical Description

6’1”, 175 pounds, white hair, blue eyes, lean build. In public Edward Nygma dresses very well, in tailored dark suits typically paired with a forest green tie. He has been known to wear a bowler cap and carry a walking stick. When appearing as The Riddler he wears a green domino mask, though it does little to conceal his identify from anyone who might know his real identity.

Persona

Edward Nygma is an egomaniacal genius. He believes himself to be the smartest man in Gotham, and he might be correct. His intelligence is a double-edged sword; it has brought him great wealth through his criminal activities while it has robbed him of most normal human relationships. He has neither friends nor accomplices, and until the arrival of the Batman he could not even claim a worthy nemesis. Nygma affects an English accent and upper class manners, but these are subterfuge. Nygma was born and raised in New Jersey, but seeks to disavow himself from that upbringing. Edward Nygma is driven by a desire for recognition. He will not rest until he receives the acclaim that he feels is his due, and he believes that defeating the Batman is the surest route to this fame. Without the attention of a suitable opponent, or at least the press, Nygma is prone to spells of ennui and boredom, which often lead to self-destructive behavior. A quirk of his personality demands that he give his rival a “fighting chance” by delivering clues as to his crimes, often in the form of puzzles. He is mentally incapable of committing a crime without giving notice beforehand, or at least leaving a clue at the scene of the crime to unravel. This compulsion may make other villains wary of working with him, despite the resources that he brings to the table. Nygma is not quite a sociopath and has no particular desire to kill, but he does consider most people beneath him and has few compunctions about sacrificing innocents in his games.

Key Skills

• Super Genius – Edward Nygma possesses a first-rate intellect which he applies to full effect in his criminal schemes. His back-up plans have back-up plans, and he is always calculating the next angle. He is particularly skilled with puzzles, mind games and manipulations.

Advantages

• Traps and Puzzles – Nygma is capable of constructing elaborate deathtraps, puzzles, mazes and the like singlehandedly through a combination of monomaniacal effort and very little sleep. His deathtraps always feature at least a single way out, though it may be very well hidden.
• Wealth – Through his previous criminal endeavors Nygma has accumulated a comfortable level of wealth, enough to carry out his schemes and maintain a posh lifestyle. He lives in a fashionable penthouse apartment in downtown Gotham.
• Gadgets – Nygma has used a number of gadgets of his own devising, including tasers and other electronic devices.

Disadvantages

• Compulsion – Nygma is compelled to leave clues as to his criminal activities, always offering his opposition a fair chance to defeat him. Similarly he is unable to kill a captured opponent, but will instead place them in one of his beloved deathtraps. If this isn’t possible or convenient he will simply let the captive go.
• Physically Average – Nygma has little training in combat with either fists or guns. He is in moderately good shape, but his only real physical skill is running away.
• Doesn’t Play Well With Others – Nygma’s ego often gets in the way of his working relationships with others. He would be truly formidable if paired with a more physical villain, but such relationships tend to not last very long. He has no permanent henchmen of note, but draws from the mass of Gotham’s underclass when the need arises.

Background

Edward Nygma was abused as a child by both his father and his peers at school. He was astoundingly successful at school, scoring the highest marks on his examinations. His father, believing that he must have been cheating, sought to ‘beat the truth out of him’ on a regular basis. From this treatment arose Nygma’s compulsion to truth-telling, though at this point in his life he has blocked out those memories and not drawn the connection.

As an adult Nygma struggled with boredom no matter which path he chose. He dropped out of graduate school without completing his doctorate and drifted from job to job, never finding the satisfaction that he craved. His jobs ranged from running a puzzle booth at a carnival, to professional poker player, to doing high-tech design work for Wayne Enterprises. Ultimately, though, after a few months each new field became dull to him and he moved on.

It was only after he devoted his life to crime that he became truly satisfied, and it is only since a worthy rival has appeared on the scene – The Batman – that Nygma’s periods of ennui have ceased. Pitting his mind directly against another person’s, with the highest possible stakes on the line, has given him the intellectual thrill that he had been searching for all of his life.

Character Extras

• Face Claim: Benedict Cumberbatch (as Julian Assage in “The Fifth Estate”)
• Ons and Offs: Nygma tends to be bored by sex unless there is an element of danger or intellectual stimulation. He has tried to scratch his itch in any number of ways but has yet to find a suitable long-term partner. For what it’s worth, he has been equally distracted in the past by both men and women.