Patreon Brian asked us to cover THE RIDDLER! Why does Edward Nygma keep leaving clues he knows Batman will solve? What is OCD really like? All these questions and more - listen now!

SHOW NOTES:

• Intro

• Background (1:15)

  • Riddler created by Bill Finger & Dick Sprang in Detective Comics #140 (October 1948)

  • Edward Nigma loved puzzles so much he became obsessed with using puzzles to cheat people out of money

  • Decided to challenge Batman as a worthy adversary

  • Hush – Riddler determines Batman's secret identity and threatens to expose it, but Batman says that a riddle that everyone knows the answer to is meaningless

  • Becomes adversary of Green Arrow for a while

  • Spends a year in a coma and awakens to find himself cured of his insanity and obsession with riddles – but does not remember Bruce Wayne is Batman – he assists several heroes with his intellect for a while

  • Returns to villainy after being hit with a bomb, restarting his psychosis

  • New 52 – slightly new look, but same adversarial stance with Batman's

  • Rebirth – begins as inmate in Arkham, and helps Gotham PD against the Joker

    • Offers Joker a partnership, saying if either killed Batman, the other would be unfulfilled – Joker shoots him in the stomach and leaves

    • Forms a team to fight Joker in a turf war over Gotham

• Issues (8:48)

  • Brian – why does he leave puzzles for Batman to find?

  • Why doesn't he stop since he always loses? (12:29)

  • During his reformation, he retained his intelligence and detachment from humanity, yet wanted to do good – why?

• Treatment (29:38)

  • In-universe

  • Out of universe (36:14)

• Skit (45:32)

• Ending

References:

• Joker episode - Doc - 7:18
• Marc Summers - Anthony/Doc - 20:20
• Rubik's Cube - Doc - 32:15

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