the.com/riddler
a question mark in a green suit, weaponizing your own curiosity against you.
means A riddler is someone who poses riddles or puzzling questions, especially one who delights in the cleverness of the asking.
from From 'riddle' plus the agent suffix '-er,' meaning 'one who riddles.' The 'riddle' here comes from Old English 'rǣdels'—a puzzle or counsel—rooted in 'rǣdan,' 'to advise, interpret, read.' That same verb gave us 'read,' which fits: a riddle is something you must read meaning into. The final 's' of 'rǣdels' was later mistaken for a plural and dropped, leaving the singular 'riddle' we use today—and the riddler is simply the one who keeps handing them out.
- first appearance
- Detective Comics #140, way back in 1948
- real name
- Edward Nigma — yes, E. Nigma, enigma
- fatal flaw
- compulsion to leave clues he can't resist
- weapon
- a question-mark cane that fires energy
- rogue rank
- too smart to win, too proud to quit
the riddler tv series — 1960s batman villain played by frank gorshin, known for leaving question mark-shaped clues
the riddler stephen king — character in the stand (1978), a psychotic pyromaniac who speaks in riddles