Issue 51 - Riddler

Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling

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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