Edward Nygma - in Other Media - Television

Television

  • Frank Gorshin played the Riddler in nine episodes of the 1960s Batman television series as well as the spin-off movie, with John Astin substituting once on the series in the second season. The popular television series was inspired by the first Silver Age appearance of the Riddler, with the premiere episode being an adaptation of this issue (Batman #171).
  • Gorshin also portrayed the Riddler in Legends of the Superheroes in 1979. The Riddler was the first villain to appear on the show, where it is implied he has already met the Batman, planning to sue him for false arrest.
  • The Riddler made his first appearance in animated form in the Filmation Batman installments first seen on CBS Saturday Morning in 1968 as part of The Batman/Superman Hour with Ted Knight providing his voice. The Riddler did not appear in the 1977 The New Adventures of Batman episodes, however he did appear in the show's opening wearing a red version of his outfit.
  • The Riddler appeared in Hanna-Barbera's Challenge of the Super Friends voiced by Michael Bell. He appears as a member of the Legion of Doom. In "Monolith of Evil," he uses a riddle to trick the Super Friends into getting a Monolith of enormous power guarded by a Lava Monster for the Legion after they fooled the Super Friends into abducting the United Nations and disguising the Monolith as the United Nation.
  • He made his only solo appearance in a Super Friends short episode, "Around The World In 80 Riddles" again voiced by Michael Bell. Here, he uses his new Stupid Spray (which slowly causes the intelligence of those sprayed upon to be reduced to the intelligence of babies) on Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Robin where different riddles will provide clues where the antidote can be found. The first one quotes "As your I.Q. drops to below 42, you'll need mya help to tya your shoes." The answer to the riddle led Super Friends to the Mayan ruins where they ended up in one of Riddler's deathtraps. After barely escaping the deathtrap, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Robin find what appeared to be the antidote only to be a container for another riddle. The riddle reads "You're probably too stupid now, so here's an easy clue. Climb the tallest mountain until you turn blue." Due to the group's dwindling intelligence, Batman had to use the Bat Computer on his Batplane to decipher the riddle with the answer being Mount Everest. Upon arriving at Mount Everest, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Robin encounter Riddler's blimp where the Stupid Spray is at its final part on them. The Super Friends managed to claim the Stupid Spray Antidote and defeat Riddler. In "Revenge of Doom," Riddler was with the Legion of Doom when they got back together.
  • The Riddler appears in Batman: The Animated Series voiced by John Glover. He made his debut in "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?", and has also appeared in "What Is Reality?", and "Riddler's Reform". For this version, the producers decided to play against the popular Gorshin image of a cackling trickster and have the character as a smooth intellectual who presented genuinely challenging puzzles. The series' creators admit they didn't use him often because his character often made story plots too long, too complex, or too bizarre, and the creators also found it very hard to devise the villain's riddles.
  • John Glover returns as the Riddler for cameo appearances in The New Batman Adventures episodes "Over the Edge" and "Judgment Day". His design is completely different from his early appearance, losing not only his hair, but also his green suit and mask. Instead, he is now dressed in a unitard with a large question mark. In "Over the Edge," Riddler appeared in Batgirl's nightmare (which was induced by Scarecrow's fear gas) where he was seen on a talk show with the other Batman villains. In "Judgement Day," Riddler was among the victims of a vigilante called the Judge (which was actually Two-Face in disguise) at the time he was crashing a banquet.
  • John Glover reprised his role as the Riddler in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Knight Time." He is in league with Bane and Mad Hatter planning to take advantage on Batman's recent disappearance (which was caused by Brainiac) in Gotham City. He is quickly captured by Superman (dressed as Batman) and Robin.
  • A Riddler Drone, along with Two-Face and Killer Croc, fights Batman in the opening of the Batman Beyond episode "Terry's Friend Dates a Robot". The Riddler's appearance is that of his New Batman Adventures appearance in this episode.
  • In 2005, a new interpretation of the Riddler debuted in The Batman episode "Riddled" voiced by Robert Englund. This version exhibits a Gothic appearance, and is served by henchmen called Riddlemen. The episode "Riddler's Revenge," reveals that Nygma and his partner Julie worked at a university on a device to enhance the human brain. Nygma was approached by a man named Gorman who offered to buy the rights to the invention, but Nygma refused. After the device malfunctioned at a demonstration, Nygma accused Gorman of sabotage. Batman foils Nygma's attempted murder of Gorman. By the episode "Riddled", Nygma has adopted his Riddler persona.
  • The Riddler is featured in Batman: The Brave and the Bold voiced by John Michael Higgins. Riddler makes a cameo in the episode "The Knights of Tomorrow" where he is briefly defeated by Batman in a flashback.
  • Riddler appears in the Young Justice episode "Terrors" voiced by Dave Franco. His appearance resembles the Jim Carrey depiction of Riddler from Batman Forever. He is seen as an inmate of Belle Reve and has been denied to fit in with Icicle Sr. He is the only one to escape in Icicle Sr.'s failed escape plan. In "Misplaced," Klarion the Witch Boy, Wotan, Blackbriar Thorn, Felix Faust and Wizard's spell that split the Earth into the kids dimension and the adults dimension enabled a diversion for Riddler and Sportsmaster to steal an organism from S.T.A.R. Labs. It is brought before Brain during his meeting with the other members of The Light (Project Cadmus' Board of Directors) as Brain tells Klarion the Witch Boy that they plan to bring the organism "into the Light." In "Usual Suspect," Riddler joins Cheshire, Mammoth, and Shimmer into ambushing the Team at a crashed airplane. He gives a riddle with Robin guessing the answer being "ambush." He ends up magically gagged by Zatanna (who wanted him to shut up because his whining was getting annoying).

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