(no subject)

[enigmaestro]

Player Information

Name: Sara.
Age: 23.
AIM SN: asphinxiatedidea
email: sphinxingintongues@googlemail.com
Have you played in an LJ based game before? Yes, multiple.
Currently Played Characters: n/a
Conditional: Activity Check Link: n/a

Character Information

General
Canon Source: DC Comics (Batman)
Canon Format: Comics
Character's Name: Edward Nygma
Character's Age: Early thirties.
Conditional: If your character is 13 years of age or under, please clarify how they will be played. n/a

What form will your character's NV take? A computer based programming embedded in his riddlecane. His beautiful, beautiful riddlecane.

Abilities
Character's Canon Abilities: Genius intellect, esoteric knowledge, extraordinary deductive skills, breathtaking wordplay. He’s also an expert marksman and is pretty handy with a deathtrap, just saying.
Conditional: If your character has no superhuman canon abilities, what dormant ability will you give them? (1) … Falsehood detection…. As in, the ability to intuitively detect untruths according to universal law.
(2) The ability to summon his riddlecane, NO MATTER WHERE IT IS. Even if Harvey ATE it. Even then!
Weapons: His extremely useful and ever fashionable riddlecane.

History/Personality/Plans/etc.
Character History:
Sometimes a question can be asked at the wrong time in the wrong place. Such was the predicament of Edward Nashton, born to a family who didn’t want him in a world that couldn’t understand him. His early childhood was unremarkable at best, traumatizing at worst; despite exhibiting an exhilaratingly brilliant intellect at an elementary school age (LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT 187), his juvenile home life was downright dismal: his foundation of human connectivity was a neglectful mother and an abusive, heavy-handed father (DETECTIVE ANNUAL 8). The latter was assuredly the worse; Tad Nashton (note: his father and mother are both unnamed in canon, but Antimatter Riddler’s son is Tad, so I carried the legacy over. This is purely speculation), a mechanic of little means living in a below average suburbia, exhibited aggressive paranoid delusions about his only child, enforcing the idea that his son could never be anything remotely worthy. Unsurprising, then, that when Edward had achieved well, in such a case as winning a puzzle contest at school, his father quickly trained his boy to think otherwise (LoftDK 187), beating young Eddie so severely that he succumbed to whatever his dad had wanted him to think. This thus instilled Edward’s compulsion to convey truth through unconventional means, and supplemented his desire for attention via intellectual accomplishment.

As soon as his secondary education concluded, Edward left his birth town of Waterbury and headed to New York without a second glance (Secret Origins, referenced on the DC website). Taking inspiration from Houdini (a man whom, as Eddie notes, also cheated through life), Edward escaped the confines of a belittling life and sought something a little more extraordinary. A plan that hadn’t worked out right away; his venture in the work-a-day world introduced him to a variety of lifestyles; from carnival personnel to Speedy Delivery serviceman to a criminal safecracker (DETECTIVE ANNUAL 8), but nothing really satisfied his need to be renowned. Intent on establishing a new style as a thief, Edward moved to Gotham around age twenty, armed with a new name and a burning, enigmatic idea. He renamed himself Edward Nygma, and transformed eccentric larceny into a performing art. As his heists got more complicated and more lucrative, Eddie got more creative with his new personal identity. Perhaps this quirk stemmed out of a deep-seated need for recognition, or perhaps because the abusive suffered in his early life had taken a toll on his already-established obsessive-compulsive disorder, but once Edward Nygma began to plague the GCPD with riddles about his upcoming heist, he was a man reborn: as the Riddler.

Gotham, of all the cities in the DCU, is notoriously the darkest and most twisted. Its inhabitants explain the stigma of Gotham, as this is the city where the more infamous psychopaths and mentally unhinged criminals lurk. The entire rogue gallery relates to Batman in some manner, and Edward is no exception to this rule. The noir atmosphere of Golden Age Gotham (comics pre-1952) still permeates the literature, enforcing a sense of the raw, the cerebral, and the psychological. It is often noted how Gotham is Batman, and vice versa, and this connection has carried through canon steadfastly.

Indeed, the relation between Batman and his city is so palpable, that when you’re an eccentric criminal in Gotham, you’re going to attract the wrong attention very quickly, even if that attention was precisely what Edward had wanted. His first confrontation with Batman was fortuitous, and in his favor; Eddie eluded the Bat with little more than a broken nose (DA 8). Eventually, he knew, he’d need muscle. But good help was hard to find. Lacking the physical aptitude to hit back on Batman, Riddler hired an assortment of thugs, from guys named Mark to sly assassins to Quiz and Quelle. But his favorite, his most loyal and appreciated, were the talents of Diedre Vance and Nina Damfino, soon to be known as Query and Echo. These two damsels of destruction (coincidentally connected to Eddie’s favorite deviant haunt of Pandora’s Box - DETECTIVE COMICS 822) had practically assaulted Eddie upon their first encountered run-in (he was suffering from a low at the time and was down to robbing liquor stores). Eddie promptly offered them promising employment. The girls were spectacular accomplices; paired with his Query and Echo, Riddler made an unquestionable comeback onto Gotham’s costumed crime scene after a series of rather understated canon appearances during what could only be described as his more comical era. He enjoyed their quick wits and obedience; they liked his unstable, intellectual nature and the adventure he offered. The team-up was ideal and enduring, spanning through Edward’s eventual sessions at Arkham and through the natural devastation that constantly plagues Gotham. When Edward

There was only one thing that could throw question onto the threesome: brain cancer. Terminal brain cancer, to be precise, as Doctor Thomas Elliot would later kindly elucidate. There was no answer to a cure. However, nothing irritated Riddler more than an unanswerable question. He took matters into his own hands and began researching, pondering, and trying to grasp those droplets of immortality that would save his life. Needless to say, Edward found it. Question: how do you escape death? Answer: The Lazarus Pit. The experience was both traumatizing and enlightening. The psychosis-infected “clarity” induced shortly afterwards allowed Edward to achieve a greater degree of his brilliant potential. Like, for example, deducing Batman’s civilian identity…a true prize of a riddle…And something he wouldn’t deign to share with anyone, ever, unless there was no other conceivable choice.

Naturally, Doctor Elliot found the miraculous recovery a bit suspicious. During their confrontation, Edward quickly conceived an ambitious plan involving the good doctor. Eddie knew Elliot had the funds and Elliot knew Edward was from Gotham. Home of Bruce Wayne. Door number two opened: Elliot practically handed himself over on a silver platter as the perfect tool to use against Wayne; he was, after all, a childhood friend with a burning desire to ruin Wayne. Something devious and monstrous was born that day between the two brilliant men and their hungering desire for revenge; something unspoken, cryptic and insidious. Something very much to the Riddler’s liking.

Something that didn’t quite work out as Edward had envisioned. Sure, Edward had masterfully played Gotham like his chessboard, and indeed, he had exquisitely manipulated his pawns to his plotted whims, but even his greatest of schemes was partially-thwarted by Gotham’s Dark Knight. Once Batman had eventually, painstakingly, put together the puzzle pieces he then confronted Riddler within Arkham’s padded walls. Perhaps the vigilante wasn’t obliterated, but Riddler had still won; he had made his point, he had proven to Gotham that he was an intellectual, manipulative force to be reckoned with (BATMAN 619).

Following this rather poignant victory, his later endeavors were nothing short of anticlimactic. After a stint in Star City, he was easily thwarted by Green Arrow and momentarily imprisoned. He tried his luck elsewhere-Keystone, and Manchester City-only to face speedsters and Robins. His triumph over the HUSH affair was soured, as the sequence of disappointments made it clear he was meant for Gotham, and Gotham alone. Upon return to his city, Eddie was threatened and physically assaulted by a rather pissed off Hush, who had the bizarre idea that Eddie had somehow betrayed him. Luckily, Eddie had planned for such a confrontation, and had employed Joker (blackmailing him with information about the dirty cop who had murdered his wife a decade ago - GOTHAM KNIGHTS 50-55) to save his manipulative skin, and dodge a rather lethal situation. Which was great, until Hush returned yet again, humiliating Joker and shredding that last barrier of protection. Desperate and-one can only assume-irrationally insane, Edward sought the help of Poison Ivy.

Who literally broke his mind.

Shattered psychologically, but still quite unwilling to die, Eddie spent about three months as a hobo with a particularly aggressive beard. His insatiable need to steal crossword puzzles from unsuspecting NSA code-breakers and then clandestinely solve them earned the attention of Jared, who was quickly fascinated by Eddie’s brain. Jared’s selfish ulterior motives made sense for a washed-up and irrelevant NSA code-breaker, and despite his nurturing of Eddie’s confidence, the fact that Jared was using Eddie inevitably attributed to his murder. Renewed with self-worth and his proper ability, Eddie promptly underwent plastic surgery and adopted a fashion sense that would make Edward Cullen cringe. His immediate following target was, naturally, Batman, whom he bested with ridiculous ease and soon after sought a trail of vengeance for his former humiliations (i.e. Green Arrow. But no one from Gotham likes Ollie Queen anyway, so this wasn’t seen as shocking.)

After this phase, which could only be described as a mid-life crisis, Eddie resumes his typical wardrobe for the relatively predictable INFINITE CRISIS. His joins an assault under Alexander Luthor and is taken out early by Shining Knight, who decided her ancient magical mace would go nicely with his forehead. This resulted in a coma for Eddie that lasted all of 52, a yearlong comics event, before he returned to canon in DETECTIVE COMICS 822.

The Riddler, now reformed and conveniently amnesiac only over things that concern Batman’s identity, has turned his brilliant mind to a more lucrative venture: private investigation. Given his infamy and genius deductive skills, it takes about a whole issue for his fame to reach overwhelming heights. Soon he’s recognized as “Gotham’s celebrity detective” and, between helping out the GCPD and solving crime within the first two pages of any given issue, he somehow finds the time to make appearances on the David Letterman show.

His budding relations with people blossom, despite his aggravating egotism, and Eddie’s priorities are solidly reorganized. He remains in the Gotham scene and-even during BATMAN: RIP-manages to stay out of the less appealing aspects of his canon, like Grant Morrison’s anything. Small stresses begin to pummel down on his shiny new life: the fact he recognizes that Dick Grayson-Batman is not his Batman, the fact that he’s growing bored of such easy challenges, the fact that his “friends” betray him without a second thought, and the fact that Tony Daniel thinks explosions can undo amnesia.

The foreshadow of Eddie’s eventual moral turn is seen in shades of darker gray, a decline that is a work in progress.

Point in Canon: Batman 619.
Conditional: Brief summary of previous RP history: The only note of similarity I’ll have with Eddie here is that his noncanon superpower (falsehood detection) is something I’m taking from one of my other games (capeandcowl) because it’s funny.

Character Personality:
The personality of Edward Nygma is that of an invented persona, one which revolves around the escapism of a young, bright boy who had been frequently abused in his youth. Eddie Nashton grew up craving acknowledgement and attention, so his behavior adopted (or rather, surrendered) to his self-serving needs and from that seminal point, and evolved into a complex enigma of sometimes contradicting attributes.

As a man, Eddie is a shameless exhibitionist. He thrives on spectacle and success, and his general manner is soaked in theatrical performance with a touch of flamboyancy. However, as he is ever conscious of his environment, Eddie’s more dramatic behavior manifests only when he has the upper hand, and only when he’s in mind to be “on stage”. Behind the scenes, Edward is a calculating, manipulative bastard whose general disregard for humanity is nothing short of appalling and deeply disturbing. But luckily for Eddie, his suffocating egotism isn’t concerned with moral conundrums. He is a man who is most concerned by his own needs, and who conceptualizes most people not at individuals with rights, but as pawns with purpose.

Considered as brilliant as he is egotistical, Eddie is obsessed with being the best and brightest at his forte-a challenge that is purely cerebral. In his own right, Eddie is a well-mannered, composed, eloquent fellow who has established a clear system of values. True, his values don’t correspond with that of mentally sane people, but he nevertheless adheres to his system of savoring intelligence above all else. But there are two significant method of cracking his smooth, smirking veneer: when he perceives his established power to be threatened (re: outwitted) and when a personal offense against his person has gone unpunished (re: Green Arrow until GREEN ARROW #50). If either instance occurs, Eddie can snap from a charming gentleman into a frantic psychopath with almost uncharacteristic tendencies towards abrupt violence. Luckily for everyone, either instance is an extremely rare occurrence.

Obsession is embedded within his personality and behavior, especially pre-reformation. Edward has adapted easily to this aspect (a part of his personality that many would deem his most unhinged trait, the two previously mentioned hair-triggers aside) and had exhibited no recent effort dedicated to changing this. Often, his obsession has been cultivated into a pointed strength, a personality quirk that enables him to achieve with a determination and ability that outshines that of his peers. His compulsion towards the truth is a manifested obsession (hence the riddling) that he enacts with pride and excitement rather than dread; riddling is an art form, and Eddie performs it like an artist would.

Although he’s often unbearable to be around in long durations of time (especially when he needs to prove something), Eddie can be quite charming. His interest in people extends more than their role as pawns-sometimes he values their ability to incite pleasure, too. But Eddie doesn’t take the anti-social philosophy for every single human being. Some are worthy of his attention, some are sharp challenges that enthrall him, and that’s when his obsession takes a darker turn. An even rarer event is when he authentically enjoys another human being, and not solely for the reasons already listed, but because he wants their companionship. This event has only canonically manifested with Query and Echo.

Post-reformation personality hasn’t been altered too much, which is something easily noted by compatriots like Oswald Cobblepot. Eddie is still obsessive, still smug and overconfident and generally obnoxious. But his priorities have shifted; no longer obsessed with beating Batman through illicit merits, Eddie has found an outlet for his insatiable ego and need for attention. As a celebrity detective, he has managed to charm the Gotham populace and has soaked in the limelight that his new path offered. Enamored with beating Batman “at his own detective game”, Eddie no longer feels as compelled to outright challenge Batman on an intellectual sphere. Perhaps because of his incidental reformation, his desires have been repressed (although it should be noted that the popular phrase thrown at post-Infinite Crisis Riddler is amnesia, at least where this motivational point is concerned. One might be led to believe that he forgot some of his aggression towards Batman, but this theory is hardly watertight). Edward is no less theatrical then he was during his riddling days, but his outlets are far more widespread, and his ego is fed with more frequency. This renders him often bored and wistful, and he has begun to explore avenues previously foreign to his temperament, such as a seemingly sincere friendship with Selina Kyle and Harley Quinn.

Despite his ego and “natural irritant” nature, Eddie is sophisticated and cultured (perhaps a little too much so, as he often overcompensates for his poor upbringing) as well as remarkably intelligent. On his good days, he’s engaging, witty and flirty. On his bad days, he’s aggravating, obnoxious, and a blatant know-it-all who actively inspires death threats. Very rarely is there a moderate in-between. Middling just isn’t dramatic enough for Edward Nygma.

Conditional: Personality development in previous game: n/a
Character Plans:
Since he'll be ripped from the ending of BATMAN 619 -- the endgame of his victorious Hush endeavor -- Edward won't be too pleased with his robbed chance of crowing triumph. Moreover, he'll be unaware of the resentment that his fellow rogues may harbor for him (as evident in the following HUSH RETURNS arc). But at least one tidbit of lush factual information will flood his mind: he'll know that Batman is Bruce Wayne.

And no, he won't be sharing that information. With anyone. He'll want to savor that knowledge to himself, hoard it and enjoy it, because eventually he will act upon it. What is a chess game that's unfinished, you might wonder? It's opportunity.

But to take full advantage of opportunity, one must make good connections. Even under the facade of working towards a common survivalist goal, Eddie will be aching to manipulate his fellows, in minute or monumental ways. He's just off of a Lazarus Pit inspired high, and the Riddler is indeed in a very sharp mind frame -- this is the sort of focus that requires a grandiose goal, or so he will rationalize.

Appearance/PB:
Edward Nygma’s canon driver’s license reveals him to be 6’1’’ and 183 pounds. He has black hair and blue eyes, both of which have changed frequently (presumably depending on the colorist of the arc, rather than any plot-specific reason). He isn’t a greatly physical man. Although a notable fencer, Eddie tends to keep his physical skills limited to long-distance assaults (basically, he’s rather good at shooting things). He’s typically lean, without any notable bulging muscle, but otherwise fit (presumably for purely vain reasons: in an issue of TRINITY, Eddie was shown with a surprising six-pack… But he was also on a beach full of pretty women, so the attribute was more so aesthetic than anything practical). His face is particularly angular, complete with a sharp nose and chin, and a cutting widow’s peak. Arguably, the most recognizable physical trait of Eddie’s physical appearance is his flamboyant trademark suit, the shockingly green ensemble with the accent question marks and bowler. Naturally, in this setting, he’ll be without that physical identification.

For additional reference, I've used the PB Casey Affleck for my Riddler since my pre-LJ roleplay adventures back in 2007. He's still a pointed image in my mind.

Writing Samples

First Person Sample
[There's a series of taps overheard, something very akin to Morse code, tap TAP tap tap tap TAP tap tap TAP tap tap tap TAP tap tap tap -- stop -- TAP TAP tap -- stop --]

-- This is agitating.

[The voice detected is notably unamused.]

I've spent an inordinate amount of time puzzling out the likelihoods, and here stands the tragic probability of reality; it's not a dream. It's not a hallucination, it's not a morbid play of the brain, it's not mind control. One could possibly appreciate the irony of it all, being positively ripped from Arkham only to awaken in the middle of a gaudy and invaluable diamond and gracelessly forced to answer bland inquiries. The dilemma stands: which is more insane? Have I died upon a mound?

It's a rhetorical query, by the way, I know I'm quite alive and thriving. No dead fellow could possibly be this irate.

Third Person Sample
In all honesty, the usual Gothamite would sneer at taking an escape route through the sewer system, even one built for an island. The usual Gothamite would cringe in sour disdain at the mere conception of hiding in filth and sunless slime just to grasp at the possibility of eluding a beating that was statistically probable anyway. The usual Gothamite wouldn’t spend seven grand on material for a homemade EMP (and fabulous looking hench costumes).

But Edward Nygma was, in fact, very unusual.

It was a shame about the henches, really. He managed to spare a thought to their undoubtedly painful defeat as his shoes kicked up the murky, dark sewer water in his retreating strides. A real shame. But when Conundrum dropped bricks to a double punch, Eddie knew he really should have hired better help for this particular heist. Or, at least, should have ensured that his girls wore more padding. But that was hardly his fault, wasn’t it? He harbored grander vision that the details of one’s undergarments. And his vision was going to prove his point beautifully.

“Despite-how hard it is to find this---mythical good help,” he said through gritted teeth, huffing out syllables between sharp steps. Almost out. Almost to the manhole two miles south of the bank, adjacent to the darling socialite party dwelling above-now that was one thing he hardly missed from Gotham. The overwhelming chokehold of the privileged few, the system that allowed people like the Elliots, like Sionis to run the show. People like Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne, any rub we E.C.-Brawny, ec(c)e (yo)u-Bruce Wayne. That savored thought alone pushed him harder onwards, sparking a brighter determination in his mind.

A new land, a new world, a new dimension. A new opportunity. Eddie gripped the slimed ladder, pulling himself upwards. Already aware of the hero who waited for him above.

Already grateful that night was hours away.