One of the best things about this fantastic DC Batman villain is his interesting riddles. They leave both viewers and his poor victims constantly guessing, which takes the sharpest of minds to solve. This is why he is usually bested by Batman.
Nevertheless, the many representations of this wonderful villain have left a plethora of exciting riddles filled with either a shocking death, a change in plot, or just a secret revealed about The Riddler's life and thought process. However, some are undeniably more memorable than others, especially after the release of DC's new film, The Batman.
Updated on April 8th, 2025 by Chad Thesen: Edward Nigma, also known as The Riddler, is one of the most iconic villains among the rogues gallery of Batman comics, and may very well be one of the greatest trickers in all of DC comics. This list has been updated to now feature even more riddles used by the various incarnations of Edward Nigma. The Riddler character has been around for decades, and has been featured in many comic series within the DC brand. This included, but is not limited to Detective Comics, Batman, and Gotham Knights.
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23 “Why is corn so hard to escape from?”
This riddle is more pun than clever, but still it's a lot of fun and helped develop where the character would be headed. The Riddler delivered this line in his very first appearance in Detective Comics. It may not be his best, but it was his first and has stood the test of time.
The answer may be a little difficult unless the guesser knows a little Spanish. But the Riddler is doing a great job of playing on words while also bringing his first riddle.
- Introduced in: Detective Comics No. 140
- Answer: Maize
22 "Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum saw it. Can you see it?"
Sometimes the Riddler would deliver a riddle with the answer hidden in his questioning. The Arkham Asylum video game presented this puzzle as Batman is trying to solve a mystery.
While searching for the next clue, the Riddler gives him this hint involving a pair of classic fictional characters. It also reveals the answer in the question as two people who are equally balanced in the riddle.
- Introduced in: Arkham Asylum
- Answer: A see-saw
21 "What is always on time but never arrives?"
The 1960s Batman television show was as campy as the come, and the Riddler was every bit as silly as the rest of the show. He delivered some wild riddles that don't seem like they make sense. But sometimes he had a doozy.
This riddle actually takes some thought to solve, but it also serves as a pretty good existential question. There's past, present and future, but there's something that never arrives for any of us.
- Introduced in: Batman
- Answer: Tomorrow
20 "I feel your every move. I know your every thought. I'm with you from birth, and I'll see you when you rot."
This riddle can stump the smartest person in the world. Gotham's version of the Riddler presented this to Detective Gordon during the Fox series. It will have most people focused on the body, until they realize certain parts don't fit.
It's a complex riddle that causes the person asked the riddle to first look inward and then look outward. It presents to people like a mirror, which is exactly where the Riddler was headed.
- Introduced in: Gotham
- Answer: Your reflection
19 "My greatest of my strengths is that I know my worth. I hug myself so tightly at every birth."
The Riddler managed to capture Batman in one of the comics and invited the Caped Crusader to play some games before Gotham City was destroyed. Batman is tied up when the Riddler asks him this riddle. Batman actually answers incorrectly.
The World's Greatest Detective answers "a blade," which the Riddler finds amusing. It's soon revealed that Batman was just stalling and has produced a utility knife to cut through the ropes tying him, as well as the answer.
Introduced in: Batman comics
Answer: A knot
18 "Where does a 500-pound gorilla sleep?"
After appearing for the first time in Batman: The Animated Series in its 40th episode, The Riddler would return just five episodes later. The episode in question was titled "What Is Reality" and centered on the villain trying to erase all evidence of his Edward Nygma identity. Batman is tasked with entering a VR world Commissioner Gordon's mind had been trapped in by The Riddler, and the only way to save him was to solve a series of riddles.
One of the riddles in question poked fun at the idea of a threat being so imposing there's nothing that could be done to stop it. This could have been The Riddler's way of shedding light on just how big of a threat he was, or his understanding that Batman is a never-ending force of justice that can't be slowed by any natural means.
- Introduced in: What is Reality
- Answer: Anywhere it wants
17 “We're five little items of an everyday sort, you'll find us all in a tennis court.”
Jim Carrey's portrayal of The Riddler in Batman Forever wasn't a take that worked for everyone, but it's hard to deny how committed he was to the role of Edward Nygma. It's never clear what he's exactly trying to get out of his riddle solvers, and often is playing a mental chess game. Some of his riddles are straightforward and require connecting the dots, while others rely on wordplay and cleverness.
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Although The Riddler is one of Batman's oldest villains, there have been times in DC Comics where the fiend has acted like a hero.
For instance, this one has people thinking at first of five simple objects often associated with tennis courts, but the answer is more about the phrase 'a tennis court' when spelled out. That's why the riddle itself is delivered via a written message and not verbally.
- Introduced in: Batman Forever
- Answer: Vowels
16 "I have billions of eyes, yet live in darkness. I have millions of ears, yet only four lobes. I have no muscle, yet rule two hemispheres. What am I?"
In his very first appearance in Batman: The Animated Series, the villain known as The Riddler managed to leave quite an impression on the caped crusader. Edward Nygma has always done a good job of painting himself as clever, cunning, and dangerous.
His debut on the 40th episode of the animated series titled If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich introduced a generation of kids to his twisted games. Games which he uses to manipulate the answer to the riddle posted above; the human brain.
- Introduced in: Heart of Steel: Part II
- Answer: The human brain.
15 "13, 15, & 8" (Overarching Batman Forever riddle)
It's one thing to create a single riddle that's hard enough to not solve immediately, but easy enough for someone to ultimately find a solution, but it takes a mind operating at another level to string several riddles together into one big mystery box.
That's exactly what The Riddler manages to do in Batman Forever as the answers to the three main riddles culminate in a string of numbers. These numbers correlate to letters of the alphabet falling at these spots when counting them out and resulting in 'MRE'. No, this doesn't have to do with military food rations but rather stands for Mr. E. This has a dual meaning as it works for both the word mystery poking fun at his games, but also Mr. E which works for either of his identities as Mr. Enigma and/or Mr. Edward Nygma.
- Introduced in: Batman Forever
- Answer: MRE
14 “I can be cracked. I can be made. I can be told. I can be played. What am I?”
When looking at Batman's villains, the Joker is considered his arch-nemesis, but the painted clown isn't too different from the caped crusader's other green-donning villain The Riddler. Back in 2017, the Batman comics displayed a showdown between the two in an event called the "War of Jokes and Riddles".
This entry's riddle and its answer are meant to poke fun at the Joker. The Riddler sees himself as absolute, so of course, someone who loves riddles would want to poke fun at something like jokes, which he probably finds inferior in every possible way.
- Introduced in: The Batman: War of Jokes and Riddles
- Answer: A joke.