Gotham's Riddler Is Way Classier Than We Expected, Check Him Out

Edward Nygma's origin story as a legendary Batman villain has been unfolding step by step through the three seasons of Gotham, and we're on the verge of seeing him finally take on the mantle of the Riddler. Fans have been wondering for years just what kind of Riddler we would get on Gotham. Past versions of the character have ranged from mildly campy to over-the-top crazy. Now, the trailer for an upcoming episode has given us our first look at Ed as the Riddler, and he's shockingly classy. Take a look!

gotham ed nygma riddler

Instead of going for a rather on-the-nose outfit covered with question marks, Gotham's Ed has chosen a green suit and tie for his dastardly deeds as the Riddler. He may be the most dapper bad guy in all Gotham City, and that's saying something. There are a lot of bad guys in Gotham City. All things considered, Ed's Riddler look doesn't actually seem all that different from his normal look. He's evidently just going green.

The relatively subdued style will likely help Ed evade the authorities long enough to do some real damage to the city. A full green suit isn't the most normal outfit in the world, but he'll definitely blend better than any of Jerome's minions ever did. Although DC Comics fans may not all be thrilled that Ed's outfit as the Riddler is more classy than kooky, the full suit does feature an accessory that can only be a nod to the comic Riddler. Ed will be wearing a green bowler hat to complete his ensemble. Check it out!

gotham ed nygma riddler

Ed Nygma has never been the sanest person in Gotham, and the events of the winter finale clearly pushed him over the edge from kinda-sorta-crazy to full Riddler crazy. His quest for revenge against Penguin was almost a complete success... except for the little matter of Penguin genuinely loving him too much to turn on him. It was the one piece of Ed's perfect puzzle of vengeance that didn't fit, and it was the one thing that gave Ed pause when he was on the verge of pulling the trigger on his former pal.

Of course, the pause was only a pause. Ed went all the way and seemingly murdered Penguin in the final moments of the winter finale. Judging by the trailer, I think it's safe to say that his final interactions with Penguin pushed him over the edge to becoming the Riddler. Ed certainly appears to be he'll be kicking off his crime spree by destroying everything that is left of Penguin and their friendship:

gotham riddler question mark

The transformation of Ed Nygma into the Riddler has been a long time coming, and his supervillain suit doesn't look like it will disappoint. Cory Michael Smith revealed to CinemaBlend that he's hoping that a cane will be the next addition to the ensemble. We'll have to wait and see if he gets his way.

Sadly, Gotham won't be back until Monday, April 24 on Fox. See our midseason TV premiere schedule to discover what you can catch on the small screen in the meantime, and head on over to the next page to watch the trailer for the next episode of Gotham Season 3.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).