Ohio River
Aftermath

The fallout from the Riddler's failed scheme is played out in Batman: Gotham Knights #50-53. In the story "Pushback", Hush reappears and beats Riddler senseless across a rooftop. Seeking refuge, Riddler goes to the Joker and the Penguin. He offers to tell the Joker who had killed his pregnant wife Jeannie if the Clown Prince of Crime would protect him from Hush. Joker immediately agrees, but eventually, Hush, with the help of the impostor Prometheus, defeats him, forcing Riddler to flee for his life. In Detective Comics #797-799, the Riddler seeks shelter from Poison Ivy only to be humiliated. Riddler and Poison Ivy then face off in a physical duel, which Ivy wins easily.

As revealed in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #185-189, the Riddler is stripped of his deductive powers and left to rot as a member of Gotham City 's vast and invisible homeless population. A chance encounter with an ex- NSA codebreaker gives him a positive environment in which to recover his mind. During that stay, he experiences an induced flashback that leads him to realize that his father had abused him many years ago. Envious of his son's academic achievements in school, and unable to understand his brilliance, his father believed he had cheated on his accomplishments, and beat him out of jealousy. Once Riddler discovers this, he also realizes that his compulsion is born out of a strong desire, to tell the truth, to prove his innocence of deception. Having made this connection, the Riddler spends some of his vast fortunes, acquired over many years of crime, to get minor plastic surgery and extensive tattooing, covering most of his torso with his trademark question insignia. He returns and kills the codebreaker – who had pieced together his identity but could not act on it – then promptly steals a priceless scroll out from under Batman's nose. Since then, Riddler has spent most of his time either legally amassing a huge fortune or attacking various heroes to prove his new-found power.

After orchestrating a brutal series of assaults on Green Arrow, as revenge against his defeat at his hands during the " No Man's Land " era, Riddler gravely injures and almost kills both Green Arrow and Arsenal. He once again escapes before the Outsiders arrive to save them. Sometime between this incident and the events of Hush, Riddler was hired to steal artifacts imbued with mystical powers from one of Star City's museums, and then distract the authorities so that the related rituals could be commenced. He sends Team Arrow on a wild goose chase around the city and then reveals that he has an atomic bomb housed in the stadium where the Star City Rockets play. However, as a side effect of the ritual performed with the artifacts, the city is plunged into complete darkness, and Green Arrow uses this to his advantage, moving in and apprehending the Riddler.

Riddler later shows up in Infinite Crisis #1, with a group of villains, which includes the Fisherman and Murmur, attacking the Gotham City Police Department. He is next seen escaping Arkham Asylum during the worldwide supervillain breakout engineered by Alexander Luthor Jr. 's Secret Society of Super Villains days after the prior supernatural disaster. Riddler reappears as part of the Society's "Phase Three" attack on Metropolis. He is defeated by the Shining Knight and is struck in the head by the Knight's mace.
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