The Riddler's Best Riddles
Riddle me this, Detective. These original riddler riddles are written in the green question mark style Gotham fears, from quick taunts to full logic traps. Between the batman riddles you'll find trivia from the comics, the films, and the Arkham games, so you can prove you're the World's Greatest Detective.
Riddle me this: classic Riddler taunts
Short, smug, and signed with a question mark. Footsteps, holes, echoes, and shadows, all dressed up in Gotham green.
Batman riddles and Gotham logic traps
Two guards and two doors in the funhouse, a 3-digit safe code, and a liar's paradox straight from Arkham. These take pen and paper, Detective.
Riddler trivia from comics, films, and games
His real name in the comics, his first appearance in 1948, and the actors who wore the question mark from Frank Gorshin to the 2022 film.
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1. Riddle me this: I have a bat, but I never play ball. I have a cave, but I am not a mountain. I have a butler, but I am rarely home for dinner. Who am I?
Need a hint?
The Riddler's favorite target.
Show answer
Batman.
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2. Riddle me this: the more you take from me, the bigger I get. Dig into that one, Detective. What am I?
Need a hint?
Grab a shovel.
Show answer
A hole.
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3. I am the part of the bird that is not in the sky. I can swim in the ocean and yet remain dry. What am I?
Need a hint?
The bird flies in the sun. Look down.
Show answer
A shadow.
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4. Riddle me this: I have a face that never frowns, hands that never wave, and I strike without throwing a punch. What am I?
Need a hint?
The Riddler loves leaving me ticking at crime scenes.
Show answer
A clock.
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5. Two guards stand at two doors in my funhouse. One door leads out, one leads to a trap. One guard always lies, one always tells the truth. You get ONE question. What do you ask?
Need a hint?
Design one question that forces both guards to give the same wrong answer.
Show answer
Ask either guard: 'Which door would the OTHER guard say leads out?' Then take the opposite door. Both guards point you at the trap, so flip their answer.
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6. Riddle me this: what belongs to the Dark Knight, yet criminals in Gotham use it far more than he does?
Need a hint?
Whisper it in an alley and watch everyone run.
Show answer
His name. They can't stop saying it.
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7. I am green as envy and curved like a hook. You will find me at the end of every question, and all over my suit. What am I?
Need a hint?
The Riddler's whole wardrobe answers this one.
Show answer
A question mark.
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8. The Riddler first appeared in Detective Comics #140 in 1948.
True. Writer Bill Finger and artist Dick Sprang introduced him in 1948, complete with the question-mark suit.
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9. Riddle me this: I can fill an entire room in Arkham without taking up any space at all. What am I?
Need a hint?
Flip the switch and I am everywhere at once.
Show answer
Light.
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10. The Riddler steals something from a bank vault, yet the police report says nothing is missing. He took it without touching a thing. What did he steal?
Need a hint?
Some prizes fit inside a camera.
Show answer
A photograph of the vault. He stole information, not objects.
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11. Riddle me this: what building in Gotham has the most stories?
Need a hint?
Stories are not only floors.
Show answer
The Gotham City library.
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12. What is the Riddler's most commonly used real name in the comics?
Edward Nygma, sometimes spelled Nigma. Say it fast: E. Nygma, enigma. The others are Mr. Freeze, the Penguin, and Two-Face.
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13. Riddle me this: I follow the Bat wherever he goes, I copy his every move, yet I make no sound and cast no shadow of my own. What am I?
Need a hint?
The Batcave has polished floors.
Show answer
His reflection.
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14. I am lighter than a feather, yet even the World's Greatest Detective cannot hold me for ten minutes. What am I?
Need a hint?
Even in the Batsuit, this rule applies.
Show answer
His breath.
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15. Riddle me this: what gets sharper the more you use it, Detective?
Need a hint?
The Riddler thinks his is the sharpest in Gotham.
Show answer
Your mind.
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16. A safe in my hideout opens with a 3-digit code. Clue: each digit is twice the one before it, and they add up to 14. Crack it.
Need a hint?
Start small. Very small.
Show answer
2, 4, 8. Each digit doubles, and 2 plus 4 plus 8 equals 14.
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17. Jim Carrey played the Riddler in the 1995 film 'Batman Forever.'
True. Carrey wore the green question-mark suit opposite Val Kilmer's Batman.
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18. Riddle me this: I have teeth all over Gotham but I have never bitten a soul. What am I?
Need a hint?
Machines are full of me.
Show answer
A gear. Or a zipper, or a comb. The gear is the one ticking inside my death traps.
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19. The Riddler leaves a note: 'I am always in front of you, yet you will never see me.' What is he taunting you with?
Need a hint?
It arrives one second at a time.
Show answer
The future.
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20. Riddle me this: what breaks the moment you say its name, even inside the quietest cell in Arkham?
Need a hint?
Every guard in Arkham wishes for more of it.
Show answer
Silence.
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21. In the Batman Arkham video games, how does the Riddler mainly challenge the player?
The games hide hundreds of Riddler trophies and environmental riddles. Arkham City alone has over 400 to find.
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22. Riddle me this: I have a head like a cat and a tail like a cat, but I am not Catwoman and I am no cat. What am I?
Need a hint?
Think smaller. Much smaller.
Show answer
A kitten.
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23. I am kept in a case in the Batcave but I am not a trophy. The harder you look at me, the more of yourself you see. What am I?
Need a hint?
Every display case has me in front.
Show answer
Glass. Look closely and your reflection looks back.
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24. Riddle me this: the Bat has me, the Cat has me, the Penguin has me, even I have me. Say me and you speak of the past. What am I?
Need a hint?
Villains love to monologue about theirs.
Show answer
A history. Everyone in Gotham has one.
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25. A riddle in reverse, Detective: what question can you ask all day in Gotham and get a different true answer every time?
Need a hint?
The answer changes sixty times a minute.
Show answer
'What time is it?'
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26. Riddle me this: I am the one thing the Riddler cannot leave a crime scene without doing. What compulsion gives him away every single time?
Show answer
Leaving a riddle
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27. Riddle me this: I run all through Gotham without moving my feet, and criminals disappear into me every night. What am I?
Need a hint?
Killer Croc calls me home.
Show answer
The sewer system.
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28. I have one eye that opens only at night, sweeping the clouds above Gotham. Every crook knows my stare. What am I?
Need a hint?
Commissioner Gordon flips my switch.
Show answer
The Bat-Signal.
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29. Riddle me this: what has 88 keys but cannot unlock a single cell in Arkham?
Need a hint?
The Riddler plays me dramatically in at least three lairs.
Show answer
A piano.
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30. Logic trap: the Riddler tells you 'Everything I say is a lie.' If that sentence is true, then...
It is the classic liar paradox. If the sentence is true, it must be false. The Riddler loves leaving it on Arkham chalkboards.
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31. Riddle me this: I get wetter and wetter the more I dry. Even Alfred keeps a stack of me. What am I?
Need a hint?
Check the Batcave locker room.
Show answer
A towel.
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32. The Riddler paints a clue on a wall: 'Forward I am ton, backward I am not.' What single word is he hiding?
Need a hint?
Read the clue in a mirror.
Show answer
The word 'ton.' Read backward it spells 'not.'
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33. Riddle me this: what invention lets a Gotham crook look straight through a solid brick wall?
Need a hint?
No gadgets from my workshop required.
Show answer
A window.
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34. The Riddler's cane traditionally has a bat on top of it.
False. His cane is topped with a golden question mark, of course. He would never carry a bat anywhere.
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35. I am a room in Wayne Manor with no walls, no floor, and no ceiling, yet the Wayne family gathers near me every autumn. What am I?
Need a hint?
Say the answer slowly and listen for the room.
Show answer
A mushroom. The only 'room' that grows in the garden.
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36. Riddle me this: what can the Riddler keep even after giving it to Batman a hundred times?
Need a hint?
Villains give it, break it, and somehow still have it.
Show answer
His word. Also every single riddle.
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37. 🐈 + 👩
Need a hint?
She steals jewels, not answers.
Show answer
Catwoman (cat + woman). Gotham's slyest burglar, and the Riddler still cannot figure her out.
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38. Riddle me this, Detective: I am taken before you see me, shown before you remember me, and I never let a moment escape. What am I?
Need a hint?
The Gotham Gazette prints hundreds of me a day.
Show answer
A photograph.
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39. Which actor played the Riddler in the 2022 film 'The Batman'?
Paul Dano played a dark, puzzle-obsessed Riddler. Colin Farrell was the Penguin, and Frank Gorshin was the classic 1966 TV Riddler.
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40. In the 1966 Batman TV series, the Riddler was played by Frank Gorshin.
True. Gorshin's giggling, jumpsuit-wearing Riddler earned an Emmy nomination and defined the character for a generation.
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41. Riddle me this: I am a number. Multiply me by any other number and the answer is always the same. What number am I?
Zero. Anything times zero is zero. The Riddler calls it the only honest number in Gotham.
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42. My final riddle: I am the one thing in Gotham that even Batman cannot escape, though he meets me every morning. What am I?
Need a hint?
The night is darkest just before it.
Show answer
The dawn. Every long night in Gotham ends with it.
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FAQ about The Riddler's Best Riddles
Are these actual Riddler riddles from the Batman comics?
The riddles are original, written in the Riddler's taunting voice rather than copied from any comic or film. The trivia questions between them are real, covering his comic debut, his aliases, and his screen appearances.
How hard are the Riddler's riddles?
The taunts are quick classics most people crack in under a minute. The logic traps, like the two-door guard puzzle and the safe code, are genuinely tough and reward working things out on paper. Answers reveal on tap when you concede.
Do I need to know Batman to enjoy this page?
No. The riddles stand on their own, and the Gotham flavor is set dressing rather than required reading. Fans get an extra layer from the trivia about the comics, the Arkham games, and the films.
Cracked all 42 and still hungry for a case? Put your deductions to work on our Murder Mystery Riddles, or trade Gotham for the wizarding world with our Harry Potter Riddles.