6 random (Arkham) Riddler headcannons because I am overflowing with them. Please join me through this journey. 🫴
1. He grew up poor, and that coupled with his father's "rough n tough" lifestyle, it was very important to Edward that he was seen as more refined. Due to his background, he had no prior knowledge on how to dress well, so he accidentally wore women's dress pants for a while because they fit well on his long legs (they were made to be worn with heels).
2. He is very serious about his hygiene and very sensitive about any jokes/insults regarding it. Again, his father kinda left him out to dry when it came to most things, so he had to teach himself the importance of deodorant, how to shave, how to bathe properly, ect through trial and error. He is very proud of how well-put together he is, mainly because he associates cleanliness with rich and smart people, and poor hygiene with his father.
3. He has a very unhealthy relationship with food. Not only did he experience food insecurity growing up, but his father would often deny food as punishment. Because of this, he often refuses food as a subconscious punishment whenever he feels like he's done something wrong or embarrassing. Unfortunately, has also loves cooking, so whenever he is starting to spiral mentally, one of the early signs is him cooking full meals just to stare at it for a bit and then throw it in the fridge to rot. During origins and asylum, he loves making big extravagant meals and often brags about them, but Arkham City completely removes that option for him, adding to his depression. After City, he finds it difficult to think about eating anything at all much less cooking, so he moves more to microwave dinners when he remembers to eat.
3 cont. As a continuation of his food issues, he feels very embarrassed about his eating habits. Food insecurity made him associate not eating with all of the other negatives of his childhood, so he feels like if anyone finds out about him not eating, they will think less of him. Wink wink that line in Arkham Knight when he brags to Batman about his "totally normal, healthy, well-balanced meals that he often cooks for himself". I think that was more him overcompensating to cover up his embarrassment towards not eating like he used to.
4. He freaking loves orange soda. Can't get enough of the stuff. Growing up, it was cheap and easy to find so it was just his go-to, but as an adult he finds genuine joy in it. He feels like the soda just doesn't fit his "brand" so he's a little shy about it, usually donning a hood to cover his face and acts really serious whenever he buys it. Fully acting like he's buying drugs and it's just fanta.
5. He resembles his father greatly. I mean the spitting damn image, when he gets some dirt on his face and some beer on his breath. I like to imagine during Knight, he would often look into his reflection and see his father. That may also be why every mirror in his factory and the orphanage are either missing or broken.
6. His mother named him Eddie out of love because she thought it was cute. His father however, thought it was girlish and stupid, often telling Edward just that. His father would often use his name to degrade his mother and him, which is most of the reason why he hates the nickname so much later in life.
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