Puzzler (DC Comics)
| The Puzzler | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Action Comics #49 (June 1942) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | (I) Unknown (II) Valerie Van Haften |
| Abilities | (I) No unusual powers, but is a skilled games and puzzle player. |
The Puzzler is a fictional character, a supervillain in the DC Comics universe. The character is primarily an enemy of Superman.
Fictional character biographies
First Puzzler
Who the Puzzler really is and how he became obsessed with games, tricks, and puzzles is not known. He began by threatening a table tennis champion's life when he refused to pay protection money. Afterwards the Puzzler kidnapped Lois Lane and set her up before a wheel of fortune that would trigger a strangling device if the indicator stopped on red. He had rigged it so it would always stop on red. When Superman saved Lois, the Puzzler challenged him to a checkers game with Lois's life as the stakes. However, Superman spotted the Puzzler cheating, he did the same at super-speed and so won. The Puzzler was convicted of kidnapping for ransom, but eventually escaped. Again, the Puzzler challenged Superman to a game; this time, it was a game of cards, with Puzzler's henchmen sitting in. By using his X-ray vision to call out the cards from the back, Superman convinced the henchmen that the cards were marked and that the Puzzler was cheating them. The Puzzler managed to escape, making it appear that he drowned.
Later, the Puzzler returned to enter a card playing tournament as a masked player. He displayed some legitimate skill, but lost at poker, blackjack, rummy, hearts, casino and bridge. He vowed revenge for his humiliation, and attempted to kill the players he had lost to in ways that referenced the games he had lost; for instance, he killed the poker champ by beating him to death with a fireplace poker. However, the other players were all saved by Superman's intervention: the bridge champ, whom the Puzzler attempted to force off a bridge; the blackjack champion, whom the Puzzler attempted to kill with a blackjack; the hearts champion, in whom the Puzzler induced a heart attack; the rummy champion, who almost drank the Puzzler's poisoned rum; the casino champion; whom the Puzzler tried to kill in a casino. After saving the players, Superman tracked the Puzzler to his hideout, bested the lair's death traps and captured the villain.
Second Puzzler
A female, second version of the Puzzler has appeared. This new version seems to have a body composed of puzzle pieces, like the Harvey Comics character Jigsaw.[citation needed]
Other media
The Puzzler appeared in one episode of the Batman TV series: (Season 2, Episode 31) on December 21, 1966, played by Maurice Evans.
Was an in-joke in Batman Forever, for one of the names, Edward Nigma was going to use as before becoming The Riddler.
The Puzzler has made background appearances as a member of Grodd's Legion of Doom in Justice League Unlimited.