Enigma is a genius crimefighter opposing the Trinity of the Antimatter Universe. He is the antimatter counterpart of the Riddler.
History
Much like his positive-matter counterpart, the Riddler, the anti-matter universe's Edward Nashton was fascinated by puzzles and games from an early age. He was academically active - at one point considered one of the smartest men on his Earth - and naturally inclined to altruism. He married and had children. He also operated as a crimefighter under the moniker The Quizmaster, eventually becoming a founding member of the Justice Underground. He was a thorn in the side of Owlman and the Crime Syndicate of Amerika for many years.
However, after the destruction visited on the antimatter Earth by the Void Hound during the "Syndicate Rules" incident, the Crime Syndicate were able to initiate a crackdown on the heroes of their Earth. Driven underground, Quizmaster was forced to remain silent as his comrades were killed or incapacitated.
The Crime Syndicate eventually caught up with Quizmaster, delivering their own sadistic brand of vengeance. Ultraman burned half of Nashton's face, then left him alive to find that the Syndicate had burned his house down and killed his family. In order to save his dying daughter Stephie, the only survivor, Nashton downloaded her spirit into a Sub-Plasmic Heuro-Elective Retribution Engine (S.P.H.E.R.E). Afterwards, he wandered the world, trying to find a way to bring the rest of his family back, but eventually came to the conclusion that even if he did bring them back, they could never be happy - not on his world, where evil ruled, and not on another world, where they would never truly fit. For his family to ever be happy, he would have to change the very nature of his universe, and he could see no way of accomplishing such a feat.[1] [2]
Nashton sank into depression, blotting out the world with alcohol and medication, until he dreamed of Krona, attempting to escape the Cosmic Egg that held him, and understood how his own world could be remade.[2] Seeing his goals in sight, he slipped into villainy, willing to do anything to attain his desires. Equipping himself with the finest technology he could acquire, he made his way to New Earth, where he teamed up with Morgaine le Fey and Despero as part of a scheme to usurp the metaphysical position which Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have in the universe, and gain the power he needed. He adopted a new moniker, Enigma, from Morgaine's words on their first meeting. Ultimately, the ritual was successful, giving Enigma godlike power and a colossal form composed mostly of shadows in the process.
However, Enigma realized that what they had received was not the totality of the power they could have accrued, and devised a plan to complete their apotheosis, bickering with Morgaine over her usage of power (she had thoughtlessly destroyed most of Europe in her lashing out against the world). Stephie tried to make her father see what he was doing, the people who were suffering and dying because of his actions. Enigma eventually came to see it too, but could not abandon his goals. In the end, the Anti-Trinity's second attempt failed when the godlike Trinity returned, and Morgaine struck a deal with Krona, now free of the Egg, hoping to gain his aid by giving him the living soul of Earth to study. In return, Krona would make Stephie's spirit the new worldsoul, with Morgaine holding power over her and thereby Earth itself. Enigma rejected the bargain, and attacked Morgaine and Krona, only for S.P.H.E.R.E. to send him to the safety of the anti-matter universe.[3]
Enigma later returned, having gained the aid of the Crime Syndicate, to help defeat Krona.[4] He was left critically injured by Despero, leaving Stephie, her S.P.H.E.R.E. damaged beyond self-repair by Morgaine's rituals, pleading for someone to help her father. The godlike Batman intervened, offering Stephie the chance to save her father by bonding with the Void Hound to take Enigma back home, where he could be returned to health. Stephie accepted the offer, and after the end of the battle with Krona and the other members of the Anti-Trinity, she and her father returned to the anti-matter universe, hoping to give its inhabitants hope.[5][6]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Gadgetry: Expert in electronics, with a general interest in the sciences.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Enigma's Staff: Enigma carries a staff in the form of an elongated question mark.
Notes
- The character's appearance under the "Enigma" moniker is his first extended appearance in the DCU.
Trivia
- Enigma may be the counterpart of both Riddler and Cluemaster, as evidenced by his alias of Quizmaster and his daughter's name also being Stephanie.
Related
- 42 Appearances of Edward Nashton (Antimatter Universe)
- 4 Images featuring Edward Nashton (Antimatter Universe)
- Quotations by or about Edward Nashton (Antimatter Universe)
- Character Gallery: Edward Nashton (Antimatter Universe)
Footnotes
Legion of Doom member |
Secret Society of Super-Villains member |