As a child, Edward Nigma was a clever boy who was disliked by his father. His father was confused by and jealous of his son's intelligence and beat him. When he was older, Edward got a job at a university where he and his partner (and possible love interest) Julie invented a device which would enhance the human brain, giving its user amazing brain power. During the development stages of the device, a man named Gorman kept trying to get Edward to sell the right of the invention to him, an offer which Edward refused. During the demonstration of the device to the dean, though, the device malfunctioned. Edward subsequently accused Gorman of sabotaging the device and decided to get vengeance years later by booby trapping Gorman's house with deadly puzzles and traps, turning his house into a dea