Early Life

Eddie Nashton was the kind of kid that got in the way of dreams. His mother was a singer in Gotham City and his father was a security guard who pushed people around when they lingered too long or talked too loud. They met a few times at bars and casinos before having the not-so happy accident that was Eddie. His mother loved him, but his father saw Edward as nothing but a burden, a rope to pull him down into a domesticated life he was never meant for.

There was a lot of pressure to be great, to be smart, to be the best and Eddie did everything in his power to succeed. His parents were happy to find that their son did indeed have an incredibly high IQ and was proficient at math and history well beyond his grade level. To his parents, this meant he should always have high grades no matter what. A failed test meant being grounded or beaten, so he decided early on that failure wasn’t an option. He decided that merely studying or trying to do things the right way wasn’t good enough. He’d have to cheat. Eddie taught himself how to break into classrooms, desks, cars, homes. He spent his allowance on lock-picks bought downtown at a Chinese antique store. He even started to make money off selling tests and stealing permanent records.

Everything was going good until he was caught at age eight. By that point his mother had died of cancer in her lung and his father (who still resented him) was a sad, loathsome drunk. His father was so outraged and ashamed by his son’s cheating habit that he beat Eddie practically every night. He called him stupid over and over again until it made Eddie hateful and determined to prove his old man wrong. Edward never stopped cheating, stealing, and lying. He just got way, way better at it.

He would spend the rest of his life proving he was smarter than his old man could ever imagine.

Canon Life

History.

Death

Eddie dies just as he’s starting his detective agency, during the Gotham City Sirens arc. He’s trying to turn over a new leaf, much to the surprise of his rogue friends. Instead of surviving the bomb detonation at a gala party, it kills him. Pointless death due to rogue activity is a hell of a way to go.

Current Life

Eddie is currently a stage magician in New York City. He does all kinds of gigs and has recently returned home to New York after some time in Las Vegas. Most of his family history has been baked into what he believes his life is now (thanks universe), but he lacks the manic tendencies that came before he reformed back in Gotham. Eddie thinks he’s a kid that grew up in New York with a sad mom and an abusive dad. He stole to survive and did various odd jobs to get by, but it wasn’t until he discovered his skill in performing magic that he really got his big break.

He’s not an incredibly famous magician, but he can get by well enough that it’s his main job. For now, he’s happy doing a regular stage show and events around the city. He even dabbles in street magic in disguise when he’s feeling like testing out new tricks.

Despite his love for performing, Eddie is a lonely man. Most of his friends are fellow performers and he can’t seem to reconnect with them. His curiosity makes him jump into new things quicker and if someone he knows has a problem, he’s all too happy to help solve it.