Penguin (character)
The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in Detective Comics #58 (December 1941) and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger.[1] The Penguin is one of Batman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.[2]
"The Penguin" redirects here. For the television series, see The Penguin (TV series). For other uses, see Penguin (disambiguation).The Penguin
Detective Comics #58 (December 1941)
Bill Finger (writer)
Bob Kane (artist)
Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot
- Mr. Boniface
- Matthew Richardson
- The Gentleman of Crime
- Cobblepot
- Uncle Pengy
- The King of Gotham
- Criminal mastermind
- Uses high-tech umbrellas equipped with various weapons
The Penguin is a Gotham City mobster who fancies himself the number one "Gentleman of Crime". He is most often seen as a short, overweight man with a long nose who wears a monocle, top hat, and morning suit while carrying his signature umbrella. Penguin uses high-tech umbrellas as different tools. His umbrellas have been used as guns, gas, swords/knives, a mini-helicopter and many other unconventional tools. The Penguin owns and runs a nightclub called the Iceberg Lounge which provides a cover for his criminal activity. Batman sometimes uses the nightclub as a source of criminal underworld information. Unlike most of Batman's rogues gallery, the Penguin is completely sane and in full control of his actions, giving him a unique relationship with Batman. According to his creator Bob Kane, the character was inspired by the advertising mascot of Kool cigarettes in the 1940s; a penguin with a top hat and cane. However, similarities have been found between Penguin's design and the appearance of the Dick Tracy character Broadway Bates, who was introduced in 1932. Co-creator Bill Finger thought that the image of high-society gentlemen in tuxedos was reminiscent of emperor penguins.[3] His main color is usually purple.
The Penguin has repeatedly been named one of the best Batman villains and one of the greatest villains in comics. Penguin was ranked #51 in IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time.[4] The character has been featured in various media adaptations, including feature films, television series, and video games. His live-action portrayals include Burgess Meredith in the 1960s Batman television series and its spin-off film, Danny DeVito in Batman Returns, Robin Lord Taylor in the television series Gotham, and Colin Farrell in the film The Batman, as well as the character's upcoming eponymous television series on Max. Paul Williams, Tom Kenny, Nolan North, Wayne Knight, Stephen Root, Elias Toufexis and others have provided the character's voice, ranging from animation to video games.
Characterization[edit]
Skills and abilities[edit]
The Penguin is a master criminal who aspires to be wealthy, powerful and respected (or at least feared) by Gotham's high society. The Penguin's wealth gives him access to better resources than most other Batman villains, and he is able to mix with Gotham's elite, especially those he plans to target in his future crimes. He is also capable of returning to his luxurious lifestyle very easily despite his violent criminal history and prison record. He has even attempted multiple times to enter the political world, even launching expensive election campaigns. The Penguin also has strong connections with other criminal kingpins across Gotham, allowing him to hire their assassins and workers to spy on them easily. The Penguin relies on cunning, wit, and intimidation to exploit his surroundings for profit, and despite his short temper, he is normally depicted as being more rational and sane than other Batman villains, or at least relatively so.
Although he often delegates the dirty work to his henchmen, he is not above taking aggressive and lethal actions on his own, especially when provoked or insulted. In spite of his appearance and stature, he is a dangerous hand-to-hand combatant with enough developed skills in judo, fencing, ninjutsu and bare-knuckle boxing to overwhelm attackers many times his size and physical bearing. The Penguin is usually portrayed as a capable physical combatant when he feels the situation calls for it, but his level of skill varies widely depending on the author; the character has been written both as a physical match for Batman and as someone the masked vigilante is capable of defeating with a solid punch. His crimes often revolve around stealing valuable bird-related items and his car and other vehicles often have an avian theme.
Equipment[edit]
The Penguin utilizes an assortment of umbrellas, particularly the Bulgarian umbrella. These usually contain weapons such as machine guns, sword blades, knife blades, rocket launchers, laser blasters, flamethrowers, and acid or poison gas spraying devices fired from the ferrule (however, the Penguin is able to weaponize his umbrellas in an almost unlimited variety of ways). Depending on the writer, some of his umbrellas can carry multiple weapons at once. He often carries an umbrella that can transform its canopy into a series of spinning blades: this can be used as a miniature helicopter or as an offensive weapon; he often uses this to escape a threatening situation. The canopy of the umbrella is sometimes depicted as being a bullet resistant shield, and some are patterned in different ways from a spiral capable of hypnotizing opponents to flashy signs. He can also call upon his flying birds to attack and confuse his enemies in battle.[86]
Appearance[edit]
The Penguin's usual appearance is that of a short, obese human in formal wear has alternatively changed with the debut of Tim Burton's version of the character featured in the 1992 film Batman Returns. In the film, the Penguin's hands are flippers (a physical deformity caused by syndactyly), which, combined with a beak-like nose and other characteristics, made the Penguin look like a cross between an actual penguin and a man. This somewhat bizarre aspect inspired comic book artists and has influenced numerous Penguin designs in cartoons since the film's release, such as Batman: The Animated Series, for example. Currently, both the old and the new appearances of the character alternate in the comics, although there is no clear explanation or basis in reality for this to happen.
Relationships[edit]
The idea of the Penguin and the Joker as a team is one that is decades old, as the two villains, pop-culture wise, are arguably Batman's two most famous enemies. Their first team-up took place fairly early in Batman's career, in "Knights of Knavery".[87] Since then, the two have teamed up countless times throughout the Golden and Silver Ages. This carried over into the 1960s television series as well; both appeared together as a team numerous times. They have even shown affection towards each other on more than one occasion; in one story, "Only Devils Have Wings", the Joker actually cries when it appears that the Penguin has been murdered, and vows to avenge the Penguin's death.[88]
Reception[edit]
The character of the Penguin, particularly as portrayed by Burgess Meredith, has often been used as a theme to mock public figures that supposedly resemble him. Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, has made numerous references comparing former Vice President Dick Cheney with the Penguin, including a laugh similar to the one heard in the 1960s Batman series.[89] In May 2006, a Republican-led PR firm, DCI Group, created an astroturfing YouTube video satirizing Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth. The video portrayed Gore as the Penguin using one of his trick umbrellas to hypnotize a flock of penguins into believing in the existence of global warming and climate change.[90] Roger Stone has also been likened to Penguin due to his manner of dress.[91]
Other versions[edit]
Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles[edit]
In the Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover, the Penguin is first seen at the docks with the Shredder, selling him a WayneTech Resonance Engine, but the Shredder betrays him and reveals he has already taken care of most of his men and plans on taking the engine himself. The Shredder is then about to kill the Penguin, but the Penguin offers to provide him weapons and money for his plan in order to save himself. The Shredder decides to spare the Penguin, calling him "Bird Man." The Shredder then uses the Iceberg Lounge as his base, where the Penguin has engineers working on the resonance engine to power his machine. The Shredder then reveals that he plans on bringing an army through the dimensional portal and take over Gotham City. The Penguin objects, but the Shredder threatens to kill him and tells him that he belongs to the Foot Clan. As the Shredder gets ready to open the portal, Batman and the Ninja Turtles arrive to stop them, but the Shredder destroys the portal and escapes with Ra's al Ghul. During the battle, the Penguin escapes as well. The Penguin then visits Batman, the Ninja Turtles, and Commissioner Gordon and tells them about the Shredder's plans, betraying him. The Penguin, though, does not agree with the Shredder's plans and reveals that the Shredder and the Foot Clan are now working with Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins. Later, Robin and Casey Jones reveal that the League and the Foot are using Arkham Asylum as their base. When Batman and Robin arrive, they are greeted by the Penguin, who has been mutated into a mutant rockhopper penguin as punishment for betraying the Shredder, along with the Joker, Two-Face, Riddler, Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter, Bane, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and the Ventriloquist, who have all been mutated into animals and attack Batman and Robin. Batman is captured, but Robin manages to escape. The Ninja Turtles and Splinter then arrive, where Splinter defeats the mutated villains, while Batman uses his new Intimidator Armor to defeat the Shredder and the Turtles defeat Ra's. Later, Gordon tells Batman that the police scientists have managed to turn all of the inmates at Arkham back to normal and are currently in A.R.G.U.S. custody.[92]
Batman: Earth One[edit]
In the graphic novel series Batman: Earth One, Oswald Cobblepot is the corrupt mayor of Gotham City. Although he doesn't call himself the Penguin like his mainstream counterpart, he is occasionally referred to by the nickname. In the past, he was the mayoral competition for Dr. Thomas Wayne. Cobblepot holds a grudge against the Wayne family, believing the Waynes have disgraced the Cobblepot legacy, so he planned for the Waynes to be murdered, but was not ultimately responsible for their death; they are instead killed in a random mugging on election night. It is also implied that Cobblepot had James Gordon's wife murdered when the detective got too close to finding out Cobblepot's involvement with the Waynes' murder. In the present, Cobblepot runs Gotham with an iron fist, controlling all the power centers of the city and using a hired killer named Ray Salinger, also known as "The Birthday Boy". When Batman confronts Cobblepot, he sticks Batman with a trick stiletto from his umbrella then he removes Batman's cowl, finding out that Batman is Bruce Wayne. Fortunately, Alfred Pennyworth arrives on the scene and empties two barrels into Cobblepot's chest. The blast sent Cobblepot's body out of the window where he landed into the street below. After his death, his crimes were finally outed to the public.[93]
Batman: White Knight[edit]
The Penguin has a minor appearance in the 2017 series Batman: White Knight. The Penguin, along with several other Batman villains, is tricked by Jack Napier (who in this reality was a Joker who had been force-fed an overdose of pills by Batman which temporarily cured him of his insanity) into drinking drinks that had been laced with particles from Clayface's body. This was done so that Napier, who was using Mad Hatter's technology to control Clayface, could also control the villains by way of Clayface's ability to control parts of his body that had been separated from him. The Penguin and the other villains are then used to attack a library which Napier himself was instrumental in building in one of Gotham City's poorer districts. Later on in the story, the control hat is stolen by the Neo-Joker (the second Harley Quinn, who felt that Jack Napier was a pathetic abnormality while the Joker was the true, beautiful personality), in an effort to get Napier into releasing the Joker persona. Penguin also appears in the sequel storyline Batman: Curse of the White Knight, being among the villains murdered by Azrael.
Earth-22[edit]
In The Batman Who Laughs, the Penguin of Earth -22 is depicted as having been killed by the Joker during his penultimate act of terror against the Batman.[94]
Elseworlds[edit]
In the Elseworlds story Batman: Crimson Mist, the third part in a trilogy that turned Batman into a vampire, the Penguin is the first of many criminals to be killed by the vampiric Batman after he surrenders to his darker instincts. As the book begins, the Penguin has just escaped from Arkham again, and has apparently developed a reputation as a cop-killer. As the Penguin lures a group of cops into a trap, he impales one in the head with his umbrella, but Batman arrives in the form of a monstrous bat before the Penguin's men can claim more victims. Batman brutally tears the Penguin's throat out as he drinks his blood and subsequently kills his enemy, proceeding to kill the rest of the Penguin's gang and tear off their heads to stop them from returning as vampires.[95]
In Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham, an Elseworlds-like setting based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft, Bruce Wayne is the leader of an expedition to Antarctica of which there is only one survivor. The rescue team finds no trace of him, but it is revealed to the reader that the now half-insane Cobblepot has abandoned his humanity, and joined the albino penguins of the Elder Things' city.[96]
Flashpoint[edit]
In the alternative timeline of Flashpoint, Oswald Cobblepot works as the security chief of Wayne Casinos, providing information about his clients and the criminal underworld to that universe's Batman, Thomas Wayne.[97]
In the sequel Flashpoint Beyond, the Flashpoint reality was restarted when Batman stole the snow globe associated with it from the Time Masters. Oswald still works for Thomas and helps to raise Dexter Dent after his father Harvey Dent was killed.[98]
Harley Quinn Rebirth[edit]
In Harley Quinn Rebirth, the Penguin had been running a superhero sex club in New York City for over a year. He has been engaged in serious plans to take over Coney Island to turn it into a private resort (based on himself, of course). Unfortunately for him, Harley Quinn had been beating him up and otherwise threatening his plans in that direction. So to get her out of the way, he made an agreement with Gotham's underworld. After the death of her friend Mason at the hands of New York's corrupt mayor, Professor Hugo Strange and False Face dosed her with truth serum to increase her depression and separate her from her friends. Then when she left, Penguin kept her and all of her friends busy with various Batman villains while he threatened the land owners to give over their property and used two kaiju penguins to kill off 90% of the crime lords in New York.
When Harley finally figured it out, she came back and gathered all of her friends, including Poison Ivy (who used a giant daffodil to fight the giant penguins in what was described at 'The worst kaiju battle ever!"), her Gang of Harleys, Power Girl, Killer Croc, and Scarface (who switched sides), Captain Strong, her Roller Derby team, her stalkers/friends Harley Sinn and Red Tool, and various other characters for a huge showdown with pretty much every Batman villain ranging from Batzarro to the Zebra-Man. Harley eventually made her way up to the Penguin while her friends eventually beat up his collected allies and, while beating him up, revealed she suspected it was all really about her turning down his perverted advances. In the end after the bad guys on Penguin's side were all rounded up, he was revealed to have extorted the land from everyone and the owners all got their places back so they could rebuild.
Joker[edit]
The Penguin (mockingly referred to as "Abner"[99] by the Joker) appeared in Joker, a graphic novel by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo. This incarnation operates the Iceberg Lounge, handles most of Joker's personal investments and deals with revenues from boxing matches.[100]
Superman/Batman[edit]
In Superman/Batman, an amalgamation of the Penguin and Metallo, called Penguello, appears among the mercenaries recruited into Lex Joker's Brotherhood of Injustice. Thanks to Terranado, who had gone undercover within the Justice Titans, they were able to attack the Justice Tower.[101]
The Further Adventures of Batman Volume 2 featuring the Penguin[edit]
In the short story "Vulture: A Tale of the Penguin", by Steve Rasnic, the Penguin loses weight to the point of emaciation and becomes a vigilante, calling himself the Vulture.[102]
