One of the villains in Matt Reeve’s The Batman movie is the Penguin, aka Oswald Cobblepot, played by Colin Ferrell. The Penguin is generally thought of as one of the less menacing Batman rogues, as he isn’t a monstrous figure like Killer Croc and Clayface or a serial killer like the Joker. The Penguin is more akin to a run-of-the-mill mob boss with a bird motif.
However, the Penguin has a long and storied history in DC Comics. He may not be as powerful as Poison Ivy or as smart as Mr. Freeze, but he has set schemes into motion that Batman and Gotham City could never forget.
10 He Was Created By Batman Co-Creators Bob Kane And Bill Finger
The Penguin is an old Batman character whose history traces back to the earliest adventures of the Caped Crusader. Oswald Cobblepot first appeared in 1941 in Detective Comics #58 by Batman creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger.
Even then, the Penguin didn’t like working alone, as he had a crew of thugs to help him perform his crimes. In his first outing, the Penguin and his minions went on a spree of jewelry heists. When Batman and Robin interfered, the Penguin managed to frame them for the thefts. Eventually, Dynamic Duo cleared their names and caught many of the Penguin’s men, but they weren’t yet able to get the Penguin himself.
9 He Was Briefly A Member Of The Suicide Squad
Rick Flag actually recruited the Penguin onto the Suicide Squad during one of Cobblepot’s prison stints. The Squad’s mission took them to the Soviet Union to save an arrested writer. The Penguin was sent out into the field so that he would have a personal stake in this mission.
After a skirmish with the Soviet military, the Penguin was able to go AWOL from Task Force X and eventually made his way back to the United States to continue his criminal enterprises.
8 He’s The Reason Red Robin’s Last Name Is “Drake” In The New 52
In one of the more bizarre changes brought about by the New 52, the Penguin is actually the reason that Tim Drake’s name is Drake instead of…well it’s not actually clear what his previous last name was. His middle name is Jackson, so perhaps that was his original last name.
In any case, Tim began using his computer skills to disrupt the Penguin’s criminal operations. The Penguin caught wind of it and went after Tim’s family. They are forced to go into the Witness Protection Program and ask Bruce Wayne to take in their son. Bruce adopts Tim, and he begins using his middle name as his last name, “Drake.” He would then take on the identity of Robin/Red Robin.
7 He Once Let Jason Todd’s Father, Willis Todd, Take The Fall For Him
The New 52 and Rebirth also gave the Penguin another connection to one of Batman’s Robins. Willis Todd, the father of Jason Todd, worked for the Penguin long ago. However, when one of the Penguin’s operations went wrong, Willis took the fall for Cobblepot.
This would lead to Willis being put in prison. This left young Jason Todd alone with his mother, who was losing herself to drug addiction and not the most attentive of parents as a result. It was believed that Willis died in prison, but it was later revealed that the death was faked so that Willis could take part in a secret experiment.
6 He Was Usurped And Held Captive By The Red Hood For A Time
The connection between the Penguin and Willis Todd sparked a new animosity for the Penguin in Jason Todd. As the Red Hood, he attacked the Penguin during a press conference. Jason revealed his secret identity for the whole world to see and told Cobblepot that he knew about him and Willis. He then shot the Penguin in the head, point-blank. However, it was later revealed to be a blank round that only knocked out the Penguin.
In reality, Jason Todd took the Penguin prisoner inside the Iceberg Lounge. Jason then used the Sisters Su and Bunker as muscle in order to take over the Penguin’s operation, making Jason the new head of the Iceberg Lounge.
5 He Was Once A Lieutenant Under The Joker After He Overthrew Falcone
During the War of Jokes and Riddles by Tom King and Mikel Janin, it’s revealed that the Penguin was still working for Carmine Falcone during the second year of Batman’s career. However, the Joker started a new crusade in Gotham, and it started with overthrowing Carmine Falcone and taking over his criminal empire.
The Penguin, seeing an opportunity, sided with the Joker during this coup. This led to Penguin joining the Joker’ side in the war between the Joker and the Riddler. The Penguin was also one of Batman’s first targets when he began dismantling the Joker’s operation.
4 He Was Briefly Overthrown By One Of His Top Lieutenants
The balance of power is always shifting in Gotham City, and the Red Hood taking the Iceberg Lounge away from the Penguin isn’t the first time in recent memory that Cobblepot lost it all to someone with ambition. In the early days of the New 52, one of the Penguin’s top lieutenants was a man named Ignatius Ogilvy.
Ogilvy wasn’t content in simply being a henchman, and he injected himself with a cocktail of chemicals taken from Bane, Poison Ivy, and Man-Bat. Ogilvy dubbed himself the Emperor Penguin, and he kicked Cobblepot out of his own gang. The Penguin went to Batman for help, and the two took Ogilvy down. Later, Bane would bring Ogilvy to the Penguin as a peace offering during Forever Evil: Arkham War by Peter Tomasi and Scot Eaton. Ogilvy hasn’t been seen since then.
3 He Actually Turned Against Bane And Thomas Wayne During “City Of Bane”
The Penguin was one of the villains that Bane and Thomas Wayne (Batman of the Flashpoint timeline) got on their side in their war against Batman. Bane blackmailed Penguin into staging an assassination of Alfred Pennyworth, but Cobblepot backed out and went to Batman for help.
Unfortunately for Batman, Bane predicted this as well. Batman’s rash actions to prove that Bane was working against him from within Arkham Asylum ultimately alienated the Dark Knight from many of his friends, Commissioner Gordon included.
2 He’s Always Had Designs On Gaining Political Power
The Penguin has shown himself to be interested in gaining political power several times. During his clandestine meeting with the Designer years ago, the Penguin asked the Designer for an army of assassins and a mayoral campaign. During the Arkham War that raged across Gotham City, the Penguin established himself as the de facto mayor.
In the Batman: Earth One timeline by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, the Penguin is actually elected to be mayor of Gotham. In the “Gift” timeline created by Booster Gold (in a story by Tom King and Tony S. Daniel), Oswald Cobblepot somehow becomes the President of the United States.
1 He Can Apparently Turn Into A Giant Crow When He’s Mad Enough
In the Last 52 Multiverse created by the One Who Laughs with the powers of Doctor Manhattan, the heroes and villains of DC Comics took one final stand against the One Who Laughs and his seemingly infinite army from the Dark Multiverse. This included the Penguin, who had to fight three warped versions of himself.
In The Last 52: War of the Multiverses one-shot from Dark Nights: Death Metal, Marguerite Bennett and Inaki Miranda told an unforgettable story where the Penguin fights back against these three mirror versions of him. To win the day, the Penguin somehow turns into a giant crow and tears his other selves to shreds. It’s not clear how he did this, and he hasn’t shown this ability since then. However, one can hope this power will come back to Cobblepot someday.
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