Supervillain Origins: The Penguin

this bird-like mobster with a love of
trick umbrellas has become one of
Batman’s oldest and most persistent foes
I delight in the devious I obviate the
obvious is misleading my intentions
they’re going to lay a trap for me a
trap at one it’s spring hey Batman then
Robin will never go back welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we will explore
it the comic book origins of the penguin
as with most comic book characters there
are often reimagining and different
versions to a character’s past we have
chosen to primarily follow the storyline
which unfolded in 1941 s Detective
Comics number 58 and which was expanded
upon in 1989 s Batman secret origin
special number one Oswald Chesterfield
Cobblepot was once a child of a wealthy
family that was bullied due to his short
height obese figure and bird-like nose
at the same time he was forced to carry
an umbrella by his overprotective mother
often taunted he had no friends and
instead flocked to the company of birds
due to this he received his nickname
penguin after finishing school he
adopted the penguin name and inherited
his family’s fortune in turn he began
presenting himself as an intelligent
rich and sophisticated gentleman who
preferred the look of a tuxedo behind
this facade he had become angry at the
world due to never having felt accepted
as a result he took up crime as a means
for gaining power and to take revenge on
the citizens of Gotham who had dared
sneer at his appearance in his first
stint as a criminal
penguin robbed the Gotham Museum there
he stole a valuable painting as a means
to gain his acceptance as a mob member
soon enough he fell into an argument
with the mobs boss whom he killed with a
rifle built into his umbrella following
this he became their new leader using
its vast criminal resources to stage
several thefts around the city this
spurred Batman and Robin to investigate
eager to rid himself of the Troublesome
crime-fighting duo penguin framed Batman
for stealing a jade Idol with the police
arresting Batman for the crime the
penguin decided to break Batman out of
jail in order to cement the Dark Knights
guilty appearance
despite this ploy Batman and Robin soon
tracked the Penguins gang and found the
evidence needed to clear their names
while many of the Penguins henchmen were
captured the mastermind managed to his
named Rhea merging with countless
schemes over the years he would later
spend significant time in Gotham
penitentiary
upon release penguin turned his
attention to white-collar crime namely
he portrayed himself as a legitimate
businessman running a restaurant and
Casino called the iceberg lounge this
was a front for his dealings in the
black market
at the same time he made a bid to
control Gotham’s criminal underworld
failing he found himself forced to work
for Batman as an informant using his
criminal contacts to give the Caped
Crusader an edge over the city’s large
criminal presence despite this
arrangement in which Batman would let
small-time crime slide the penguin would
often cross the hero by launching larger
exploits these involves teaming up with
much more notorious villains such as the
Joker at one point he even participated
in an auction hosted by Professor Hugo
Strange to buy the true identity of the
Dark Knight and worked alongside a
multitude of deranged criminals in Ra’s
al Ghul’s ploy to lay siege to Gotham’s
police headquarters an iconic fixture in
the Batman universe the penguin stands
out from other criminals due to always
having a cigarette holder in his mouth
wearing a tuxedo with top hat and for
having learned judo equally recognizable
is his use of countless umbrella gadgets
and weapons these have ranged from those
containing hidden blades and guns to
hypnotic patterns and even a personal
helicopter appearing in various media
over the years the penguin is best known
for his comical portrayal by burgess
Meredith in the 1960s Batman series he
is similarly recognized for Danny
DeVito’s deformed and monstrous
interpretation in 1992 s Batman Returns