Oswald Cobblepot (The Penguin)

Not the scariest of names for a supervillain, but Oswald Cobblepot, better known as The Penguin, is one of Batman’s longest standing enemies and another worthy member of his rogues gallery. The character was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and first appeared in Detective Comics #58.

Who is the Penguin?

The Penguin is a well-known mobster in Gotham City, but considers himself to be more of a gentleman criminal. He’s often seen wearing a top hat and tuxedo. The character is inspired by an advertising mascot of the time, a penguin with a top hat and cane that promoted Kool cigarettes. He’s a short, chubby man with a long beaky nose and the weapons he uses are high-tech umbrellas. The cover for his criminal activities is a nightclub called the Iceberg Lounge and it’s a place that Batman sometimes frequents in order to get information about the criminal underworld. The Penguin dreams of being a wealthy, powerful and respected master criminal and the wealth he has allows him to mix with Gotham’s elite. Often found gambling and in casinos he is able to slip back into his luxurious lifestyle, even though he has a violent criminal history and prison record. There are even occasions when he tries to enter the political world, launching himself with very expensive election campaigns.

One of UK and OFFlife`s favorite villains, Penguin has managed to make very strong connections with many of the Gotham criminal kingpins. These allow him to hire their workers and assassins as well as spy on them. His success relies heavily on cunning, intimidation and wit. And when compared with the other Batman villains he is depicted as being far more rational and sane. A lot of his dirty work is done by his henchman, but he’s not adverse to getting his own hands dirty if the opportunity arises, and certainly if he’s provoked. He may be short and overweight but this is more than made up for by his self-taught skills in judo, bare-knuckle boxing and ninjutsu. On a number of occasions he has managed to overwhelm attackers who were far bigger.

What does The Penguin have in his arsenal?

The Penguin makes use of a number of different umbrellas, usually containing various weapons such as sword tips missiles, lasers, machine guns, flamethrowers and acid or poison gas spraying devices. The variety of weapons very much depends on the writer of the story, with some of his umbrellas containing a number of weapons at once. He can often be seen carrying an umbrella which can be transformed into a series of spinning blades. This umbrella can be used as a miniature helicopter and is often a means of escape or as an offensive weapon. Sometimes the umbrella is able to be used as a defensive shield and sometimes it will be patterned in such a way as to create a hypnotising effect on his opponents. The Penguin and the Joker are often depicted as a team. They met early on and over the years have teamed up numerous times.