| Penguin | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| Real name: | Chester Cobblepot (not mentioned in series) |
| Species: | Human |
| Homeworld: | Earth |
| Universe: | Earth-1A |
| Relatives: | Mr. and Mrs. Cobblepot (parents, deceased) Miranda Cobblepot (aunt) |
| Affiliations: | Super Foes |
| Rogue of: | Batman |
| Voiced/Played: | Frank Welker |
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1972 Penguin Appearance
The Penguin is one of Batman's greatest foes, but he is also one of the least powerful supervillains. Penguin lives a life of crime and evil, yet executes it with his own self proclaimed high society class and style, committing crimes with the theme of the various birds he loves. The Penguin's trademark are the deadly umbrellas he uses to execute his evil plans.
Background Information
On the parallel-universe of Earth-One, Oswald Cobblepot did not have a happy childhood; he was still young when his father died of bronchial pneumonia. Oswald's mother blamed this on his being caught in the rain without an umbrella, so she always insisted her son carry one. Though Mrs. Cobblepot was an invalid, she kept the family business – a bird shop – going with the help of her son, and her sister-in-law, Miranda.
Oswald's appearance, his name, and his ever-present umbrella made him the object of torment by other boys, who called him "Gobble-Gobble" and said he waddled like a duck – or a penguin. His only real friends were the birds in the family shop.
The Penguin, 1968
With the help of his aunt, Oswald attended college, majoring in ornithology, finding that he often knew more about birds than his professors. Unfortunately, not long after graduation, Oswald's mother died. Her long illness had run up enormous debts, so much so that even the kindly Miranda was unable to help out, and everything in the store – including the birds who were Oswald's only companions – was seized by creditors.
Angry at what the law had done to him, Oswald was determined to switch to the other side and become a thief. He went to a known criminal, Angie by name, and offered is services, only to be laughed at and thrown out as Angie called him what the kids had called him years before – a penguin.
Oswald then made a vow: "Before I'm through, the Penguin will be a name to be feared and respected! And the umbrella will be a weapon of crime second to none!"
When next he confronted Angie, it was as the Penguin, complete with the full-dress suit that accentuated his resemblance to that fowl. When Angie threatened him, he was shot dead on the spot, with the first .45 caliber umbrella. Angie's two accomplices quickly agreed that the Penguin would be their new boss.
His career of crime was off to a good start, much to the consternation of the Caped Crusader.
The Penguin, 1977
Filmation Continuity
In 1968 the Joker teams up with the Penguin to switch crime methods so they can sue Batman for false arrest. In the end however they start to fight which leads to their downfall.
The Riddler teams up with the Penguin and together they believe that they have discovered Batman's secret identity but in the end they were proven wrong.
The Joker then runs for mayor in and teams up with Penguin and Riddler to achieve this goal and gets pardoned. In the end however his criminal ways are exposed and he is defeated once more.
A short time later, he teams up with Penguin again. This time they distracted a crowd by releasing wild circus animals and stole a tank. They then use the tank to rob several banks. Unfortunately they don't discover that they were being followed by two circus penguins until they got to there hideout. Batman and Robin then us another penguin to track the tank down and arrest them.
In 1977, the Joker teams up with the Penguin again to use this slime to turn everybody into criminals. In the end however they were both defeated and sent to jail.
He soon teams up with Penguin, Catwoman, and Clayface to takeover Gotham. They battle Batman and Robin but escape and ally themselves with a supervillian named Zarbor who has all of Earth's nuclear power plants. They then go with him to his planet to assist him but are defeated in the end along with Zarbor and are sent to jail.
Earth-1A History
He once shared a jail-cell with another villain, Felix Faust, who conjured up a spell to steal Superman's powers, but the powers were instead transferred to the Penguin, who used his powers to escape, and cause chaos all over the world. Felix Faust later devised a way to steal back Superman's powers from Penguin, but both were defeated by the Super Powers Team.
The Penguin and his sidekick, Chick, were both members of the Super Foes.
Appearances
- The Fury of the Super Foes (issue #1), November 1976
- Trapped By the Super Foes (issue #2), December 1976
- SuperFriends Episodes:
- Season 6 (1985):
- The Wild Cards (shown on a monitor in the Hall of Justice)
- The Case of the Stolen Super Powers
Notes
- The Penguin first appeared in Detective Comics, Vol. 1 #58 (December 1941).[1]
- He was introduced by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger
Reference
- ↑ Go to DC Database for more on Detective Comics, Vol. 1 #58 published in December 1941.