Oswald Cobblepot

**The Penguin** is one of the secondary antagonists of *Batman: The Telltale Series*. A powerful criminal in the United Kingdom, his true identity was **Oswald Cobblepot**, a member of one of Gotham City's most influential families. Forced into a life of crime due to the actions of Thomas Wayne and his allies, Penguin sought revenge against the Wayne family and the current generation for this. To achieve this, Cobblepot joined the terrorist organization theChildren of Arkham and would become a key player in their plans against Gotham's elite.

## Biography

Oswald Cobblepot was the son of an unnamed father and his wife Esther Cobblepot. His family once had great influence in Gotham, owning a large portion of the city's land, and even built a park for the city's public. Oswald became friends with Bruce Wayne when they were children. According to Alfred Pennyworth, the two were "as foolish as thieves", although Oswald would take this literally in later life.

While still a child, Oz's family lost their fortune due to events initiated by Thomas Wayne, Carmine Falcone, and Hamilton Hill. His father took his own life for unexplained reasons, while Wayne locked his mother in Arkham Asylum to take control of the lands she legally owned. Due to his mother's supposed mental illness, Oswald would often be bullied by other children, but Bruce would protect him.

At some point after his family's fall from grace, Oswald moved to the United Kingdom and joined the army for some time. After receiving a dishonorable discharge, he established himself as a career criminal. Oz created a series of illegitimate enterprises, including illegal boxing matches and arms trafficking, under the alias "The Penguin." Oswald was also arrested many times, including by the Essex Police Department, and served several prison terms.

At some point, Oswald returned to Gotham for unspecified reasons, possibly hoping to take revenge on the Wayne family (even though Thomas and Martha were dead), Falcone, and Hill. He joined the group known as the "Children of Arkham", although it is currently unknown if he joined before returning to Gotham. Oswald later contacted Mayor Hill and through blackmail or a willing alliance, asked him to gather data and information on Falcone and Wayne's illegal activities. Unknown to Hill, Oswald planned to turn on him and kill him once he had revealed this information. Oswald also hired the famous thief Catwoman to steal this data from Hill and help members of the Sons of Arkham find the psychogenic chemical that drove his mother and hundreds of other citizens insane.

### Batman: The Telltale Series

#### *Realm of Shadows*

Oswald was first seen by Bruce in the fundraising event for Harvey Dent's campaign as Mayor. He, having possibly gatecrashed the event, was seen drinking at a table, though did not converse with any of the guests. As he left, he met with Alfred, making arrangements for Bruce to meet him at Cobblepot Park in the early morning.

A short time before he arrived, Bruce received a text from Oz saying that he'd be late. When he arrived, Oswald found that Bruce was being set on by two muggers. He interfered and brutally beat them up, telling them that "lowlifes" like them were the reason places like his park were ruined. Afterward, he and Bruce conversed briefly about their pasts since their last meeting. Oswald showed disdain for the park and how badly his family's legacy had fallen. Oswald also mentioned seeing Falcone at the fundraiser and expressed his distain towards the mob boss, even stating that he would like to see Falcone fall from power. He also warned Bruce about a "revolution" he was planning, warning him to "be on the right side" when it began. He then left to [organize the revolution].

#### *Children of Arkham*

The next morning, Oswald and his men arrived at the Skyline Club, following the murder of Falcone at Renee Montoya's hands, through drugging by a member of the Children of Arkham. However, it is possible that either he was responsible for this, all be it unlikely. Blackmailing one of the late crime lord's henchmen into bringing him to the club, he looked around for evidence linking either Thomas Wayne and Hill to Falcone's organization. Whilst investigating the office with Roland Desmond, the criminal he blackmailed and a number of his own men, he was confronted by Batman.

When the vigilante pressed him of knowledge of Falcone's murder, Oswald admitted to having organized this and that his death sparked the beginning of his revolution. *He may also let a hostage go if Batman had demanded it.* As they argued on how Oswald was fighting for the same cause as Batman, he was drawn away one of his men told him that they had located Catwoman. Oswald let the vigilante know that he had arranged his assassination by not giving him Falcone's information and left, and Blockbuster detained Batman while the group escaped.

Later in the debate, Oswald, as his criminal ego "the Penguin", attacked the Gotham City mayoral debate. Murdering the moderator and "forcing" Vicki Vale onto stage to introduce the event, he injected Dent and Hill with the same psychogenic chemical that had been used to institutionalize their mother. As they approached the discussion, Penguin and his men showed a video of Thomas Wayne interning his mother. As the GCPD attempted to break into the debate, Oswald took Vicki hostage when Batman appeared.

Vicki punched him and fled, while Oswald blindly shot her in rage. Batman, however, protected her from the gunfire and threw a Batarang at her. While Blockbuster interacted with the vigilante, Oswald turned his attention to Hill. Despite Hill's protests to forgive him, and even attempted to claim that he had organized the Waynes' murder because he believed he had gone too far, Oswald shot him dead.

Dent, who had tried to save Hill by attacking Penguin, was taken hostage and held at gunpoint whilst Batman and Catwoman confronted Penguin. In a bid to drive them off, he shot at the duo, injuring Catwoman. Oswald then threw Dent on the floor and tried to attack him with a stage light. Batman has the option of intervene or saving Catwoman from a group of Children of Arkham members.

* Save Harvey
* Save Catwoman
If Batman chooses to save Dent, grabbing the light fixture and beats Oswald down. He then turns his attention to saving Catwoman. However, during this, Penguin manages to escape, leaving only his mask.

If Batman chooses to save Catwoman, the Penguin will attack Dent with the light and disfigure him. Batman, too late to intervene, attacks him, but is distracted by the arrival of the GCPD. Penguin escapes, leaving only his mask.

#### *New World Order*

During the time between the debate and Dent taking the role as Mayor, Oswald managed to infiltrate Wayne Enterprises, being hired into the board. Using ties he had, Oswald managed to create a false backstory about his business experience and covered up his criminal dealings. This managed to impress the Wayne Enterprises board, who considered hiring him as a replacement CEO, as they were considering a replacement for Bruce Wayne.

Oswald managed to learn about Wayne Enterprises' use of telecommunications and managed to find a backdoor, to monitor the entire city's communications. Once implemented, the Children of Arkham were able to know what to expect and were able to prepare for oncoming threats. However, this was later rectified once Bruce and Lucius Fox discovered about it.

After a meeting to discuss Bruce's future at Wayne Enterprises, the board decided to replace him with Oswald, although this role would only be that of temporary CEO. After the meeting, Oswald visited Bruce in his office, subtly taunting him to avoid suspicion from Regina Zellerbach. As Bruce prepared to leave, he picked up a watch that was a graduation gift from Bruce. Oswald pretended to give it back and dropped it on the ground as a way to irritate Bruce. One of two actions can take place after this.

* Attack
* Refrain
 Bruce is aggravated and punches Oswald, blackening his eye. He has the option of continuing the attack, blacking the other or calming down. As Bruce is escorted out of the building by security, Zellerbach checks that Oswald is fine.

 Bruce is able to refrain himself from hitting Oswald, collecting his graduation present. Oswald will pick it up, either to appear polite or at Bruce's "insistence". As Bruce departs, Oswald prepares for the IT department to set him up on the company's network.

The next day, Oswald appeared at the press conference held to announce Bruce's resignation as CEO. Greeting Bruce as he arrived, Renee covered how the event would proceed. *If Bruce attacked him, Oswald will comment how he choose not to cover up his injury, as a way of showing how "brave" he was and to mock Bruce further*. As the event began, Oswald commented on how the events that week had been coming true, as well as his intentions to take control of Wayne Enterprises. He also offered to reveal why Hill had killed his parent, which Bruce can either ignore or demand he told him. *If the latter is chosen, Oswald reveals that they had been murdered because Bruce's mother had objected Thomas' use of Arkham and threaten to blow the whistle on the trio's operations.*

As Bruce took his place, Oswald stood by as he spoke a self-indulgent speech that mocked the Wayne family. *If Bruce tries to speak out of turn, Oswald will constantly tell him to "stick to the speech".* Depending on actions taken by Bruce, he will either come up after Bruce has finish or call for security when he tries to warn Gotham about Oswald's ties to the Children of Arkham or defend his family's legacy. After finishing his admission speech, Oswald called Bruce up to congratulate. However, Bruce ran to the podium and brutally attacked him, having been injected with the Arkham drug by Vicki Vale. It's possible that Oswald was aware this would happen.

#### *Guardian of Gotham*

After Bruce was committed to Arkham by a now insane Mayor Dent, Oswald took full control of Wayne Enterprises, but let his connection to the Children of Arkham Asylum remain secret. Using his position, he connected a Black Box to the network, planning to use it in order to help release inmates in Arkham Asylum. Cobblepot also took control of the R&D department, permitting the creation and use of various prototype weapons and gadgets, most notably a eyepiece that could interface with the network and drones similar to those used by Batman. Oswald also discovered Batman's computer network was connected to Wayne Enterprises, along with all his gadgets and technology. Finding the connection point, he had the Black Box break in to take control of the Batcomputer and disrupt the vigilante's equipment, along with learn all the information about the vigilante.

After hearing reports that Batman was at the Vale residence, Oswald sent a drone to kill the vigilante. Upon discovering this, he opened fire on the guard and made his presence known. He taunted Batman and had the drone open fire on him, forcing Batman to use several of his devices. While Batman was left open when his Bat-Stunner failed, Penguin sent the drone in for the kill, but was forced to target the Vales' adopted son when he attacked the drone with a baseball bat. Using the distraction, Batman destroyed the drone before it could harm the boy.

After deducing how Penguin had entered the network, Batman is forced to decide between stopping him from disrupting his tech or stop Harvey Dent from attacking Wayne Manor, the two situations happening simultaneously.

* Stop Penguin
* Stop Harvey
If Batman decides to stop Penguin and the Sons of Arkham from hacking his technology, he heads to Wayne Tower to confront him. After witnessing several of the Children of Arkham mercenaries and the drones fail to stop Batman, Oswald lashes out at the other members with ferocity. When Batman arrives, Oswald mockingly greets him and comments on the advantage he and the other members have. As he reveals some of his plans, Batman tries to plan how he will defeat Penguin and his men or allow him to monologue. "If the latter is chosen, Oswald, using a monocle-like ocular device, disrupts their attempts to plan and destroys simulations for possible attacks."

Following this, Batman takes out his guards and attempts to attack Oswald. He avoids his punch and has one of the drones knock him into a secret elevator to the R&D department. Having gained the upper hand, Penguin boards the elevator and sends it careening to the bottom of the shaft, holding Batman inside it to ensure he doesn't escape. Arriving at R&D, he reveals the Black Box to the vigilante and places on a pair of experimental gloves, hoping that they will give him the edge in their fight.

Despite Batman's knowledge of various martial arts and combat techniques, Penguin is able to use his speed and the enhanced strength provided by the gloves to fight and wound the vigilante. The lack of working devices also puts Batman at a disadvantage, as he cannot disable any of the technologies he uses. However, Batman is able to remove his eyepiece and, after dodging a punch, removes one of his gloves. Using a nearby hammer, which reduces the speed of his attacks, Penguin is disarmed and his second glove is severely damaged. Now with the advantage, Batman breaks his right leg and defeats him.

As Batman tries to force him to talk, Penguin refuses, claiming his loyalty to Lady Arkham. Batman mocks him, calling him a pawn in a much larger game and either restrains or knocks out the Penguin. The vigilante then destroys the Black Box, saving his tech and stopping Penguin's attack on the Batcomputer. Penguin is then strung up in one of the stairwells and handed over to the GCPD. As they arrive, Penguin asks them to [cut him down].If Batman chose to stop Harvey Dent and his forces, the Penguin will be able to get through the firewall and the Batcomputer. Unable to stop Penguin's attack, Batman is forced to shut down the Batcomputer to ensure that the Sons of Arkham cannot access its technology.

#### City of Light

Five days later, the Children of Arkham are now utilising technology provided to them by Oswald and his connections in R&D. Such gadgets include Batsuit disrupters and improved versions of the drones he utilizes. Following the assassination of Commissioner Grogan, Penguin's drones manage to locate Batman near Crime Alley. Communicating via hologram, Penguin greets Batman and mocks him for being unable to save Grogan's life, commenting that he relies too much on his tech. Ordering the drone to kill the vigilante, it is destroyed by Batman, who uses it's connection to the Children of Arkham's communications to listen in on his plans. Penguin communicates with other members of the group to let them know that he is preparing an ambush for Batman at his family's old park. Unknown to him, Batman as has access and know what he's planning.

After setting up a trap for Batman, Penguin ordered the drones to find hostages and use them as a bat for Batman. When Bruce Wayne appears, Oswald is delighted, as the billionaire seems like the perfect hostage for the vigilante, although he is suspicious of his appearance. Oswald plans to assassinate Bruce once Batman arrives and converses with him, unaware that Lieutenant Gordon of the GCPD is trying to get past him.

Whilst distracted by Bruce, Gordon is able to slip past him and locate the Black Box, which has been relocated to the park by the statue of Theodore Cobblepot. Depending on choices made in the conversation, two possibilities play out. *If Bruce is able to stall him for long enough, Gordon shoots the Black Box, destroying it and disabling all his tech. However, if Bruce is unsuccessful or Oswald becomes suspicious, he is able to locate Gordon and has his drones open fire at him. In the chaos, Bruce makes his attempt to destroy the Black Box, successfully doings so by smashing it with a rock.*

Having had his tech destroyed, Oswald tries to kill Bruce in a moment of desperation. However, using a drone that is hurdling towards him, Bruce throws it at him, but he dodges the attack. However, the drone hits the statue of Theodore Cobblepot, severely damaging it. The statue falls apart, falling onto and crushing Oswald's legs. Cursing Bruce for his defeat, Oswald is taken away by paramedics, promising his childhood friend that Lady Arkham has not forgotten about him.

Since Bruce put himself in danger to help the GCPD defeat Oswald, his actions are seen as heroic and his reputation is restored in the public's eye. Oswald was presumably taken to Blackgate Prison, with charges of terrorism now added to his criminal record.
### Batman: The Enemy Within

At some point after his defeat and incarceration, Oswald would come into contact with Harley Quinn who had been brought in to build up a psychological profile of him. Oswald would go on to share many secrets with her including Bruce Wayne's hidden laboratory found in his office at Wayne Enterprises.

An article in the Gotham Gazette mentions that Penguin was serving a forty-year sentence at Blackgate Penitentiary after his arrest, having pleaded guilty during his trial. During his time there, Oswald had become a model prisoner within the prison and was respectful to both the staff and his fellow prisoners. Batman also kept a display in the Batcave, which contained either his mask, his "monocle" (if he was defeated in the last episode), or his experimental boxing gloves (if he was defeated in the previous episode).

After Joker's reign of terror as a misguided vigilante or Gotham's most notorious villain, Batman news would mention that Oswald was denied parole (which would have reduced his sentence to just twenty years) by the presiding judge. his case after it was proven that he actively participated in Lady Arkham's plans and was not an unwitting pawn as his lawyers claim. The judge noted that although Oswald's childhood was tragic and unfair, it did not give him the right to cause similar pain and misery to so many people in Gotham City, leaving many children orphaned. As a result, the judge ruled that it would be an insult to the city's legal system to release Oswald ahead of his sentence.

Oswald would have to wait five more years for another parole hearing to determine if his sentence could be reduced. As the news article also displays an image of a clearly angered Oswald, it is greatly implied Cobblepot's good behavior in Blackgate was simply a ruse to reduce his sentence.

## Personality

Penguin seemed to be quite brash and arrogant, believing himself to have the edge during conflict and having full faith in his actions. He was easy to anger and quite brutal at times, as shown when he brutally attacked two muggers in his family's park for bringing shame to the area and when he was captured by the GCPD. To cover this, Oswald would put on a calm demeanour during meetings with others over his clearance, as he did with Regina Zellerbach and something he continued to use after being defeated by Batman. He held a great amount of respect for Batman, as he believed that they both want the same goals.

## Abilities

* **Computer Hacking:** He almost managed to hack into the Bat-Computer and this lead Bruce to shut down his whole network system.
* **Manipulation:**
* **Firearms:**
* **Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced):**  He was able to go toe-to-toe with Batman when they fought in Wayne Enterprises.
* **Leadership:**

## Appearance

As the Penguin, Oswald dressed in a smart suit and wore a bird mask. He would often wear these in criminal dealings, as a disguise and to prevent himself from getting identified by the police. Unlike most iterations of the character, he does not use a gadget/weapon filled umbrella, though he does use a seemingly harmless one whilst setting up a trap for Batman in Cobblepot Park. Oswald also does not wear the traditional top hat associated with other versions of himself.

## Victims

* Hamilton Hill (murdered)
* Debate Moderator (murdered)
* Harvey Dent (disfigured; determinant)
* Peter Grogan (indirectly murdered; determinant)
* Several Unnamed Police Officers (indirectly murdered albeit through his drones; deteterminant)

## Relationships

### Bruce Wayne

Oswald and Bruce were friends during their childhood. However, after Bruce's parents died, the two became distant. While he seemed to have a fondness for him, he actually held a grudge against Bruce, after his father Thomas Wayne forcibly condemned his mother and when Oswald took over as CEO of Wayne Enterprises following Bruce's "resignation". acted in a disrespectful manner towards him, even breaking a gift from Alfred, teaching him or angering him, and writing a disrespectful speech for him to read, during the press conference announcing this event.

However, Oswald had great respect for Batman, as he believed that the two were fighting for the same cause; Justice in Gotham. However, unlike the vigilante, Oswald had no problem killing and was willing to get his hands dirty in crime to achieve his goals. Because of this, Batman would see him as a danger and try to take him down as well.

### Family

* Theodore Cobblepot † - Great-Grandfather
* Mr. Cobblepot † - Father
* Esther Cobblepot † - Mother

### Allies

* Children of Arkham
	+ Vicki Vale/Lady Arkham
	+ Roland Desmond/Blockbuster
	+ Children of Arkham mercenaries
* Wayne Enterprises - Formerly
	+ Regina Zellerbach
* Goons
* Harleen Quinzel - Psychiatrist

### Enemies

* Selina Kyle/Catwoman - Former employee
* Vale Foster Son - Attackee
* Harvey Dent/Two-Face - Victim (determined)
	+ Harvey Dent's enforcers
* Gotham City Police Department
	+ Peter Grogan - Indirect victim (determined)
	+ James Gordon - Arrester (determined)
	+ Renee Montoya - Manipulation-victim (possibly)

## Appearances

* he'll either appear physically or you'll only hear his voice in "Guardian of Gotham"
* Oswald will appear in "City of Light" if you decided to take down Harvey instead of him.

## Trivia

* The Penguin created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane.
* The penguin has Jewish family origins.
* In most interpretations, Penguin is a crime boss or arms dealer. However, this version is much closer to DC anti-villain Anarky, due to his desire to start a revolution to overthrow the rich and powerful.
* Cobblepot is typically not a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. That role is more often filled by Thomas Elliot and/or Roman Sionis, also known as Hush and Black Mask, respectively. However, in both the *Batman: Arkham* video game series and the graphic novel *Batman: Earth One*, there are links between the histories of both the Waynes and the Cobblepots.
* In all media Penguin is much older than Batman. In the telltale version he is the same age as Batman/Bruce Wayne.
* In the telltale games Penguin is one of the few in the rouge gallery that had respect for Batman. The others being Riddler, Lady Arkham, Bane, and Joker.