Penguin

*"I know you don't see it yet, honey. Nobody does. But Falcone ain't gonna be around forever. One day, this city is gonna be mine."*
―Penguin to Selina Kyle[src]
**Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot**, also known reluctantly as the **Penguin**, is the ruthless underboss of the Falcone Crime Syndicate who seeks to rise to power in Gotham's criminal underworld. As Penguin was being investigated into a possible connection with the murders being committed by Riddler, he became a target of Batman and Jim Gordon, despite being innocent of these crimes. Eventually, Penguin had discovered that it was Carmine Falcone who was being targeted by Riddler, as Falcone had also been identified as the rat who betrayed Salvatore Maroni, moments before Falcone was shot and killed by Riddler. In the wake of Falcone's death, Penguin had then prepared to step up, as Gotham's new crime kingpin.

## Biography

### Rising into Power

#### Working for Carmine Falcone

*"Penguin is one of Carmine Falcone's up-and-coming lieutenants. My guess is that he uses Porcello to make sure he doesn't get caught by his bosses sticking his hand too deep in the cookie jar."*
―Dex Starling to the Batman[src]
Born in Gotham City, New York, Oswald Cobblepot was an Italian-American who eventually became a gangster. At some point, Oz was scarred across his face, shaping his nose to a beak-like point, earning him the nickname "Penguin", a name he hated. Eventually Oz became a made man in the Falcone Crime Syndicate, working under Carmine Falcone. He opened a nightclub known as the Iceberg Lounge, which also was a front for the underground club 44 Below, and the upstairs penthouse office served as the headquarters for Falcone. He rose up to become Falcone's underboss, and employed a whole regime of gangsters working under him, such as the Twins. Though Oz was Falcone's right hand man, he still had a low reputation in the criminal underworld. And being greedy for more power, he attempted to import military-grade explosives into the city to create a new finance ring for the mob, and to rise even further in the criminal underworld. Though this would fail, and his ring was shut down by The Batman

### Riddler's Game

#### Introduced to Batman

*"Woah! woah! woah! Take it easy, sweetheart! You lookin' for me? I see you met The Twins. Boy, you're everything they say, ain't'cha, I guess we both are. How ya doin'? I'm Oz."*
―Penguin to Batman[src]

Around that time, Penguin was a suspect as the serial killer known as Riddler began taking out Gotham's elite. Penguin's connection to the corrupt elitists put him under scrutiny and targeting of Batman. One night at the Iceberg Lounge, Penguin broke up a fight between Batman and his henchmen, introducing himself as Oz and inviting the vigilante into his office to talk.

Inside, Penguin saw the photos of the late Mayor Don Mitchell Jr. with his employee, Annika Kosolov, and Batman looked for him because he was in the photo. Penguin received Selina Kyle, whom he assured not to be scared of "Mr. Vengeance". She then gave him his drink, as well as money, after which he gives her packs of drops. Penguin then gave batman the picture, but batman says he needs to know who she is and how she's connected to the murder. Penguin then sarcastically pretends to not realize it was the mayor until then, which causes batman to press him up against the glass window. Penguin tells batman to watch it, asking if he knew his reputation, though batman rebuked "I do...do you". Penguin cites that he's just the proprietor of the club, and what people do there don't have anything to do with him. Batman then realized Kyle was in the picture next to Kosolov, and left, with penguin telling him to let him know if there's anything he could do.

#### Selina Kyle's Request

After Selina Kyle and Batman agree to temporarily work together to find information on Annika Kosolov's disappearance, Kyle heads to the Penguin's office in the Iceberg Lounge, in order to get permission to work a shift in the secret club within the club 44 Below.

Penguin is hesitant to allow this as things can get very rough for a woman in 44 Below and because he is fond of Kyle, tries to offer her more money to keep working in the main nightclub instead. Kyle aware of Batman who is listening in on the conversation tries to insist that Penguin gives her access to 44 Below and when Penguin continues to try to persuade her not to she harshly rebukes him saying that she does not want his money.

Hurt and confused by this perceived rejection, Penguin coldly tells Kyle that Falcone will not be in charge of Gotham forever, and that one day he will be the one running things in Gotham's criminal underworld before giving her the access card to the elevator leading to 44 Below.

#### Mayor Mitchell's Funeral

*"Oz, you know Bruce Wayne?"
"Wow, is that right?"
"His father saved my life."*
―Carmine Falcone and Penguin[src]
Soon afterwards, Penguin accompanied Falcone to Mayor Mitchell's funeral and was introduced to Bruce Wayne, with Falcone sharing to Oz a bit of his history with the Wayne Family. Riddler later ambushed the mayor's funeral, however, Oz was not present during the incident.

#### Chase of the Penguin

Later that night, Penguin along with GCPD Officer William Kenzie, and the Twins go to a checkup at their drug lab at the Eastside Depot, and had caught Catwoman attempting to steal his money, leading to Jim Gordon shooting at him and his crew. Penguin had then witnessed the arrival of Batman and swiftly fled in terror upon seeing the Batmobile rev up and not to long afterwards come charging directly towards him. Penguin escaped in his car and was immediately pursued by Batman in the Batmobile, which led to a lengthy and chaotic car chase throughout the highways of Gotham City, until Batman was able to crash Penguin's car, leaving him upside down and helpless.

#### Questioned about Rata Alada

Once Penguin had been successfully captured, he was brought to a discreet location to be interrogated by Batman and Gordon, who accused him of being the rat that had helped to capture Salvatore Maroni, which Penguin furiously denied.

#### Assassination of Carmine Falcone

*"What are you doing? It wasn’t me! I didn’t shoot! I didn’t shoot! Get your hands off of me!"*
―Penguin[src]
Penguin along with the rest of the family were disgusted with the public revelation that Falcone was the rat responsible for Sal Maroni's imprisonment, as it was a betrayal of the mafia code which abhorred those kind of criminals. Falcone was arrested by the Gotham City Police Department and led away from the Iceberg Lounge. Penguin, flanked by the twins, confronted his former boss, remarking that he wouldn't last long in Blackgate. In response, Falcone revealed his low opinion of penguin, and called him a gimp in an empty suit, provoking him into pulling a gun on Falcone. However, before he could shoot, the Riddler shot and assassinated Falcone first, with GCPD officers tackling Penguin to the ground despite his pleas of innocence.

Penguin remained a free man in the aftermath of the Flooding of Gotham, watching as the sun rose on the battered and submerged city from his base of operations, uncertain about where his future would lead.

## Personality

*"Hey, Vengeance! You think you can come after my money, huh!?"*
―Penguin to the Batman[src]
Oz is a cruel, power-hungry, and insecure man, with a rather smarmy way of speaking and a sadistic approach to taking lives. He has no care for who he hurts or how, so long as he gets his way, and delights in destroying his enemies. He is also a greedy and lustrous individual as he attempted to go against his superiors and make more money for himself and get a chance to become a crime lord. However, he still has a sense of honor, being disgusted with Carmine Falcone upon learning that he snitched on Salvatore Maroni and caused his arrest. He also seems to have a little bit of good in him, as he genuinely cared for Selina, and offered to give her money when she asked to work in the 44 Below, and was hurt when she told him off.

## Abilities

*"I'll spray paint your ass!"*
―Penguin to Carmine Falcone[src]
* **Skilled Marksman**: Penguin knows how to use a machine gun. He fired his weapon at the Batman, hitting him in his cowl, and he threatened to shoot Carmine Falcone, but he did not get the chance.
* **Skilled Businessman**: Penguin owns the Iceberg Lounge.

*"You better watch it. You know my reputation?"
"Yeah, I do. Do you?"*
―Penguin and Batman[src]
* **Intimidation**: Penguin claims to have an intimidating reputation.

*"Am I the only here knows the difference between "el" and "la?" Jesus! No habla español, fellas?"*
―Penguin to Batman and Jim Gordon[src]
* **Multilingualism**: Penguin has shown the ability to understand and speak basic Spanish in addition to his native English, with him showing off that his understanding of Spanish is superior to Jim Gordon and Batman's.

## Equipment

### Weapons

* **Micro Uzi**: Penguin's sidearm is an Uzi pistol. He used it to fire at the Batman and threatened to shoot Carmine Falcone.

### Vehicles

* **2013 Maserati Quattroporte VI**: Penguin drove away in his car to flee from the Batman.

## Facilities

*"Look... I'm just the proprietor, okay? I mean, what people do here ain't got nothin' to do with me."*
―Oz to the Batman[src]
* **Iceberg Lounge**: *To be added*
	+ **44 Below**: *To be added*
* **Shoreline Lofts**: *To be added*
* **Eastside Depot**: *To be added*

## Relationships

	+ Piggy Porcello - Subordinate
	+ The Twins
	+ Vinnie
	+ Briscoe
	+ William Kenzie
	+ Johnny Viti
* Don Mitchell Jr. †
* Southern District of Gotham City
	+ Gil Colson †
	+ Glen Keller
	+ Travis Cromwell
	+ Ritchie Beckett
* Carla Diaz
* Cheri
	+ Pete Savage †
	+ James Gordon
	+ Martinez
* Bennett Starling
* Dex Starling
* Batman - Attempted Victim
* Selina Kyle - Former Subordinate
* Riddler
* Carmine Falcone † - Former Employer and Attempted Victim
* Sofia Falcone - Rival

## Behind the scenes

* In DC Comics, Oswald Cobblepot is also known as the **Penguin**, a Gotham City mobster and a famous villain of Batman, who has a liking for birds and fancies himself as the "Gentleman of Crime".
* Colin Farrell gained weight and wore prosthetic make-up for his role as the Penguin. Jeffrey Wright and Rupert Penry-Jones didn't recognize Farrell when they saw him onset.
* Jonah Hill was rumored to be in talks to play the Penguin before he exited negotiations and Colin Farrell was cast.
* Shane Roberts and Corey Pierno were stunt doubles for Colin Farrell in the role of the Penguin.
* Penguin in *The Batman* is the fourth live-action incarnation of the character, following incarnations portrayed by Burgess Meredith, Danny DeVito and Robin Lord Taylor.
* In an interview with *Empire Magazine*, Colin Farrell said that the Penguin was inspired by Fredo Corleone from *The Godfather* series, "because Fredo’s crippled by the insignificance that he lives within, in a family that is full of very strong, very bright, very capable, very violent men. Which is why he commits the act of betrayal that he does, because he’s weak, he’s kind of broken, and he’s in pain. There is a kind of fracture at the core of Oz, which fuels his desire and his ambition to rise within this criminal cabal."
* Penguin will serve as the titular protagonist of *The Penguin*.
* This iteration of the Penguin's appearance was likely inspired by the Penguin from the Batman: Arkham games, specifically his Arkham Origins appearance and his Arkham City appearance.

## References

1. ↑ *Before The Batman: An Original Movie Novel*
Reeves, Matt & Craig, Peter (writers); Reeves, Matt & Clark, Dylan (producers); & Reeves, Matt (director) (March 4, 2022). *The Batman*.
3. ↑ Fans are realizing Colin Farrell is playing the Penguin in 'The Batman' and they can't get over how unrecognizable he looks
4. ↑ Jeffrey Wright Didn't Recognize Colin Farrell on the Set of 'Batman'
5. ↑ "Jonah Hill In Talks For Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ At Warner Bros" - Deadline
6. ↑ "The Batman: Colin Farrell’s Penguin Takes Inspiration From The Godfather’s Fredo – Exclusive" - Empire

## External links

* Penguin on DC Database
* Penguin on Wikipedia