Penguin

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Intelligent, rich and sophisticated; **Oswald Cobblepot** puts up a gentlemanly front, but behind closed doors he is the angered, power hungry criminal known as The **Penguin**. He shows flashes of compassion sometimes, but he is dominated by a desire to be respected and to control those around him.

## Biography

### Early Life

**Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot**, though born in a middle class background, had a hard time growing up. When Oswald was brought into this world, his mother placed him in his father's arms and with one look, Tucker Cobblepot drops Oswald on his head out of disgust. Oswald's father had no love for him while his mother smothered Oswald with her affections. Oswald's father refused to let his son sleep in the same bed that he shared with his wife so he would place him at the foot of the bed like a dog and would have sex with his wife in the hopes of having another yet normal child.

As Oswald got older, his brothers looked upon him with the same disgust as their father. Due to his short, stubby appearance, and distinctive nose; Oswald would get teased and mocked by other children who would often compare him to a bird. They would hang Oswald from the monkey bars with his hands and legs roped to the bars so he would look like a bird in mid air. There were other instances where children would bust in on Oswald while he was in the restroom and say "The Penguin is laying an egg". The ultimate form of cruelty was when Oswald's siblings and his schoolyard bullies invaded his man made aviary. The malicious children tore down every nest in the aviary and the defenseless Oswald cringed in horror as he watched the eggs crack on the floor.

His only respite from the torture was when he would feed the wild birds that visited his greenhouse. He developed an affinity with the animals, and they were his best friends. However, Oswald embraced his moniker as The **Penguin** because even though penguins are clumsy creatures in an environment that isn't their own, they are adaptable to new surroundings and when threatened, a penguin's retribution can be swift as well as decisive. For Oswald, he embraced the hatred and disgust from his family or school mates thereby turning it against them as a means of justice. In a short while, Jason, Robert and William Cobblepot were taken from this world leaving Oswald as the sole heir to the Cobblepot Legacy. Tucker Cobblepot eventually died from pneumonia and Oswald's mother became a catatonic from all the tragedy that she had suffered.

For years, he felt like an outcast. This was the main cause that drove him to a criminal life. "Penguin" was one of the nicknames that other children would call young Oswald to tease him. Obsessed with anger, he made many plans to get revenge on his school bullies. Once he set a small host of captured magpies on a group of high school prom queens who were bothering him. They returned the favor by beating him with bats. Bleeding, he managed to get home. He went in to check on his adopted pets, and one bit him. In a rage, he beat it to death. After finishing school, he adopted the "Penguin" name and used his family fortune to set up a socialite hang out club called the Iceberg Lounge. He has been involved in several criminal enterprises, from being an illegal boxing promoter, and a prominent criminal on the Gotham black market. He has had many run-ins with Batman since. Another trait that comes from his childhood is his classic umbrella. When he was young, his mother would make him carry an umbrella with him all the time to prevent him from rain as she feared that he might get ill and die like his father before him. He uses the umbrella as a cane to help him walk, but it also acts as a sheath for a hidden blade.

### Association with Joker

After many years operating with Gotham's crime wave, with Batman proving more determined than ever to thwart crime with his bat brand, the Penguin ultimately decided to publicly present himself as a reformed businessman operating out of the Iceberg Lounge, which had become one of if not Gotham's hottest nightclub. But in reality however, after his hours at the club Penguin would participate in several criminal operations including smuggling and other ruthless professions. With the Joker's rise to the title of King of Gotham, Oswald saw fit to enlist his services to Gotham's premiere crime lord. Together the two managed to reach an arrangement that proved mutually beneficial with the Penguin becoming part of the Joker's gang or Joker's League of Anarchy as he called it, with Penguin becoming the Joker's main supplier ranging from weapons to people.

## Abilities

* **Business Management**: Oswald has a keen business sense. He has kept his casino business on the right side of the law to set up a front to launder money from his illegal businesses.
* **Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)**: Oswald, despite his appearance, is trained in the usage of his personal weaponry. A few thugs or a tussle with Batman is nothing for the Penguin.
* **Tactical Analysis**: Oswald never forgets an injustice done to him. He may not exact his revenge in the same moment or even the same year but at some point, in some place, he will have his vengeance.
* **Leadership**: The Penguin runs one of the most elusive and strongest gangs in all of Gotham.