Penguin (Burton and Schumacherverse)

Near Pure Evil

Full Name

Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot

Alias

The Penguin

The Penguin Man of the Sewers
Aquatic Bird Boy
Mayor Cobblepot

Origin

Batman Returns

Allies

Catwoman

Max Shreck
Red Triangle Circus Gang (all formerly)
His penguins

Powers / Skills

Use of trick umbrellas

Manipulation
Knowledge of political maneuvering

Goals

Kill Batman.

Take over Gotham City.
Become Mayor of Gotham City.
Murder all of the first born sons of Gotham City (all failed).
Betray Catwoman (succeeded).

Moral Event Horizon

Framing Batman for killing the Ice Princess.

Attempting to drown all the first born sons of Gotham City in toxic waste.
Sending his pet penguins to bomb Gotham.

Kill Count

2 (confirmed)

Several (implied)
Thousands (attempted)

Crimes

Attempted mass infanticide

Attempted populicide
Assault
Serial murder
Kidnapping
Conspiracy
Blackmail
Incrimination
Reckless driving
Sexual harassment
Animal cruelty

Type of Villain

Vengeful Crime Lord

“	A penguin is a bird that cannot fly! I am a man! I have a name! Oswald Cobblepot!	„
	~ The Penguin revealing his true name.

“	You don't really think you'll win, do you?	„
	~ The Penguin taunting Batman.

Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, also known as the Penguin, is the main antagonist of Tim Burton's 1992 film Batman Returns and a mentioned antagonist in its 2024 midquel novel Batman: Resurrection.

This version of the Penguin is depicted to be a lot more malevolent and tragic than his comic book counterpart, that was more sympathetic. He was a deformed man who was abandoned and raised in the sewers as a baby due to his murderous nature. He carried trick umbrellas and since birth he was a a bitter and ruthless psychopathic man, that would later become a cruel crime lord. He is also the tyrannical leader of the Red Triangle Circus Gang.

He was portrayed by Danny DeVito.

His Evil Ranking[]

What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]

It is implied that during his time at the Red Triangle Circus, he kidnapped the children of the guests that attended and possibly killed them.
During the events of Batman, he enjoyed the Smylex chaos that the Joker caused and felt inspired by him, even though the Red Triangle was rightfully appalled by this.
Sends the Red Triangle Gang to terrorize Gotham's citizens and to kidnap Max Shreck.
Blackmails Shreck with incriminating evidence of his crimes into helping him win the city's favor.
He faked rescuing Mayor Jenkins' baby, which the Skinny Clown kidnapped for him, in order to make himself look good and win the approval of Gotham's citizens.
While searching for his birth name in Gotham's records, he recorded all the names of Gotham's first born sons in order to murder them all later on.
He aggressively bites a worker's nose, though to be fair, he did make fun of him.
After being persuaded by Shreck to run for mayor, he sends the Red Triangle gang to wreak havoc on the city so he can blame Mayor Jenkins for not fixing the crime problems that were caused by the Joker.
He kidnapped and murdered the Ice Princess in order to frame Batman for it.
He put bats in the city's Christmas tree so they can attack the citizens of Gotham.
He tries to kill Catwoman just for rejecting his sexual advances.
He hijacked the Batmobile and goes on a joy ride, uncaring of who he hurts, to further taint and ruin Batman's image as well as to try and kill him.
After his plan to become Mayor was foiled by Batman, he planned on abducting the firstborn sons of Gotham City and attempting to drown them all in toxic waste.
He killed the Fat Clown when he asked him if murdering sleeping children is a little extreme.
He tried to kidnap Chip to spite Max, only changing his mind when Shreck persuaded him that it would be better if he saw his former ally that double crossed him dead instead. While this makes him seem honorable, it's implied that he would still try and kill Chip later on.
After Batman rescues the first born sons, he sends an army of rocket-equipped penguins to bomb Gotham City.
He attempted to kill Batman with a trick umbrella before his death, only to be thwarted as he realized it was a regular umbrella.

What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]

He has a genuinely tragic backstory, as his parents hated him for being deformed, going so far as to lock him in a black box and throw him into a river and being shunned by everyone around him, leading to his hatred toward humanity.
- Even Batman seemed to feel some pity for him. Throughout his investigation on the Penguin's background, it is evident the Caped Crusader didn't want to believe him to be another criminal who must be stopped and clearly devastated upon learning the Penguin apparently had something to do with missing children during the incident that saw abrupt end of Red Triangle Circus.
Despite sending his pet penguins to suicide-bomb Gotham, he does care for them as he refers to them as his 'babies' as well as the fact that they were the only family he ever had that loved him and he was furious when seeing that Batman took control of them, leading him to attack Batman in blind rage.
- Although he tried to kill Catwoman's pet cat, he only did this as she was about to eat his pet bird, which indicates that he cared for his pet bird. This proves that he cares for animals in general.
His death was played for sympathy as there was sad music playing in the background while the penguins gently carried his body into the water as his grave. Moreover, Batman was present during his funeral, looking over the moment in pity.

Trivia[]

There's some debate about if his act of killing his family's cat counts like an indicator of his evilness or not. However, it's fair to agree that it doesn't, as Oswald was just a baby so he wouldn't have had a clear moral agency by then. That said, an infant who tortures/kills animals has a great chance of becoming a serial killer once in adulthood.
He is so far the only version of Penguin to be Near Pure Evil.