Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #1-5

Penguin: Pain and Prejudice #1-5

Originally released in 2011

Written by Gregg Hurwitz

Art by Szymon Kudranski

Batman has one of the largest, most varied, and best-known rogues galleries out there, but while some (the Joker, Scarecrow, Two-Face...) are almost timeless and easily adaptable, others feel like products of a specific time.  For example, it's hard to disassociate the Riddler from Frank Gorshin's portrayal in the 1960's Adam West show, to the point where the phrase "Riddle me this", which was used in that show, will forever be associated with the character.

Likewise, the Penguin feels like an artifact from the 1940s or 50s - he's fared better than the likes of Hugo Strange (who more or less vanished outside of games like Batman: Arkham City), but I get the feeling that some writers don't really know what to do with him at times.  The Tim Burton Batman movies made him horribly mutated and having him live in the sewers, but that didn't really stick.  Even Batman: The Animated Series seemed to struggle with how to use the character; his debut episode in that show (where he was foiled by children) was embarrassing, and the episodes where he was the main villain were some of the lower points with the exception of "Birds of a Feather" where he futilely tries to fit into high class society. (I'm not counting ensemble pieces like "Almost Got 'im", where Batman's villains play poker and swap stories)

He's not a physical threat, he's rarely portrayed as being particularly smart, and he doesn't seem to have much of a connection to Bruce Wayne (though some versions have the Waynes and the Cobblepots as two of the wealthier families in Gotham, with the Cobblepots on the decline), which leaves him as a gangster with a bird gimmick. (and not even a consistently-used bird gimmick)  Maybe I'm missing some crucial bit of context or some key appearance (he was one of the four big villains in the Adam West Batman show, along with the Riddler, the Joker, and Catwoman, and he's used pretty consistently), but out of Batman's main rogues, he feels almost out of place, so I picked this series to try and get a better idea of what he's like.

In this series, Penguin's life did not get off to a good start; his father was repelled by his appearance, and seemingly dropped his newborn baby boy after seeing him.  He has a face only a mother could love, and his mother dotes on him.  Oswald is close to her as a result, almost to Norman Bates levels - she's not clearly seen in the present day, so for the first few issues (when he was talking to her and she wasn't responding), I figured the series would end with Batman tracking Oswald to his mother's house, only to discover that he'd propped up her corpse.

The Penguin's response to just about everything is disproportionate.  If someone disrespects him, such as calling him fat (before seeing who they're talking to and apologizing profusely) or chewing gum in his area, he goes out of his way to ruin their lives and the lives of those around them.  However, if someone is nice to him or one of the very, very few people that he cares about, he rewards them far beyond what is necessary, to the point where his mother's nurse (who was crying when Mrs. Cobblepot's body was discovered, which leads to Penguin saying that he'll give her ownership of her apartment building, a chauffer, millions of dollars, etc.) feels like it's far too much.

When he meets a blind woman named Cassandra, he falls madly in love, though he's so self-conscious about his looks that he refuses to let her touch his face.  This romance illustrates Penguin's fatal flaw - for several characters, love and happiness are their own rewards, but for Oswald, he wants the best of everything, and if someone else has it, he'll steal it even if he could afford to buy something similar legitimately.

Even when proposing to Cassandra, he has a large diamond ring stolen from a wealthy Gothamite and kills her for good measure.  Naturally, this (along with various other heists intended to get jewels for his mother) gets the attention of Batman and Commissioner Gordon.

Penguin tries to hide behind laws and restrictions, claiming that they need proof, though he doesn't try to hide his involvement.  At one point, he feels that since Gotham as a whole has slighted him, he will get revenge by targeting their children. (a group of kids mocking him and Cassandra likely didn't help with that)  Despite using penguin-themed robots to do the deed, he still claims that they can't prove that he had anything to do with it.

Naturally, the Penguin's burgeoning relationship with Cassandra doesn't end well, and the story ends with him in prison, stewing over his latest defeat and having learned absolutely nothing. Despite the universe throwing multiple chances at redemption his way, he has seemingly blinded himself to any legal way of making a living because of a mix of bitterness, greed, and crippling image issues.  The story's well-written, and the art captures the darker side of Gotham well, with every room and outdoor area filled with shadows to make it feel like Batman could be lurking around any corner.

While this series might not have completely sold me on the Penguin as a central part of Batman's rogues gallery, it did add a good amount of depth to his character while still keeping him feeling villainous. (when the villain is the protagonist of the story, it can sometimes be a fine line to walk)  Ideally, there would be hope that any villain could redeem themselves, but redemption is a slow and difficult process, and Penguin is the sort of person who wants it all and wants it now, which does a good job at explaining why redemption never seems to stick for him.