The Penguin
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Real Identity: Oswald Chesterfield "Ozzie" Cobblepot
Affiliation(s): Team Penguin
Appearances: Call of the Cobblepot, Bird of Prey, The Cat, The Bat, and The Ugly, Pets, The Laughing Bat, Night and the City, The Batman VS Dracula, A Dark Knight to Remember, A Fistful of Felt, Fleurs Du Mal, The Icy Depths, Team Penguin, Rumors, The Joining Part Two, Ring Toss, and The End of The Batman
Powers/Skills: Martial Arts, Armed Combat, Avian Training, and Trick Umbrellas
Voiced By: Tom Kenny
The Cobblepot's are an upper class English family who got wealthy from criminal activity. In 1879, a Chesterfield Cobblepot stole the Tudor Royal Diamonds and sunk them deep under Gotham Harbor and used landmarks to mark the area. The Cobblepot family formerly hired the Pennyworth family as butlers and treated them more like slaves. To add insult to injury, the Cobblepots eventually fired them. After the family fortune was squandered, they left England in shame and resettled in Gotham City.
Oswald Cobblepot was born into the young rich group like Bruce Wayne or John Marlowe. Cobblepot took leave to live abroad in Asia. He became a martial arts master, hired a pair of twins, and began committing bird-related crimes across the continent. Cobblepot even began to acquire birds and trained them to help commit his crimes, including a rare Chinese owl called strix nebulosa laponica. Upon returning to Gotham, the prodigal son found his mansion in shambles and the family in poverty. He vowed to restore the family name to its former glory.
As the Penguin, he began committing crime in Gotham with his Geisha Twins, trained birds, and concealed weapons such as grenades, flame throwers, and a propeller in his umbrella. The Penguin crashed a gala fundraiser at Wayne Mansion and stole the guest list to use as a master list for his coming crime spree. Alfred Pennyworth wised up to the theft and confronted him, only to be captured. The Batman intervened and saved Pennyworth. Oddly enough, the Penguin began to fixate on Bruce Wayne and not the Batman so much. In his eyes, Wayne had everything that he should have: looks and money. After learning of an interview, Penguin invaded Wayne Mansion and caught the attention of journalist, Melanie Bramwell.
The Penguin often evaded serious jail time by pleading insanity and getting incarcerated at Arkham Asylum. The Asylum also proved easier for him to escape that a maximum security prison. After learning of a mob treasure hidden at Gotham Cemetary, the Penguin raced the Joker to the prize. The Penguin stumbled upon the secret catacomb of Count Dracula and resurrected him with a drop of blood. Dracula used his mind control to overpower Penguin and use him as his human servant to guard his coffin by day. After Dracula was destroyed, the Penguin returned to normal and found both the treasure and a SWAT team. He was arrested and implicated in the kidnapping of all the people Dracula infected. Months later, the Penguin would become an unwitting victim of another, Poison Ivy.
When the 19th century bumbershoot, with an engraved handle and jewel inlay, emerged at an auction, the Penguin knew it belonged to his grandfather and tried to steal it. It secretly housed the code 17,4,22 (Map 17, Level 4, Tunnel 22) and served as a key for a tomb located in Gotham's old utility tunnels. The Penguin believed it contained a treasure stolen from the Royal Palace long ago. It only contained another clue and led to a massive race between Mr. Freeze, a kidnapped Alfred Pennyworth, the Penguin, Ewan Fripp, and the Batman to Gotham Harbor. However, Mr. Freeze's ice tunnel collapsed and he and Penguin were fished out of the waters by police.
Over the years, the Penguin attempted to form alliances to help further his own plans but they often fell apart because they always had to be on his absolute terms. Penguin tried to harness the power of Ra at Catwoman's expense, control the Man Bat, and team up with the Joker and Riddler to kill the Batman. These failures later led to the creation of Team Penguin. The Penguin, Killer Croc, Firefly, Ragdoll, and Killer Moth would use an unstable solvent to steal a ruby-encrusted penguin from the impenetrable vault of software billionaire, Robert Howard. Robin and Batgirl crashed a mutated Killer Moth right into the Penguin, ending the alliance. However, his life would take a turn to the strange when he and the rest of Gotham were attacked by the Joining. Over a year later, the Penguin accidentally acquired Green Lantern's power ring and was stalked by Sinestro.