Penguin (comics)
The Penguin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is known as one of Batman's oldest and most persistent enemies. Artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger introduced him in Detective Comics #58 (December 1941). The Penguin is a short, rotund man known for his love of birds and his specialized high-tech umbrellas. A mobster and thief, he fancies himself a "gentleman of crime;" his nightclub business provides a cover for low-level criminal activity, which Batman (reluctantly) tolerates as a source of criminal underworld information. According to Kane the character was inspired from the then advertising mascot of Kool cigarettes — a penguin with a top hat and cane. Finger thought the image of high-society gentlemen in tuxedos was reminiscent of emperor penguins.
Burgess Meredith portrayed the Penguin in the 1960s Batman television series, perhaps the character's most well-known incarnation. Danny DeVito played a darker, more grotesque version in the 1992 film Batman Returns. Subsequent Batman animated series featured him in depictions that alternated between deformed outcast and high-profile aristocrat. The former interpretation appeared in comics, most notably in the miniseries Batman: The Long Halloween and its sequel Dark Victory. He made a cameo appearance at the end of the Long Halloween with no lines. He had a slightly more notable role in Dark Victory — this incarnation included elements of Meredith's interpretation. Paradoxically, the Penguin has repeatedly been named among the worst and best Batman villains.
Unlike most of Batman's rogues gallery, the Penguin is in control of his actions and perfectly sane, features that help him maintain a unique relationship with the crime-fighter. His latest characterization has him running a nightclub that is popular with the underworld. Batman comes to tolerate his operations so long as the Penguin remains one of his informants. The entrepreneurial Penguin often fences stolen property or arranges early prison furloughs — for a hefty fee, of course.
Read more about Penguin (comics): Fictional Character Biography, Powers and Abilities, Politics
Famous quotes containing the word penguin:
“Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.”
—Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)