The Penguin

The Penguin
Art by Brian Bolland
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #58 (December 1941)
Created by	Bill Finger Bob Kane
In-story information
Alter ego	Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot
Team affiliations	Injustice League Iceberg Lounge Suicide Squad The Society Super Foes
Notable aliases	"The Gentleman Of Crime, The King of Gotham"
Abilities	Criminal mastermind Utilizes weaponized umbrellas and other equipment

The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. Artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger introduced the character in Detective Comics #58 (December 1941). The Penguin is one of Batman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.

Depicted as a Gotham City mobster, the Penguin fancies himself a "gentleman of crime" and often wears a top hat and tuxedo. He is a short, portly man with a long nose and uses high-tech umbrellas as weapons. The Penguin runs a nightclub called Iceberg Lounge, which provides a cover for criminal activity, and Batman sometimes uses the nightclub as a source of criminal underworld information. Unlike most of Batman's rogues gallery, the Penguin is sane and in control of his actions, which gives him a unique relationship with Batman. 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 and its movie. 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, or a blend of the two. Robin Lord Taylor currently portrays a young Penguin in the television series Gotham. The Penguin has repeatedly been named one of the best Batman villains, and one of the greatest villains in comics and, paradoxically, has also been described by others as among the least convincing. Penguin was ranked #51 in IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time.