While The Joker may be Batman’s #1 villain, that necessarily wasn’t the case when it came to
THE BATMAN animated TV series.
Yes, The Clown Prince of Crime had his share of appearances on the show -- barefoot and all -- but I’ve got to think that Oswald “The Penguin” Cobblepot showed up the most of any of The Batman’s classic rogue’s gallery.
At least it sure seemed that was the case. Anyway…
The Penguin made the first of many appearances on THE BATMAN in the show’s third episode appropriately titled “The Call of the Cobblepot.”
Before I go on with this review/summary of this particular episode, here's a quck rundown of The Penguin's history and how he's depicted in THE BATMAN.
While considered to one of the “Top 5” Batman villains (The Joker, Catwoman, The Penguin, Two Face, The Riddler), ‘ol Pengy is probably the most uninteresting of the lot -- historically speaking. For the most part, he was a dude in a tux with gimmicky umbrellas. Even in the 1960s TV series (and the ‘66 movie), that’s how he was portrayed by Burgess Meredith.
Then in BATMAN RETURNS, director Tim Burton decided to make him “more interesting” and turned the character into a weird, deformed, raised by penguins, black goo-spewing, sewer-dwelling freak.
Uh…right.
Even in the classic BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, he was depicted as a lame, “gentleman of crime” sort of bad guy -- though he looked A LOT like the deformed version from BATMAN RETURNS.
The character was done right -- so to speak -- in the comics during the late 90s on into the the 2000s. He’s now portrayed as a gentleman/upper class businessman who has ties to both the mob and the criminal freaks of Gotham City, all the while owning and operating one of the city’s hottest nightclubs, The Iceberg Lounge.
THE BATMAN's Penguin from "Call of the Cobblepot"
THE BATMAN’s version of the character seems to be a amalgamation of his history. He comes from a one-time prominent Gotham family which once had an affiliation with Alfred’s grandfather. He’s all about two things: stealing money and attempting to reclaim his family’s socially elite status. He’s short, has a long beak-looking nose, blond, and sounds more like the 60s TV Penguin than Spongebob Squarepants.
The wealthy to-do of Gotham are getting ripped-off by birds. These big ’ol birds fly in and steal their jewels. Panic amongst Gotham’s upper crest ensues; except for…
Bruce Wayne -- who is hosting a very cool benefit party at Wayne Manor.
Guess who shows up on the paparazzi-infested red carpet with his kabuki entourage?
Now, this Oswald Cobblepot is a party-crashing poser -- and Alfred can smell it from a mile a way. This leads to our favorite butler doing a little “detective stuff” on his own which eventually puts him in dire straits.
Of course, working for The Batman has its perks – like him saving your ass from man-eating vultures!
Eventually, Batman takes down The Penguin and puts an end to his jewel theft operation – for the time being.
Overall, “Call of The Cobblepot” was a pretty good episode of THE BATMAN. While I prefer the current comic book portrayal of The Penguin, this show’s version is alright. The only thing that really bothered me about him is the character is the fact he was him being portrayed as this agile, kick-ass, martial arts master. What’s up with that?
At least he doesn’t live in the sewer, right?
