The latest issue of Batman/Catwoman just confirmed that the Penguin is one of Batman’s final foes, still posing a threat to Gotham in the future.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman/Catwoman #4 by Tom King, Clay Mann, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles, on sale now
Batman’s rogue’s gallery is full of powerful and deadly enemies, with many of them possessing incredible abilities that make them next to impossible to bring down. But that isn’t the case for some villains — who may be far more mortal than their allies, but no less dangerous or impressive.
Despite lacking impressive powers of his own, Batman/Catwoman #4 is just the latest recent story to suggest that Penguin will be one of the last of Batman’s major rogues standing.
In the future inhabited by a Batwoman who is the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, many of the Batman Rogues of old have been removed from power or otherwise reduced in some way. Some have even started to die off — notably the Joker, whose mysterious death has caught the attention of Batwoman. Concerned about her mother’s possible involvement, Batwoman confronts many of the remaining villains, who are largely out of the game or in jail. But it turns out that the Penguin has remained active in some way, even all these decades later. Never possessing powers like some of Batman’s other notable enemies, the Penguin has remained one of the most consistent and threatening of Batman’s enemies over the years, using his ruthless mind and criminal connections to keep ahead of the Dark Knight.
It seems that in the future glimpsed in Batman/Catwoman, he remains in power for years — even seeming to have a level of control over this future version of Gotham City. It’s an impressive showing from Oswald Cobblepot, who doesn’t even seem to flinch when Batwoman arrives on the scene and threatens him. The only potential risk comes from what Catwoman is willing to do to him for getting her way, with the former villain telling Penguin that Gotham was always her city, even if he believed otherwise. The ending implies that Catwoman may turn against Penguin and brutally bring him down once and for all (similar to what she did to the Joker earlier in the series), but the fact that Penguin is still active enough to be targeted speaks to his genuine ability as an enemy of the Dark Knight.
This isn’t the only version of Penguin who figured out how to remain active into old age. The Penguin of the DCeased reality was able to outlast most of his contemporary villains thanks to his place in a secret bunker in Australia. The story “I Know” from Detective Comics #1000 suggested that Penguin figured out that Bruce Wayne was Batman, but was clever enough to bide his time and hold onto that information late into life. Penguin is clever enough to survive most of the things thrown his way — giving him an edge over other villains who may be more physically imposing or threatening but get themselves killed along the way.
Unlike the villains in this time period, who were either defeated or forced on the run, Penguin still has henchmen and power within Gotham City — suggesting that even after decades of fighting crime, Batman was never able to truly root out Penguin once and for all. While he may at times appear to be one of the weaker of Batman’s rogues, the Penguin has proven to definitely be one of the most clever. His brief appearance in Batman/Catwoman just cements how tough and dangerous this underrated villain really is.
