Everybody’s still talking about The penguinBut now that it’s over, how can people fill the void left by the story of the brutal crime? The HBO show didn’t hold back on the worst side of Oswald Cobblepot (or rather, Oz Cobb), but is there any comic that can satisfy Penguin fans?
The good news is that there is they are many stories that similarly focus on Gotham’s notorious crime boss, and yes, are just as dark and violent as Colin Farrel’s epic portrayal of the Penguin. From stories that focus on Oswald rebuilding his empire to tales that show his complete lack of humanity, The penguin fans will want to read these five comics.
Batman: A Bad Day: Penguin Shows that Oswald returned from his lowest point
Batman: A Bad Day: Penguin by John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli
Batman – A bad day was a line of prestige-format one-shot comics, each centered on one of the Dark Knight’s iconic enemies (much like The killing joke did for the Joker). John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli embrace the ‘bad day’ tag by showing Gotham’s most infamous gangster at the lowest point of his criminal career. His operation was stolen by a new player known as Umbrella Man and Penguin has nothing to his name except a few dollars that he uses to buy a gun and a bullet.
Throughout Batman – A Bad Day: PenguinOswald slowly but surely gains the resources he needs. Whether it’s Penguin using his silver tongue to convince old allies to join him or using the few resources he has to make those who stand in his way suffer, Oswald works his way through Gotham’s underbelly, gaining more power and influence. And yes, the Dark Knight is around, but with Umbrella Man making Gotham worse than the Penguin ever did, Even Batman begins to reconsider the role the Penguin plays in his city.
This one-shot is a perfect story for readers who have just watched The penguin as it is a standalone tale and not really tied to any ongoing events. Additionally, Oswald is fighting and forging alliances, just like he did in the HBO series. Those who like the strange kind of charm that Oswald can use whenever he wants are You’re sure to enjoy the Penguin’s rise to power in this incredible crime story.
The penguin is for fans who love the intriguing side of Oswald
The penguin by Tom King and Rafael de Latorre
If The penguin made one thing clear: Oswald Cobblepot knows how to play the long game to get what he wants. Over the course of a year, Tom King and Rafael de Latorre showed the gangster’s Machiavellian nature with another story about the Penguin reclaiming his empire. But while Batman – A Bad Day: The Penguin saw Oswald lose his operation to a rival criminal, The penguin place the title character in opposition to his own flesh and bloodthe Penguin’s twin children, Addison and Aiden Cobblepot.
The Penguin is based on a Batman plot that involved Oswald faking his death and starting a new life in Metropolis. Unfortunately, his second chance is thwarted when the United States government arrests him and turns him into a government asset, hoping to use him to secretly control Gotham’s criminal element. With no other option, Penguin begins to assemble a small but dedicated team of unexpected DC characters to turn around his former operation. But the Cobblepot twins begin taking steps to keep the business out of their father’s hands by any means necessary.
While this one is a little more involved in DC’s modern continuity, it’s still worth reading for fans of the HBO show. Even when it seems like he isn’t, Oswald is always working an angle or working on someone, whether it’s Amanda Waller, the Riddler, or even Batman. You never know what he’s thinking, especially since the comic is narrated by all the characters except the Penguin. So, readers who loved watching Oswald using everyone around him as pawns in the Penguin’s twisted game will love this book as much as.
Joker’s Asylum: Penguin Gives readers a true insight into Oswald’s heart
Joker’s Asylum: Penguin by Jason Aaron and Jason Pearson
Like this Batman – A bad day, Joker’s Asylum was a comic book series focused on the biggest villains in the Dark Knight’s rogues’ gallery (although these stories lacked prestige). However, Jason Aaron and Jason Pearson use the limited amount of space they have with Joker’s Asylum: Penguin tell a story that illustrates the kind of person Oswald Cobblepot really is. Told by the Clown Prince of Crime himself, this story begins with a young penguin who is pranked by a group of girls (one of whom he likes).
Years later, Penguin falls in love with a woman named Violet and appears to be changing for the better. That is, until one of Oswald’s dates with Violet is interrupted by a chef who laughs in Penguin’s direction. In revenge for the perceived slight, Penguin systematically ruins the chef’s life and drives him to alcoholism and eventually suicide. To make matters worse, Violet discovers what Oswald did to the chef, just like everyone who has ever humiliated the Penguin.
The Penguin television series was not shy about portraying Oswald’s shortcomings. The program made it very clear that the Penguin was fueled by insecurity and hatred and that anyone who angered him would end up paying a high price for displeasing him. Joker’s Asylum: Penguin It’s a must-read for fans who want to see how terrible Oswald can really be, even when he’s responding to a perceived slight rather than a genuine insult.
Batman: Penguin Triumphant Oswald reinvented for a new era
Batman: Penguin Triumphant by John Ostrander and Joe Staton
While most fans think of the Penguin as a crime lord, the truth is that he used to be much more of a gentleman thief type character who just had an affinity for the Penguins. But in a post-Crisis DC universe, the Penguin has moved on from his more bizarre crimes to a more relatable and profitable venture. Triumphant Penguin by John Ostrander and Joe Staton helped shape the image of the modern Penguin with a story that saw Oswald Cobblepot prevents robberies for Wall Street in an effort to crush Bruce Wayne.
After realizing he could make more money as a white-collar criminal, Oswald pretends to have changed his ways and begins investing in the stock market. The ‘resigned’ gangster kills and Penguin begins to climb the social ladder with Bruce powerless to stop him. But Penguin is not alone in this money-making scheme, as Randall Holmes, an old rival of the Penguins and a powerful financier, joins him. But as greed begins to grow on all sides, the Penguin finds his old criminal life calling.
This book not only helped shape the Penguin for a new era, it also reinforced something that The penguin the show also made it clear: Oswald can’t help but get in his own way. He is undoubtedly brilliant and motivated more than most, but because of something inside him, he can’t help but make the worst choice in any scenario. Fans who want to take a look the modern characterization of the Penguin will want to make sure it tracks this story.
Penguin: Pain and Prejudice Truly defines Oswald Cobblepot
Penguin: Pain and Prejudice by Gregg Hurwitz and Szymon Kudranski
It’s difficult to summarize a character as complex as the Penguin in one story. But if there’s anyone who defines Oswald Cobblepot, it’s the underrated Gregg Hurwitz and Szymon Kudranski Penguin: Pain and Prejudice. This five-issue limited series covers almost everything about the Penguin’s life, from his incredibly terrible childhood to the inhumane crimes he commits as the notorious Batman villain. This series really plays with readers as it will make them sympathizing with the Penguin one moment and deeply hating him the next.
Not unlike the television show The Penguin, this book makes it clear that Oswald has a twisted kind of love in his heart for his mother, the only person who has never judged him for his appearance. But that love is buried beneath the cruelty that Oswald wears like armor in Gotham as he tries to keep his criminal empire running while Batman does his best to take down the Penguin. It’s a book that will attract fans in all directions while exposing the darkness hidden in the Penguin’s soul.
The penguin was an incredible show that is certainly one of the best stories to feature the iconic enemy. But if there’s one book that comes close to the illness that surrounds someone like Oswald Cobblepot, it’s Penguin: Pain and Prejudice. It’s a little more fantastical and dark than the HBO series, but it has the dark brutality that keeps fans coming back weekly. Any fan of The penguin They owe it to themselves to make sure they read this story, which could easily be called the same.
Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime drama spin-off television series from the 2022 film The Batman. Set shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, aka the Penguin, begins his rise in Gotham City’s underworld as he fights with his late boss’s daughter, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family’s empire.