The Penguin is one of Batman's oldest and most infamous recurring villains. His real name is Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, and he first appeared in Detective Comics #58 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in 1941. He is in Reeves' latest movie, The Batman, and is played by Colin Ferrell.

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Despite being the boss of a violent street gang, the Penguin is considered one of the tamer Batman villains compared to the likes of the Joker, Bane, and Scarecrow. Cobblepot doesn't personally like being involved with violence, and misery is only a byproduct of his activities. Despite that, there have been several times where Penguin has been a genuine threat to Gotham City and its inhabitants.

10 His Time Serving On The Suicide Squad

The Penguin and the Suicide Squad on a mission to Moscow

The Penguin was recruited onto the Suicide Squad in Suicide Squad #5 by John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell. He was brought on for his ability to formulate elaborate plans, but he was also sent out into the field to ensure his planning wasn't half-baked.

This particular mission involved infiltrating the Soviet Union on behalf of the United States, so this was a particularly testy situation to drop Cobblepot into. Any major mistake could have instigated a world war. Thankfully for Penguin and everyone else, he was able to escape this job and return to America.

9 When He Controlled Swarms Of Birds That Attacked Gotham City

The Penguin glaring in his suit

Cobbelpot took advantage of down-on-his-luck inventor Harold Allnut to create a machine capable of commanding birds to do his bidding. This kicked off in Batman #448 by Marv Wolfman, Alan Grant, and Jim Aparo.

Allnut's machine worked and the Penguin planned on selling it to the highest bidder after a few test runs. The Penguin commanded the birds to terrorize Gotham until the Dark Knight caught up with him and destroyed the machine before it could be sold.

8 When He Turned Into A Giant Crow To Fight Other Penguins

The Penguin turning into a giant crow

In The Last 52: War Of The Multiverses one-shot that accompanied Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Dark Nights: Death Metal, the Penguin received a spotlight in Apicius by Marguerite Bennett and Inaki Miranda. In this particularly strange tale, the Penguin is attacked by twisted reflections of himself.

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To defeat these other selves, he somehow transforms into a giant crow and begins eating these other Penguins. Among them is a Penguin who is tall and thin, a Penguin who turned into a vast blob monster, and a Penguin who rides a leopard seal and kills actual penguins.

7 Selling Weapons To The Various Gangs During War Games

The Penguin smoking a cigar in DC Comics

When Batman's "War Games" protocol was prematurely initiated by Stephanie Brown, Gotham City was plunged into a massive and brutal gang war. At this time, the Penguin wanted it to appear that he had gone straight, so he stayed on the sidelines. However, he still needed to make a profit somehow.

To do so, he found a cache of Navy weapons and began selling them to all sides of the conflict. While he didn't participate personally in the ongoing bloodshed, he certainly exacerbated it through his actions. All of this was shown in Batman: Legends Of The Dark Knight #182 by A.J. Lieberman and Brad Walker.

6 Becoming The King Of Blackgate Prison

The Penguin and Batman Facing Off Cropped

During a gang war between the Penguin and the Falcone Family, Penguin lost the Iceberg Lounge and had to go on the run. Both Cobblepot and Carmine Falcone were ultimately exposed for their crimes and sent to Blackgate Penitentiary in Batman Eternal #14 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, Jon Layman, Tim Seeley, and Jason Fabok.

This didn't stop the gang war, as Cobblepot and Falcone kept fighting one another behind bars. Penguin eventually won this gang war and became the new king of Blackgate. One of his first decrees was a hit on Jim Gordon that, thankfully, never succeeded. The Penguin had as much power as ever in Blackgate, and it served as protection from the outside world.

5 Being Possessed By A Golden Demon

The Penguin pointing a gun

A more recent Penguin scheme has come about with Monkey Prince #1 by Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang. The Penguin attempted to use a golden demon to turn his accountants into solid gold and planned on selling them and keeping the money. However, the golden demon had his own plans. It took control of Cobblepot, turning him into the Golden Horn Penguin.

This gave Penguin new power, even if he wasn't in control of himself. The demon is hungry, and it can only be fed by "the soul of a hero," which will inevitably lead the Golden Horn Penguin to fight Batman and the Monkey Prince.

4 When He Became The Mayor Of Gotham During Arkham War

Forever Evil Arkham War Batman Rogues New 52

With the Crime Syndicate overthrowing the world and breaking open Arkham and Blackgate, Gotham City became embroiled in a gang war between the Arkham and Blackgate inmates. The Penguin didn't want any part of it, so he came up with a new plan.

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In Forever Evil: Arkham War by Peter Tomasi and Scot Eaton, the Penguin set himself up as the mayor of the city and played both sides as he saw fit. This, of course, only intensified the fighting and ensuing destruction. He also helped Bane become the new champion of Gotham, which led to another showdown between Bane and Batman when the latter returned.

3 When He Formed His Facade Of Being A Legitimate Businessman

The Penguin holding a controller

One of the Penguin's greatest tricks was making the world believe that he had become a legal businessman. A large part of this was building the Iceberg Lounge and using that as a front for his illegal operations. This reinvention took place in the Batman: Penguin Triumphant one-shot by John Ostrander and Joe Staton.

The threat of this move is that it has protected the Penguin from many (but not all) of the repercussions he could have faced for his illegal actions. Furthermore, some of his most heinous acts have been done while using this guise of legitimacy. It's amassed him more protection and fortune than he's ever had before.

2 Cobblepot Targeting Pregnant Women For Kidnapping

Catwoman strangling Penguin for information

In one of his more bizarre and cruel schemes, the Penguin began having his men round up pregnant women. The goal of this was to help them deliver their babies and then sell those babies off for illegal adoption. The depravity of this goes without saying, and Batman felt the same way.

This was revealed in Detective Comics #803 by David Lapham and Ramon Bachs as part of the "City of Crime" arc. However, before Batman could put a stop to the Penguin's operation, a bomb goes off in the Iceberg Lounge and almost kills Cobblepot.

1 The Penguin's Human Trafficking Operation

The Penguin giving an invitation

In another horrendous turn for the Penguin, he set up a human trafficking operation to snatch any immigrants that traveled to Gotham City. He would take the lonely immigrants and put them to work in a slave sweatshop.

This was revealed in Batman: The Dark Knight #26 by Gregg Hurwitz and Alberto Ponticelli. Thankfully, Batman eventually found out about this setup, and he shut down the Penguin and freed the trapped immigrants.

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