50 Greatest Super Villains In Comic Book History

16. The Penguin

(Write-up by Amanda Chrisman, Caped Crusades and Bam Smack Pow Staff Writer)

Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, better known as The Penguin, is a character I think of as the gentleman of crime — much like the Joker is the Clown Prince of Crime. One of Batman’s oldest villains, Cobblepot gained the title Penguin due to deformities that cause him to look similar to and waddle like the flightless bird. He is often depicted as obsessed with birds of all kinds, and his crimes usually reflect that.

The villain was portrayed by Burgess Meredith in the 1966 Batman TV series, by Danny DeVito in Batman Returns, and is currently being played by Robin Lord Taylor on Fox’s Gotham. Penguin has been a crime boss, a corrupt mayor of Gotham, a “legitimate” business owner and many other unscrupulous things. He is the owner of the Iceberg Lounge, which is a front for his illegal business activities, and a club mostly frequented by the criminal element of Gotham.

Penguin is making quite the comeback as a popular villain these days due to Robin Taylor’s excellent portrayal and the new insights we fans are getting into his ruthless mind. The Penguin is an important villain in story lines like Batman: Earth One, where he is the corrupt mayor of Gotham, attempting to have the Waynes killed the very same night they are shot in Crime Alley. He is also a major character in the video games Batman: Arkham City and Arkham Origins.

He’s earned his place on this list over the years with stories spread across all media, and while the Joker is Batman’s archenemy, you can be sure that as long as there’s a Dark Knight, there’s going to be a Penguin lurking somewhere in the seediest shadows.

Next: No. 15: A man with a plan -- and a whole bunch of arms