What's wrong with the Penguin?

[The Penguin]

Hi, I'm new to the board so I thought I would say hello and ask a question.

I noticed a lot of people said to get rid of my favorite Batman villain, The Penguin, in the "Batman Hit List." Most people who picked him said he was pointless or he sucks so I was just curious why some of you feel that way.

[finster]

I love the Penguin. Particularly his 'reinvention' in TNBSA.
Taking his classic look and applying it to the character of a shady nightclub owner was perfect. Practically every film noir in the '40's featured a nightclub where dark deals went down. The Iceberg Lounge, run by the Penguin, was a perfect fit for the animated Batman from the beginning, but Timm & Dini were originally forced to conform to the deformed freak look of 'Batman Returns'.

[Supermon]

Originally posted by finster
I love the Penguin. Particularly his 'reinvention' in TNBSA.
Taking his classic look and applying it to the character of a shady nightclub owner was perfect. Practically every film noir in the '40's featured a nightclub where dark deals went down. The Iceberg Lounge, run by the Penguin, was a perfect fit for the animated Batman from the beginning, but Timm & Dini were originally forced to conform to the deformed freak look of 'Batman Returns'.

Im with Finster on this the TNBSA Penguin was great.
But the freak Penguin was annoying and I never saw him as being a big threat to Batman.

[DisneyBoy]

Well, since I enjoyed the appearance of the original Batman Returns/B: TAS Penguin, I have to object with everyone's criticisms. Sure, he was goofy, but I am certain that if TAoB+R had continued, that the writers would have a made him a better episode than say, "The Mechanic", in the same way that they improved Riddler with "Riddler's Reform".

I too, enjoyed his reinterpretation in TNBA, but I think what made the character work was the fact that there were an obvious lack of gangsters in TNBA (Dagget, Thorne, etc), making his new change all the more interesting. I would still like to see an explanation for his evolution from freak to buisness man in an upcoming issue of Gotham Adventures.

By the way people, it seems as if Peterson and Levins are trying to improve their work so let's support Gotham Adventures!!!

[DR. BELCH]

--you meant what is physically wrong with him. A birth defect coupled with hyperobesity is my guess.

The Penguin is a threat because he's not criminally insane like Joker, Two-Face, Ivy, and such. He's a gentleman, and very intelligent, if somewhat deformed, and he knows how to manipulate people--be it cops, fellow criminals, or women (look at his seduction of Ronnie Vreeland).

[Clayface]

Yeah, I didn't care for the B:TAS version of the Penguin, but I loved his re-invention in TNBA, and that's even carried over to the mainstream comics, which is great.

[James Harvey]

I wasn't fond of the BTAS Penguin but thought the TNBA one kicked arse.My favorite appearance had to be the scene of him in Ultimate Thrill when Batman confront shim. Beautifully animated and staged. His comic persona is at it's best - a GREAT character.

[Domino]

He's a fine character as long as he's not portrayed as a slobbering, stained, mutated Burtonesque freak. I agree with the opinions supporting the TNBA Penguin.

[The Penguin]

I totally agree with all of you. I also really didn't like the mutant Penguin in Batman Returns. TAS slightly redeemed him when they made him more refined, but I still didn't like the way he looked. I really liked TNBA redesign but I never really heard about the show so I missed most of the shows.

[Toddman]

Originally posted by Clayface
Yeah, I didn't care for the B:TAS version of the Penguin, but I loved his re-invention in TNBA, and that's even carried over to the mainstream comics, which is great.

I think the shady, nightclub owner Penguin appeared first in Detective Comics and inspired the TNBA crew.

Toddman

[optimal321]

Personally, i love the Penguin. One of his major downfalls was that he never got a good ep in BTAS.

[Ricochet]

The Penguin is an excellent character. He brings a figure of dark, evil, yet sane charisma to the Batman rouge's gallery.

-- Ric :cool:

[The Mad Hatter]

I'll have to agree that the TNBA Penguin was better overall... he was used VERY effectively in his new role as a semi-legit night club owner, and I wish we could have seen more of him.

That said, I'll have to say that I was a big fan of the B:TAS ep High Society, as his attempts to fit in and subsequent reversion to crime after he was berated fit his character well.

[DisneyBoy]

As you said, seeing the Penguin strive to be accepted in High Society in B: TAS was part of the charm of seeing him make it there in TNBA. After all, if we hadn't known him as a freakish master criminal first, we wouldn't have been able to see him as a true threat later. It was a good evolution for the character.

[Ricochet]

BTW, nice avatar, Penguin! :D

[The Penguin]

Thanks Ricochet. Happy Holidays.

[The New Batman]

I like the Penguin. He's a good villian. I liked him (as well as everything better) in B:TAS than TNBA.

[Maxie Zeus]

I've always loved the Penguin, and although I wasn't very impressed with how he was handled in BTAS (where the design inherited from Burton cut against the urbane character), he really came back in TNBA.

[Calhoun07]

This might be the unpopular view...but I liked the Burton take on the Penguin.

[DerekPowers]

i liked the burton penguin too. even though batman returns strays alot from the comics with penguin and catwoman, i still loved the movie and thought it worked great.

but tnba penguin was the best. plus in tnba, he was alot more evil than in btas, much more serious and cold. and i too loved how it carried over into mainstream comics, making pengy into a suave mobster w/ a white suit. cooool.

[Ricochet]

Originally posted by The Penguin
Thanks Ricochet. Happy Holidays.

You too! :D

[Naraht]

My favorite take on Pengy was in the NML series in the comics...

He ruled...literally!

[GrayGhost]

The Penguin is cool!

Who is not is: Clayface, Croc, Babydoll, Man-Bat, and any other stupid villian like in that farm episode in TNBA. What a waste of an episode!

[Joe Tully]

I'm another one of the guys who prefers the BTAS design. It doesn't really bother me that he's a freak with this contradictory personality; in fact, I think that the contrast makes him more interesting. I do think that the idea of Penguin being a fence probably works better than the original idea, though.

Unfortunately, we never saw Penguin used very well in either series. The only good Penguin episodes from BTAS were Birds of A Feather and, while not as good, Blind As A Bat, in which there wasn't much characterization. I can't hold the poorer episodes (Mechanic & Batman in Basement) against the character, since the problems with those were not related to the villain. In TNBA, while he popped up several times, there was no Penguin-focused episode. Birds of A Feather was only the episode in which we really got a good look at the Penguin's personality.