7 Worst Things The Penguin Has Ever Done

Are we just going to ignore THAT scene from Batman Returns?

by Ewan Paterson
DC Comics

Although the Penguin has never been one of Batman's most formidable foes, he has garnered something of a reputation over the years as one of the character's most famous.

Appearances in Batman Returns, The Animated Series and Rocksteady's Arkham games have all solidified the bird-like villain among the top-tier of Bat-villains - even if his personal record with the Bat doesn't make for pretty reading. Still, as an antagonist to The Dark Knight - and as a citizen of Gotham City, no less - Oswald Cobblepot has gotten up to some terrible things in the past.

Terrible, terrible things.

Whether it be the comics, films, TV shows or otherwise, the Penguin has harmed civilians, superheroes and law enforcement more times than Batman's had sidekicks. He's a bird of prey by any other name, and though he's been unable to match wits with The Caped Crusader more times than he'd possibly care to admit, he's still one of his deadliest adversaries - weaponised penguins and all.

The ornate ornithologist might not be the Joker, but when it comes to his criminal record, you'd be surprised at how bad it is.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.