6 Times Gotham Improved Batman's Mythology (And 4 Times It Failed)

3. Fleshed Out Penguin For The Casual Fans

Gotham Penguin
Fox

To those who maybe don’t spend all that much time reading comic books, Oswald Cobblepot is often viewed as a freak of nature who has a bunch of goons at his disposal and who waddles around eating fish.

While elements of that are indeed true, the Cobblepot of the comics is also an underhand, ruthless mob boss who is more interested in taking out his fellow crime lords than snacking on a salmon.

In Gotham, Robin Lord Taylor delivered a stunning incarnation of Oswald as he went from pot-washing lackey to all-powerful crime boss throughout the series’ five-season run. For the more casual comic book fans, this five-year journey provided the perfect encapsulation of what makes The Penguin such a brilliant character.

Not only is Penguin a multi-layered character in Gotham, he’s also depicted brilliantly as a power-hungry rogue who is looking to ascend the murky world of the city’s crime families.

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Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.