Batman Returns is the second installation in Tim Burton's Batman film franchise. Following the events of the 1989 Batman, Batman Returns traces the life of Bruce Wayne as he is faced with new villains. The film introduces two new characters: Selina Kyle, Shreck’s assistant who becomes Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, a disfigured man who was abandoned by his parents to the sewers of Gotham as a baby (Danny DeVito). While both these characters prove to challenge Batman in different ways, Batman Returns is a dark and creepy addition to the Batman franchise, mainly due to its focus on the Penguin.
With the recent release of The Batman, and an appearance from the Penguin by Colin Ferrell, it’s only right that we take a closer look at Burton’s iteration of the Penguin as portrayed by DeVito. Batman Returns broke ground with its portrayal of the Penguin as it was the first to consider the Penguin as more of a deformed monster scorned by society rather than a rich debutante, thereby giving more depth to his alias Penguin than simply the fact that he traditionally wore a tuxedo in the comics. These are Danny DeVito’s best Penguin moments in Batman Returns, ranked.
5 Penguin for Mayor
At the behest of Shreck, the Penguin (Danny DeVito) is pushed into running for mayor as a way of eliminating any competition to Shreck Industries. In Batman Returns, Shreck visits the Penguin and tells him his plan to have the Penguin run for Mayor. While Oswald is not keen on the idea at first, Shreck shows the Penguin his publicity team, all while he is eating a raw fish. This scene is a quintessential moment in the film as it drives the plot of both the Penguin’s life above ground and Shreck’s selfish behavior, using the Penguin for his own benefit. It also shows that the Penguin is still a deformed man raised by penguins whose habits are quite unseemly, the Penguin even going so far as to attack one of the members of the PR team for his mayoral run. This begins the toxic relationship between the Penguin and Shreck revolving around threats and blackmail.
4 Killing Gotham’s Firstborn Sons
After Batman plays a recording of Oswald making disparaging remarks about the citizens of the corrupt Gotham City during the Penguin’s speech, the city of Gotham turns on him, and he is forced to return to the sewers, outcast once more. This is the straw that broke the camel’s back for the Penguin, as he vows revenge on the entire city and renounces his humanity, refusing to be referred to as Oswald and revealing his plan to kidnap and murder every firstborn son in Gotham. This act shows the Penguin’s ability to be cruel; the moment he is rightfully scorned for wrongful acts, he swears revenge. Not only does he plan to kidnap a great number of children, but he plans on murdering them, ridding Gotham of its future in the same way that the Penguin’s future was taken from him.
3 Assembly of a Penguin Army
Towards the end of the film, Penguin feels betrayal from the city of Gotham and plans to bomb the city, hoping to kill everyone in Gotham. His huge army of Emperor Penguins trots into the city with bombs attached to their backs, ready to take out the whole city. Fortunately, Batman manages to stop this army from carrying out the Penguin’s plans and saves the city, as he usually does. That said, the Penguin managing to assemble and control an army of Penguins is an impressive feat that not many villains could have accomplished. Not only is this method of destroying the city very characteristic of Penguin, it also would cause the most destruction and chaos, as everything in the city would have been blown away, including the Emperor Penguins.
2 The Penguin Visits the Cemetery
After a long and strenuous search, the Penguin finally discovers his real name and who his parents were. Upon discovering that both his parents are dead, Penguin makes an emotional visit to the cemetery where they are buried. Despite them abandoning him, sending him adrift into the Gotham sewers due to his deformities, the Penguin still visits the place of their burial. He drops to their knees and has a moment to reflect on what happened to him. This sad moment denies the Penguin the answer to why he was abandoned so cruelly and the only answer he receives is the discovery of his real name. When the media asks him how he feels about his situation, the Penguin reveals his true name to be Oswald Cobblepot and asks everyone to refer to him as Oswald rather than Penguin.
1 Introduction to the Penguin
When we are first introduced to the Penguin, the Mayor’s baby is taken and tossed down the Gotham sewers in a staged appearance to make the Penguin look like a hero in order to detract from his off-putting appearance. At this point, the media arrives to cover the story of the hero who saved the baby, and whilst interviewing the Penguin, he sends out a plight to Gotham asking for help to find out his real name. While this introduction is intended to show his good side, hearing the Penguin’s struggles helps the audience to sympathize with the Penguin, making him less of a villain and more of a misunderstood monster. Bruce Wayne even sees the Penguin on TV and feels pity for him, but is suspicious of his motives, eventually coercing him to investigate the Penguin’s background and origins.