Penguin

Biodata

Background / History

Penguin spent decades fighting his way through Gotham's underworld after being mocked as a “freak.” By the time Chu Men enters the Iceberg Lounge, Penguin controls the club and is a major crime boss 3 4 6. He regards the lounge as his lifeblood and the symbol of his authority over Gotham's underworld 4.

Penguin confronts Chu Men with dozens of gunmen, but their bullets cannot reach him. Chu Men burns through Penguin's umbrella, severs his right arm with Heat Vision, and forces him to kneel and serve a meal 3. Penguin secretly sends Arkham footage to the police and Batman, spreads a rumor intended to draw Superman to Gotham, and sends his operatives Lark, Jay, and Raven to attack Chu Men with poisoned knives. The attempt fails; Chu Men brands “slave” onto Penguin's forehead, claims his assets and territory, and leaves him to run the businesses for 0.1% of daily profits 4 5 6.

For the assassination attempt, Penguin supplies blades coated with high-purity South American Frog Poison and promises the three operatives control of the smuggling route through East District Dock if they succeed. He believes attacking while Chu Men is occupied in bed will exploit a moment of vulnerability, but Chu Men's Bio-electric Force Field stops all three attackers before their knives can strike 5. Penguin's subsequent management arrangement leaves him responsible for the daily expenses of both the Iceberg Lounge and his East End operation despite his drastically reduced share of the earnings 6.

Penguin reports that most East End crews have accepted Chu Men's rule, though the Maroni and Falcone families remain outside his control. He hopes an attack by his longtime rival One-Eyed Frank will trouble Chu Men. Instead, Chu Men kills Frank and three allied bosses from several floors away. Penguin kneels and pledges that the Iceberg Lounge will answer only to Chu Men, who reveals that he knows Penguin tried to lure Superman to Gotham 9. At the time of this report, seventy percent of the East End crews have switched allegiance 9.

Penguin continues plotting with Black Mask and Two-Face. They pool $300 million to hire Deathstroke, while Penguin prepares a way to flee if the assassination fails 13. Each boss contributes $100 million. Penguin warns Deathstroke about Chu Men's flight, resistance to gunfire, Heat Vision, and victory over Batman; Deathstroke replies that nerve toxin can kill a target whose defenses resist conventional weapons 13 20.

Deathstroke is killed, and Penguin watches Superman lose to Chu Men. He tries to escape Gotham, but Lark stops him and Jay and Raven bind him 16 19 22. Penguin first cheers Superman's arrival and briefly believes Superman's Heat Vision has defeated Chu Men. As Chu Men gains the upper hand, Penguin orders his private plane prepared; seeing Superman trampled on a live broadcast, he faints before he can leave the lounge 15 18 19 20. When Penguin regains consciousness, his bodyguards have fled. He attempts to reach the back door and escape to the airstrip outside Gotham, but Lark intercepts him 22.

Chu Men brings Black Mask and Two-Face to the lounge; the three bosses blame one another and plead for mercy before Chu Men kills them with Heat Vision 22. Penguin claims that Roman and Harvey forced the assassination plot upon him, but Black Mask identifies Penguin as the one who contacted them. Chu Men pins all three bosses in place with his force field and slowly burns them from their feet upward in front of Gotham's assembled underworld leaders. Their deaths leave pools of charred blood and a few incompletely melted bone fragments 22.

After Penguin's death, Lark takes charge of the Iceberg Lounge under Chu Men. Gold bars and bearer bonds left by Cobblepot, worth more than $3 billion, are later counted among the lounge's assets 22 57. The surviving bosses sign contracts surrendering themselves and their possessions to Chu Men. Police informants confirm Penguin's destruction, and Gordon orders patrol officers to withdraw from the East End and avoid provoking the Iceberg Lounge 23. Penguin's fate remains a warning among Gotham's gangs: Falcone lookouts later cite the destruction of the three bosses while discussing Carmine's surrender of the South End docks 26.

Appearance

Penguin is short and fat. He initially appears in a tuxedo carrying a black umbrella 3.

• Injuries — Chu Men severs his right arm; Penguin later wears thick bandages around the shoulder 3 4.
• Brand — The character for “slave” is burned into his forehead, which he subsequently covers with bandages 6 13.
• Other features — He has yellowed teeth and thinning hair 4 15 17.

Personality

Penguin's submission to Chu Men is driven by fear, not loyalty. After agreeing to surrender his empire, he privately rages against the humiliation and keeps seeking others who might kill his new master 6 13. He is also cautious enough to arrange an escape route rather than depend entirely on Deathstroke's contract 13.

Chu Men's effortless killing of One-Eyed Frank briefly convinces Penguin that resistance is impossible, prompting a fervent pledge of obedience. He nevertheless resumes plotting with other crime bosses, and his hopes rise and collapse with Superman's changing fortunes in the fight against Chu Men 9 13 15 18 19.

Penguin is deeply resentful of ridicule and the loss of his standing. Hearing that low-level criminals call him Chu Men's watchdog, he imagines burying them in concrete and sinking them in the bay. He also plans to cut the slave brand from his own forehead and place it on Chu Men's corpse or face if Deathstroke or Superman defeats him 13 15. When facing execution, his concern for survival outweighs solidarity with his fellow conspirators, and he falsely blames Black Mask and Two-Face for initiating the assassination contract 22.

Abilities & Skills

Underworld organization

• Commands Iceberg Lounge gunmen, guards, and other loyalists before Chu Men's takeover 3 6.
• Uses surveillance, informants, anonymous leaks, and black-market rumors to bring other factions into conflict with Chu Men 4 13.
• Negotiates a joint assassination contract with Black Mask and Two-Face, though neither Deathstroke nor his earlier operatives can harm the target 5 13 16.
• Controls smuggling interests, including an East District Dock route that he offers as payment to Lark, Jay, and Raven 5.
• Maintains covert contacts and learns of Batman's defeat through an informant 13 20.

Equipment / Items

• Bulletproof black umbrella — Burned through by Chu Men's Heat Vision 3.
• Iceberg Lounge surveillance system — Lets Penguin watch Chu Men's suite and later monitor events from an underground room 4 5 15.
• Underground secure room — Protected by a half-meter-thick alloy-steel blast door and armed guards. Chu Men tears the door aside to reach Penguin after the failed assassination attempt 6.
• Poison-coated knives — Supplied to Lark, Jay, and Raven for their attack on Chu Men. Penguin claims the high-purity South American Frog Poison can stop an elephant's heart within a second if introduced through a cut 5.
• Satellite phone — Used to order his private plane prepared after Chu Men turns the fight against Superman around 19.
• Private plane — Prepared as a means of fleeing Gotham, but Penguin is stopped before he can reach it 19 22. The plane waits at an airstrip outside the city, while Penguin initially attempts to leave the lounge by helicopter 20 22.
• Gold bars and bearer bonds — Assets left by Cobblepot and later counted at the Iceberg Lounge; together they are worth more than $3 billion 57.

Relationships

• Chu Men — Takes Penguin's empire, forces him into service, and ultimately kills him for conspiring against him 6 22. After Penguin's death, Chu Men dismissively remembers him as someone who only spent money hiring killers 28.
• Lark, Jay, and Raven — Initially Penguin's elite operatives. After their failed attack on Chu Men, they serve Chu Men instead; Lark later prevents Penguin's escape 4 5 22. Lark takes over the Iceberg Lounge after Penguin's death 22.
• Black Mask and Two-Face — Fellow crime bosses who join Penguin in hiring Deathstroke. All three are killed after the contract fails 13 22.
• Deathstroke — Mercenary hired through the bosses' $300 million contract to assassinate Chu Men 13 16.
• One-Eyed Frank — A longtime East End rival whose attempt to seize Penguin's territory ends when Chu Men kills him 9.
• Superman — Penguin deliberately spreads rumors to lure him to Gotham and regards him as a potential means of defeating Chu Men. He celebrates Superman's arrival, but Superman's defeat destroys his hopes of recovering his empire 9 15 18 19 20.
• Batman — Penguin anonymously sends him Arkham surveillance footage in hopes that he will confront Chu Men. Although Penguin takes pleasure in learning of Batman's defeat, the outcome also demonstrates that another potential opponent cannot free him from Chu Men's rule 4 13.

Notable Quotes

“To deal with a monster, all you have to do is find his weakness.” 4

“But we have money. We have resources. There's no one in this world who can't be killed.” 13

“Get my private plane ready! Now! I'm leaving Gotham!” 19

“W-where can I even run?” 20

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