Warning! Contains spoilers for The Penguin #7!
When Batman first appeared in Gotham City, he waged a brutal and efficient war against crime. He struck against major crime families and brought them down with surprising ease, but now it’s been revealed that this was possible due to information supplied by the Penguin. While Batman thought he was cleaning up Gotham City, he was just taking out Penguin’s rivals.
This major reveal about Penguin’s origin is featured in the preview pages for The Penguin #7 by Tom King and Steven Subic. In this story, Batman pursues several crime families, including the infamous Bertinelli family. It turns out that the Penguin has been manipulating Batman, using his war on crime for his own benefit.
In the previous issue of this Dawn of DC series, the Penguin earned Batman’s trust by providing evidence that helped Batman lock up Carmine Falcone. Now, Penguin is feeding Batman falsified information to direct his war on crime against his rivals, and it doesn’t seem like Batman has any idea.
2023 Re-Established the Penguin as One of Batman’s Biggest Threats
The past year has featured Gotham villain Penguin in several notable storylines, pushing the character to DC’s center stage & out of his comfort zone.
Penguin Was Behind Batman’s Major “War on Crime”
The Penguin is one of Batman’s most dangerous villains, specifically because it’s easy to underestimate him. He’s completely unimposing and seemingly unimportant, something this origin story even notes in its title: “An Unimportant Man.” Penguin isn’t terrifying because of his physical abilities; he’s a threat beacause of his intelligence and cruelty. Penguin went from a low-level bartender to a criminal mastermind, and he used Batman to do it. This new addition to the character’s origin not only makes Penguin far more intimidating, it also makes some of Batman’s iconic moments far more twisted.
One of the most famous moments in Batman’s history was in Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli: Batman blows open a wall during a high-profile criminal meeting. He threatens every crime lord, telling them that while they’ve “eaten well,” their time running Gotham is over. It’s a chilling moment that truly shows why criminals began to fear Batman. But with the new addition of Penguin’s involvement, this moment is also tainted. Batman would’ve only known about that Year One meeting due to information Penguin supplied, and running these crime lords out of Gotham ultimately only helped Penguin.
One of Batman’s Most Iconic Moments Has a New, Dark Twist
While most fans assume the Joker is Batman’s biggest threat, the Penguin has consistently shown what a dangerous opponent he is. Oswald Cobblepot is the one villain in the DC Multiverse who has consistently beaten Batman, and seeing this new origin, it’s not hard to understand why. Very few characters have managed to manipulate Batman, and even fewer have gotten Batman to fight for them unknowingly. ThePenguin has now done both — and forever stained Batman’s legacy because of it.
The Penguin #7 is available February 27th from DC Comics!
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