Warning! Contains Spoilers For Batman: City of Madness #2!
Gotham’s nightlife just got a little more exciting, as new club has opened up for Batman’s villains. DC’s Gotham City is one of the most famous locations in comic books, containing multiple iconic locations, including Wayne Tower, Park Row, and the Iceberg Lounge. Now, with the introduction of the Pink Palace, any future Batman movie has the perfect reason to introduce Batman’s more outlandish villains, by setting a scene there.
Batman: City of Madness #2 – by Christian Ward and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou – will introduce the Pink Palace. This story follows Batman trying to hunt down the Batman Below, eventually leading him to the Pink Palace, a club run by the villain Flamingo, as a counter to the Iceberg Lounge.
In the preview for the issue, Batman states the Pink Palace was created as a more absurd alternative to the Iceberg. While the Lounge serves the average gangster and mob type, the Pink Palace offers pleasure and entertainment to the more colorful criminals of Batman’s rogues gallery, who might not fit in at the Penguin’s more low-key establishment.
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Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge Has Competition
While there are plenty of seedy bars in Gotham, like Noonans in the Cauldron, which low-level criminals frequent, the major league criminals tend to go to the Iceberg Lounge. Run by the Penguin, the Iceberg Lounge is a go-to place for facilitating crime deals all throughout the city. If someone is planning a heist, or needs to buy weapons, the place to go is usually the Iceberg Lounge. This is why Penguin has such a firm grip on Gotham City, because he runs an extremely popular legitimate business, which he filters crime through. However, considering its high-class clientele, not every Gotham villain is welcome in the Lounge. That’s where the Pink Palace comes in.
While it is not unreasonable to expect to see the Riddler at the Iceberg Lounge, someone like Mr. Zsasz would more likely be suited by the vibe at the Pink Palace. Characters like Zsasz, Joker, Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, and the Ventriloquist would all be unlikely to be welcomed at the Iceberg Lounge. Penguin has made his dislike of the Joker known; Zsasz hates Penguin, and the other three don’t exactly fit in with the high society atmosphere that Penguin wants to keep. This makes the Pink Palace the perfect alternative. What’s more, the Palace offers a great way for any future Batman movie to introduce Gotham’s more colorful rogues.
The Pink Palace Is An Alternative To The Exclusive Iceberg Lounge
Gotham City is, of course, home to tons of villains, but not all of these villains are always going to get along with one another. The Penguin is one of Gotham’s most enduring criminals because he runs a fairly respected club that is pretty separate from anything illegal. It’s extremely difficult to shut the place down because, by all accounts, it’s a normal club. Part of this is due to him keeping out the more wild criminals like the Joker and Mr. Zsasz, but those criminals still need a place to go, and Batman knows he can always find them down at the Pink Palace.
