Warning: Contains spoilers for The Penguin #2!!
Gotham City has been beset all manner of villains during Batman’s tenure, from crime bosses to sadistic clowns, but now DC’s most proficient killer has returned to the scene in the latest issue of The Penguin. The Help is an impeccable fighter, able to stand his ground against Batman. Since his original appearance, he’s been one of DC’s most dangerous combatants, and now he’s heading back to Gotham.
The Penguin #2 – by Tom King, Rafael de Latorre, and Marcelo Maiolo – finds Oswald Cobblepot working toward taking back his position in Gotham. Unable to do it alone, he seeks out the most powerful henchman in the world: the Help.
The Help has not only stood against Batman, he’s had a hand in training several other incredibly skilled fighters and heroes.
The Help Casts A Long Shadow Over The DC Universe
The Help was first introduced in Batman: Killing Time #3 – by Tom King, David Marquez, and Alejandro Sánchez – where he was hired by Penguin to settle his conflict with Riddler and Catwoman. Now, writer Tom King has brought the character back in The Penguin #2, once more as a reluctant associate of the Penguin. Killing Time #3 established the Help as the most skilled person in the fight immediately upon his entering the frat, as he shot Riddler and defeated Batman. Not only was he able to counter Batman’s moves, he named the tactics and their origin, explaining his own experiences with everyone from Ted Grant to Ras al Ghul.
Penguin Forced The Help Out Of Retirement
In Killing Time #3, the Help gave a sense that the fight didn’t require his full concentration; he had energy left over afterward to be complimentary toward Batman. The Penguin #2 offers further insight into the Help’s history. His students include Lady Shiva, widely regarded as the most lethal fighter in the world. As he and Penguin hunt on the grounds of his home, he mentions being employed by the Queens to train their son Oliver years earlier. Previously, he name-dropped Black Canary as a former trainee, meaning he’s had a hand in both Canary and Green Arrow’s origins. Nearly ninety years old, the Help exceeds Batman in both training and experience.
After the events of Batman: Killing Time, during which he retrieved the incredibly valuable object known as the Eye of Christ, the Help retired, settling in to a life of luxury. Yet, in spite of his imposing skill as a fighter, Oswald Cobblepot was able to force the Help to join him in his campaign for criminal supremacy in Gotham. In The Penguin #2, the eponymous crime lord killed the Help’s staff, citing being served and waited upon “wasn’t him.” Now, Cobblepot will take his rightful place in Gotham with Earth’s greatest henchman at his side – ensuring that whoever comes out on top, the Help or Batman, the Penguin may be the only winner.
Check out The Penguin #2, available now from DC Comics!
