Oswald Cobblepot (Gotham)

Oswald Cobblepot, known as The Penguin, is a fictional character who appears on the Fox TV series Gotham. He is portrayed by American actor Robin Lord Taylor and is based on the character of the same name, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, that appears as one of Batman's greatest foes. He has been considered the show's breakout character.^[1]

Development

Gotham marks the second time that The Penguin was portrayed on live television, with the first being in the 1960s Batman series in which Burgess Meredith played him. In taking on the role, Robin Lord Taylor cited inspiration from the Penguin's portrayal in Batman Returns, the second installment of Tim Burton's Batman film series.^[2]

Fictional character biography

Oswald Cobblepot is a cunning, well-spoken criminal "snitch." He also has a profound Oedipus complex, being unhealthily close to his mother Gertrud. At first glance Cobblepot appears to be milquetoast, subservient, and somewhat of a sycophant. In reality he is an ambitious and cunning sociopath who is willing to do whatever it takes to obtain power. Despite this hunger, Cobblepot is patient and uses his high intellect to concoct plans in order to reach his goals. Virtually every move he makes is premeditated to a certain degree.

Also notable is the fact that this is the first version of the Penguin revealed to be LGBT, when the character reveals his feelings for Edward Nygma.^[3][4]

Season 1

Oswald starts out as an attendant for Fish Mooney at her nightclub, and early on displays a sadistic, violent streak despite his small size. After he is discovered to be an informant for the GCPD, he is brutally beaten, leaving him with an odd way of walking furthering his nickname "Penguin". He escapes an attempt on his life, collaborating with Don Falcone when James Gordon deliberately misfires at the pier where Oswald has been sent for execution.^[5] After a stint in the Maroni crime family as a restaurant manager, he convinces Maroni of his loyalty, even setting up a robbery by some actors in which he feigns heroism to show his devotion. He later kills the three actors with poisoned cannolis and presumably keeps the stolen cash they had on them. Oswald later assumes Mooney's position in the Falcone crime family when Mooney's plot against the Don is uncovered. At the end of season one, Oswald is Gotham City's sole remaining mob boss, with all of his rivals either dead, missing, or having fled Gotham.^[6]

Season 2

Theo Galavan and Tabitha kidnap his mother, forcing him to help them. After they kill her, Oswald swears revenge and is later wounded during an attack on an event where Theo is holding his victory party for his election as Mayor of Gotham. After Edward Nygma finds him injured in the woods, he takes him home to his apartment to recuperate and tells him that in order to move on he has to forget about his mother, saying that she was holding him back while she was alive. Following his recuperation, he and Gabe follow Theo Galavan's henchmen where they save Jim Gordon from him. After the battle against the Saint Dumas, Oswald knocks out Nathaniel Barnes and convinces Gordon that Theo may never be convicted and must be killed. He and Jim then take Galavan to an isolated area, and Oswald mercilessly beats Galavan for killing his mother, before Gordon finishes Theo off with a gunshot.

After Theo's death, Oswald's men abandon him, and he is later found and arrested by the GCPD. After telling Barnes he's "insane," Oswald is taken to Arkham Asylum, where he meets Hugo Strange. After noticing and asking a fellow inmate, he later finds out that he is to be experimented on. Following some experiments, Oswald is released from Arkham and pays a visit to Butch and Tabitha to show off his certificate proving his sanity and hoping to make peace but they tar and feather him. He then pays a visit to Edward Nygma, attempting to convince him that he has changed and that Nygma can change too. Nygma tells him it is a tempting offer but that he is in a good place, adding that the information Oswald gave him about Jim has been really helpful but that the new Oswald is freaking him out, apologizing as he lets Oswald leave. Oswald later meets his biological father Elijah Van Dahl when at his mother's grave and Elijah takes him home to meet his stepfamily who take an immediate dislike to him, especially when they discover that he can claim Elijah's fortune since he is his biological son and try to convince Elijah that Oswald is a criminal, but Elijah excuses him for this, seemingly impressed with how far Oswald has risen in the world. After his step-family murders Elijah to gain the family's fortune, Oswald fears ending up on the street again and they reluctantly allow him to stay with them, on condition that he becomes their servant. However, when Oswald finds the sherry decanter filled with poison, he realizes how his father really died, awakening from his condition and slaughters his step-family in vengeance. After finding out that Azrael happens to be the resurrected Theo Galavan, Oswald and Butch kill Galavan with an RPG. After finding out about Hugo Strange's experiments, Oswald, Butch, and his gang knock down the bus supposedly containing Strange, but a shocked Oswald is knocked out by a resurrected Fish Mooney, prompting Butch and the gang to flee.

Season 3

Six months later, Oswald leads an angry mob against Fish Mooney's monsters but decides—unbeknownst to the public—to allow her and Strange to escape after she reveals that Oswald is her greatest creation, as she inadvertently motivated him to become a kingpin. He then tells Fish and Strange to never come back to Gotham City. As a result of being publicly lauded for his actions against the monsters, Oswald is elected mayor of Gotham City with the help of Edward Nygma. After Oswald discovers that Butch is the leader of the new Red Hood gang, Oswald angrily breaks off their partnerships. Later, it is revealed that Oswald harbours romantic feelings towards Nygma, though he's hesitant to tell him, fearing a one-sided romance. After hearing of Nygma's new relationship with Isabella, Penguin orders Gabriel to cut the brakes of Isabella's car, killing her. A devastated Nygma tricks Penguin into revealing his romantic feelings after being tipped off by Barbara. After Nygma confirms that Penguin indeed killed Isabella, Nygma vows to destroy him and everything he loves. Eventually, Penguin experiences hallucinations of his father (Basil Karlo in disguise) and is manipulated into killing Tarquin. Afterwards, he loses his mind on a live television interview, ruining his reputation. People then start to question Penguin's authority and demand his resignation. Penguin is then convinced that Nyoman has been captured, but eventually realizes it's a trap set by Nygma. After being forced to confess to killing Isabella, Penguin admits his love for Nygma, but this doesn't change the latter's mind and he is left to die. A police officer saves him, but Penguin is kidnapped by Tabitha and Butch.

Barbara convinces Penguin that if he wants to live, he needs to call Nygma in order to kill him. However, Penguin realizes that love involves sacrifice and that he ruined Nygma's chance at happiness for his own and decides to prove his love by dying instead of calling. Nygma then appears, revealing that he wanted him to die so he can see that he can't truly love anyone, but is still clearly moved by Penguin's statement that he can. This doesn't change Nygma's mind, however, and later at the harbor docks, after Penguin cruelly points out that he was the one who transformed Nygma from an awkward loser into a manipulative criminal, and after still stating that he loves him, Nygma shoots Penguin in the stomach and pushes his body into the harbor. Penguin is later found and healed by an aged Ivy Pepper, whom he forms a partnership with. After Gabe betrays Penguin and tries to auction him, Ivy helps Penguin escape. Penguin then uses Ivy's perfume to have Gabe reveal that he and his men only followed Penguin out of fear and that they still look at him as the same umbrella boy. Infuriated, Penguin kills Gabe, and as part of his plan to get revenge against Nygma, Barbara, Tabitha, and Butch, vows to form an army of Indian Hill freaks with Ivy.

Penguin and Ivy are able to get Victor Fries and Bridgit Pike on their side as they hear the news of Nygma's escape. Penguin was surprised that Nygma is now calling himself Riddler. Thanks to a plan by Gordon, Penguin and Bridgit Pike interfere on the Court of Owls' plan to use the weaponized version of Alice Tetch's virus on the Daughters of Gotham event which also involved the death of a Talon. The Court of Owls sends another Talon who abducts Penguin where he is now a prisoner alongside Riddler. Both of them work together to escape from their prison.

Penguin and Riddler continue their feud and when the latter insists that the GCPD hands over Penguin as a trade for Jervis Tetch, who has the cure for the Alice Tetch virus, they meet at a warehouse but a fight breaks out when Barbara, Tabitha and Butch show up, enabling Penguin to escape. Riddler chases after him, only to be knocked out by Penguin who then steals a squad car and handcuffs Riddler in the back seat. Riddler comes to and taunts Penguin, saying he could never love someone like him as he is a spoiled child who throws a tantrum every time he does not get what he wants, especially when what he wants, alluding to himself, does not want him back. This sends Penguin into a rage and he stops the squad car, prepared to shoot Riddler but as he goes to open the car door the latter kicks it open, having released himself from his handcuffs, and grabs the gun. An enraged Penguin says it was supposed to be his turn to kill Riddler and that the day that he was shot Nygma was reborn as the Riddler and there was nothing he could do about it.

Riddler drives to the harbor and leads Penguin to the water's edge, asking if he has any last words, but the latter says he is fine 'for now'. Riddler tells him he is going to kill him and that there is no later, so if he has something to say he better say it. Penguin continues to stall and Riddler prepares to shoot him only for no bullet to come from the gun. Penguin removes the bullets from his coat pocket, revealing that he removed them from the gun after he knocked Riddler out, right before he called Ivy and Victor Fries, who show up. Riddler realizes Penguin tricked him into believing he had the upper hand and Penguin says that everything fell into place. Riddler realizes that Penguin knew he would be brought to that spot and Penguin tells Riddler that he had used his tie pin to free himself from the handcuffs as he wanted it to be personal. Penguin says that he may be driven by his emotions but Riddler is driven by something more predictable - a desire to complete what he started in exacting fashion, further adding that he was the one time he let love weaken him but still wants him around so that he does not make the same mistake again so he has Victor Fries use his gun on Riddler, turning him into an ice sculpture. Later, Oswald and Ivy work on their plans for the Iceberg Lounge with Penguin intending to use Riddler as the centerpiece.

References