DC Comics
PENGUIN
668
APPEARANCES
2280
TOTAL ISSUES
257
SERIES
The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character made his first appearance in Detective Comics #58 (December 1941) and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The Penguin is one of Batman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery. The Penguin is a Gotham City mobster who fancies himself a "gentleman of crime", often wearing a monocle, top hat, and tuxedo. The character is a short, obese man with a long nose, and he uses high-tech umbrellas as weapons. The Penguin runs a nightclub called the Iceberg Lounge, which provides a cover for his criminal activity, and Batman sometimes uses the nightclub as a source of criminal underworld information. Unlike most of Batman's rogues gallery, the Penguin is sane and in control of his actions, giving him a unique relationship with Batman. According to Kane, the character was inspired from the then advertising mascot of Kool cigarettes – a penguin with a top hat and cane. Finger thought the image of high-society gentlemen in tuxedos was reminiscent of emperor penguins.
FIRST APPEARANCE
Detective Comics #58
"One Of The Most Perfect Frame-Ups"
December 1941
First appearance of Penguin.
CREATORS
Writers and artists on Penguin's earliest appearances.
