So after reading the mini-series Penguin Pain and Prejudice, I thought it was really fantastic to dig deeper into the character itself. but it just barely skims the surface of what the character is about. Im a Penguin fan and not really a joker fan (Please hold the tomatoes). Just for the sole fact I found Cobblepot a more human villain than anything else. In a way he represents the worst of all of us. And here is why.
From the moment of his birth Oswald Cobblepot was born different. it was not his fault or the fault of his parents. He like some many people in life sometime get the short end of the proverbial genetic stick. With his looks being an issue like much of society he was cast out. though in many background stories he has interacted with what everyone calls "normal society". he was treated as a freak and an outcast. Depending on which origin you read. its all the same. This can be said for many people in their lives who have had something wrong with them and were often picked on or treated differently than anyone else.
Growing up he took on the stigma which everyone called him. The Penguin man or The Penguin. He figures he would hide himself from people as he believes he does not fit in. later on this stigma starts to adopt a more envious and jealous nature which makes him yearn to be like everyone else. Batman Returns showcased the insanity of the penguin of a human being who is just tossed away and left for dead just because of his looks were not of "proper" stature. hell even one of his lines was. "You're just jealous, because I'm a genuine freak and you have to wear a mask!" While batman is just a rich boy trying to get revenge against criminals cause one guy killed his parents. Oswald wants revenge against the world because he has been genuinely been treated like garbage.
Through cunning and the use of hired goons, he has established himself as a criminal mob boss of Gotham city. a boss who does not need to lift a hand. but anyone who crosses him is swiftly dealt with. Without prejudice to that person and their family as well. He is a man who wants to acquire the finer things in life because he feels its about the things you collect that make you what you are and not physical appearance.
Now that i went a bit into his history, we all can see how we all have something of penguin in all of us. As comic readers we often deal with the stigma that society places on us not by choice. But we all have our ways of dealing with it. If anyone here has been picked on in there life, I know i was one of them. It can be a hard thing to deal with. Penguin represents the darker side of how things could take us down a path of hatred and envy of everyone around us. For those who have not yet read the 5 issue mini series Penguin: Pain and Prejudice. I suggest its worth a read because of the pain we all have shared at some point in our lives. and how sometimes those of us with some of the insecurities still let it get the better of us. After this series I hold nothing but compassion and pity for the character of the penguin and a right level of fear especially to how quickly he can turn on his own loved one. Lets take care of ourselves and each other.
-Good Journey
Troy Martin
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