Penguin in Batman: Every Actor, Film and Fate

The Penguin is one of Batman's recurring villains in Gotham City, and the films have cast three different actors in the role. Burgess Meredith plays The Penguin in the batman 1966 movie, directed by Leslie H. Martinson. Danny DeVito plays Penguin in batman returns (1992), directed by Tim Burton, and Colin Farrell plays Oz / The Penguin in the batman 2022, directed by Matt Reeves.

The credits use three slightly different names, which is the first thing to untangle if you are searching for the Penguin's name across the Batman films. The 1966 film credits "The Penguin", the 1992 film credits "Penguin", and the 2022 film credits "Oz / The Penguin". None of the three credits gives a surname such as Oswald Cobblepot or Oz Cobb, so those full names are not something the films' billing confirms. These are separate takes on the same Gotham rival rather than one continuing performance, so you can watch any of the three without having seen the others.

Why is the Penguin a villain? In each film he works against the law for his own gain. In 1966 he joins three other villains in a plot to hold the world to ransom. In 1992 he blackmails a businessman and later plans to kill the firstborn sons of Gotham City. In 2022 Batman's hunt for a killer leads him to the Iceberg Lounge, a club run by the Penguin, and the Penguin is later captured during that case.

For the full run of films, see batman movies, batman movies in order, the batman timeline and the wider list of batman characters.

The Penguin has three distinct story arcs, one in each film where he is billed, and they share almost nothing except the name.

Batman (1966). The Penguin is one quarter of the United Underworld, alongside the Joker, the Riddler and Catwoman. The group builds a machine that dehydrates people into powder, and uses it to kidnap members of the United Nations Security Council. Batman and Robin survive torpedoes and a bomb while hunting the villains, and they end up fighting the Penguin's submarine crew. Here he is one villain in an ensemble, and the story belongs to the group plot rather than to him alone.

Batman Returns (1992). This is the Penguin's biggest story. He is an outcast who was abandoned as a baby and raised in the sewers among penguins. He emerges as Gotham prepares for its Christmas tree lighting, strikes a deal with the businessman Max Shreck, then blackmails him and uses him to gain public standing. The Penguin begins presenting himself as a candidate for mayor. Batman is framed and clashes with both the Penguin and Catwoman. When the political disguise falls away, the Penguin plans to kill the firstborn sons of Gotham, and when that fails he launches a missile attack with an army of penguins.

The Batman (2022). After the mayor is murdered on Halloween by the Riddler, Batman and Lieutenant Gordon follow the killer's clues, which point to corruption across the city. Batman's search leads him to the Iceberg Lounge, a club run by the Penguin. Later the Penguin is captured, but he turns out not to be the informant the case revolves around. Farrell's version is a figure in the crime world around the investigation, not its main villain.

The Penguin's relationships change in each film, but Batman is always the opponent and another villain or criminal figure is usually the partner. In the batman 1966 movie the partners are the Joker, the Riddler and Catwoman, who together call themselves the United Underworld. Bruce Wayne also becomes close to a reporter named Miss Kitka, who is revealed to be Catwoman, so the Penguin's crew is only one strand of that tangled plot. See joker batman, riddler batman and catwoman for their own pages.

In batman returns the key relationship is with Max Shreck, a wealthy businessman who is hiding schemes of his own. The Penguin first makes a deal with him, then blackmails him. Shreck's assistant Selina Kyle becomes Catwoman after Shreck tries to kill her, so both the Penguin and Catwoman end up opposing Batman. Bruce Wayne, meanwhile, is drawn to Selina without knowing her costumed identity. For the hero at the center of it, read bruce wayne.

In the batman 2022 the Penguin's most direct link is to the Riddler's case, since Batman's search for the killer's trail leads to the Iceberg Lounge. Batman works that case with Lieutenant Gordon, who is covered at commissioner gordon.

The Penguin's fate depends entirely on the film, and only one version dies. In Batman (1966) the villains are beaten and the Security Council members are brought back to life unharmed, so the Penguin ends the film defeated alongside his partners. The story closes with the heroes leaving and does not set up a sequel.

In Batman Returns (1992) Batman defeats the Penguin's plan and the villain dies from his injuries. The same ending sees Shreck killed by Catwoman, and Catwoman seen alive in the final shot looking up at the Bat-Signal. Of the three Penguins, DeVito's is the only one whose story is closed off by death.

In The Batman (2022) the Penguin is captured during the Riddler case and turns out not to be the informant. The film's resolution turns on the Riddler, Selina Kyle and Batman rather than on him, so his status after capture is left open. The sequel, the batman part 2, is set for February 18, 2028 in the US, according to TheWrap, after Warner Bros. and DC Studios paused production on October 5, 2026.

In my opinion, the best Penguin scenes come from Batman Returns, because it is the one film that gives him a full story. The first is his arrival from the sewers just as Gotham prepares for its Christmas tree lighting, which gives a character raised among penguins an entrance that suits his origin. It could be argued that the mayoral campaign is the cleverest idea, since a deformed outcast pretending to be a respectable candidate is a sharper disguise than a mask.

The missile attack with an army of penguins is the big set piece, and it is as strange as it sounds. It is also the clearest case of the Penguin being the real threat of his film rather than a supporting villain. For context, Batman Returns made $267 million worldwide on an $80 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo, so this version of the Penguin reached a wide audience.

From the other two films, I would pick the submarine fight in Batman (1966), a comic action beat where Batman and Robin take on the Penguin's crew, and the Iceberg Lounge in The Batman (2022), where Farrell's Penguin is introduced as a man who runs a Gotham club. If you want one Penguin to start with, my pick is DeVito's, then read the full batman movies ranked list or follow the batman movies in order guide to place the film in sequence.