The Penguin is one of Batman’s oldest foes. We’ve seen him in comic books, TV series, and movies. Now he is back in HBO’s The Penguin, starring the remarkable Colin Farrell. Have you been watching? Here’s the Penguin’s story in numbers.
#58
The Penguin first appeared in Detective Comics #58 in 1941. Long before the Penguin would become a big city kingpin, he was a thief. In his first comic book appearance, Cobblepot was after priceless paintings from an art gallery. He organised a heist to get his sneaky hands on it. Later, he would pin the crimes on Batman!
$250 000
The Penguin is no petty thief. If it’s not a priceless artefact that he’s after, it’s often a very expensive item. The paintings he stole in Detective Comics #58 were valued at $250 000. We guess Gotham’s crazy villain always had a taste for nice things.
#100
Various comic books tease that the Penguin is a man with 100 umbrellas. His umbrellas are fitted with various tools and can do various tricks. We are yet to see Colin Farrell’s Penguin use a trick umbrella in The Penguin. Will he? Only time will tell.
#52
So what’s the New 52? This is the new name of DC Comics’ range of superhero comics after its relaunch in 2011. The Penguin appeared in a few comics in the New 52 and was a client of a criminal named Raju.
#3
Colin Farrell stated in a few interviews that his makeup to transform into the Penguin took about three hours. By the end of the day he couldn’t wait to take it all off. We don’t blame him. It took around 45 minutes to remove it all.
#7
The Penguin takes place seven days after the events of The Batman. This is where we witness the rise of Oz Cobb as the new kingpin of Gotham City. Oz is ruthless, vicious, and strikes at every opportunity presented to him.
#8
HBO’s The Penguin only has eight episodes, but things are already heating up: dead bodies, double-crossing, and blackmail – so we know Oz’s story is going to be superbly told in those eight episodes.
#101
M-Net channel 101 airs The Penguin Express from the US on Mondays at 03:00. If you’re not an early b̶i̶r̶d̶ penguin, catch it in prime time at 21:00.
Go behind the scenes with The Penguin:
Join the conversation on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok using the hashtags #MNet101 and #ThePenguin.