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The
Batman
Call
of the Cobblepot
Original airdate 9/18/04
The Batman adds
another familiar face to his rogue's gallery this week.
It seems there is a new villain in Gotham who steals priceless
jewelry from the rich. No, it's not Catwoman. Here's a clue:
he steals the jewels by commanding an army of birds. No,
it's not The Owl. He's a Marvel character and you were stupid
for guessing that.
It's Oswald
"The Penguin" Cobblepot.!
The Oz-man has
just returned from a tour of the orient and has decided
to make his nest in Gotham. Along with his two geishas,
Cobblepot crashes a private party hosted by Bruce Wayne.
One of the guests is attacked by a bird shortly after Oz
notices her pretty jewels. It's Alfred who eventually explains
that he had heard the Cobblepots were once quite wealthy
but lost their fortune after it had been squandered. After
adding two and two, Batman begins snooping around the Penguin's
roost.
This week was
an improvement over last week. Penguin's redesign wasn't
as radical as The Joker's and the episode instead focused
on a more straight forward story.
"I hope it's
the villains that bring out the Batman and not the Batman
that brings out the villains".
I thought that
was the most insightful line of the week. It's a question
Batman has asked himself many times in the comics, but this
show definitely seems saying that it's Batman that brings
out the villains. How else could he have been Batman for
three years without running into people like The Joker or
The Penguin?
Batman's modernization
continued this week with a few sly details. It's widely
known even amongst casual fans that the entrance to the
Batcave is hidden behind Bruce Wayne's grandfather clock.
However, this Batman hides it behind a video game machine.
I get the feeling this Bruce Wayne had a much happier childhood
than we are accustomed to.
Penguin is much
younger and far more athletic than we've ever seen him before.
He manages to hold his own in a fight far better than Burgess
Meredith or Danny DeVito ever could.
Interestingly,
it's the Penguin who eventually gives himself the moniker
of "The Penguin." Yes, he is portrayed here with the traditional
long nose that the comics were moving away from for awhile,
but the name "The Penguin" always struck me as nickname
people called Oswald and that he resented them for it.
If I'm
ever in charge of rebooting the Batman franchise, that's
definitely the angle I'm going with.
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