A Bird By Any Other Name
Oswald Coblepot, even the name strikes readers as ridiculous, but perhaps the Penguin's true name describes him better than his nom de plume, if you may pardon the pun.
It's overblown, outlandish, theatrical, and out of touch. All apt descriptors of its bearer, and Penguin, for all of his schemes and dirty dealings, has lost all of those traits. I cannot name who created The Iceberg Lounge or what issue it debuted in the comics, but I remember when I was first introduced to it, I first visited the cool climate of Penguin's nightclub in the sequel to Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures.
Now as a Penguin fan, the idea of Penguin having a swanky club was at first a great boon. However, like many new things modern comics have given us, this too soon outstayed it's welcome. Penguin was now to sit back, the be the "behind the scenes" man for Bat Baddies. Now simply an arms dealer, a smuggler, a common kingpin, if such a thing could exist. This is not to say that it's not a valid interpretation of the character, certainly the mixture of black dealing in white collar crimes fit it's dapper host, however since most comic writers have no imagination or prowess in writing outside the box, this became a way to write off the Penguin. The iceberg became his tomb, and he's now only threatening as someone who can pull the strings and sit back getting fatter. He is retired, no matter how DC tries to frame it.
Now we come to Arkham City, where in a push to be seen as "edgy", Penguin is still active, but lost all of his original charm. He sports an unwholesome Eastenders accent and a bottle to the eye. Today's "sophisticated" Batman fan cannot see any merit in a fat man with an umbrella, and many now only see this Penguin as worthy of their time.
My first exposure to Penguin was this:
The Animated Series Penguin was obviously taken from Danny DeVito's performance in Batman Returns, However with the voice work of the brilliant songman Paul Williams, Penguin became a figure of complete opposition. A deformed, uncouth creature with an air of urbanity from his pompous demeanor, using superfluous language he had no command of, and the manners of a pushy uncle that was invited to the Christmas party despite the family's misgivings.
He was also, much like his comic counterpart, a swashbuckler. He could umbrella fence with the best of them, he pulled enough sway to join Joker and Two-Face on a trip to discover Batman's identity. He was the gentleman adventurer gone rogue, but without any of the charm that he saw in himself.
In short, this Penguin was fun.
The ultimate irony of Oswald Cobblepot, is despite his criminal brilliance, acerbic wit, and agility in spite of his rotund form, was still awkward, uneducated, and shortsighted. His manners in "Birds of a Feather" are perfect, he's both a dashing thief, and a pitiable personality. He is a summation of his namesake, much like an actual Penguin, his outer charm and dapper looks are tempered by an awkward sense of space, a virtually non-existent language filter, and a beak that prods into anything that strikes it's fancy even if unwanted. This made him sympathetic, and we could understand why someone so eccentric would turn to crime for his jollies.
At the same time, Penguin could be vicious and bitingly mean. In "Blind as a Bat" he hijacks a military plane and blitzes Gotham for the sheer hell of it. He could have simply threatened to attack in exchange for a ransom, but he instead attacks anyway and dares the city to stop him.
It's as if fans, in their desperate need to make Gotham a rational reality, could not find a place for the man who themes himself upon birds and umbrellas, missing that these were simply loves that he incorporated into his true métier: crime.
There was a time when I loved the Iceberg Lounge, and the modern interpretation of Oswald Cobblepot, however I have learned that it has simply served to clip the wings of a character that deserved better than what writers gave him.
Truly, a caged bird will never be as beautiful as a free one.