Originally Posted by
Ouch!
Ever since I heard the rumor regarding the Riddler and the Penguin as the next villains to be featured in Nolan's Batman series--played by Depp and Hoffman, no less--I've thought it's a pretty fantastic idea.
The Riddler is a villain driven primarily by an obsessive compulsion. His core defining trait is that he must leave a clue to his crime beforehand. The reason for this compulsion varies in different visions of his character from the comics, and I'm sure Nolan could find one that would be sufficient and consistent with the theme he's aiming for. As long as the Riddler maintains this compulsion, Nolan's free to make him as dark or twisted as he desires without risking damaging the character. Unlike some other Batman villains, he's fairly malleable in that regard and therefore very conducive to new media.
The Penguin, on the other hand, is a mob boss. I'd expect Nolan to stay away from the Danny DeVito characterization of the Penguin. While some people may think having the Penguin as a mere mob boss would be stale and rehashed, I think they're neglecting another important part of the Penguin's role in the comics. The Penguin, at a point, opens a lounge which is most obviously a mere front for seedier activities. However, Batman gives the lounge a grudging seal of approval. This is because the Penguin serves as an informant on occasion regarding the happenings of Gotham's underground.
Consider Batman's position at the end of the Dark Knight. He's a complete social outcast--a villain as far as most of Gotham is concerned. He can no longer rely on the police to be at his side--they're chasing him. This is the perfect time for the Penguin to show up.
The real brilliance of the combination of the Penguin and the Riddler, however, is how well they compliment one another. The Riddler is defined by an obsessive compulsion which requires him to leave various clues in the form of riddles as to what his next objective is. If Batman cannot rely on police intelligence to solve the riddles, would the Penguin not be an amazing source of information? It would certainly be a reluctant alliance--perhaps a mutually beneficial but mutually hostile symbiotic relationship. The Penguin would provide information to help Batman take down the Riddler--the likely more dangerous and more immediate threat--in exchange for Batman's acceptance of the Penguin's less-than-legal activities.
I think when people dismiss the Penguin they're too quickly dismissing him as merely a mob boss when really Nolan could focus on other aspects of his character to avoid it becoming a rehash of what Batman Begins and The Dark Knight have already exposed. Also, last I checked, the Penguin doesn't actually control birds, he just loves them. Other than that, he's a fairly normal guy (although sometimes he's shown with a sort of waddle as a result of a bad hip, which combined with his pointed nose and love for birds, explains his nickname).
