>>97779095>Penguin Pain and Prejudice is underratedI disagree. It's easily the 2nd most overrated Penguin story out there (the first being that edgy Joker's Asylum one-shot).
Don't get me wrong, I really like it, but I wouldn't call it underrated, not with stories out there like Penguin Triumphant that are just as great if not better and don't get half the attention
>>97784568This is part of why I like Penguin. He's not sympathetic in the way characters like Mr.Freeze or Two-Face are. The best Penguin stories make it abundantly clear he's a scumbag responsible for most of his misery, and he is not exactly asking to be pitied (only when it benefits him in a criminal scheme). Batman Returns, for all it's divergences from the source material, completely nailed this aspect of the character.
The fact that he is not insane, or treated as if he is, instantly makes him more human because his faults are not excused or handwaved with some vague mental disorder. He is forced to understand and live with the consequences of the things he does.
He cannot be accepted into high society and be an upstanding Cobblepot like his ancestors because of his looks and criminal background. He cannot be the entirely infallible and collected criminal genius he tries to be because he's too emotional and traumatized. He cannot join the madhouse and live as a madman free of conscience because he cares too much about his pride and dignity. And even when he finds someone who accepts him for what he is, he fucks it up.
The perpetual divide between the things Oswald wants to be, and what he is, is one of the most interesting parts of his character.
