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Batman Post-Crisis #62
Penguin Triumphant
In this one-shot story, the Penguin decides to become a legitimate businessman, his goal to take over Wall Street...and crush business rival Bruce Wayne.
48 pages, Comic
First published June 1, 1992
5 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
John Ostrander
2,086 books172 followersJohn Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, Ostrander moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays by that same Chicago theatre company. He is co-creator of the character Grimjack with Timothy Truman, who originally appeared in a back up story in the First Comics title, Starslayer, before going on to appear in his own book, again published by First Comics in the mid 1980s. First Comics ceased publication in 1991, by which time Ostrander was already doing work for other comics companies (his first scripts for DC Comics were published in 1986).
Prior to his career in comic books, Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes himself as an agnostic. His in-depth explorations of morality were later used in his work writing The Spectre, a DC Comics series about the manifestation of the wrath of God. His focus on the character's human aspect, a dead police detective from the 1930s named Jim Corrigan, and his exploration of moral and theological themes brought new life to a character often thought of as impossible to write. He has also worked on Firestorm, Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Manhunter, Suicide Squad, and Wasteland for DC.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 27, 2021
Penguin Triumphant is a one-shot story published by DC Comics in 1992. Written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Joe Staton, it focuses on the Penguin who decides to become a legitimate businessman with the goal of taking over Wall Street and crush his business rival – Bruce Wayne.
The Penguin decides to become a legitimate businessman, albeit a crooked one. He establishes contact with a former schoolyard bully, who is now successful in business and works out a deal with him. Randy Holmes will act as Penguin's middleman and Penguin will use his intelligence to manipulate the stock market and rake in the profits. Eventually, Bruce Wayne as Batman discovers how Penguin is manipulating the market, captures him and brings him in.
John Ostrander penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written moderately well. Ostrander concept of the Penguin turning legit, but barely so is an interesting concept. This out of continuity story makes for interesting read and perhaps one of the precursors of making Oswald Cobblepot into a white collar criminal instead of an animal themed criminal.
Joe Staton penciled the entire trade paperback. Since he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, Joe Staton's penciling is serviceable – not outstanding, but done well nevertheless.
All in all, Penguin Triumphant is a mediocre story centering on the Penguin and transforming him into a criminal of the sophisticating type.
The Penguin decides to become a legitimate businessman, albeit a crooked one. He establishes contact with a former schoolyard bully, who is now successful in business and works out a deal with him. Randy Holmes will act as Penguin's middleman and Penguin will use his intelligence to manipulate the stock market and rake in the profits. Eventually, Bruce Wayne as Batman discovers how Penguin is manipulating the market, captures him and brings him in.
John Ostrander penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written moderately well. Ostrander concept of the Penguin turning legit, but barely so is an interesting concept. This out of continuity story makes for interesting read and perhaps one of the precursors of making Oswald Cobblepot into a white collar criminal instead of an animal themed criminal.
Joe Staton penciled the entire trade paperback. Since he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, Joe Staton's penciling is serviceable – not outstanding, but done well nevertheless.
All in all, Penguin Triumphant is a mediocre story centering on the Penguin and transforming him into a criminal of the sophisticating type.
March 15, 2025
6.5/10
It’s alright.
It’s alright.
October 3, 2022
Starting out, confusingly, with a very British Batman and Gordon, we are soon treated to the Penguin daydreaming about himself as a dapper gentleman thief who continuously confounds the police and escapes with the goods. It's a fun introspection into Oswald's psyche. The plot is fairly straight forward: Oswald is bored, so he attempts to "go legit". By "legit", he means gaming the stock market. The semantics of the plot are quickly glossed over in order to keep the story moving at a brisk pace. Oswald is the protagonist and a solid one. While he's not given a ton of pathos or anything, he does have some fun reactions to his reasons behind what he does. He's petty and wants people to recognize his genius. He also wants to humble an old childhood friend who bullied him as a child. I can appreciate Ozzie's dedication to upholding his own petty ideals.
The art is fine, except Tim's absolutely ridiculous hair that makes it look like he stuck his dick in a light socket. It's bad. Everything else is decent, with Ozzie himself oscillating from vaguely grotesque to weirdly cute. The art and writing go well together and presents the Penguin as a somewhat humorous, but threatening presence.
This could have been an episode of the TV show. Actually, it does come off as a poor man's "Birds of a Feather" from Batman: The Animated Series. While Birds of a Feather gave Ozzie more pathos and made him a much more sympathetic character, Triumphant is still fun for just how cruel it depicts him. It gives pathos instead to Bethany Wilcox, a woman who Ozzie went to school with who he clearly had a very negative impact on. Bethany is a morally gray character who isn't given a lot of time to develop, but is compelling enough for what the plot wants to do with her.
Overall, a solid read. Probably not the best Penguin story in creation, but certainly a fun, serviceable read that's worth it for fans of the character.
The art is fine, except Tim's absolutely ridiculous hair that makes it look like he stuck his dick in a light socket. It's bad. Everything else is decent, with Ozzie himself oscillating from vaguely grotesque to weirdly cute. The art and writing go well together and presents the Penguin as a somewhat humorous, but threatening presence.
This could have been an episode of the TV show. Actually, it does come off as a poor man's "Birds of a Feather" from Batman: The Animated Series. While Birds of a Feather gave Ozzie more pathos and made him a much more sympathetic character, Triumphant is still fun for just how cruel it depicts him. It gives pathos instead to Bethany Wilcox, a woman who Ozzie went to school with who he clearly had a very negative impact on. Bethany is a morally gray character who isn't given a lot of time to develop, but is compelling enough for what the plot wants to do with her.
Overall, a solid read. Probably not the best Penguin story in creation, but certainly a fun, serviceable read that's worth it for fans of the character.
December 3, 2019
The start of this comic had me check the cover again to see if it was an Else World story. Please say I was not the only one that wished the story had went on as it started with the Penguin in London and Batman as a regular bobby? While interesting enough the story got a little silly with Bruce moving out of his own house and letting a villain "rent" Wayne Manor. Still the back story was decent but as normal the only female character in the story was really just there to help the writers move along the plot, being used, jaded, and in the end numb to everything around her. *eye roll* Wonderfully drawn with clear lettering I found this comic to be worthy of the read.
October 20, 2017
Historia unitaria editada en ocasión del estreno de Batman Returns (1992). Sólo por eso ya no me esperaba mucho, y por eso no me sorprendió que me decepcionara. El arte de Joe Staton no alcanza a salvar las papas
December 6, 2017
Let me begin by saying I love the Penguin. Like, he's my favourite villain. So it is no surprise that I enjoyed this issue. The detailed backstory of the Penguin, the attempt to go "legit" and his characterisation are great. The art, however, does not really match the style of the story.
June 20, 2017
Love the Penguin!
July 11, 2020
It's a neat little old-school story about Penguin going legit and manipulating stock markets for profit that DC somehow has a seemingly endless stock of. I'd buy that for a dollar! (I actually did).
February 14, 2021
3.75/5. I was a bit let down to realize that the opening alternate-world sequence with an elegant Penguin as a super thief and a buffoonish British Gordon and Batman was only a dream sequence.
February 21, 2021
A worthwhile Penguin story.
November 9, 2023
I really like the Penguin as a character, his backstory, his motivations, everything.
November 18, 2024
I'm certain this was released to capitalize on the Batman Returns hype. I just wasn't that into this one.
January 8, 2025
5/10
I like the art but the story kind of just exists. The story doesn't seem to serve a greater purpose and the Penguin character is lacking.
I like the art but the story kind of just exists. The story doesn't seem to serve a greater purpose and the Penguin character is lacking.
July 31, 2025
After Anne raved about the Penguin I thought I’d see what the character was up to.
I’m not a fan of the character at all, but I’m a HUGE fan of Joe Staton who does the artwork in this book.
While reading “Raffles the Gentleman Thief” (a real book by Richard Foreman) and catching a TV show that implies that his fixation with Batman is what has kept him from gaining millions in the market, Penguin decides to go legit.
At the Batcave:
”Boy, I’ll bet Donald Trump is shaking in his boots.”
”If he isn’t, he should be.”
Batman even confesses that the Penguin is smarter than he is.
We see Penguin blackmailing Randy Holmes, a childhood enemy of his that grew up successful. Penguin says he can manipulate the stock market for him and will do so if he will give Oswald social access to all the upper crust social scenes.
Despite Oswald’s obnoxiousness he is given access and membership in all the right places.
”Well, well, just as big a creep as ever, aren’t you, Oswald?”
At one of these resorts he meets Bethany, the woman he bribed to go to the Valentine dance with him in school long ago. She says he taught her how to exploit her beauty and it has made her very wealthy.
He again bribes her to another social occasion at the Wayne Manor.
There Oswald becomes jealous of Bruce Wayne and decides that he has to buy Wayne Manor. Bruce decides that he’ll let Oswald stay at Wayne Manor for a little while and have Alfred keep an eye on him in an attempt to make sure Oswald does not become fixated on Bruce Wayne and likely find out his other secrets.
Oswald is a horrible guest of course and in the Batcave, Batman and Robin try to figure out how Oswald got his money. They know it must be a ‘backdoor’ into the stock market computers, they just need to figure out the password.
Oswald however is getting bored with mere ‘gross excess’.
People don’t get to see how clever you are!
Randy has bribed Bethany to try to get the password from Oswald.
So many betrayals and backstabbing occur afterwards.
This was a fun story. A little light on action, but fun nevertheless.
Seeing Joe Staton artwork made the book for me and I hope we’ll see him again.
I’m giving this 4 stars. Not a great Batman story, but a great Penguin story.
Batman Arkham: Penguin
The next story is Penguin Triumphant which I have read before individually. I remember quite liking it and after reading all these other attempts to reimagine the Penguin I’m thinking this is the best one so far! I think I’ll read it again.
I don’t remember if I mentioned it, but Raffles is in fact a fictional character written by Arthur Conan Doyle’s brother-in-law!
”The reality , I hope, is that I’m nowhere near as violent, as crazy as they tend to think the Batman is.”
I only gave this four stars last time I read it. I was wrong, this is 5 stars all the way. The best of all these other Penguin stories. The art is wonderful too. In fact, later the same week I found hard copy of Penguin Triumphant and bought it to keep.
I’m not a fan of the character at all, but I’m a HUGE fan of Joe Staton who does the artwork in this book.
While reading “Raffles the Gentleman Thief” (a real book by Richard Foreman) and catching a TV show that implies that his fixation with Batman is what has kept him from gaining millions in the market, Penguin decides to go legit.
At the Batcave:
”Boy, I’ll bet Donald Trump is shaking in his boots.”
”If he isn’t, he should be.”
Batman even confesses that the Penguin is smarter than he is.
We see Penguin blackmailing Randy Holmes, a childhood enemy of his that grew up successful. Penguin says he can manipulate the stock market for him and will do so if he will give Oswald social access to all the upper crust social scenes.
Despite Oswald’s obnoxiousness he is given access and membership in all the right places.
”Well, well, just as big a creep as ever, aren’t you, Oswald?”
At one of these resorts he meets Bethany, the woman he bribed to go to the Valentine dance with him in school long ago. She says he taught her how to exploit her beauty and it has made her very wealthy.
He again bribes her to another social occasion at the Wayne Manor.
There Oswald becomes jealous of Bruce Wayne and decides that he has to buy Wayne Manor. Bruce decides that he’ll let Oswald stay at Wayne Manor for a little while and have Alfred keep an eye on him in an attempt to make sure Oswald does not become fixated on Bruce Wayne and likely find out his other secrets.
Oswald is a horrible guest of course and in the Batcave, Batman and Robin try to figure out how Oswald got his money. They know it must be a ‘backdoor’ into the stock market computers, they just need to figure out the password.
Oswald however is getting bored with mere ‘gross excess’.
People don’t get to see how clever you are!
Randy has bribed Bethany to try to get the password from Oswald.
So many betrayals and backstabbing occur afterwards.
This was a fun story. A little light on action, but fun nevertheless.
Seeing Joe Staton artwork made the book for me and I hope we’ll see him again.
I’m giving this 4 stars. Not a great Batman story, but a great Penguin story.
Batman Arkham: Penguin
The next story is Penguin Triumphant which I have read before individually. I remember quite liking it and after reading all these other attempts to reimagine the Penguin I’m thinking this is the best one so far! I think I’ll read it again.
I don’t remember if I mentioned it, but Raffles is in fact a fictional character written by Arthur Conan Doyle’s brother-in-law!
”The reality , I hope, is that I’m nowhere near as violent, as crazy as they tend to think the Batman is.”
I only gave this four stars last time I read it. I was wrong, this is 5 stars all the way. The best of all these other Penguin stories. The art is wonderful too. In fact, later the same week I found hard copy of Penguin Triumphant and bought it to keep.
October 19, 2013
The Penguin has always been one of the most underrated of Batman's Rogues Gallery, which is a shame, as stories like this one showcase his true potential. Besides Penguin, the story also features a great version of Batman himself, one where he isn't a crazy psychotic. My only real complaint is the art. Don't get me wrong; Joe Staton is a great artist. I'm just not sure the subject matter is appropriate for his style. While certain parts of the story are perfect for his lighter touch (particularly the dream sequences), I fear it serves to again make the Penguin look too humorous in the other areas, so it's working against the story being told. Still, it's a worthwhile read.
November 26, 2014
Ahh, now that was refreshing.
Between torn-face Jokers of the New 52, gravel-throated Nolan bats, and the sour-faced seriousness of much of DC comics these days, it's absolutely too wonderful to take a step back and remind yourself that comics can be fun.
Egads--what a moral to have to consciously realize.
But it's true--and this is just the book for high-seriousness comic burnout. Charming story--very much like one of my favorite episodes of Batman: The Animated series.
I quite enjoyed this. It's surreal without being nonsensical--it's fun and rolls happily without being Adam West.
Oh hush: I never said that there was anything *wrong* with Adam West.
Between torn-face Jokers of the New 52, gravel-throated Nolan bats, and the sour-faced seriousness of much of DC comics these days, it's absolutely too wonderful to take a step back and remind yourself that comics can be fun.
Egads--what a moral to have to consciously realize.
But it's true--and this is just the book for high-seriousness comic burnout. Charming story--very much like one of my favorite episodes of Batman: The Animated series.
I quite enjoyed this. It's surreal without being nonsensical--it's fun and rolls happily without being Adam West.
Oh hush: I never said that there was anything *wrong* with Adam West.
June 23, 2016
This book brought me back to why I like Penguin as a character and why I like this era of Batman more than the modern dark-era Batman. Story is simple but entertainging. It's funny without being goofy. Art is fine, though I'm not fan of the "round guy with pinocchio nose" Penguin as I am of the more avian design. Penguin Triumphant is a solid, good story. It's not mind-blowing and I don't think it will change anybody's life but It is entertaining from start to finish. I solid recommendation.
December 6, 2009
a decent little story in which Batman sets a trap to catch the Penguin and we get a look at what makes the villain tick.
Nice change of pace, as he comes across as not a tortured soul or complete psycho, but rather a bit of a sad outsider, that sees himself as one of those 'gentlemen thief' characters.
Nice change of pace, as he comes across as not a tortured soul or complete psycho, but rather a bit of a sad outsider, that sees himself as one of those 'gentlemen thief' characters.
August 3, 2011
Reasonable artwork throughout, almost scruffy & 'grown-up' in tone. Penguin is like the Cobblepot of old, in a 'traditional' Batman detective story. The Bethany character almost urges the story into being quite clever and a bit controversial, adding colour to Penguin's formative years, but somehow wimps out. Even so, what's left is still pretty good for such a short one-off book.
June 8, 2013
The Penguin decides to run a scam on someone who was mean to him as a child, this also involves him going legit. There are some fun elements here but it really is just a very short story. A good read.
May 26, 2025
Great little Penguin story. Has a little bit of his origin and its nice to see him more as a shrewd business man as a posed to a villain. Proving that whatever he sets out to do he will do it very hostilely.
January 2, 2017
Better than I thought it would be.
December 25, 2021
An interesting Penguin story, but undone by making him into more of a boor.
July 14, 2016
Cobblepot tries to go legit. It doesn't work. It never does.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews