Has the Penguin always been the proprietor of a nightclub in Gotham?
And what does the Iceberg Lounge mean for the character and his criminal operations?
Keep watching to find out.
Oswald Cobblepot, known to many as The Penguin, has proved to be quite the monocle-wearing,
umbrella-wielding thorn in the Dark Knight's side since his debut in December 1941's "Detective
Comics" #58.
The character has definitely evolved over his 80-plus years of existence, going from
bird-themed crook to politician to businessman and back again.
He's been a little silly, like his portrayal by Burgess Meredith in the 1966 "Batman" TV
show, and monstrous, like when Danny DeVito played him in "Batman Returns" in 1992.
"You gotta admit!
I played this stinkin' city like a harp from hell!"
Some of the more drastic character alterations tend to disappear from version to version,
but every now and again, some new twist to the Penguin will stick around.
For instance, something that has relatively recently become a key element of the Penguin
is his position as the operator of the Iceberg Lounge.
The seedy nightclub been around for just under 30 years, debuting on the pages of "Detective
Comics" #683, in March of 1995.
In his early days of terrorizing Gotham City, the Penguin stood as a figurehead of the criminal
underworld.
Lacking superhuman abilities or the more homicidal tendencies of his supervillain peers, Cobblepot
was content simply committing robberies and stabbing his supposed allies in the back.
So, he eventually decided to open the Iceberg Lounge as a means of proving he'd become a
legitimate businessman.
Of course, it was a front all along.
Batman, of course, sees right through it and keeps tabs on what's going on behind the scenes
at the lounge.
Over time, he has used it and its patrons as a resource to study up on the happenings
of Gotham's criminal underworld.
Other members of the Bat-family have visited the Lounge for vastly different reasons.
On one occasion, in the "Batman R.I.P."
storyline, both Robin and Batgirl went there to forcefully gather what intel they could
from the Penguin on the missing Batman's whereabouts.
And former Robin Jason Todd took over the Iceberg Lounge for himself in the "Red Hood:
Outlaw" series, ousting Penguin from power for a time and holding him captive.
Despite its prevalence on the page, a proper live-action theatrical Iceberg Lounge has
only recently come to fruition.
Director Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy and the DC Extended Universe lacked
both it and the Penguin.
"The Batman" marks its first live-action outing at the movies.
Colin Farrell's scarred, calculating take on Oswald Cobblepot serves as its proprietor
and uses it as a cover for his criminal activities.
Prior to "The Batman," The Iceberg Lounge did appear in one live-action production:
"Gotham."
The Season 3 finale teased it, and it inevitably became a focal point of Season 4.
The Gotham nightclub has appeared in lots of animated projects, however.
It's been featured on the shows "The New Batman Adventures" and "Justice League Unlimited,"
as well as the animated movies "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman" and "Batman: Assault on Arkham."
"Sorry, we're full up tonight.
Shoo, shoo!"
It's perhaps been featured most prominently in video games, though.
The "Batman: Arkham" franchise endures as one of the most widely acclaimed Batman adaptations,
tossing elements from a variety of Bat-projects into a giant, grimy, gothic melting pot.
Multiple games in the series also feature the Iceberg Lounge in varying capacities,
allowing players to explore it in all of its glory as Batman himself.
The Iceberg Lounge featured first in "Batman: Arkham City" within the Cyrus Pinkney Institute
for Natural History.
After Batman battles the Penguin , his numerous cronies, and his horrifying "pets," Tiny the
shark and Solomon Grundy, you're free to look around, solve riddles, and collect the building's
hidden Riddler Trophies.
In both "Arkham City" and its sequel, "Batman: Arkham Knight," the Iceberg Lounge also serves
as a combat challenge map.
But you couldn't possibly chill at the Iceberg Lounge in real life, right?
It's an entirely fictional place.
Well, maybe not.
There is an Iceberg Lounge fans can visit in Central London.
The venue promises "champagne, cocktails, exceptional food, live entertainment, and
decadence" at a vaguely Batman-inspired corner of the city appropriately called Park Row.
Fans can experience their own little slice of Gotham at a handful of other stops without
fear of being mugged by Joe Chill.
Park Row includes attractions such as Pennyworth's restaurant and bar, an art gallery called
Rogues Gallery, the Old Gotham City bar, and the dinner-and-a-show spot Monarch Theater
— all paying subtle homage to the Caped Crusader and his bevy of villains.
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