Why Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot Is The Best Telltale Villain Yet
After playing episode 2 I can say safely Telltale's version of the penguin has made me think of the character in a far more positive light. Prior to the game I didn't really like The Penguin he came off as a corny, cliche and extremely over the top gangster to me which may have been the point but that never really appealed to me
I was actually dreading meeting him on account of him being so corny. After the first encounter I was curious what direction the writers would go with him needless to say I'm genuinely invested in him. What makes him stick out among the crowd are his ambitions and goals. He's not a raging tyrant or a thug who knows he's doing bad for selfish reasons, he's a vicious, cunning and ambitious revolutionist looking to expose the corruption and falseness of rich gangsters who's money, power and influence let's them get away with awful things while holding down the poor. He's complex and grey where as comic penguin is just as obviously another villain. I could actually see someone with different moral views seeing him as being justified. It actually makes me happy Telltale has tried something something new opposed to another Joker appearance not to say it wouldn't have been nice. I hope they do him justice in later episodes. Anyone feel this way?
Comments
YES! Oz is my favourite character and I really symphathise with him. I'm hoping for another scene with him and Bruce because of what they both now know, it'd be a really great scene.
I love that Telltale made The Penguin this interesting. He has understandable motivation and you know why he has become the person he is. Bruce and Oswald are also similar yet contrast one another.
Both Bruce and Oz are shaped by a tragedy that happened to their parents. While Bruce channeled that grief to become Batman. Oz's grief turns him down on a dark path to become the Penguin.
Both are on a quest to fight corruption. Where Batman want to fight through legal means, the Penguin is willing to use lethal means.
This is my personal opinion, but so far, Oswald is a interesting villain to Bruce in this story and a good alternative to the Joker.
I wouldn't say he's the best villain, but he's definitely up there, and he is easily one of the best characters from this game if not the best character.
Definitely my favorite character in the game so far! Love the redesign of his character and the voice acting is great. I always love a villain that you can sympathize and even root for a bit. Yeah, he's doing awful things, but after learning more about his family's history in E2, I can see why he feels the way he does. Really hope I'll be able to prove to him that Bruce had nothing to do with all that. And since Penguin is such a fan of Batman, it'd be pretty interesting if he found out who the bat really is...!
He's an interesting, funny, and charming villain and I'm really looking forward to more scenes with him.
Great character! great villain!
Aye, I like him!
Definitely the best villain in this game, at least so far.
I disagree actually. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed what I've seen. But I think him being the best villain in a Telltale series might be a little early to say. We really haven't seen that much of him.
You never know if Telltale is going to introduce an antagonist in Episode 3, 4, or even 5 that just going to knock it out of the ballpark. They've done it before in the Wolf Among Us, so you know.
I wonder if you ever read something about comic penguin, because he's basically not another villain. He's one of the few (if not the only one) Batman tolerated. Basically grey.
Also his background is responsible of his acts. He's one of the only "sane" villains.
While Oz is a character I really like, he's got basically nothing in common with the Penguin except the name. They should really created their own character with this one.
Pls, Remind me who Randall & Nate are.
Pls, Remind me who Randall & Nate are.
Nate - the insane guy from The Walking Dead: 400 days who picks Rusell up and shoots the old couple.
Randall - the main-villain, along with his sister Norma, in The Walking Dead: Michonne Mini-series
I can't say I agree with your comic Penguin assessment, considering I've never read any comics, but I do have to agree that Oz is pretty great. I wouldn't say that he's the best Telltale antagonist considering we have much of his character left to see, but he's definitely on his way there.
His motivations are extremely clear, and because of his past, he is very sympathetic. He isn't a "bad" guy. His reasoning for supporting and aiding in the revolution just give me those feels. He wants to fight against the corruption that is coursing through Gotham and that actually ruined his and many other's lives. The parallel that @DaveTheArakin brought up is just another thing that I am loving so far. Oz, if you're reading this, you are one charming bastard. Telltale is gonna do you right, my friend.
He's definitely one of my favorite parts of our Batman series. He's just so charming, complex and morally gray, not to mention SUPER theatrical. :P My favorite villains are always at least a little relatable.
Thanks,
I haven't played Michone yet, not sure if I will. Is it part of the other game story?
Season 1, 400 days or or Season 2... No, not at all. I'm sure something will reference it in season 3 though. Michonne's alright even though it's definitely the worst telltale game thus far.
I don't agree with what you said about the comic or other versions of the Penguin, but yeah, this Penguin is pretty cool.
I feel like the only one who likes other versions of the Penguin, especially Danny DeVito's portrayal of the character...
I can't say I'm feeling that at all, especially with a cast of villains from Tales from the borderlands and the walking dead. It's too early to say, maybe
I'd be more inclined to say he was sympathetic/morally grey if he wasn't killing and harming civilians with no issues whatsoever. His goons literally started firing into a crowd of innocent people during the debate. He shot the moderator straight in the head, even though we have no reason to believe the moderator is some sort of corrupt politician. If he was just going after politicians and corrupt rich folks for his revolution, he'd look much more "grey".
I do like Oz, though. However, I hope they have more planned for him because I think his shtick is already getting old by the end of episode 2.
I personally wouldn't go as far to say that he's the best Telltale villain, but he's a very good incarnation of the source character. He's smart, sinister, and you can understand his motivations just like a good villain should be. I personally always thought the Stranger from The Walking Dead was the best Telltale villain, but Telltale Penguin is pretty good too.
He can't be the best Telltale villain. Kroger exists.
I agree.
He's got relatable motives and the primary targets of his wrath sort of deserve it, but saying he's morally grey may be stretching things a bit. He's got no qualms whatsoever about collateral damage, and he and his goons straight up murder innocent people who had nothing to do with Hill, Falcone, or Wayne St.
He's pretty much a terrorist at this point and every bit the villain that Falcone or Wayne were. He's basically become the thing he loathes.
He's a great character, but very much a black hat.
I think maybe because I love the Arkhamverse version of the Penguin - especially the design with the smashed glass bottle as a monacle - so much I'm not so fond of him, it feels like that tried to take the cockney accent from Arkham and the basic look of Gotham's Oswald and merge it. Feels like sometimes he sounds less cockney and more Aussie at times too.
Still, his motivations are good, though I wish we'd had Thomas Elliot/Hush instead, since he seems to be using a lot of the 'childhood friends' and 'dark version of me' aspect Hush had. And it would make sense to have Thomas tied to Arkham and Thomas Wayne's past since he's a doctor too.
Voice acting is a tad cringey but I do like the character
He's not the best on my list, (we"ll have to see later on if that changes) but he is a really good villain in this game. Though, while his morals are (kind of) grey, his actions usually aren't.
Telltale are doing a swell job so far of revising old-school Bat-villains into something fresh, while still retaining just the right amount of character traits that made them iconic in the first place.
I'm not sure if it was intentional on the game developers' part, but Oswald seemed to strike a very penguin-like pose (as in literally like a penguin, with his arms stretched outwards in a comical fashion) when he first walked on stage between Dent and Hill. I thought that was kind of cool.