The Penguin is known as the Man of a thousand Umbrellas as he nearly always carries one with him.
It may look like an ordinary rain protector, but it was also a very powerful device that had built-in weaponry such as guns, missiles, sword blades, laser guns, flame-throwers, and acid spraying devices. He also had some used for modes of transportation such as ones that had a series of built in spinning blades to use as a mini helicopter or a jet powered engine to ride it as a broomstick. Sometimes when he opened up his umbrella, it had a built in flight module that could carry him into the air like a hot air balloon.
Most of Penguin's umbrellas were black in appearance, but some also had multicolored and other unusual designs.
History[]
The infamous umbrella of the Penguin came into play during his first appearance. Penguin carried the umbrella to art galleries, where he stole paintings and slipped them inside the handle.
After he captured Batman, Penguin offered to show him his collection of umbrellas. A huge assortment decorated his hideout, and Penguin seemed to rather an enjoy a particular one which he purchased in Spain. However, Penguin most often used a pistol as a weapon of defense. The umbrella's offensive weaponry did not come into play until later stories. The Golden Age Batman was shown to keep one of Penguin's Umbrellas in the Batcave, one that fired poison gas from its tip.
Apparently, Penguin's father died of pneumonia in a rain storm and his "overprotective mother" made him carry around an umbrella with him everywhere. That, after becoming a criminal, grew into Penguin's main weapon.
Umbrella Types[]
- Umbrella Gun: Used since his first appearance.
- Knockout Gas Dispensing Umbrella: Used since his first appearance.
- Acid Cannon Umbrella: Used since his first appearance.
- Painting Storage Umbrella: Used since his first appearance, this umbrella is used to hold and smuggle painting canvases within it.
- Razor Rib Umbrella: Used in Batman #4, this umbrella flipped inside out with its tips being razor sharp and coded in poison.
- Giant Death-trap Umbrella: Used in Batman #4, this was a giant umbrella used to trap Batman and Robin within while the handle was really a faucet that dispensed poison gas into the curvature of the trap.
- Rear-View Umbrella: Featured in Batman #21, there is a mirror compartment in the handle which allows him to look behind him while inconspicuously gazing into his umbrella handle.
- Net Gun Umbrella: Used in Batman #33, this umbrella propelled its ribs and silk to be used as a net to catch and incapacitate Batman.
- Suicide Gas Umbrella: Also used in Batman #33, this umbrella was a booby trap left at a crime-scene. When Batman picked it up, it dispensed lethal gas.
- Parachute Umbrella: Used in Batman #36, this umbrella could be opened to function as a parachute. He kept it concealed in his top-hat.
- Pogo-Stick Umbrella: Used in Batman #36, when flipped upside down, this Umbrella could function as a pogo-stick for the Penguin.
- Helicopter/Tear-Gas Gun Umbrella: Used in Batman #38, this umbrella doubled as a personal helicopter device and a weapon for editing tear gas.
- Rocket Umbrella: Used in Batman #169, this umbrella was a personal rocket device which he could ride on for transportation.
- Robotic Umbrella: A robot umbrella which commit crimes for Penguin while Oswald himself stayed in his lair.
- Poison Dart Gun Umbrella:
- Smoke Umbrellas:
In Other Media[]
Live-Action[]
Batman (1960s series) and Batman: The Movie[]
_2.jpg){kind=link}
The Penguin holding one of his umbrellas in the 1960s series and Movie
The Penguin, master of the umbrella, always carried one with him. In most episodes, it was used as a sword, a firearm or to spray Penguin Knockout gas, but there were also many other secret weapons and gadgets that were hidden in those rain protectors:
- Episode and Movie Details
- "Fine Feathered Finks"/"The Penguin's a Jinx"
- Trick umbrellas that were given to customers to cause confusion
- Giant umbrella used to deliver smaller umbrella
- Batbrella made especially for Batman, containing a secret radio transmitter in its handle
- Used to cross to the penthouse apartment with the Penguin-Line
- "The Penguin Goes Straight"/"Not Yet, He Ain't"
- Bullet-proof with hook to capture a crook
- Shot colored dry ice to dispel the steam during a steam room kidnapping
- High-Powered Demagnetizer Coil and Secret Radio Detector
- Cement filled to knock out the Dynamic Duo
- Diversionary umbrellas that were used to cover theft of the wedding gifts
- "Fine Finny Fiends"/"Batman Makes the Scenes"
- Hidden spear that came out of the end
- Many umbrellas used to surround and block the Dynamic Duo's way
- One used to drop onto the balcony of Miss Natural Resources
- Batman: The Movie
- A lighter on the tip that is used to ignite his cigarette.
- Jet Powered umbrellas for flight. Used to drop in on Bruce Wayne and Ms. Kitka
- "Hizzonner the Penguin"/"Dizzoner the Penguin"
- Boxing Glove
- "The Penguin's Nest"/"The Bird's Last Jest"
- Electronic Bat device detector in it's handle
- "Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin"
- Used as a parachute
- "The Sport of Penguins"/"A Horse of Another Color"
- Glass cutting tip, with a bomb
- Sparkler
Batman Returns[]
The Penguin with his deadly trick umbrellas in Batman Returns.
- "But what it all comes down to is, who's holding the umbrella?!"
- ―The Penguin[src]
In Batman Returns, the Penguin kept a large barrel of umbrellas at his hideout for his own personal use. They looked like ordinary umbrellas, but had deadly hidden weapons and devices:
- Order of Appearance
- Flamethrower: A normal black umbrella that shot bursts of fire from the tip.
- Sword: A normal black umbrella that unsheathed a razor-sharp blade from the tip. When Catwoman visited him to make an alliance, she threatened to eat his canary, and in retaliation, he used the umbrella to threaten her cat Miss Kitty, which made the villainess release the canary from her mouth in an instant. He also used it when he was battling Batman, but in his rage, he broke the blade against his wrecked Duck by accident.
- Swirl: A black and white umbrella that had a hypnotizing pattern when spun and fired blanks to scare Max Shreck into helping him. Shreck, when he first saw the umbrella, also questioned whether it would hypnotize him (which referred to a similar umbrella from the 1960s TV series), although Penguin denied that it was the case and that it was just to "give [Shreck] a splitting headache".
- Helicopter: A normal black umbrella that had a secret switch on the handle that changed the top of the umbrella into helicopter blades for flight. He also used it to kill his now ex-ally Catwoman after she refused an intimate relationship with him, but she released herself from the handle's grip and fell into a greenhouse using one up of her nine lives.
- Bat-filled Umbrella: A normal black umbrella that contained live bats on the inside. Penguin used it in his scheme of holding the Ice Princess hostage on a high building and framing Batman. He threw the umbrella like a javelin on the ground, opening it and releasing a swarm of them which rose up to attack the Ice Princess and made her fall to her death.
- Firearm: A normal black umbrella that gave a normal gun shot, but could change into a rapid fire machine gun. Penguin used it to escape from an angry crowd and go back into the sewer. He then killed the Fat Clown with it after he showed dislike to his plans of kidnapping and killing all the first-born sons of Gotham City. He also used it when he crashed the Maxquerade party and captured Max Shreck, who had previously betrayed him and bravely offered himself in exchange for his son Chip, whom Penguin had planned to capture as part of his plot. In the novelization and comic adaptation, he killed a nearby clown with it after the Organ Grinder's Monkey delivered the note of Batman foiling his plans, claiming "It wouldn't make sense to shoot the messenger".
- Animal Umbrella: Also known to the Penguin as his "cute one". A red and white umbrella (carousel-coloured) that played hypnotic music and had models of animals that dangled from the top and whirled round like a merry-go-round. The Penguin was going to use it to hypnotize the first-born sons of Gotham that he kidnapped to follow him and drown. It was seen again when the Penguin was near death and made one last attempt to kill Batman. The Penguin hoped to pull out one of his weapon umbrellas, but grabbed that particular one by mistake before he fell to the ground and died.
Gotham[]
The Penguin carried around an umbrella during various episodes of the television series that aired on FOX. The umbrella was used as a symbol during various events, such as the first killing of Theo Galavan in which Penguin stabbed an umbrella through Galavan's eye. Unfortunately, The Penguin never used any type of weaponized umbrella.
Animation[]
Batman: The Animated Series[]
See The Penguin (DC Animated Universe) for a complete list of umbrellas used by The Penguin in the show.
The Batman[]
Like other versions of the character, The Penguin uses a variety of trick umbrellas against Batman, primarily bladed and helicopter varients.
The Batman/Superman Hour[]
In the Batman/Superman Hour, the Penguin's arsenal of umbrellas included an umbrella that shot bullets like a machine-gun, an umbrella with a shooting dagger tip, and an umbrella that fired gas. In The New Adventures of Batman, the Penguin had an umbrella that fired gas once that was triggered by squeezing a soft, round handle, an umbrella with built-in jets to help Penguin escape, and a mirrored umbrella that deflected energy beams.
Video Games[]
Arkhamverse[]
The Penguin utilized his umbrellas as a variety of tools, including a gun and a poison-tip assassination weapon. He used the gun umbrella to kill Officer Best, and in Assault on Arkham attempted to use it to execute Harley Quinn when discovering her presence among the Suicide Squad before being talked out of it by Deadshot.