The Top Ten Most Underrated Movie Villains - 7. The Penguin

- Sketch by Ian Glaubinger

7). The Penguin (Batman Returns): “You're just jealous because I'm a genuine freak and you have to wear a mask!”

Cody Dee Williams: When people remember the Tim Burton’s Batman films, everyone talks about how great Jack Nicholson’s Joker is, or how surprisingly genius Michael Keaton’s casting was, or how hot Michelle Pfeiffer looked in that skin tight, black latex, get-up. But almost nobody gives Danny DeVito the proper credit for his performance as The Penguin in Batman Returns. So twisted, demented, and absurd you almost forget that it is teddy bear and fun drunk Danny DeVito behind all that grotesque make-up. DeVito, as The Penguin, gets to bite off a guy’s nose, call Michelle Pfeiffer a pussy, touch a really hot girl on her boob, and walk around in his long johns for 90% of the movie. I bet he had fun.

Jeff: As a fan of the Batman comic I always felt that the Penguin could never really be scary. He was a fat little effete snob who liked birds a lot. He had tricked out umbrellas and he was always frustrated with bats. He, in all honesty, was a joke. When I found out that the next villain in the Bat series was the Penguin I remember groaning, but once I saw that first trailer I was pleasantly surprised to see a Penguin that looked positively horrifying. Up to this point I could never imagine fun loving Danny De Vito as scary or menacing, but man, he really pulled off the creepy. He was a freak with flippers and jagged pointy teeth, this was certainly not your Daddy's Penguin. He lost the snobbery and became a bonafide bad ass bird creature that finally could stand up to the standards of a Batman villain. I mean he was scarier than Christopher Walken for Christ's sake.