Debuting in 1941, the Penguin remains one of Batman’s most iconic villains, and over the past five years, the character has experienced a major resurgence. Between The Batman, HBO’s The Penguin, and the complete reimagining of Oswald Cobblepot in Absolute Batman, the villain has been reinvented in bold new ways. Now, one of these universes has unveiled the Penguin’s latest redesign ahead of his next appearance.
…the stilts of Oswald’s crutches are actually machine guns…
DC’s solicitations for June have officially dropped, and with them has come a preview of Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s Absolute Batman #21, which is set to release June 10. A variant cover for the issue by Dragotta gives us our first look at Oswald Cobblepot’s redesign for the series.
Those who have been following the title know that Oswald has already appeared throughout the series; however, this is the first time we are seeing him as The Penguin rather than just Oswald Cobblepot. The difference is extreme and continues Dragotta and Snyder’s theme of body horror that has been applied to other previously debuted villains.
DC Reveals First Look of Absolute Penguin Redesign
Cover C Nick Dragotta Variant for Absolute Batman #21 (2026)
Oswald initially debuted in the Absolute Batman title as a lithe and pretty average-looking man. However, those keeping up with the series will remember that when Bane launched his attack against Batman, the villain targeted Bruce’s friends and caused extreme physical and mental damage to them. In Oswald’s case, Bane pulverized his bones.
This resulted in Oswald essentially becoming a lump of bulbous flesh. The variant cover for Absolute Batman #21 shows that the hospital did manage to successfully reconstruct Oswald’s bones, but he still remains exceptionally deformed, now standing at a height of four feet and requiring crutches and a back brace to walk.
Readers are advised to proceed with caution, as both the visuals and the story behind this transformation may be unsettling and even disturbing.
This version of Oswald is hunched over and extremely scarred, and it is this appearance that makes it clear where he is eventually going to get his Penguin moniker from. He now has a short and squat stature that undoubtedly comes with a waddling limp that will resemble a penguin. This is by far Penguin’s most horrifying design.
Examining Dragotta’s cover, we also notice an extremely awesome detail: the stilts of Oswald’s crutches are actually machine guns. The character design sketches show these machine gun crutches in action, and the result is nothing short of epic. In the main universe, Penguin is known for his machine gun use, so this is an epic way to give this traditional character element an Absolute Universe twist.
It is also highly likely that Bruce himself developed the back brace that is helping Penguin walk, as it looks strikingly similar to Bruce’s own Batman gear. It’s details such as these that make this one of Penguin’s best redesigns of all time, beating out even Colin Farrell’s jaw-dropping transformation, as the Absolute Batman narrative elevates the rogue to a whole new level.
CBR Exclusive · Quiz WHICH DC HERO ARE YOU? The Justice League Is Waiting for Your Answer Gotham’s Dark Knight. Metropolis’s Man of Steel. Themyscira’s warrior princess. The Fastest Man Alive. The universe’s emerald guardian. Twenty questions stand between you and the truth. Answer honestly. Your destiny awaits.
01 You’re outnumbered and outgunned. What do you do? A hero’s instinct is defined in their darkest moment.
02 Your team disagrees with your plan. How do you handle it? Every Justice League member has their own idea of teamwork.
03 What does your hero identity mean to you? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.
04 How do you typically make big decisions? A hero’s process shapes their outcome.
05 Someone takes credit for your work in front of everyone. You: Pride is the armor and the weakness of every hero.
06 A government agency wants to oversee your activities. Your response? Accountability is the line every hero must face.
07 When facing a villain, your strategy is: Every fighter has a philosophy.
08 Your biggest personal flaw is: Every hero has a crack in the armor.
09 A rookie hero is overwhelmed on their first mission. You: How a hero mentors others reveals their character.
10 What drives you more than anything else? The “why” behind the hero is everything.
11 You’ve just suffered a crushing defeat. What’s next? A hero is measured by how they get back up.
12 You could end a threat permanently — but it crosses an ethical line. You: The hardest choices define a hero from a weapon.
13 What do you actually fear most? Even the mightiest hero has something to lose.
14 People who just met you would describe you as: First impressions carry a grain of truth.
15 What’s your ideal base of operations? Where a hero operates reveals how they think.
16 What does “being a hero” actually mean to you? The philosophy behind the power is the real definition.
17 What do you want to leave behind? The mark a hero leaves is their truest measure.
18 Someone you love is in danger. Your first move is: Crisis strips away everything but the truth.
19 Your power — where does it come from? Origin shapes destiny in the DC Universe.
20 The final battle. Everything is on the line. You: This is the moment that defines everything.
THE DC UNIVERSE HAS SPOKEN YOUR HERO IDENTITY
Your scores are shown below. The character with the highest number is your match. Read their description to discover which hero the universe chose for you.
🔥 Batman
🌟 Superman
⚔️ Wonder Woman
⚡ The Flash
🟢 Green Lantern
Disciplined, relentless, and driven by a grief that never fully heals. You’ve built yourself into something formidable not through luck or cosmic accident, but through sheer, grinding will. You plan further ahead than anyone else in the room and trust fewer of them. The darkness you carry isn’t weakness — it’s your greatest weapon, and your most dangerous blind spot. But beneath the armor, you still believe in justice. That belief is what separates you from the monsters you fight.
Powerful beyond measure, yet defined by your humility. You were raised to believe that the measure of a person is what they do with what they’re given — and you’ve taken that lesson to heart. The world looks to you as a symbol, and the weight of that is something you carry quietly. You could impose your will on everything, and you choose not to. That choice, made every day, is the most heroic thing about you.
A warrior forged in honor, guided by truth. You came to this world not born into its compromises, and that perspective gives you a clarity that cuts through politics, spin, and fear. You fight hard, hold the line without flinching, and refuse to let injustice be normalized around you. People are sometimes surprised by your compassion — they expect the sword and forget the heart it serves. You are both, in perfect, formidable balance.
Quick, warm, and far more capable than your jokes let on. You use humor as a shield and velocity as a solution, but your greatest gift isn’t speed — it’s heart. You feel everything deeply and act faster than most people think. The people around you don’t always realize how much you carry, how much you process in the quiet between seconds. You make the impossible look easy, and you do it without making anyone feel small for being slower than you.
Chosen because your will is extraordinary. The ring didn’t create you — it recognized you. Your power is literally your imagination and your resolve, which means your ceiling is whatever you believe it to be. You can be reckless, and you can be arrogant, but your capacity for growth is equally limitless. You operate on a cosmic scale but never forget the small things worth protecting. In the universe’s darkest sectors, you are the light.
Absolute Batman #21 from DC Comics will be available June 10, 2026!
