Tim Burton’s sequel introduces the Penguin, a deformed sewer-dweller abandoned by his parents at birth. After initially blackmailing corrupt business tycoon Max Shreck (Christopher Walken), he is then manipulated into running for mayor of Gotham City. Batman Returns also sees the Penguin entangled in a twisted love triangle involving Batman (Michael Keaton) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer).
The film is a terrific portrait of tragic, misunderstood outcasts lashing out at a vicious world. Burton imbues the Penguin with a degree of sympathy but doesn’t hold back on portraying the villain’s grotesque actions. Although, Batman Returns' script does reveal an alternate version of the opening sequence that is the festive gathering at Gotham Square. The screenplay boasts an even creepier villain and foreshadows the Penguin's plan to harm children and destroy Batman’s reputation.
Batman Returns features a paperboy advertising a vague headline about an alleged penguin creature living below. However, the screenplay includes more sinister reports of the Penguin “torching a homeless shelter” and robbing a blind person. This immediately demonstrates the heinous crimes of Danny DeVito's Penguin but would have complicated his later mayoral bid. While it's probably best this was removed, the finished film sadly downplays a more horrifying introduction that hinted at his kidnapping ploy. Instead of just seeing his gloved flippers grab a sewer grate, the screenplay emphasizes the Penguin's pointy nose and lips peeking out from the darkness. He watches the merry gathering and whispers, "I know when you are sleeping, I know when you're awake." The jingle's lyrics alone are unsettling, but also carry the disturbing implication that the Penguin frequently spies on Gotham's citizens. Considering the song refers to Santa Claus' watchful eye over children, the Penguin's words may also tease his grand plan to abduct sleeping infants.
The Penguin then surveys the ensuing chaos as the Michael Keaton’s Batman as weak, but the script suggests this early mayhem was an overt attempt to mock the crimefighter's inability to save Gotham.
Batman and the Penguin exhibit considerable jealousy towards one another for the differing ways in which they each gain the public’s affection. Batman Returns effectively analyses public persona through the literal and metaphorical masks the characters wear for the world. While these script omissions don’t detract from this theme, their inclusion would have emphasized the Penguin’s resentment towards Gotham’s blind hero-worship and consumer marketing of vigilante and fellow "freak" Batman.
