The comic that arguably has the most influence on The Penguin is Batman: Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, which serves as a direct sequel to Batman: The Long Halloween. In Batman: Dark Victory,

Batman never shows up in The Penguin, just like its creatives claimed. However, he was very nearly added to the show at one point.

Of course, The Penguin falls between The Batman and its upcoming sequel, which means that the show needs to set the stage for The Batman: Part II. So let’s charge up the Bat-signal and examine the state of Gotham City after the Penguin waddles away.