Danny Devito Is Penning A Comic Book For His Most Iconic Character

Danny Devito is writing a comic book and this one is for one of his most well-known characters. This one should be really good.

By Tristan Zelden | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Danny DeVito Penguin Batman Returns

Danny Devito (It’s Always Sunny in Philidelphia) starred in 1992’s Batman Returns as one of the Dark Knight’s iconic villains, Penguin. The character dates back to the early days of the superhero’s origins, and to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the character, the actor will be writing his own comic on the supervillain, as reported by Games Radar.

Writing for Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant #1 anthology one-shot, Danny Devito will give his addition to the character in a new way for his first comic book coming out this November. Artist Dan Mora will handle the graphics. It will celebrate the debut of the short crime boss, who made his first appearance in the comics in 1941’s Detective Comics #58.

Other contributions will be made besides Danny Devito. The series will include writer/artist Wes Craig; writers G. Willow Wilson, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Joshua Williamson, Stephanie Phillips, Dan Watters, and Mairghread Scott; as well as artists Dan Mora, Emma Rios, Riccardo Federici, Max Raynor, Max Fiumara, Skylar Patridge, Ariela Kristantina, Khary Randolph, Jill Thompson, Christian Ward, Gabriel Walta, and more.

Batman Returns was Michael Keaton‘s (Spider-Man: Homecoming) return to the Caped Crusader in Tim Burton‘s (Edward Scissorhands) depiction of the iconic DC character’s world in Gotham City. It starred Danny Devito as Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer (Ant-Man and the Wasp) as Catwoman, Christopher Walken (The Jungle Book) as Max Shreck, Michael Gough (Batman, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin) as Alfred Pennyworth, and Pat Hingle (Batman, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin) as Commissioner Gordon.

Traditionally, Penguin is a criminal overlord who was an outcast before becoming an imposing force in the criminal underworld of Gotham. Danny Devito, Tim Burton, and writers Daniel Waters (Vampire Academy) and Sam Hamm (Never Cry Wolf) took the character in a different direction. Instead of having this gangster aesthetic, he was a sewer-dwelling monster who acted in some aspects like the animal he is named after. The more literal interpretation was silly and creepy, but it made him memorable and relevant to this day. The film itself was successful as it was nominated for two Oscars for its effects and makeup.

While Danny Devito played a role in only one movie of the Tim Burton superhero flicks, Michael Keaton was Batman across the 1989 debut and its 1992 sequel. He will reprise his role in The Flash with Ben Affleck (Justice League) as an alternate universe’s Caped Crusader and Ezra Miller (Justice League) as the titular hero. They will be joined by the supporting cast consisting of Temuera Morrison (The Mandalorian), Sasha Calle (The Young and the Restless), Ron Livingston (The Conjuring), Kiersey Clemons (Lady and the Tramp), Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Derry Girls), Maribel Verdu (Pan’s Labyrinth), and Rudy Mancuso (Rim of the World). It will be directed by Andy Muschietti (It) and writer Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey).

Danny Devito is continuing his long-running stint in It’s Always Sunny Philidelphia as it heads for season 15. He will also star in this year’s drama The Survivor with Vicky Krieps (Old), Billy Magnussen (Game Night), and Ben Foster (Hell or High Water).