When it came time for actor Danny DeVito to make his comics writing debut in DC’s Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant 100-page anthology, he made sure to get the blessing of his Batman Returns co-star Michelle Pfeiffer. DeVito starred alongside Michael Keaton and Pfeiffer in the 1992 DC film. Keaton played Bruce Wayne/Batman, with DeVito and Pfeiffer portraying the villains Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin and Selina Kyle/Catwoman, respectively. The reason DeVito looked for approval from Pfeiffer for his Batman story is that it features a romance between Penguin and Catwoman, which is something he has always fantasized about.
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DeVito talked to Forbes about his “Bird Cat Love” story with artist Dan Mora. “I did call Michelle and tell her that I was doing it,” the actor revealed. “I said Look, it’s like my fantasy and it’s my dream come true to have an incredible romance with such a beautiful woman. Oswald, I’m talking about, and Selina. She was very excited to hear about it.”
He added: “I’m so excited about it. I’ve never done anything like that before but I’ve always been a big fan of DC. From the time I was a kid, I had giant collections of all kinds of comics. I love The Penguin, I love Oswald. And of course, doing the movie with Tim [Burton] was one of the highlights of my career. I love that character so much. It was thrust upon me at a time when I’ve always been in love with Catwoman. Not only Oswald being in love with Catwoman, but Danny being in love with Michelle Pfeiffer. I jumped on the opportunity and the first thing that came to mind was the romance. And then, it was in the middle of Covid and I said Look at what love can do (laughs). I just applied it to the story and I sat down and in a few weeks, I had knocked out the whole idea and wrote it and they responded to it and to have Dan Mora to do the artwork, it’s so brilliant. His stuff is just so masterful. I feel blessed to be in that company and the way it turned out, I couldn’t be happier.”
News of Danny DeVito’s Penguin story was announced in August. The Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant story serves as the Penguin’s “anniversary celebration,” with his first appearance coming in 1941’s Detective Comics #58.
Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant is on sale now. If you’ve read the anthology (and Danny DeVito’s story), let us know in the comments.
