Batman Returns

The story begins 33 years ago, at Christmas in Gotham City. The wealthy Cobblepots, having just given birth to a deformed child, drop him in the sewers, abandoning him. As the baby's basket rushes through the sewers, the credits roll, and eventually the child comes to rest at the feet of a group of emperor penguins from the zoo.

Thirty-three years later, it is Christmas time again in Gotham, as the ambitious but ruthless business tycoon Max Shreck gives a speech at a treelighting ceremony. However, the speech is soon disrupted by a criminal group of clowns known as the "Red Triangle Circus Gang". They fire guns and terrorize people, but Batman is summoned and is able to restore order. Shreck is kidnapped amidst the chaos and is brought to their leader, a short, deformed man known as "The Penguin". The Penguin informs Shreck of the reason he has taken him: he wishes to return to the society of Gotham, and he wants Shreck to help him achieve this. Shreck is skeptical, but the Penguin blackmails him with incriminating evidence of his more dubious business practices.

Shreck arranges for the Penguin to "rescue" the mayor's infant child from his own gang members. The plan works, and Penguin becomes a hero to all except a suspicious Bruce Wayne. The Penguin asks to be allowed to find his parents, and is given private access to the Gotham's Hall of Records, where he is seen jotting down an apparently unrelated list of names. He discovers his parents were a wealthy aristocratic couple. Adopting his birth name of Oswald Cobblepot, he publicly forgives his now-dead parents, winning the approval of a majority of Gotham. Shreck decides to use Oswald's fame to his own advantage, persuading him to run for mayor to remove the final obstacle to building a new power plant. Cobblepot reluctantly agrees, noting he still has his own plans to carry out.

During this time, Shreck attempts to murder his timid secretary Selina Kyle when she discovers his "power plant" was in fact a giant capacitor to suck power from the city. She survives her murder attempt at Shreck's hands after her body was circled by a large number of cats, and came back with a more assertive, unstable personality, ostensibly with a cat's nine lives (minus her first "death"). Kyle makes a homemade black vinyl catsuit and becomes a costumed vigilante under the name "Catwoman". During Penguin's efforts to cause chaos through his gang to create dissatisfaction with the current mayor, Catwoman bombs Shreck's department store. She subsequently fights Batman and is apparently killed again in the process when she falls off a roof.

While Selina Kyle pursues a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne, as Catwoman she allies herself with the Penguin to get back at Batman for his killing her, although the two are still unaware of the other's alter-egos. When the subsequent plan is put into action, Batman is framed for kidnapping and murder and finds himself trapped in the Batmobile under Penguin's control, barely surviving. Although their plan was a success, Catwoman and Penguin's alliance falls apart when she rebuffs a sexual advance from him, and Penguin opts to kill Catwoman himself. However, his campaign to recall the current mayor is quickly destroyed when Bruce Wayne plays selected comments he stated while controlling the Batmobile, comments insulting the people of Gotham, which are played at a rally. The people of Gotham get angry and throw eggs and tomatoes at him, forcing Penguin to defend himself with his gun umbrella. The police chase after him, but Penguin flees into the sewers, renounces his humanity, and reveals his secret plan: to kidnap and kill the firstborn sons of Gotham's most prominent families in a twisted act of revenge against what was done to him.

Before this scheme is launched, Bruce Wayne meets Selina Kyle at a dance party hosted by Shreck, where she reveals to him her intentions to kill Shreck. The two subsequently discover the other's secret identity, but before they can leave to discuss this development, Penguin storms the hall and tries to take Max's son Chip, with Max persuading Penguin to take him instead, and Bruce and Selina depart. Bruce, as Batman, attacks Penguin's Red Triangle Circus goons, and puts a stop to the kidnappings. However, Penguin has a backup plan: an army of rocket-armed penguins is dispatched to bomb Gotham. Batman uses the Bat Ski-Boat to travel through Gotham's sewer system towards the Penguin's lair, managing to jam the birds' control signals and turn them around so that they attack the base instead. Fearing that something is amiss, Penguin uses his yellow duck vehicle to travel to the surface. Penguin arrives at the zoo's entrance, just in time for the Bat Ski-Boat to crash through a wall of ice, destroying Penguin's vehicle. Penguin attacks Batman at once and taunts him, saying that he is just jealous for not being born a freak, and having to resort to wearing a mask. Batman states that there may be truth to what the Penguin says, before revealing the remote device he used to control the penguins. Realizing that his "babies" are heading to his base to destroy it, Penguin lashes out at Batman with his umbrella blade. Batman knocks him down, but Penguin manages to grab the remote. However, the penguins have already arrived and begin to launch their missiles. Just then, a hatch opens on the Bat Ski-Boat, releasing several bats which swarm and attack Penguin, sending him crashing through a window to the murky water below.

Batman then glides through the window on his grappling hook and discovers Catwoman has come to kill Shreck. Shreck tries to bribe Batman into saving his life, but Batman just pushes him away, knocking him into an electrical generator. Batman tries to talk Catwoman out of vengeance, promising they could live happily together, but she refuses to listen to reason. During the argument, Shreck draws a gun he took from a Red Triangle clown and attempts to kill both of them. Batman is shot at, but the bullet missed while Catwoman is hit four times as she approaches Shreck. This leaves her with only two lives left. Shreck tries to shoot Catwoman a fifth time before she can reach him, but the revolver misfires.

Catwoman then sacrifices her next-to-last life by inserting a live taser into her mouth and pressing her lips to Shreck's, while grabbing the generator with her free hand. All of this causes an overload on the system, and a huge explosion follows. After the smoke clears, Batman searches the debris for Selina, only to find Shreck's charred corpse. Penguin, barely alive and seemingly poisoned by waste material, emerges from the slimy water and grabs for his gun umbrella to kill Batman, but picks up his "cute" one by mistake. He finally falls dead on the floor and is slid gently into the water by the penguins as a final tribute.

Driving through Gotham, Bruce sees Catwoman’s shadow. Investigating, he only finds Selina's cat, which he decides to take home. As the Bat-Signal lights up, the figure of Catwoman pops up on a rooftop, her eyes on the signal.