Editing Batman Returns (section)

== Plot ==
<!--Per [[WP: FILMPLOT]], aspects of the narrative are told out of chronological order to make it easier to read and plot summaries for feature films are 400 to 700 words. -->
In [[Gotham City]], two wealthy [[socialite]]s, dismayed at the birth of their malformed and feral son [[Penguin (character)|Oswald]], discard the infant in the sewers, where he is adopted by a family of penguins. Thirty-three years later, during the Christmas season, wealthy industrialist Max Shreck is abducted by the Red Triangle gang—a group of former circus workers connected to child disappearances across the country—and brought to their hideout in the Arctic exhibit at the derelict Gotham Zoo. Their leader, Oswald—now named the Penguin—blackmails Shreck with evidence of his corruption and murderous acts to compel his assistance in reintegrating Oswald into Gotham's elite. Shreck orchestrates a staged kidnapping of the mayor's infant child, allowing Oswald to rescue it and become a public hero. In exchange, Oswald requests access to the city's birth records, ostensibly to learn his true identity by researching Gotham's first-born sons.

Shreck attempts to murder his timid secretary, [[Selina Kyle (Batman Returns)|Selina Kyle]], by pushing her out of a window after she accidentally uncovers his scheme to construct a power plant that would secretly drain and store Gotham's electricity. Selina survives, returns home, angrily crafts a costume and adopts the name Catwoman. To Shreck's surprise, Selina returns to work with newfound confidence and assertiveness, immediately capturing the attention of visiting billionaire Bruce Wayne. As his alter ego, the vigilante Batman, Wayne investigates Oswald, suspecting a connection to the Red Triangle gang. To remove obstacles to his power plant, Shreck persuades Oswald to run for mayor and undermine the incumbent by unleashing Red Triangle on Gotham. Batman's attempts to stop the chaos lead to a confrontation with Catwoman. Meanwhile, Selina and Wayne start dating, while Catwoman teams up with Oswald to tarnish Batman's reputation.

During Gotham's Christmas-tree lighting, Oswald and Catwoman kidnap Gotham's beauty queen, the Ice Princess, and lure Batman to a rooftop above the ceremony. Oswald pushes the Ice Princess to her death with a swarm of bats, framing Batman. When Catwoman objects to the murder and rebuffs Oswald's romantic advances, he attacks her, sending her crashing through a glasshouse. Batman escapes in the [[Batmobile]], unaware that the Red Triangle gang has sabotaged it, allowing Oswald to take it on a remote-controlled rampage. Before regaining control, Batman records Oswald's insulting tirade against Gotham's citizens and plays it during Oswald's mayoral rally, destroying his public image and forcing him to retreat to Gotham Zoo. There, Oswald renounces his humanity, fully embracing his identity as the Penguin, and sets his plan in motion to abduct and kill Gotham's first-born sons as revenge for his own abandonment.

Selina attempts to kill Shreck at his charity ball, but Wayne intervenes, and they accidentally discover each other's secret identities. Penguin crashes the event, intending to kidnap Shreck's son, Chip, but Shreck offers himself instead. Batman disrupts the Red Triangle gang and halts the kidnappings, forcing the Penguin to unleash his missile-equipped penguin army to destroy Gotham. However, Batman's butler, [[Alfred Pennyworth]], overrides the control signal, redirecting the penguins back to Gotham Zoo. As the missiles obliterate the zoo, Batman unleashes a swarm of bats, causing the Penguin to fall into the contaminated waters of the Arctic exhibit. Catwoman arrives to confront Shreck, rejecting Batman's plea to abandon her quest for vengeance and leave with him. Shreck shoots her four times, but she seems unaffected, claiming she has [[Cat#Superstitions and rituals|two of her nine lives]] left. Catwoman electrocutes Shreck, causing a power surge that appears to kill them both; however, Batman finds only Shreck's charred remains. The Penguin emerges one last time but succumbs to his injuries before he can attack Batman. His penguins lay him to rest in the water.

Sometime later, as Alfred drives Wayne home, he spots Selina's silhouette but finds only a cat, which he takes with him. The [[Bat-Signal]] shines above the city as Catwoman gazes up at it.