Elijah Van Dahl

Elijah Van Dahl
Family	Unnamed Father (deceased) Unnamed Mother (deceased) Manfred Van Dahl (great-grandfather; deceased) Oswald Cobblepot (son) Grace Van Dahl (wife; deceased) Charles Van Dahl (step-son; deceased) Sasha Van Dahl (step-daughter; deceased)
Affiliation	Van Dahl Family
Status	Deceased
First	"Wrath of the Villains: Mad Grey Dawn"
Portrayed by	Paul Reubens

Elijah Van Dahl was the biological father of Oswald Cobblepot.

Biography

Early years

Elijah Van Dahl was the son of rich parents. His father suffered from tendencies of violence and thoughts of malice. During his life, he fell in love with a young cook named Gertrud Kapelput. Elijah's parents forbade this relationship between their son and one of their servants. Despite Elijah standing up to his parents, Gertrud was already gone. Some time after this, Gertrud gave birth to Oswald Cobblepot and claimed that his father was dead.

A while after Gertrud left, Elijah's father committed suicide in his room with his son standing outside the door. The experience left Elijah traumatized. His mother told him never to speak of it.

Later on in his life, Elijah was dining in a diner when he met a waitress named Grace where he fell in love with her. He took Grace and her two children Charles and Sasha in.

Meeting Oswald

At the time when Oswald Cobblepot was visiting his mother's grave following his release from Arkham Asylum, Elijah showed up to pay some respects for Gertrud and ended up meeting Oswald where he learned that he was his biological son. Elijah then took Oswald to his house where he revealed his and Gertrud's past. Later that night, Elijah introduced Oswald to Grace, Charles, and Sasha.

Death

It was revealed that Elijah has a bad medical condition that he described as a hole in him that is getting bigger. After snapping his father out of his sleepwalking and getting him back to his bed, Oswald admitted that he had been through a bad life that caused him to become a bad guy. Elijah was understanding upon knowing the life that Oswald had been through. He even stated his knowledge of this when Grace brought the news of Oswald being the Penguin up. With his condition getting worse, Elijah made plans to meet with his lawyers in order assign his inheritance to Oswald since he is his only living blood relative. During one night with Oswald, Elijah drank some wine filled with poison and suddenly collapsed on the floor. This caused Grace to have her children call an ambulance.

Elijah Van Dahl's ghost appeared before Oswald one night where he tells him that "He can't be trusted." Elijah's ghost then disappears before Oswald can ask who can't be trusted. Afterwards, Oswald was visited by the police who tell him that his father's grave was dug up. Elijah's ghost later visits Oswald again in order to inform him that dark plots are underway where Isabella is on the other side and states that he must find his body and rebury it. When Cobblepot asks who he can't trust, Elijah states "the birthday boy" and disappears. It was later revealed that Elijah was impersonated by Basil.

Appearances

Season 2

• "Wrath of the Villains: Mad Grey Dawn"
• "Wrath of the Villains: Prisoners"
• "Wrath of the Villains: Into the Woods" (mentioned)

Season 3

• "Mad City: Look Into My Eyes" (portrait)
• "Mad City: Ghosts" (corpse) (disguise for Basil)

Notes

• In the comics, Oswald Cobblepot's father is named Tucker Cobblepot.
• Paul Reubens previously portrayed Penguin's father in the 1992's live-action film Batman Returns.