- "Well, business is all very fine. But always remember, you can trust no one. No one but your mother."
- —Gertrud Kapelput to Oswald Cobblepot[src]
Gertrud Kapelput was the mother of Oswald Cobblepot. She was later abducted, and killed by Theo and Tabitha Galavan in order to break her son's spirit.
Biography[]
Early years[]
Photo of young Esther with her family
Gertrud Kapelput was born in Budapest to a Hungarian family. At some point in her youth, esther and her family immigrated to america, and moved to Gotham City. Gertrud worked as a cook for the Van Dahl family, and grew close with their son Elijah. The two would fall in love, and Elijah wanted to run off with Gertrud. 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 and withheld knowledge she was pregnant with Elijah's child. Some time after this, Gertrud gave birth to Oswald Cobblepot and claimed that his father was dead.[1]
Life with Oswald[]
Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen visit Gertrud to report the supposed death of her son to her, although Gertrud believed a woman had taken advantage of Oswald and he has run off with her.[2]
Oswald eventually returns home. When Gertrud gives him a bath, Oswald tells his mother that he has found a "friend" and that he is a policeman.[3]
Gertrud is presented with a broach from Oswald, and she inadvertently gives him advice on how to take down Fish Mooney.[4]
Gertrud is taken to Oswald's new club and looks at it in amazement. She picks up Liza's scarf, and later meets Jim Gordon. Afterward, she dances with Gabe, who later takes her home.[5]
Gertrud sings at her son's new bar Oswald's although the audience isn't too impressed, but clap regardless. However, one heckler insults Gertrud, leading Oswald to dispose of him.[6]
Whilst at the club Gertrud gets chatted to by mob boss Salvatore Maroni, who has a grudge against Oswald after he had betrayed him. Maroni reveals some home truths to Gertrud that her son is a cold-blooded psychopath, causing her to breakdown, and angering Oswald, who swears to Maroni he will pay. Later back at her apartment, Gertrud asks Oswald not to make a fool of her, and if what Maroni said was true. Oswald continued to deny it, but Gertrud sees right through his lies and leaves the room.[7]
Death[]
At some point, Theo Galavan and Tabitha Galavan abducted Gertrud in order to bribe Oswald into helping them in their scheme against Bruce Wayne.[8]
With the help of Butch Gilzean, Oswald finds her inside her cage at a warehouse and attempts to bust her out with bolt cutters. However, Theo and Tabitha Galavan are waiting for them and the gate is only accessible with a certain key. Butch then betrayed Oswald, and killed his other two men that accompanied them. In the end, Gertrud is let out and as she embraced Oswald, Tabitha threw a knife in her back. Before succumbing to her wounds, Gertrud states that she is now aware of her son's activities, but still loves him, and sees him as "a good boy". As revenge, Cobblepot slashes Theo's throat before escaping through a window.[9]
Legacy[]
- "My beloved mother always believed in me. Even when I doubted myself, she held firm."
- —Oswald Cobblepot[src]
Oswald avenged her death by capturing and brutally beating Theo with a bat. Theo was subsequently executed by Jim Gordon. After Theo was resurrected from the dead and became Azrael, Oswald had him killed again, with Butch helping him to carry out the deed.
The death of Gertrud caused a fortuitous happenstance when Oswald and Elijah Van Dahl met at the site of her final resting place. There, Elijah realized that Oswald was likely his son, whose existence he had never known about till that day. The two bonded over their shared love of Gertrud and the newfound family kinship that they now had. For a brief time, the two managed to enjoy their union. Until Elijah's death at the hands of his wife and step children caused Oswald to go back to his life of crime by killing them.
Despite Tabitha Galavan being the one to actually murder Gertrud, Oswald decided to bide his time when it came to getting his revenge on her, which gave the impression to others he decided to spare her. Knowing about Tabitha's love for Butch, a bond which grew over the years, Oswald helped in curing Butch of his zombified state, before he coldly executed him in front of Tabitha, which caused her great emotional pain, similar to how Oswald felt when she killed his mother. After murdering Butch, Oswald revealed he lived with his pain for years and would hold off from immediately killing Tabitha, as he wanted her to live with her loss like he did before he finished her off for good.[10]
Eighty seven days later after Gotham descends to become a "No Man's Land" thanks to the actions of Jeremiah Valeska and The League of Shadows, Tabitha still hungered for vengeance for Butch's death. When she attempted to shoot at Oswald, the gun misfired and gave Oswald an opening to finally take vengeance upon his mother's killer, allowing him to stab Tabitha in the heart.[11]
After Tabitha's death, Oswald had a singing group at his office called the Gertrud Kapelput Memorial Choir, presumably formed under the pretense of honoring his mother's memory while also serving to stroke his ego.[12]
A few weeks later, Oswald considered naming the submarine Edward Nygma was building for his mother.[13]
As he emerged from Blackgate Penitentiary, having been released after ten years, Oswald claimed to the press that his first action after leaving prison was to lay flowers on his mother's grave. This however seemed to be false, as his focus was more predicated upon getting revenge on Jim Gordon. [14]
Personality[]
- "My mother was a saint! The only person who truly cared about me. And now she's gone. And I have nothing left!"
- —Oswald Cobblepot to Edward Nygma[src]
The most defining trait of Gertrud's personality is her deep love for her son, Oswald Cobblepot, who loved her in return and was devastated at her death. Gertrud seems to see only splendour and perfection around her, hardly ever harsh reality.
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- Besides Thomas and Martha Wayne, Gertrud is likely the character with the most amount of episodes where she is mentioned or referenced, but does not appear.
Notes[]
- In the DC comics, Oswald Cobblepot's mother is named Miranda Cobblepot.
- In A Dark Knight: The Blade's Path, it's revealed that Gertrud was Hungarian.