In Tim Burton’s 1992 film Batman Returns, the villainous businessman who becomes the Penguin’s ally is Max Shreck.
Shreck is a powerful industrialist who plans to build a power plant for Gotham City. He pushes Mayor Hill out of office and supports the Penguin’s political rise, hoping to use the new mayor as part of his own scheme.
Christopher Walken plays Max Shreck, while Danny DeVito plays the Penguin and Michael Keaton returns as Batman. Shreck is an original character created for the film rather than a direct adaptation of a major comic-book villain.
The character’s name may remind viewers of actor Max Schreck, who played Count Orlok in the 1922 silent film Nosferatu. However, Batman Returns presents Max Shreck as a modern corporate executive, not as a vampire or supernatural figure.