Is he the best villain ever? The beloved Wallace & Gromit baddie has become a tattoo parlour favourite. How did this silent penguin capture the heart of a nation?
Feathers tattoos soar amid Oscar bid
Is he the best villain ever? The beloved Wallace & Gromit baddie has become a tattoo parlour favourite. How did this silent penguin capture the heart of a nation?
Wallace and Gromit have done it again. The cartoon duo's new film Vengeance Most Fowl was a Christmas hit, with nearly 22 million viewers. And now it has received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.
Vengeance Most Fowl features the return of Wallace and Gromit's greatest foe, the penguin Feathers McGraw.
But Feathers is not only lighting up the screen. The BBC reports that there has been a wave of people getting the evil penguin tattooed on their bodies. Liverpool tattoo artist Faith Garvie said she had inked six Feathers in the past week alone.
Somehow this clay penguin has become one of the most popular villains of all time - despite never talking and appearing on screen for just over five minutes in 35 years.
Feathers is not the only villain to become as popular as the heroes he faces. The film Joker, about Batman's nemesis, grossed $1.079bn and was nominated for 11 Oscars. One of last year's most successful and acclaimed films, Wicked, tells the story of the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz.
Villains interest us because of their flaws. They personify some of the most evil thoughts that people have.
Feathers has a special appeal. Tom Nicholson in Esquire calls him "the greatest villain in cinema history". He connects the penguin to a British love of outlaws, from 18th century highwaymenMen, typically on horseback, who held up travellers at gunpoint in order to rob them. to those undertaking the Hatton Garden heistA burglary in Londons' Hatton Garden in 2015, in which a gang of men stole more then £25m worth of items including pearls and gemstones. of 2015.
He can also be compared to classic film villains. Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park was inspired by Mrs Danvers, the possessive housekeeper in Alfred Hitchcock's film Rebecca.
McGraw is quietly clever. His silence allows him to keep his thoughts and emotions guarded. We can never know what he is thinking or plotting. In the wacky world of Wallace & Gromit, McGraw stands as a single point of seriousness. This makes him all the more terrifying.
Yet not everyone is convinced that Feathers is the best villain ever. The best villain should be loathsome. They should show the darkest parts of humanity. Feathers is charming enough that people want to have him tattooed onto their bodies.
Is he the best villain ever?
Yes: Feathers McGraw is a cute, unassuming penguin who communicates in blinks. This makes his cool head and cold heart all the more powerful. He tells us that evil can lurk in the most unsuspecting places.
No: The greatest villains let us into their minds. From Shakespeare's Iago to Hannibal Lecter, they are able to tell us about their plans and motivations. Silent Feathers lacks this psychological depth.
Or... Feathers is no villain. His only crime is wanting to steal a diamond from a museum. For all we know the diamond might have been acquired unfairly, and Feathers wants to return it to its real home.
Highwaymen - Men, typically on horseback, who held up travellers at gunpoint in order to rob them.
Hatton Garden Heist - A burglary in Londons' Hatton Garden in 2015, in which a gang of men stole more then £25m worth of items including pearls and gemstones.
Feathers tattoos soar amid Oscar bid

Glossary
Highwaymen - Men, typically on horseback, who held up travellers at gunpoint in order to rob them.
Hatton Garden Heist - A burglary in Londons' Hatton Garden in 2015, in which a gang of men stole more then £25m worth of items including pearls and gemstones.