“The Penguin” is, by all accounts, a bonafide hit. Not solely has the HBO collection proved that the world established by Matt Reeves in 2022’s “The Batman” supplies fertile floor for a number of tales to be informed, however DC has really beat Marvel at its personal recreation for as soon as. The eight-episode collection stands by itself as a personality examine of the titular rouge and as a gripping crime thriller, directly increasing the shared universe and feeling as if it is not required viewing in an effort to perceive that universe — which is far more than could be stated for Marvel’s slate of Disney+ exhibits.
If there may be one criticism that holds some weight, nonetheless, it is the query of the place the heck Batman is for the whole lot of the present’s run. Going into “The Penguin,” we knew that Robert Pattinson’s Batman wasn’t going to point out up, however with the quantity of carnage Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb created in Gotham’s underworld, it did, at instances, appear as if the Darkish Knight ought to have stepped in. In spite of everything, he spent a lot of “The Batman” beating up petty thugs, so Oz working an enormous drug operation that in the end results in an enormous crater showing in Gotham ought to maybe have peaked the Darkish Knight’s curiosity.
After all, on the finish of “The Batman,” Pattinson’s vigilante has a transformative second the place he appears to appreciate the true nature of being a hero, so his absence may maybe be defined by him reconfiguring his undertaking to avoid wasting Gotham within the wake of his private revelation. However even then, plainly Reeves himself acknowledged the necessity for a Batman look in “The Penguin,” which it seems, virtually occurred.
Batman would have detracted from the story of The Penguin
“The Penguin” lastly acknowledged that Batman nonetheless exists proper on the finish when the Bat sign looms over Gotham following Oz Cobb’s ascendence to kingpin of the town’s underworld. Previous to that, regardless of Matt Reeves confirming that Robert Pattinson’s Darkish Knight wouldn’t seem within the TV collection, followers have been nonetheless cautiously optimistic that we would get some form of Batman-related reference or main Easter egg. Alas, the Bat sign on the very finish of “The Penguin” was actually all we received.
Because it occurs, when Reeves and showrunner Lauren LeFranc have been placing the collection collectively, they very practically did embody a full-on Batman look. Talking to Leisure Weekly, Reeves revealed that there have been discussions about crossing Oz’s world with Bruce Wayne’s, however that none of it ever got here to fruition. “Over the course of writing the season,” he defined, “we mentioned many instances whether or not or not there is perhaps some cross-through that will really feel earned. We tried just a few completely different concepts conceptually, nothing that was ever written in the end, however nothing appeared to fairly gel in a approach that felt earned.”
One concept that nearly made the minimize was to have Bruce Wayne seem earlier than Oz’s protégé Vic Agular (Rhenzy Feliz), however as Reeves put it, “Even that ended up throwing issues off an excessive amount of.” Simply what “throwing issues off” means was clarified by LeFranc, who informed EW, “We needed our characters to be the predominant individuals that you simply’re following on this present. Something that began to detract from that wasn’t servicing the kind of present we needed to do.”
Did The Penguin want Batman?
Whereas “The Penguin” was set in the identical Gotham established by Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” the story itself felt very a lot self-contained, and never solely because of the lack of Robert Pattinson’s avenger. The present was involved with establishing its central determine as some form of scrappy underdog, fleshing out his backstory in an obvious try to provide some sympathy for Oz Cobb amongst audiences. However over the course of the collection, any sympathy Oz does handle to accrue is slowly eroded earlier than being eviscerated when he carries out one of the vital heinous acts conceivable within the finale.
As such, “The Penguin” felt as if it had one thing to say past being a easy solution to bridge the hole between Batman films. For almost all of its eight episodes, it was actually involved with making its level about our capability to root for actually evil characters. Even the Easter eggs that have been featured in “The Penguin” have been usually fairly delicate, akin to when the present put a spin on Robin’s origin story or featured a little-known, deep minimize DC character in its Arkham Asylum episode.
Regardless of worrying mainly with telling Oz’s story, nonetheless, “The Penguin” did no less than arrange “The Batman: Half II” fairly properly, with the titular villain now on the pinnacle of organized crime within the metropolis and set for a direct conflict with Gotham’s savior. As such, the present by no means actually did want Robert Pattinson’s Batman, however as with each undertaking set in Gotham that does not characteristic its most well-known resident, there’s that expectation amongst followers that Batman will, finally, present up. The truth that he did not in “The Penguin” is each form of cool and albeit a little bit disappointing.
“The Penguin” season 1 is now streaming in its entirety on Max.
