We’re inching closer to the most interesting DC property scheduled to be released in late 2024 – The Penguin. With James Gunn rebranding the DCU and The Batman no longer coming out in a year’s time, all eyes are on the upcoming spin-off to the Matt Reeves film. The series will document Oswald Cobblepot’s venture to take over Gotham City’s criminal underworld following the events of The Batman. Colin Farrell returns as the charisma DC villain.
Thus far, the teaser showcased a promising spin-off that series to be inspired by The Sopranos and The Godfather. The star of the series has guaranteed that the show will be incredibly dark and violent. But is that necessary for the Matt Reeves series? That sounds silly given the context of the character itself, but considering we haven’t heard much about the plot or story about the mini-series, there could be some concern that the violence could compensate for those two extremely important factors.
The Penguin In The Comics Is No Saint
To be clear, I don’t think that The Penguin is going to be non-stop bloodshed and violence. It’s also clear that it’s the circle of life when it comes to the character itself. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Oswald Cobblepot first appeared in Detective Comics #58 (December 1941). The DC villain has been one of the main stables of Gotham City and though there’s been different incarnations of the character, The Penguin has been a bad guy for the most part.
Oswald Cobblepot wasn’t just a bad guy, but he’s done some of the worst things imaginable in the comics. He manipulated a chef into committing suicide in Joker’s Asylum. He started a human trafficking business in Batman: The Dark Knight #26-7. He kidnapped pregnant girls and sold off this children in Detective Comics #803. There’s so many twisted things that the Penguin has done in the comics that’s hard to turn him good at this point. Penguin is a disturbing soul who relishes in the most heinous parts of Gotham City.
The series don’t need to explore every violent thing that he’s done. However, it isn’t important to highlight how much of a sadistic monster he is. Yet, that still doesn’t mean that the series itself needs to rely on violence to get it’s message across.
Why The Focus Shouldn’t Be On His Criminal Activity
The teaser did a good job of displaying that the series is going to go in deep on Collin Farrell’s Penguin. Crime and mischief is Penguin’s everyday life, but the bread and butter is man behind closed doors. Just like the evolution of Walter White (Breaking Bad) was a compelling journey, so was Tony Sopranos’s (The Sopranos) personal life in and outside of the mob. Those shows aren’t incredible because of the violence. It’s because we’re given a first class viewpoint of the man behind the monster.
Oswald Cobblepot is a genuinely intriguing character in the comics. There’s been numerous arcs about his origin story; the first being that he turned to crime after his mother dies and the bird shop is repossessed to pay her debts. But the character has been notorious bullied as a child, and even his grosteque appearance has made other villains not take him seriously. Perhaps the most interesting outlook on the character is his love interests.
Penguin doesn’t have a Harley Quinn. In fact, there’s been only a handful of love interests for the DC villain. One of the those interests happened to be Penny, an actual Penguin. It sounds silly in concept, but it’s the tragic story since his character has been documented to have a hard time finding love. There’s so many aspects about Penguin’s life that the series doesn’t need to relish on the violent nature of the character. In fact, the violence is the least interesting thing about Oswald’s world.
Is Being Incredibly Dark and Violent A Good Thing?
In small doses. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the series is violent in the first place. They key thing it’s not the main fixture of the show. Narrowing down the focus on the main behind the umbrella is where the true money is at. Though it doesn’t sound like The Penguin will go in much of his origins, focusing on his personal life such as love, relationships, and his psyche will truly bring the best out of the upcoming mini-series. It’s great that The Penguin has been allowed to go all the way when it comes to documenting this twisted monster. But needless violence doesn’t equal a quality and well-written show.
Follow Us
