Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, aka The Penguin — this iconic character has been a primary Batman villain for over 50 years. Penguin first appeared in Detective Comics #58 in December 1941. The character has been featured in dozens of animated films and television shows. He has also been a mainstay in the live-action films, appearing in nearly every adaptation onscreen. Nevertheless, there have been different incarnations of the character throughout his history in the series.
The first-ever live-action adaptation of The Penguin — played by Burgess Meredith — was a campy and over-the-top rendition of the classic villain. When Danny DeVito took over in Batman Returns, it was a darker and more psychotic version that’s highly regarded. Then there’s Colin Farrell‘s take on the character — who was more in line with a Godfather-type gangster. As the Penguin is set to have his first live-action solo series on MAX, and these are the things that the upcoming show should avoid.
He Shouldn’t Come Off As A Generic Gangster
Gangsters are awesome. The Godfather, Goodfellas, Scarface; there have been so many portrayals of gangsters throughout the history of cinema. That’s what makes it so hard to distinguish them in the modern age. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The Penguin was never a high-level gangster per se. In fact, he was usually a follower who had a thing for umbrellas. Matt Reeves‘ take on the character is going down an interesting path.
At first glance, The Penguin comes across as another Gangster around Gotham City. Though to be fair, the focus isn’t on his character, so Batman doesn’t go into depth about him overall. There’s nothing wrong with taking The Penguin in this direction, but hopefully, the writers have something in mind other than the generic gangster that’s been seen in dozens of other films.
Penguin has unique characteristics that should be incorporated into his overall arc. Interestingly enough, Penguin didn’t have his signature look, and his umbrellas weren’t a core trait of his character in The Batman. Altogether, what’s needed is an interesting story about the latest version of The Penguin.
The Penguin Series Shouldn’t Introduce Every Gotham Villain Under The Sun
This being Gotham, there will be other villains popping up here and there throughout the series. However, The Penguin needs to ensure that the title character is the main attraction — not Joker, Harley Quinn, or any other major DC villain. If there’s a story involving any of these characters, then that’s perfectly fine. The point is that it would be a waste to introduce a big-time villain in a thankless cameo that doesn’t play into a larger scope of Penguin’s story.
It would be great if the show introduced smaller-scale villains like Mad Hatter, Professor Pyg, or Red Hood. These characters shouldn’t have thankless cameos as well, seeing as how the Penguin interacts with various people in Gotham is a compelling plight. Gotham, the recent live-action series, made the mistake of introducing every villain under the sun. It didn’t particularly make sense for the Batman timeline. More importantly, many of those villains were short-changed because there were simply too many characters and not enough time to tell their story. Other notable names in Penguin will be introduced in the series, and that’s fine. But their appearance needs to have substance.
It Shouldn’t Give Focus To Batman
Gotham is Batman’s world, so naturally, the character will be an important fixture of the city overall. However, if there are no plans to showcase Batman in The Penguin series, then it’s best not to put emphasis on the character overall. It’s possible to have a Penguin show without the masked hero, though it won’t be easy. If Penguin is going around committing crimes, then the question will always be, “Where’s Batman?”
This is the origin story of the supervillain, so it’s likely that Batman didn’t exist at this time. The time period is key here. Looking back at Gotham, another mistake the show made was showcasing Bruce Wayne. It was, in fact, supposed to be Detective Jim Gordon’s show. It cast a shadow over the series because it was clear where the story was going, and Jim Gordon didn’t do much to change Gotham. The synopsis of The Penguin states that the series will focus on the criminal underbelly of Penguin’s world. As long as it does that, then it should avoid shifting focus to the caped crusader. Gotham
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