When the Max limited series The Penguin was first announced, many dismissed it as an unnecessary venture and a half-hearted attempt to expand the crime-infested world of Gotham City as seen in the 2022 film, The Batman. In other words, a production more akin to Gotham or the worst of the defunct Arrowverse TV shows than a cinema-quality presentation. Well, as we now know, The Penguin pleasantly surprised everyone and turned out to be one of the best current TV shows and one of the best comic-book-based TV shows ever.

Colin Farrell reprises the role he originated in The Batman as Oswald “Oz Cobb, a two-bit mobster with lofty ambitions to become a major player in the criminal underworld of Gotham. In the film and the start of the TV show, Cobb is a low-level member of the Falcone crime family, which was left ruined by Batman at the end of the film. During the premiere episode of The Penguin, Cobb (who is derisively nicknamed the Penguin by other mobsters because of his disfigured face and limp) impulsively seizes on an opportunity to rise in the ranks of the crime family. However, because he is derided by the Falcones, Cobb sets out on his own with the help of his young partner Victor Aguilar (Rheny Feliz) to violently create his own criminal empire in the neglected slums of Gotham City.

Cobb’s main antagonist in the series is Sofia Falcone (Christin Milloti), the misfit daughter of the head of the Falcone family. She was recently released from Arkham Asylum and seeks to find her place in her family’s criminal organization. But, like Cobb, she is dismissed by the organization and then takes measures to seize control of the organization while plotting revenge against Cobb. In the past, Cobb was her driver and confidante, but he betrayed her to her father to rise in the ranks of the organization after she told Cobb of her suspicions about her father murdering prostitutes. Her father framed her for the murders he committed and has her sent to Arkham for inhumane treatment.

As the two central figures in the TV show rise to power, it is not long before their mutual antagonism towards each other erupts into a deadly gang war for control over Gotham’s criminal underworld.

There are so many reasons why The Penguin is so great. Let’s start with the smart writing that takes great pains to develop and humanize the characters with compelling back stories. This doesn’t mean that we root for the Penguin or Sofia. They are bad people with twisted outlooks in life and who commit heinous acts. For example, in one episode Sofia callously murders most members of her own family while flashbacks revealed her torturous ordeal in Arkham, which made her sympathetic until she acted on her worst impulses. With Oz, we see his troubled past and his supposedly loving relationship with his mother, Francis (Deidre O’Connell). At first it seems to be a tender relationship which conveyed a more vulnerable side to Cobb. But by the end of the series, we come to see how twisted he was even as a child and how his blackened and greedy heart gave him a perverse view of life and his relationship with his mother that borders on the oedipal.

The production is also above par for a TV show and is seamless with The Batman as it evokes the grimy and gritty look of the film. As with the film, Gotham is a seedy, decaying urban hellhole which clearly divides the affluent from the downtrodden. In the mean streets of Crown Point, Cobb’s old neighborhood, the mobster begins his rise to the top of the affluent criminal underworld as he revels in his lower class roots in order to attract economically and socially oppressed allies like Victor. It is not necessary to have watched the film, though some events from it are referenced, most notably the flooding of Gotham that took place at the end of The Batman, which had a severe impact on the life of Victor.

While Cobb and Sofia are the main characters with complex backgrounds, the show also gives Victor well deserved time with his own back story. But in his case, the young criminal is much more sympathetic and vulnerable to the point that he became the heart of the show. Feliz’s acting was as brilliant as Farrell’s and Milloti’s. We find ourselves rooting for Victor and fearing for his safety as his innocence slowly ebbs away as he is exposed to the criminal world of Oz Cobb. It becomes troubling to watch Victor descent as he becomes more and more entrenched since we want him to come out of this partnership with Cobb in one piece.

Still, the stars of the show are Farrell and Milloti. The characters they play share many similarities as disregarded misfits forced to fight their way to the top. As evil as they are, we can’t help but be riveted by their stories. The two actors are certain to at least get Emmy nominations for their work. At the very least, the makeup in this TV show will win awards as it uncannily transformed Farrell into a heavyset, disfigured creature that is unrecognizable.

Of course, as flawless as the makeup is, it would not mean anything without Farrell’s captivating performance that echoes Tony Soprano, Vito Corleone and Robert De Niro’s gangster roles. Like those famous celluloid gangsters, the Penguin is a gruff, brutal thug but displays surprising moments of humanity. What was tragic for Cobb is his realization towards the end of the series that his emotional attachment to others is a vulnerability to him. His reaction at the end of the final episode to this realization cements the Penguin as a truly evil man and elevates him to one of Batman’s greatest villains. In fact, the way the Penguin is shown in this series gives argument for him being an even greater villain than the Joker thanks to his fleshed out and involving back story.

At the time of this writing, The Penguin is supposed to be a limited series that sets up the upcoming sequel to The Batman. Does this mean that the mobster will be the main villain of that film? Who knows, but the Penguin deserves to be the main foe and it would be a mistake to relegate Cobb to a minor presence in the film. Regardless of that, a second season is very warranted since Cobb is such a fascinating character and worth exploring some more. If not, then there are plenty of other members of Batman’s rogue’s gallery that could receive similar treatment, although the current rumor is that a TV show featuring the Joker is being considered. That would be a mistake because we have had two solo films about the Clown Prince of Crime and Batman has a rich roster of foes that deserve their moment in the harsh spotlight as the Penguin has received.   

José Soto