The Penguin
Series, 2024, Reeves, Set in A week later
The Penguin is #25 of 26 in release order and #17 of 26 in chronological order in the Batman.
The story
With the city in peril following the seawall's collapse, Oswald "Oz" Cobb seeks to fill the power vacuum left by the death of Carmine Falcone and finally give his mother Francis the life he's always promised. But first, Oz must confront his enemies and his own demoralizing reputation as "the Penguin."
The Penguin recap
A week after the flood, Oz Cobb finds that Carmine Falcone's son Alberto is taking control of the family and kills him on impulse. Victor Aguilar, a teenager from the flooded Crown Point, sees the body, and Oz makes him his driver and protege. Sofia Falcone, Carmine's daughter, just released from ten years in Arkham for murders she says her father framed her for, becomes Oz's rival. Oz plays the Falcones against the Maroni family, partners with Salvatore Maroni's wife Nadia, and sells a new drug, Bliss. A flashback episode shows Sofia's past: she suspected her father killed women, including her mother, and he had her committed. Sofia wipes out the Falcone leadership with poison gas and takes the family over, and when a Bliss deal goes wrong, Oz burns Nadia Maroni and her son alive. Oz's mother Francis, who adores her son, is his weak point, and flashbacks reveal he let his own brothers drown as a boy.
The Penguin ending explained
Sofia captures Oz and his mother, and Francis disowns him after learning what he did to his brothers, then suffers a stroke that leaves her in a vegetative state. Oz turns the mob bosses' own deputies against them, abducts Sofia and has his police contacts return her to Arkham, where she gets a letter from her half sister, Selina Kyle. Oz then strangles Victor, the one person who cared for him, as a weakness he cannot afford. He dances in his new penthouse, Gotham's underworld his, as the Bat-Signal shines over the city, setting up The Batman Part II.
Where to watch The Penguin
The Penguin is streaming on Spectrum On Demand and HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 95%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Batman: Caped Crusader, before Joker: Folie à Deux.
- Chronological order: after The Batman, before The Batman.
What to watch before The Penguin
The Batman (2022), which The Penguin (2024) continues.
Cast
- Colin Farrell as Oz 'The Penguin' Cobb
- Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone
- Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar
- Deirdre O'Connell as Francis Cobb
- Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni
- Carmen Ejogo as Eve Karlo
- Shohreh Aghdashloo as Nadia Maroni
- Theo Rossi as Dr. Julian Rush
- Michael Kelly as Johnny Viti
- David H. Holmes as Nick Fuchs
- Daniel J. Watts as Bruno Tess
- Myles Humphus as Dom
Created by Lauren LeFranc.