Penguin: Sofia Falcone’s ‘Hangman’ Backstory (& Comic Origins) Explained

The Penguin introduces its key players throughout the first episode, and one of the early scene stealers is Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone. Sofia instantly shakes up both Oz and the family when she returns after some time away in Arkham, and soon fans learn about a key tether between this version of the character and the comics, particularly an all-time classic in Batman: The Long Halloween. To help catch you up, we’re breaking down Sofia’s comic origins, how she got her infamous “Hangman” nickname, and how it all ties back into the series.

Point of Origin

While the Falcone crime family has been around for quite some time, with Carmine Falcone making his first appearance back in Batman #405 in 1987, Sofia wasn’t introduced until 1997 in Batman: The Long Halloween #6. Sofia is the daughter of Carmine and Louisa and is the sibling of Mario and Alberto. We first meet her after Carmine gets her freed from prison, as Carmine is looking to shore up the family after a string of killings.

Those killings have all targeted Gotham’s crime families, and they are being made by a mysterious killer only known as Holiday. Holiday would kill a number of Carmine’s organization, including Alberto, though we find out later that was a ruse, as Alberto is revealed to be the actual Holiday killer. After Holiday’s capture, Two-Face leads a group of villains to Carmine’s home and kills him, setting the stage for Sofia’s next transformation.

The Hangman

Sofia witnessed Carmine’s death and tried to attack Two-Face, but ended up getting in a fight with Catwoman instead. Sofia would fall from a window and suffer multiple injuries, and though she would still manage to survive, she was believed to have been paralyzed. That’s what everyone thinks mind you, as secretly Sofia had learned to walk again, and it will throw everyone off her trail later.

Things take a turn when Carmine’s body is stolen and she is sent his ring finger, which leads her to become The Hangman and kill anyone affiliated with Harvey Dent and frame him for their deaths. She hangs her victims and then leaves case files as messages, and since everything still thinks she is paralyzed from the injury, no one suspects her to be the killer.

She is immensely successful at taking out her targets and even manages to protect her brother Alberto, delivering a vicious beatdown to Calendar Man after he tries to shoot Alberto. After saving him though she ends up killing Alberto herself and then heads out to finally kill Two-Face. This leads to a final showdown with Batman, but in the fray, Two-Face shoots and kills her.

Comics to TV

In the show, Sofia has just left Arkham Asylum and is returning to her family’s operations and things in the city. There is also mention of why she was in Arkham, as she was known as The Hangman and killed people, so there are several direct ties from the comics to the show right there. One thing that won’t be carrying over though is Alberto’s role in her story, as he was killed by Oz in the season’s very first episode.

There’s complicated history between Sofia and Oz, made more complicated due to how much she loved her brother Alberto. As for her father, she has already made peace with his death in the show, but as in the comics, she has made it her mission to get vengeance for her family, just for Alberto instead of Carmine. As for her killing again under her old persona, perhaps that is still on the table, especially now that the Maroni’s are being involved by Oz. That said, she shows in episode one that she isn’t afraid to get vicious with her methods, as Oz learns before the episode’s end.

What have you thought of The Penguin so far, and what do you want to see next for Sofia? You can talk all things Penguin and DC with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!