Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Penguin episode 2, “Inside Man.” “‘When faced with a seemingly insurmountable problem, your only option is to act swiftly — some might even say, irrationally. Removing the most dangerous elements first… and methodically attacking each subsequent challenge in a separate, deliberate manner.’”
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In Batman: The Long Halloween — the 13-issue comic book by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale that influenced 2022’s The Batman movie — the Dark Knight recites the words of his surgeon father while methodically attacking the costumed rogues assembled to kill the “untouchable” crime lord of Gotham City: Carmine “The Roman” Falcone. Batman is able to subdue Solomon Grundy, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Mad Hatter, and Scarecrow, but Falcone is ultimately shot dead by the newly-disfigured “freak” Two-Face.
The series follows the triumvirate of Batman, Captain Jim Gordon, and crusading District Attorney Harvey Dent as they unravel the mystery of Holiday, a serial killer committing murders coinciding with holidays. The Holiday Killer marks the calendar with members of the Falcone Family, starting with The Roman’s nephew, Johnny Viti, on Halloween night; so begins “the long Halloween.” These holiday-themed slayings include Falcone’s bodyguard, Milos Grappa; Falcone’s sister, Carla Viti; and Falcone’s son, Alberto Falcone.
Alberto is the victim in 1997’s Batman: The Long Halloween #4, set on New Year’s Eve. However, Alberto is eventually revealed as Holiday when he assassinates Sal “The Boss” Maroni, Falcone’s chief rival for control of Gotham, after the mob boss hurls acid in Dent’s face. Alberto faked his death and — in another twist — is not the only Holiday killer.
The Penguin‘s “Inside Man” episode pays homage to Alberto’s comic counterpart at Berto’s (Michael Zegen) memorial service, where old footage of her brother on New Year’s sends Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) out of the room. She then encounters her cousin, Carla (Boardwalk Empire‘s Aleksa Palladino), and issues a warning about her young niece, Gia: “Make sure you keep her protected. A young woman in this Family… it might not end well for her.”
Like her comic book counterpart, Sofia was a serial killer known as Hangman; but in the comics, it’s Sofia herself who kills Alberto in The Long Halloween sequel series Batman: Dark Victory. In remixing The Long Halloween, it’s Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) who is taking an almost surgical-like approach to methodically dismantling the Falcones.
One week after the Riddler (Paul Dano)killed Carmine Falcone(John Turturro) and blew up Gotham’s seawall, turningparts of Gothaminto a no man’s land in The Batman,Oz impulsively shoots and kills the heir to the Falcone empire after he mocks his aspirations to be remembered like the gangster Rex Calabrese.
Oz then implicates the mob boss Sal Maroni (Clancy Brown) in Berto’s death as he makes a move on the Drops drug operation in Gotham, and plans to blackmail underboss Johnny Viti (Michael Kelly) over his affair with the wife of the new Don, Luca Falcone (Scott Cohen). A wrinkle to this plot is a captured Maroni capo who can expose him, so Oz murders Ervad (Fajer Al-Kaisi), abandons his scheme to frame Johnny for Berto’s death, and makes Sofia believe her brother has been avenged when Don Luca guns down alleged rat Callisto (Berto Colon). Finally, Oz forms an alliance with Sofia as she goes to take what is rightfully hers: her father’s place as head of the Family.
By manipulating the Falcones against the Maronis and eliminating the Family one by one, Oz tells Victor (Rhenzy Feliz): “We’re one step closer to the top.”
New episodes of The Penguin premiere Sundays on HBO and Max.
