The Penguin has shown the same level of ambition as its titular character for launching a Batman movie spinoff series that would not be centered on Batman. And yet, over seven weeks The Penguin (mostly) proved it was worthy of being on the airwaves without needing to lean on cameos and/or name-drops from Bruce Wayne or Batman – at least until the cliffhanger of the penultimate chapter. The Penguin Episode 7 ended with Sofia Falcone carrying out a bombing that was so devastating, that fans practically demanded that Batman show up to answer for it.
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Does The Batman Appear In The Penguin Finale?
Sort of. Batman finally gets acknowledgment in the very last moments of The Penguin’s final scene – via his iconic Bat-signal, which lights up the night sky over Gotham. It’s a symbolic off-ramp of sorts, with The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc steering the character and the larger Batman Universe out of the mob drama side story she told, and back into the fast lane of Matt Reeves Batman movie franchise, which will continue with The Batman: Part II in 2026.
The Penguin’s Batman “Cameo” Explained (SPOILERS)
In The Penguin Finale episode “A Great or Little Thing” Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) had to face his gangster rival Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) head-on, in order to save his mother Francis Cobb (Deirdre O’Connell). Oz manages to rescue his mother from Sofia and survive the gangland power struggle between the various Gotham mobs she started, by enticing every one of the gangs’ second-in-command to kill their way to top spot in one massive coup.
Oz ultimately doesn’t kill Sofia: instead, he cuts a new deal with the corrupt councilman on the Falcone payroll to frame “The Hangman” for the entire Falcone-Maroni mob war, the new drug Bliss flooding the streets, and the bombing of Crown Point. Sofia goes back to Arkham, and Oz uses his new status as a mob boss to level-up out of the streets and into Gotham’s political circuit.
The cost is high, though: Francis is left in a vegetative state after suffering a stroke during the showdown with Sofia; Oz is broken emotionally at winning the crime war but losing his “ma,” and brutally murders his right-hand man Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) on the notion that significant emotional attachments only weaken him. “Penguin” is left to be the king of his own twisted kingdom: living in a top penthouse, with his mother (who begged for mercy killing if she became debilitated) as his prisoner, forcing his prostitute “girlfriend” Eve (Carmen Ejogo) to dress as his mom, dance with him, and shower him with motherly pride.
It’s only when Eve is stroking Oz’s ego, telling him nothing can stop him now, do we get a shot of the Bat signal flashing over the sky outside the penthouse, reminding us that Oz’s struggle to hold onto his power, may soon be even harder than getting it.
Where Has Batman Been?
It’s now on Matt Reeves and the makers of The Batman: Part II to provide a reasonable explanation for why Batman has surfaced to react to a major mob war – one that included the Falcone family mass murder and boss Sal Maroni’s brazen prison escape – or the terrorist bombing of the Crown Point neighborhood, something Batman should probably be more sensitive to, following the Riddler’s attack on the city.
Saying Bruce Wayne was still in Gotham, but didn’t suit up to deal with things in the streets seems like crazy work. Then again with the level of the focused world and character-building The Penguin accomplished, we can give LeFrance and Reeves the benefit of the doubt that there is a larger plan in place, and a reasonable explanation to come.
The Penguin is streaming on Max.
