Batman: Caped Crusader is full of tweaks and changes to the origin of The Dark Knight. Those include whole-hearted revamps, like the show’s take on Harley Quinn. And subtler choices, like Hamish Linklater’s Batman voice versus his take on Bruce Wayne. But the one that has arguably drawn most of the online ire is a gender-swap for The Penguin Yet according to showrunner Bruce Timm, the reason for the flip was simple: there aren’t enough good female villains for Batman.
In a conversation with Emmys.com, Timm and co-executive producer James Tucker broke down the choice.
Timm: James and I were talking about the overview of the show, and we said, “One of the problems with Batman, as he is, is there’s a lack of good villains. You’ve got Catwoman, you’ve got Poison Ivy, you’ve got Harley Quinn. But it would be really good to have more female villains.” And off the top of my head, I said, “We never really could figure out exactly what to do with The Penguin, what the gimmick for The Penguin would be. What if we gender-flip The Penguin?”
Tucker: When he said “Maybe we can gender-flip Penguin,” I just got this flood of ideas. I was thinking of Marlene Dietrich in her tuxedo and Cabaret the musical and the art form of cabaret, and I just started drawing. I instantly got a flood of ideas. Also, I was thinking a little bit of Harvey Fierstein and Hairspray and Divine. It just was like I knew instantly what it could be.
I’m going to get editorial here, and address what Tucker said, first: he’s right. The way the show treats The Penguin in the first episode, “In Treacherous Waters,” does keep the core of The Penguin while adding flourishes of Marlene Dietrich, the outlaw Ma Barker, and more. The Penguin is still a crime boss with a nightclub, and she still immediately resorts to insane violence the second her plan falls apart… It’s The Penguin, but also a woman.
However, Timm is, in my opinion, weirdly off-base here with his reasoning. He co-created Harley Quinn back on Batman: The Animated Series and that’s a testament to how well he knew the space. But, strangely, he lists three incredibly strong, iconic female villains in the same breath as saying there’s a “lack of good villains.” And to clarify, he clearly misspoke here, and meant to say a “lack of good female villains,” so I’m not lumping on him for that.
But beyond that trio, there’s Talia al Ghul, there’s the recent addition of Punchline in the comics, there’s a female Bane named Vengeance, White Rabbit, and even Nocturna who appears in Caped Crusader… I could go on. Point being, there are plenty of female villains, and while I personally don’t have a problem with the gender swap, I don’t think the lack of female villains is the issue here.
It’s even more curious reasoning when you look at the villains in Season 1 of the series:
- Episode 1: Gender-swap Penguin
- Episode 2: Basil Karlo/Clayface
- Episode 3: Catwoman
- Episode 4: Firebug
- Episode 5: Harley Quinn
- Episode 6: Gentleman Ghost
- Episode 7: Onomatopoeia
- Episode 8: Nocturna
- Episode 9: Harvey Dent/Two-Face
- Episode 10: Harvey Dent/Two-Face
It’s not like Timm and company were up against the wall scrambling to figure out Batman villains for Season 1. They already were going deep cut here, so there was a clear opportunity to elevate lesser-known female characters that already existed and explore them — just as they did for Nocturna in Episode 8.
Again, it’s fine that they gender-swapped The Penguin. Timm’s reasoning just doesn’t make sense, and undercuts the fun riff they found on a classic character. It’s an unforced error that isn’t helping the online conversation around the show. And with the second season already in the works, here’s hoping they bring in more female villains — just perhaps be more careful about how Timm explains them.
Catwoman
Poison Ivy
Harley Quinn
Lady Shiva
Talia Al Ghoul
Cheshire
Orca
Sofia Falcone.
Go Woke, Go Broke.
Agreed. And if there’s a lack of good female villains, here’s a thought, create one of your own. Lazy, woke storytelling.