The Penguin, a spinoff series of 2022’s The Batman, has finally flown onto HBO and Max. The eight-episode mob drama is ostensibly about Oswald Cobb’s (Colin Farrell) rise into taking over Gotham City’s underworld in the aftermath of the events of the movie, and his battle for control with various mob factions. But by far the most intriguing aspect of the series premiere, “After Hours,” is the relationship between Oz and Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz)… Mainly because it’s played as a twisted, dark take on Batman and Robin.
We’re already well into the episode when Oz meets Victor for the first time. Spoilers past this point, but Oz has just murdered Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen) in a fit of rage. After tossing the body down the stairs in the wreckage of the Iceberg Lounge, Oz comes outside to find a gang of kids trying to steal the hubcaps off his purple (sorry, “plum” as Oz clarifies later in the episode) car. He shoots at them, leaving a bullet hole in his own back hood in the process. And the only one who isn’t able to escape is Victor.
Throughout the episode, a lot of things go down. But the main thrust is that Oswald is taking Victor around the city to dispose of Alberto’s body. The threat of Oswald killing Victor is present at every moment as Victor drives his car to several shady locations. But Oswald sees himself in Victor. Perhaps it’s because Oswald has a pockmarked face, a cleft lip, and a club foot, and has been underestimated because of it his whole life. While Victor has no physical deformities, he does have a strong stutter he struggles with. He also, like Oz, comes from an impoverished background.
Ultimately, Oz decides not to kill Victor and lets him go, telling him to keep his phone handy. There’s a fair amount of tension throughout the hour as it seems like Oz may have made a mistake trusting this kid… Beyond the stutter and both having grown up in bad neighborhoods, there’s not a lot that connects them. But it turns out his faith is well-placed, as Victor saves Oz from Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) by the end of the episode, making it look like the Maroni crime family killed Alberto — not Oswald.
To drive home the importance of the pairing, the episode ends with them sharing Slush Puppies outside a bodega. It’s something Oswald brought up early as an off-hand story from his youth, explaining that you’ve got to get the suicide — aka, the drink with all the flavors mixed together. “It’s better, right, when you mix the flavors?” Oswald says and then agrees with himself when the speech-hesitant Victor just smiles. And yes, he’s referring to the two of them, and not just the slush. Then “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton plays as the credits roll.
That bit of recap out of the way, it’s hard not to see Oswald as Batman, taking his young ward (that would be Victor) under his wing — no Penguin pun intended. Like Bruce Wayne, who sees something of himself in the various kids he’s trained as Robin (they all do have similar hair), Oswald sees himself in Victor, whether those similarities are there or not. They’re also immediately in on each other’s secrets, given Victor knows Oswald has killed Alberto right off. Like Batman and Robin, there’s a level of instant trust that’s necessary for a partnership. In Batman and Robin’s case, that partnership is based on crime-fighting. In Oz and Victor’s, it’s based on crime.
There are other parallels here. Jason Todd, the second Robin, was apprehended by Batman while he was trying to steal the tires from the Batmobile. Parallel that with how we meet Victor, who is stealing the hubcaps (and perhaps tires) from Oswald’s Penguinmobile. He wouldn’t call it that, of course, but after being terrified and chased by Batman’s car in The Batman, it certainly looks like ol’ Oz got some iconic wheels of his own. The show isn’t particularly subtle in its comparison, and that introduction scene, with its thematic shout-out to Jason Todd, clinches it.
We haven’t seen the rest of how this dynamic duo might develop yet. Victor Aguilar is an original character for the series, so it’s not like we know he’ll become Kid Penguin from the DC Comics source material or anything. But it’s clear this is a central relationship for the series — and one that riffs off that between Bruce and Jason. Does that indicate Victor might suffer a similar fate to Jason, who was killed in the comics? Perhaps. There are seven episodes to go. So we’ll just have to keep tuning in — same Penguin time, same Penguin channel.
Where To Watch The Penguin:
The Penguin Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
The first episode of The Penguin premieres Thursday, September 19 at 9 pm ET on HBO and Max. There will be an encore airing on Sunday, September 22 at 9 pm ET, and then the show will move to its regular time slot of Sundays at 9 pm ET starting on September 29.
Here’s the full list of episodes in The Penguin, with premiere dates:
- Thursday, September 19, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 1: “After Hours”
- Sunday, September 29, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 2: “Inside Man”
- Sunday, October 6, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 3: “Bliss”
- Sunday, October 13, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 4: “Cent’Anni”
- Sunday, October 20, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 5: “Homecoming”
- Sunday, October 27, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 6: “Gold Summit”
- Sunday, November 3, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 7: “Top Hat”
- Sunday, November 10, 2024: The Penguin, Episode 8: “Great or Little Thing”