Calling something “grounded” is a bit of a dirty word in the comic book community. Filmmakers love to toss the term around, seemingly to try and prove they’re doing something extremely serious and not super silly like comic books. But it often comes off as dismissive to the very thing they’re building their movie or show around. It’s hard not to refer to HBO’s The Penguin as grounded — yet miracle of miracles, what makes the series work is that it doesn’t neglect the core of the comic book source material.
This was true of the show’s antecedent, The Batman, as well. I’ll fully admit that I groused and crossed my arms when hearing director/writer Matt Reeves talk about his more ground-level take on Batman. I rolled my eyes when I saw the trailer. And the more tactical Batsuit Robert Pattinson was wearing in the film. But it was clear from the opening narration of that 2022 movie that Reeves and company got Batman. They understood that Gotham City can be many things, to many people. And even with a Riddler wearing a duct tape mask and glasses, the whole movie was the best on-screen depiction of Batman, ever. I won’t argue it’s the best Batman movie, nor the best Bruce Wayne (someone check in on Pattinson’s clenched jaw, please). But Reeves understood the rhythm of Batman, Catwoman, Gordon, and the rest of the Gotham City squad.
Yet even with The Batman having successfully captured the ethos of Gotham City, The Penguin was another potential wrong turn. Here is a Batman show, without Batman. It stars Colin Farrell as The Penguin, his name changed to Oswald Cobb, instead of the more theatrical Oswald Cobblepot. On a network known for shows like The Sopranos, charting the rise of “Oz” (HBO also famously had a show by that name, too) through the Gotham underworld seemed like a direct shot at making Sopranos 2: Here We Go Again, instead of a bridge between The Batman movies.
I should have known better. The opening sequence of The Penguin‘s premiere episode, “After Hours,” finds Oswald ransacking Carmine Falcone’s (John Turturro in The Batman, Mark Strong on The Penguin) office, only to be discovered by Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen). Over drinks and a few drugs, Oz opens up to Alberto in order to win him over to his side. And Alberto laughs at him. So Oswald, in a fit of rage, shoots Alberto to death. He laughs. And as the realization of what he’s done washes over him, he screams a cut-off, “f**k!” as we smash to the opening title.
I for one, laughed out loud when this happened, and not just because of the sudden, surprise cursing. It’s because that scene perfectly captures everything that has made The Penguin such a great, engaging villain over the past 83 years. Yes, he’s got plans on plans. Oswald is always working every angle. But the second a single thing goes wrong, he completely loses it and makes the situation exponentially worse. That’s true in the comics (with the exception of Tom King and Rafael De Latorre’s recent DC Comic, which revamped the character entirely). It’s true in movies like Batman Returns. And it’s even true for the gender-swapped Penguin in the Matt Reeves produced Batman: Caped Crusader.
The Penguin, by his very nature, is a ridiculous figure. In most media, he has a monocle, carries an umbrella, says things like “wak wak” and often uses ridiculously large bombs to blow up Gotham/kill Batman. The Penguin (the TV show) ditches most of those physical trappings. Yes, he still likes custom suits, but they’re not of the three-piece variety. His penguin walk is caused by a club foot and brace, not some affection for the maritime birds. He’s scarred, overweight, with a cleft lip. And as of the beginning of this series, is no longer in possession of his nightclub, the Iceberg Lounge, due to the massive flooding and destruction in Gotham City.
But everything else that makes Oswald who he is, is there. It’s the same for the crime families central to the premise of the show. They remix origins like Sofia Falcone’s (Cristin Milioti), while staying true to who the Maronis and Falcones are from books like The Long Halloween. Gotham City looks different, but there’s a clear connection between the one on screen in The Penguin and other ’70s-style looks at the town seen in Joker or Gotham.
That’s what has made the Batman lore, and Gotham City, and by extension its villains so iconic over the years… Their malleability. There are points you can stretch them to where they’re no longer recognizable. For example, I’d argue that Joker, which doesn’t seem interested in the character The Joker nor anything about Gotham or Batman, gets there. But as long as you understand the source material, the core of those characters and locations, they still work.
Calling something grounded has, traditionally, been demeaning to the fans who will loyally show up to your property no matter what. And it’s downright rude to the comic book writers, artists, colorists, letterers, etc who have built the house those filmmakers are only taking residence in. But what Reeves, and now The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc have done is craft something that does, in fact, bring the world of Batman and company down to ground level. But they’ve only done so to properly refurbish the foundation for the house Bob Kane and Bill Finger built, so many years ago. Wak, wak.
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”