The Penguinstars Colin Farrell as a reinvention of the iconic Batman villain of the same name. The character is the perfect blend of borrowed and original elements to create something new and engaging. In the long history of Batman adaptations, villains tend to be the most central defining characteristic. It’s rare to see any work in the franchise focus entirely on the criminal rather than the crime fighter, but this Penguin earns the attention. How did they create the ideal Oz?
Obviously, the best Batman villain ever to take the screen isHeath Ledger’s Joker fromThe Dark Knight. He remains one of the most compelling antagonists ever depicted on the big screen. His legacy lives on to this day, inspiring countless other performances and character choices. The difference between Ledger’s Joker and Farrell’s Penguin is that the former is a much closer adaptation. For as much guff as Nolan gets for hisDark Knighttrilogy, those movies take a ton of inspiration from the comics. Ledger’s Joker is the perfect representation of an existing character. Farrell’s Penguin is a new figure built from the old one.
Creators
Bob Kane and Bill Finger
Oswald Cobblepot is along-standing Batman villainwho rarely, if ever, becomes the central antagonist among the Caped Crusader’s rogues gallery. Like almost every other DC character, the Penguin has gone through a number of distinct phases. Several hallmarks of the character stretch throughout the decades he’s been around. Oswald Cobblepot is usually an independently wealthy member of a respected family. He takes on a life of crime with dreams of becoming powerful and widely feared. The activity he’s most known for is owning and operating the Iceberg Lounge, a popular nightclub and front organization for his criminal enterprises. Penguin is unique among Batman’s antagonists because he’s almost always in his right mind. His personality is troublesome, but he rarely struggles with the kind of instability that plagues most antagonists. When he pops up in Batman stories, he almost always hires out his dirty work to lesser foes. He often appears in service to other villains, placing him in a bizarre middle ground. His desire to rise to the top emerges consistently. Sometimes he’s an outcast. Other stories drag his family’s name through the mud. He’sbeen in the franchise for decades, but he’s still constantly on the rise.
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Streaming On
HBO Max
Colin Farrell’s version of thePenguin goes by Oz Cobb. He’s an engaging amalgam of traits from the classic comic source material and new elements. This Penguin got his name as a result of disabilities that restrict his movement and alter his face. He’s a relatively low-level member of the Falcone crime family whose primary skill is the ability to talk his way out of everything. His ambition, struggle, and aesthetics are partially pulled from the comics. Oz never kills anyone with an umbrella in this show, but he does have the same fundamentally terrible taste that makes him stand out among mafia types. He doesn’t come from a rich family, but clawing his way up from the bottom is frequently a part of his story. Farrell’s Penguin fits theposition of the comic book character, but his new personality and assets make him far more engaging.
One of the problems with making a show or movie about a villain is that they tend to be in positions of power. Ahero faces conflict, grows, and overcomes impossible odds. Most of the time, the antagonist is a living representative of those odds. Without knowledge of the narrative, the smart money is usually on the bad guy. The Penguin fits that trope most of the time, but this version of the character feels distinctly disempowered. He has the manipulative skills and strength of will to do what the comic character can do, but he has to use every ounce of those skills to reach the level he occupies in the comics. He has to scrape, claw, lie, and fight for every inch. He’s out of every frying pan and into every fire.The new version of Ozis reaching for the level of respect, success, and fear that the old version claims by default.
There’s also a metatextual level to the new Oz’s ambition. As powerful as the Penguin often is, he’s almost always defined as a second- or third-tier Batman villain.Even inThe Batman, Oz is mostly there to be a red herring, drawing the audience’s attention away from the actual plot. InThe Penguin, Oz is dragging himself into the spotlight by hook or by crook. It’s a reshuffling of positions that finally gives a beloved character a chance to shine. Now, at last, the Penguin can reach new heights by starting from the bottom.
