The Penguin’s Cliffhanger in Episode 6 Could Be Teasing a Batman Comic

WARNING. The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Penguin Episode 6!

As well as giving Colin Farrell another chance to shine as Oz Cobb and introducing Cristin Millioti as one of the best on-screen Batman villains of all time, The Penguin also features a mesmerizing performance from Rhenzy Feliz as Victor Aguilar, Cobb’s young protégé. Vic is introduced in the very first episode when he’s caught by Cobb stealing the rims from his car. In typical fashion, Oz blackmails Vic to do his bidding before threatening to kill him to close off loose ends from the murder of Alberto Falcone. But Vic has proven himself a worthy ally to Cobb over the last six episodes and has seen his own morality grow darker and darker.

Episode 6 pushed Vic to his darkest place yet, killing Calvin to protect Cobb’s underground drug empire. The episode ended with a major cliffhanger. After Cobb restored power to Crown Point (Gotham’s poorest district), Sofia tracked down his mother and entered their safe house with a crowbar in hand. The moment left audiences shocked for the safety of Cobb’s complicated mother, Frances, and her faithful protector, Vic. But, the scene added another layer to ongoing comparisons between Vic’s character arc and a beloved and heartbreaking DC Comics character.

Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime-drama spin-off television series of 2022’s film The Batman. Set shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, A.K.A. the Penguin, begins his rise in the underworld of Gotham City as he contends with the daughter of his late boss, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family’s empire.

Release Date

September 19, 2024

Cast

Colin Farrell , Cristin Milioti , Rhenzy Feliz , Michael Kelly , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Deirdre O’Connell , Clancy Brown , James Madio , Scott Cohen , Michael Zegen , Carmen Ejogo , Theo Rossi

Seasons

1

Vic’s Origin Story Is Scarily Similar to Jason Todd’s

There have been a lot of comparisons between The Penguin and the wider Batman mythos, as the series has teased popular and under-appreciated villains from some of the best comic book storylines. However, the surprising connection between Vic and Jason Todd (the second Robin) might be the closest connection yet. The comparisons begin from the very first episode. As previously mentioned, Victor Aguilar is first introduced when he’s caught boosting the rims of Oz Cobb’s purple Maserati. In the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths comic book canon, Jason Todd first meets Batman when he naively tries stealing the wheels from The Batmobile. Instead of beating him to a pulp, Batman sits with Jason Todd and eventually adopts him as his own son, much like Oz does to Vic.

Over the six episodes, audiences witness Vic slowly learning the ropes of Gotham City’s drug trade as he proves his ambition to Oz in order to survive. Following the time jump in Episode 6, Vic has transformed into a motorbike riding, essential member of Oz’s operation. While they sit on different sides of the morality and judicial spectrum, Vic’s growth mirrors Jason Todd’s. Much like he did with Dick Grayson before he left to become Nightwing, Bruce Wayne trained Jason Todd to become the next Robin. The pair have a complicated crime-fighting relationship. However, unlike the optimistic Grayson, Jason Todd’s underlying anger issues stemming from his childhood would often rise to the surface, leading him to use excessive force on criminals — even by Batman’s standards.

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In the first five episodes, Vic took a hands-off approach to Oz Cobb’s violent methods. But, with Episode 6 pushing Vic past the boundary of murder, he’s inching ever closer to Jason Todd’s penchant for excessive violence. It’s also a much smaller detail, but Vic’s first kill being with a gun also reflects Jason Todd’s weapon of choice after he’s resurrected in the Lazarus Pit and becomes the murderous vigilante Red Hood.

The Vic/Jason Todd comparisons come to a head in Episode 6’s shocking ending. We still have a few more days to wait until we learn the fate of Sofia Falcone’s crowbar rampage, but fans speculate that either Frances or Vic will die at the hands of The Hangman. If Vic met his end in Episode 7, it would bear a shocking resemblance to Jason Todd’s own death in the comics. After an infamous fan poll conducted by DC Comics, Jason Todd was killed by The Joker in Batman: A Death in the Family. After being captured by The Joker, Todd was brutally beaten to death with a crowbar and blown up mere minutes before Batman was able to rescue him.

Vic’s Origin Personifies Matt Reeves’ Exploration of Wealth in The Batman

As well as directing one of the greatest Batman movies of all time, which has led to the best live-action Batman-based TV show, Matt Reeves’ The Batman Universe explores a side of the mythos that few other storytellers dive into: wealth and class. Contemporary audiences have criticized Bruce Wayne’s methods of fighting crime in Gotham City. Despite having the wealth to drastically change the city, tackling crime from a socio-economic standpoint at its roots, Bruce Wayne chooses to dress up as a bat and beat up (often poor) low-level criminals.

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The Batman began Reeves’ exploration of wealth and social class in Gotham City, but The Penguin takes it one step further. As well as showcasing Oz’s desire to rise to the top of Gotham’s criminal underworld, and live a life like the Falcones, it also spotlights the citizens that Batman believes he’s protecting, but ultimately ignores. Vic embodies the type of criminal that Batman usually beats up. After his life was turned upside down by the floods caused by The Riddler, Vic was forced into a life of crime to survive. His fate grew darker after an unexpected run-in with The Penguin. Having had a taste of a better, wealthier life, Vic was given a chance to return to a normal life but ultimately turned it down, now entranced by Oz’s aspirations. The Penguin is streaming on Max.