Warning! This post contains spoilers for The Penguin
DC S The penguin Features the villainous protagonist that Sony’s Spider-Man universe movies have promised but haven’t delivered yet. After the events of The Batman, The penguin Follow Oz Cobb as he couples Gotham’s two biggest crime families with the help of his unlikely partner Victor Aguilar, who awakens Oz’s paternal instincts but doesn’t completely shake off his innate desire for power and his devious personality. Besides Victor, Oz also joins forces with other criminals such as Sal Maroni and Sofia Falcone, whom he betrays in The penguin Episode 3’s ending, to Sofia’s shock.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe was created to shine the spotlight on all the Spider-Man villains and allies that previous Marvel movies and the MCU haven’t touched yet. Venom has already received a full trilogy, while Morbius, Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter have starred in their own solo movies. To date, Venom has been the most popular character introduced in Sony’s live-action Marvel movie franchise. The fact that Venom is a prominent anti-hero in the source material may have a lot to do with the popularity of his live-action adaptation..
The Penguin presents an irredeemably villainous protagonist
The Penguin isn’t afraid to portray Oz Cobb as a full-fledged villain in his own story
One of the criticisms that Sony’s Spider-Man universe has received is that its protagonists are neither full-fledged villains nor dark anti-heroes despite the fact that they are based on famous Spider-Man enemies. This issue is compounded by Spider-Man’s absence, which renders each main character an independent hero with different personalities to their comic book counterparts. on the contrary, The penguinOz Cobb is unapologetically treacherous. Although Colin Farrell’s Penguin has a few positive traits, his tendency to betray everyone around him makes him irredeemable.
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The penguin Reveals that Oz has a soft spot for people who have been mistreated and taken advantage of. Victor Aguilar’s tragic loss of his family due to the Riddler’s terrorist attack and Sofia Falcone’s unfair hangman shame bring out Oz’s softer side. However, Oz is quick to threaten Victor when he doubts the child’s loyalty and quick to betray Sofia when the Maroni family arrive to kill Oz. At the end of The penguinThere can be no doubt about Oz Cobb’s viciousness, unlike any of the comic book villains in Sony’s Spider-Man universe.
The Penguin shows villain-led movies can work in Sony’s Spider-Man universe
Sony’s Spider-Man movies can still introduce unmistakably evil protagonists
Although Sony’s Spider-Man universe has yet to introduce its first villain protagonist, the franchise’s upcoming projects may be starting to move in the right direction. It seems like Kraven the Hunter‘s titular character will be an anti-hero, but he will be the first protagonist in Sony’s franchise to star in an R-rated movie, meaning that he can be much more violent than previous characters. Likewise, Sony’s next Marvel characters could take a page off The penguins book and show irredeemable qualities all over their respective movies. Villains like Rhino, Black Cat, Silver Sable and Hobgoblin may be Sony’s first ever full-blown villain protagonists after all.
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