Notice! This article contains spoilers for the season 1 finale of The Penguin.
The penguin
introduced an incredibly dark and twisted version of the titular villain, Oz Cobb, but it’s hard to believe the series surpassed even Gotham Oswald Cobblepot’s most twisted moments. It was clear from the first 10 minutes of Matt Reeves Batman that its universe was considerably darker than any version of Gotham seen before. Between the Riddler’s brutal murder of a man and Batman’s first battle with some bad guys, the world of these films was brutal, gritty, and twisted to another degree.
However, the 2014 TV series Gotham also presented a dark, lawless version of the city with some of the most extensive villain exploitation seen in live action. Particularly for the character Oswald Cobblepot, who goes from a withered shadow of a man to a monstrous and cruel crime lord. By exploring Oswald’s backstory, Gotham reveals a time when he killed his stepmother, Grace, after feeding her his own children’s cooked flesh, but somehow, The Penguin version is even more cruel.
I don’t believe Penguin’s main villain feels badder than Gotham’s
Oswald Cobblepot is considerably badder than Oz Cobb
Tonally, the two shows clearly reveal a big difference, with The penguin seeking a sense of darker drama, while Gotham maintained some of the charm and humor of the comics. However, there is no denying that Gotham also created incredibly dark and twisted versions of DC Batman villains. Oswald was disgusting, conniving, and willing to do whatever was necessary to get what he wanted. He constantly uses and abuses others and, in fits of rage, releases a dark side that is terrifying.
Robin Lord Taylor’s performance as Oswald was also excellent, as the actor made the character his own and convincingly switched from tiny and helpless, to brutal and unhinged within the same role. And his serious acts, like feeding his half-siblings with their mother, seemed like something I believed would never be matched on screen again. In each version, Your ambition leads to violencebut differences in how far they go and where they draw the line define performance.
Why Gotham’s penguin is less of a villain than Batman’s
Robin Lord Taylor’s Penguin Has a Heart and a Moral Line
As stated above, it all comes down to where the line is drawn. Oswald is willing to kill, cook and serve his half-brothers, who have always been cruel and monstrous, to his stepmother, who was abusive and murdered Oswald’s father. But when she met and befriended a young orphan, she found space in her heart to help him and keep him safe. This indicates that, as brutal and violent as Oswald may be, he has a heart, and he draws the line at seeing any harm come to the people he cares about the most.
The boy, Martin, was a lost soul with whom Oswald felt a kinship and did much to protect him and keep him safe. Ultimately, when things got too dangerous in Gotham, Oswald chose to send Martin somewhere, proving that he had some kind of heart. However, Oz, in The penguinforms a similar close bond with Victor Aguilar. Victor eventually goes from accomplice to protégé, and then Oz begins to see the boy as family. However, the way Oz treats his family certainly reveals his character to be significantly darker, with no discernible moral line.
I’m glad the Penguin showed how evil the DC villain could really be
This version of the penguin raises the bar and fits into the Reeves Batverse
As brutal as it is to see Oz turn to Victor, after achieving his goal of taking control of Gotham and overthrowing the former rulers of power, and then choke the life out of himthis sets the standard for the future of the franchise. Oz is relentless. He knows where he wants to go in life and evaluates and finds possible setbacks that could get in the way. Regardless of his personal connection, Oz values ​​power and his future success more than anything else.
This is an incredibly visceral way to The penguin to establish just how intense Reeves’ Batverse can be, and builds on the events of Batman. And as difficult as it is to watch this brutality unfold, I also can’t look away. Oz’s ambition and willingness to suppress everything for money and power is inspiring and completely terrifying. And that makes him the perfect villain for Batman, whose entire life has been defined by what he’s lost, and he wants to try to protect that for others. Corruption is deeply rooted Gotham and The penguinbut it’s obvious which is darker.
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