Notice! This article contains spoilers for The PenguinA tragic death in The Penguin proves that Batman's greatest weakness is inevitable for both him and every DC character who follows in his footsteps. Batman introduced several ultra-realistic versions of famous Gotham characters, including the Penguin, the Riddler, Catwoman, Carmine Falcone, James Gordon and the Dark Knight himself. Of these, only the Riddler and the Penguin have had their own spin-offs so far – Edward Nashton in the comic book The Riddler: Year Zero and Oz Cobb in the Max series The Penguin.
The Penguin remains faithful to Batmanand keeps its plot based on a gang war that takes place out of sight of Batman and the GCPD. Oz Cobb starts the conflict by killing Al Falcone and then finishes the job by murdering the Maroni family. Sofia Falcone, also known as the Executioner, also adds fuel to the fire by killing her entire family. But while The Penguin focuses on the dark and realistic aspects of Gotham's DC lore, there's a character with a strong parallel to one of the more light-hearted elements of Batman's 85-year history.
The Penguin introduced a dark new version of Robin with a twist
The Penguin Searched for Batman's Greatest Tragedy
In The PenguinColin Farrell's Oz Cobb and Rhenzy Feliz's Victor Aguilar have a father-son relationship very similar to Batman and Robin. Oz takes Victor under his wing when he realizes the boy's noble personality in the unfortunate circumstances in which Vic finds himself. Although inexperienced, Victor is smart enough to save Oz multiple times, even saving him from Nadia Maroni in the nick of time. Unfortunately for Victor, he survives the entire odyssey, only to die at the hands of Oz in The Penguin episode 8 ends in the most tragic way possible.
Victor Aguilar is a clear parallel to Robin. In fact, Victor's origin story is almost exactly the same as Jason Todd's - they were both recruited by their respective mentors when they tried to steal their car rims. However, while Jason Todd dies at the hands of the Joker when Batman fails to arrive in time to save him, Oz kills Victor himself with the excuse that it is less traumatic for Oz to get rid of Vic before someone else does. Both Batman and the Penguin lost their respective companions because they simply didn't know how to protect them.
The Penguin revealed that Batman's sidekick will always be a vulnerability
Robin has always been Batman's weak point
Oz Cobb's decision to kill Victor Aguilar in cold blood is inexcusable, but Victor would certainly end up seriously injured alongside Oz after the events of The Penguin. Not even Batman could protect Jason Todd from a brutal death, and every Robin is a risk to Batman, regardless of his prowess. While all members of the Bat-Family are skilled enough to deal with Batman's villains without their mentor's help, their deaths would weigh on Batman as much as the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne already do. This is why Batman often considers Jason Todd's murder to be his greatest failure.
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