The Batman spin-off rightly avoided the opportunity to reveal its best villain

The Batman‘s spin-off, The penguincould have easily introduced multiple villains into the overall universe, but was wise not to. Away The penguin By the end of Episode 7, the titular character is closer than ever to taking over Gotham’s underworld and becoming more like his DC Comics counterpart. The penguin will take place after 2022 The Batmanto further flesh out the universe and round out the story The Batman – Part II.

With The Batman 2 is one of the most awaited upcoming films Batman Films that many have seen The penguin to see exactly how this version of Gotham evolved. As it turns out, this more grounded, realistic iteration of BatmanThe extensive timeline has proven to be just as good on TV as it is in film, with DC Easter eggs and connections to Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight galore. However, one of the most important options The penguin could have continued The Batman no capital was drawn from it, and this decision turned out to be the right one.

The Batman’s spin-off had the perfect opportunity to focus on more DC villains

Sofia Falcone’s story gave the Penguin several villains to play

About the story of DC Comics villain Sofia Falcone, The penguin could have introduced or even re-introduced multiple villains The BatmanThe universe. Sofia Falcone quickly established itself as one of the best-written live-action films Batman Villains in recent years thanks The penguin Episode 4. This storyline established Sofia’s tragic backstory, particularly how she became aware of her father Carmine Falcone’s murder of several women. Carmine, wanting to retain his power, blamed Sofia for these murders and had her sentenced to years in prison at Arkham Asylum.

The penguin Episode 4 focused almost entirely on Sofia’s time in Arkham Asylum. Herein lies the scenario through which… The penguin could have established some of them The Batman Main villains of the franchise. It has already been confirmed that two antagonists are in Arkham The Batman: The Joker and the Riddler. The series could have featured cameos revolving around any of these characters, or even debuted other villains such as Hugo Strange, The Scarecrow, or Harley Quinn, all of whom are associated with Arkham in DC Comics.

The Penguin showrunner is right when it comes to why the Batman spin-off had to avoid an Arkham reveal

The Penguin is better without gratuitous cameos

Although I see one of those cameos The penguin would have been great from a fan service perspective, there’s no denying that the showrunners made the right decision to leave it out. By focusing entirely on Sofia’s story and character arc, the narrative of The penguin has been dramatically improved as a result. If a cameo from one of the aforementioned villains were included just to tease The Batman 2 or other upcoming DC movies and shows, it would have served no purpose for Sofia’s storyline.

Thankfully, this is something the showrunners did The penguin also understood. At New York Comic-Con 2024 The penguinLauren LeFrance, the creator of ‘s, spoke to The direct one about Sofia’s journey through Arkham Asylum. During this interview, LeFranc was asked if other characters from The Batman or larger DC Comics characters that have not yet debuted in the franchise were considered The penguin Episode 4. In response, LeFranc stated:

“Honestly, for this episode we were just thinking about Sophia, like Sophia’s journey…we didn’t want to have a character that would detract from her experience or make people go, ‘Oh, that’s it.’ [that villain]!’ No casual Joker, no Harley Quinn. These characters are great. But for what we’ve done, we’re telling Sophia’s story and we just want you to immerse yourself in her perspective…”

As LeFranc’s comments indicate, the creators of The penguin Echoes of feelings, the cameos of others Batman Characters would be great, but would negatively impact the story. Because the focus was solely on Sofia, the true tragedy and heartbreak of her story was able to be portrayed without breaking the immersion that would undoubtedly be present if, for example, the Joker had appeared. This decision improved Sofia’s story and allowed her to shine as one The penguinis one of the best live-action DC characters in a long time.

Batman 2 is more interesting if Arkham isn’t used as a villain for the sequel

The Batman sequels are now more mysterious

Another added benefit of The penguin The omission of major villain cameos from Arkham Asylum is what makes it The Batman – Part IIand all other films beyond that, more interesting. If a DC Comics character had appeared in it The penguinthe audience would probably have started to imagine this character The Batman 2is the villain. However, leaving them out creates more intrigue, interest and mystery as to who The Batman – Part IIThe antagonist will be.

This secret will make the marketing of The Batman 2 even better; Audiences won’t know who will be the Caped Crusader’s next enemy because it hasn’t been revealed in advance The penguin. In this sense, The penguin to avoid the admittedly tempting opportunity it had to prepare a future villain for The BatmanThe series’ universe was the best choice, not only to make it a fantastic DC TV show that stands on its own with brilliant characters, but also to make future installments of Matt Reeves’ Elseworlds sect of the DCU even more intriguing close.

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

Pour

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

Release date

September 19, 2024

writer

Lauren LeFranc

Directors

Craig Zobel

Showrunner

Lauren LeFranc

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