“The Penguin,” Max’s newest limited series on the popular Batman villain, has come out in its entirety. It’s a true Max show at its core — gritty, edgy and Sopranos-esque in its exhibition — setting a new standard for comic-book television adaptations.
“The Penguin” follows the events of “The Batman” (2022). Oz Cobb — also known as the Penguin — is dealing with the repercussions of murdering Alberto Falcone. Falcone is the brother of Sofia Falcone, the daughter of deceased crime boss Carmine Falcone.
After spending a whole decade in the institution, Sofia is unexpectedly released from Arkham Asylum. Given the asylum’s reputation for torturing its patients, everyone walks on eggshells around her. She reunites with Oz from episode one, and we can tell that the two have some history together that may complicate things after the murder of her brother.
We also meet a young man who becomes a close associate, or even friend, of Oz. Victor Aguilar becomes a right-hand man of sorts after he attempts to steal parts from Oz’s car. Oz catches him during the crime, and instead of punishing him for it, he decides to keep him around.
The reason why “The Penguin” has received such acclaim is because this is not a regular franchise superhero show. Every single minute of this show is character-driven, relying on Victor’s ambition, Sofia’s mental state and Oz’s supposed “change” of heart.
Oz looks after Victor like his own son, takes care of his sick mother and has some unresolved trauma. For that reason, we sympathize with him in ways that were previously non-existent for his character. His words do most of the work in assessing his power as a criminal, so just as his words entrance other characters, they entrance us too.
Sofia is not the only criminal central to this story, but she sticks out as the villain amongst villains. Her origin story plays out in episode four, where we see the traumatic events of her childhood, betrayal and time in Arkham. We severely underestimate what Sofia is capable of up until this episode, which leaves us fearful for what she may do to Oz.
As such, the style of the show reminds many viewers of “The Sopranos.” Oz, like Tony Soprano, has never been a good person, but we still root for him. When they show us why we shouldn’t root for him, we are left with disappointment. When we see where Oz’s actions lead him in the last episode, it solidifies him as the cold and unempathetic Penguin.
The show’s true star is Rhenzy Feliz, a Dominican-American actor native to the Bronx. His performance as Victor goes beyond what we anticipated when he first crossed our screen in episode one. He and Oz are similar, but Victor has unique qualities that separate him from Oz. Despite his fate, we hope that this isn’t the last we see of him.
Now we deal with post-series depression. Its production value may be typical for Max, but it outdid itself as a series in a superhero franchise. The next time we’ll see Oz is in “The Batman Part II.”
