Summary
One of the great things about howThe Penguinoffers up a familiar yet different Gotham City is that now and then, a character or place will pop up that the audience recognizes. When this happens, those watching go to work trying to figure out how the character or place fits into the story. On occasion, the person making an appearance is easily explained. Other times, it takes a little bit of sleuthing. Sometimes, things can be so subtle that people could even miss the clues offered.
WhenSofia Falcone is introducedinThe Penguin, it turns out there are just some tweaks that make her a little different. She’s called The Hangman, but as it turns out, she’s not the murderer she was in the comics. At least she isn’t that character just yet. All of these little details keeps the audience guessing. Is something a nod to what will definitely be in the show? Is it just a nod at the larger Gotham City?Or is it just a kind of throw-away mention to remind people thatThe Penguinis indeed set in the DCU?The subtle way the show does this is likely why people seem to have missed an allusion to a rather iconic villain who probably won’t pop up in the series, but could be foreshadowing his arrival inThe Batman 2.
How A Bridge Leads To A Villain In Batman 2
InThe Penguin, the hint at the iconic villain who could be popping up later in the DCU was so subtle that it seems as if most, it not all viewers of the show missed it. There is a flashback sequence in Episode 3 that shows how Victor went from being a happy young man with his family and his girl to someone who isnow the sidekick of Oz Cobb. The scene mostly focuses on Victor on the roof of a building watching the aftermath of The Riddler blowing the sea wall. In other words, he’s watching his parents' apartment building get swallowed up by the flood of water. It’s clear that’s where the emotional investment of the audience is supposed to focus on, but in a very quick shot, it’s possible the show hints at the main baddie forThe Batman 2. The shot shows a sign floating through the water that reads “Elliot Bridge.”
Those who have been reading DC Comics for a while will recognize the Elliot family as one of the most important in Gotham City. The original Elliots founded the city, and over the years, they’ve managed to keep power. That’s especially important when Thomas Elliot makes his entrance into the comic books, because he becomes the eventual supervillain Hush. This character is among one of the most popular enemies of The Batman in the comics but he’s been extremely underutilized in the movies. It’spossibleThe Batman 2is finally goingto that well and bringing him to the big screen. At the very least, the sign shows the Elliot family exists in this world, leaving the door open to Hush appearing at some point. Whether it beThe Batman 2orThe PenguinSeason 2, should that come to be at some point.
Who Is Hush In The World of Batman?
Hush first made his entrance into the world of DC Comics during the events ofDC Comics’Batman: Hushstoryline. Thomas Elliot started out as a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne, though as it turns out it had been a long timesince they were actually friends. Thomas held a grudge in secret for many years not just against Bruce but his parents because Bruce’s father Thomas foiled Elliot’s attempt to kill his own parents so he could inherit their fortune.
Thomas eventuallybecomes the supervillainHush, embarks on a gruesome killing spree. At one point he enlists the aid of The Riddler and if Matt Reeves should want to do that, it could be a nice little tie-in toThe Batman.
Things eventually come to ahead between the supervillainand Batman, who by the time the two have their final battle, has already figured out that his childhood friend was the serial killer Hush. Likewise, because the two men have known each other as long as they did, Elliot figured out that Batman was Bruce Wayne. This becomes an important plot point as Hush keeps coming back in the DC Comics.
It’s possible the sign showing the Elliot bridge is just an Easter Egg but it feels like more.
That story makes it extremely unlikely that the audiencewill see Hush pop upinThe Penguin, unless he’s one of those last minute reveals that will lead intoThe Batman 2. However, Bruce Wayne having a villain appear in the follow-up movie could allow for some deep dives into the character that the first film didn’t even attempt to do.
The Penguin
Cast
Created by Lauren LeFranc and starring Colin Farrell, The Penguin builds on 2022’s The Batman. The Max series chronicles the eponymous villain’s attempt to reach Gotham’s criminal peak, rising through the underworld in the middle of a power struggle.
