Everything You Need To Know About The Penguin Before ‘The Penguin’ (Recap)

While Colin Farrell’s disfigured mobster doesn’t have the most screen time in The Batman, the character has a rich lore and his first appearance is full of hints at a possible future. Here is everything YOU need to know about The Penguin before his HBO series debuts, in a handy recap. 

Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell), informally known as The Penguin, is a Gotham mobster with ties to the Falcone Crime Syndicate. He worked under family boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro in The Batman, Mark Strong in The Penguin) and was a member of the criminals inner circle. Cobb oversees operations of The Iceberg Lounge- a club located in Gotham that is known to house shady customers. 

Cobb In The Batman

Our first exposure to Oz in The Batman is when Batman (Robert Pattinson) begins searching for the identity of a mysterious woman that deceased mayor Don Mitchell (Rupert Penry-Jones) had been seen with. Batman bursts his way through the Iceberg Lounge looking for answers and comes into contact with Cobb, who doesn’t have the answers that Batman wants, but this isnt the last we see of him. 

Later, while appearing as his civilian alter ego Bruce Wayne, Batman runsinto Falcone and Cobb on the steps outfront of the funeral for Mitchell. He has nothing meaningful in this interaction but it does help with the worldbuilding, highlighting his connection to Falcone from early in the story and heavily implies the close nature of their relationship. 

Soon, Batman has been given a clue that tasks him with finding “rataalada” whom he, alongside Detective Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), attributes to Penguin as a rat (snitch) with wings. This leads to the duo performing a sting at a warehouse where the drugs “Drops” are being produced. Penguin can be seen working alongside several Falcone operatives- most notably the crooked cop Kenzie. This situation begins to go south and leads to a car chase between Batman and The Penguin. Wreckage ensues as Batman pursues and in the end Wayne prevails. 

While interrogating him, Batman and Gordon find out that he is NOT the snitch and is appalled at being attributed to such a label. Similarly to the funeral appearance, Oz briefly appears in the 44 Below area of the Iceberg Lounge whilst Bruce Wayne confronts Falcone over his father’s misdeeds. He doesn’t get involved, only saying “hello” and waddles away leaving the two alone. 

He later appears following a confrontation between Selina, Falcone (who in a twist was revealed as Selina’s father) and Batman. It’s revealed that Falcone was the snitch and as Batman and Gordon arrest him, Oz pulls a gun on Carmine, threatening his life over his betrayal of the crime syndicate. Before Oz can fire, an unseen shooter, later revealed to be Paul Dano’s Riddler, kills him. 

In his final scene of the movie- Oz can be seen in the Iceberg Lounge, overlooking a flooded Gotham ready to move in and take over Falcone’s territory. 

What Next For The Penguin?

Farrell’s Oswald will return in his own HBO miniseries, The Penguin, which begins streaming on September 19, 2024, on Max and HBO. If The Batman is any indication, the series is going to be nothing short of thrilling and epic, as the series logline describes:

“Starring Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb (aka “The Penguin”), the DC Studios series continues filmmaker Matt Reeves’ The Batman epic crime saga that began with Warner Bros. Pictures’ global blockbuster The Batman. Developed by showrunner Lauren LeFranc, the series centers on the character played by Farrell in the film.”

In the series, Penguin will embark on his journey to becoming the kingpin of Gotham, overseeing all major gang activities. This comes at a cost and he is pit against other rival upcoming mob bosses, such as Cristin Millioti’s Sofia Falcone and Michael Kelly’s Johnny Viti. 

The Penguin is developed by Lauren LeFranc and stars Colin Farrell as the titular Penguin, Oz Cobb and Cristin Millioti as Sofia Falcone. The series is produced by DC Studios and will be streaming on HBO and Max starting September 19. Find the runtimes and episode titles here. 

Thanks for reading this article, for more recaps, read our Agatha recap.