Episode 4 of The Penguin is a tribute to Batman: The Animated Series

The penguin was a resounding success as a pulpy spin-off of Matt Reeves' The Batman, But the latest episode of the hit series even further recalls one of the character's most famous appearances with a brief cameo.

The penguin There was a lot of work to do during development, as the strategy chosen by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery resulted in Reeves having to abandon plans for several planned spin-offs of his 2022 hit The Batman, The sole surviving series is left with all the burden of world-building to bridge Reeves' first feature film with its upcoming sequel The Batman Part II. Despite this huge responsibility, the show was developed with confidence behind the scenes, evolving from a streaming-only show to a full-fledged linear TV show on HBO. This would pay off with strong viewership, and The penguin's Streaming Premiere would even beat it House of the Dragon Debut on Max.

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While it's still early days at DC Studios, it's already pretty clear The penguin is by far the best reinvention of one Batman villain, and the series gave fans another reason to smile in its latest episode. As ComicBook pointed out in a recent story, the fourth installment of The penguin features a wealth of flashbacks that show viewers the events behind Sofia Falcone's incarceration, including the now-freed inmate being accosted by a reporter about her father's shady dealings, before she subsequently becomes the next victim on the executioner's list. This reporter, a short-lived cameo originated by Nadine Malouf, is identified as none other than Summer Gleeson, a familiar name to longtime fans of Batman as a mainstay of the highly acclaimed series Batman: The Animated Series.

Gleeson was made for Batman: TAS and was, in this continuity, a reporter and celebrity who stood in for Vicky Vale in many ways. Aside from a few comics directly related to the continuity of the animated series or the Elsewold material, she has never really been an integral part of the Batman canon, so this inclusion was entirely intentional on the part of the creative team. At this point The penguin probably exceeded all expectations, even considering how little the series was used The Batman and its titular hero to advance his own narrative. With almost half the season over, mentions of the Dark Knight were noticeably missing The penguin, and rightly so. This, coupled with the series set to present a reimagining of Oz Cobb and Gotham, means that the project could have succeeded at the expense of its connection to the broader narrative, but this one small cameo and the episode as a whole deliver to connect some things thematically and literally The penguin to Batman.

The penguin executes the shared universe idea properly and paying homage to previous works in subtle ways like this is certainly a good way to go without compromising the tone and narrative of the show. This kind of maneuvering with existing characters and concepts is exactly what the Elseworlds label is designed to enable. While many newer fans won't look twice at the character and can still follow the story perfectly, those who know will appreciate the addition that makes it a tour de force of a callback.

The penguin can be streamed every Sunday on Max and on linear television on HBO.

Created by Lauren LeFranc and starring Colin Farrell, “The Penguin” builds on 2022’s “The Batman.” The Max series follows the eponymous villain's attempt to reach Gotham's criminal pinnacle by rising through the underworld in the midst of a power struggle.

Release date

September 19, 2024

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

Seasons

1

Prequel

The Batman (2022)

story of

Bill Finger, Bob Kane

writer

Lauren LeFranc

Streaming service(s)

Max

Franchise(s)

Batman, DC Elseworlds

Directors

Craig Zobel

Showrunner

Lauren LeFranc

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Source: ComicBook