Thanks to the latest episode of The Penguin, fans finally know when Bruce Wayne begins his crime fighting mission in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Matt Reeves’ take on the Caped Crusader sees Batman in his second year of crime fighting, as he’s still on his way to being the world’s greatest detective and his rogues’ gallery are slowly being inspired to halt his mission. But one thing The Batman doesn’t do is date itself, leaving audiences in the dark about when its story actually takes place. Fans initially thought that The Batman might have taken place in 2019, given that was the movie’s original release window, but The Penguin has proven those theories wrong.
WARNING! Spoilers ahead for The Penguin Episode 2!
The newest episode of The Penguin has finally confirmed when audiences join Bruce Wayne on his crime fighting journey. In Episode 2, titled “Inside Man,” the gravestone of a deceased character puts the entire franchise into chronological perspective. In the episode, Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) visits the Falcone family crypt. As well as seeing the grave of her father, Carmine Falcone (John Turturro in The Batman and Mark Strong in The Penguin), Sofia pays respect to her late brother, Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen).
Alberto dies in the first episode, being viciously gunned down by Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell). On his tombstone it reads, “Alberto Falcone. December 29, 1983 – November 13, 2022.” Alberto’s gravestone is the first official confirmation fans have of when The Batman and The Penguin actually take place. The Penguin is set just a week after the events of The Batman saw much of Gotham City flooded by The Riddler’s (Paul Dano) bombings. As a result, it has been revealed that Bruce Wayne began his crime fighting career, known in the movie as “The Gotham Project,” in 2021.
Why The Penguin Doesn’t Need Batman
Fans were disappointed to learn that Pattinson’s Batman wouldn’t appear in The Penguin. However, two episodes in, it is easy to see why Matt Reeves and showrunner Lauren LeFranc decided against a Batman cameo. The Penguin explores a new side of Gotham City; the poorer districts which were worst hit by the floods. The series follows Cobb’s journey to make it out of the Diamond District and rise in rank among the Gotham City crime families.
The Penguin works best without Batman because it naturally expands Reeves’ version of Gotham City. Audiences get to see new characters, “heroes,” and villains, without the looming shadow of Batman lurking over them. Were Batman to appear in the series, it would undermine the expansive worldbuilding of the show.
The series not featuring Batman also expands upon a point made in The Batman. Bruce Wayne is only one person, and can only solve one crime at a time. By showing Oz Cobb’s bloody mission without oversight or hindrance from Batman, it accentuates how laden with crime Gotham City is that such overt killings can take place, and Batman is still too busy elsewhere.
New episodes of
The Penguin
are released on Sundays on HBO and
Max
.