While Bruce Wayne won’t appear anywhere in The Penguin, the aftermath of T he Batman‘s finale can still be felt across Gotham, and, in true The Riddler fashion, the villain has hidden an Easter egg in plain sight. Set just a week after Matt Reeves’ movie, The Penguin sees OZ Cobb (Colin Farrell) fight and backstab his way through the ranks of Gotham’s organized crime syndicates, following the death of Carmine Falcone. The Penguin is solely Cobb’s story, but that hasn’t stopped The Riddler from leaving his mark on the series.
Warning! Spoilers Ahead for The Penguin Episode 1!
In the first episode, as Oz and his new “associate” Victor (Rhenzy Feliz) are riding on the subway to visit Oz’s mother, Frances (Deirdre O’Connell), Cobb is handed a flyer from a teenager, reading “Gotham’s True Face.” On the flyer is a QR code. Audiences invested enough to actually scan the QR code will be taken to rataalada.com. The site may ring a bell for fans of The Batman, as it was also used as a viral marketing stunt for Reeves’ movie. In The Batman, the website was also used by The Riddler to communicate with his followers, coordinating their attack on Mayor Elect, Bella Reál (Jayme Lawson).
The website has been altered for The Penguin, and shows a messaging chain from some of The Riddler’s followers following his incarceration at Arkham Asylum. The chain reads:
“Cl0ckbreak3r: What’s been put in motion can’t be stopped.
xxREIGNITINxx: Arkham’s releasing patients and Blackgate is a mess… no one’s really a prisoner in there. Not even our old pal Sal Maroni.
HOLDTHELINE81: People say they want the truth but they shield their eyes when we shine the light.
DETERMINATOR: Let’s make sure they’re not blinded again to the corruption, the killings, the Falcone power grab…
HOLDTHELINE81: We start in the streets. Tonight at 9pm. Meet at the metro outside Crown Point.
Cl0ckbreak3r: Done and done. The revolution is just getting started.
As well as the messaging chain, the site also includes a link to an article from the Gotham Gazette about Alberto Falcone, the oldest son of Carmine, and, briefly, the new head of the Falcone crime family — before he got on the wrong side of Oz.
The Riddler Could Get His Own Spin-Off Series
When The Penguin was first announced, it was one of three planned spin-off shows from The Batman. However, its counterparts, Arkham Asylum and GCPD, have been canceled. Fans assumed that The Penguin would be the only spin-off show from The Batman after the other series’ cancelations, but Matt Reeves has teased his plans to give other Batman’s villains their own shows.
With Batman in his second year of crime fighting in Reeves’ universe, his rogues’ gallery is also just beginning. Reeves wants HBO spin-off shows to explore the origins of Batman’s key villains, and how they rise to power. While the director didn’t name any other villains, there is a chance that Paul Dano’s Riddler could get his own series in the future. The director said:
“You’re seeing Oz, who’s not yet the kingpin; you’re seeing Selina, who’s not yet Catwoman. You’re seeing all of these characters. So, the opportunity to look into how these characters come into being, and what that’s about psychologically, that, to me, is something that is super-exciting to be able to explore with HBO.”
New episodes of
The Penguin
will be released weekly on HBO and Max.