If you’ve watched the first episode of The Penguin, then you already know not to laugh at Oz Cobb ( Colin Farrell) to his face, but another thing you definitely shouldn’t do is call him “The Penguin” out loud. According to showrunner Lauren LeFranc, Cobb has some very personal reasons why he should never be referred to by his comic book moniker. The hit HBO series changed the iconic Batman villain’s name (from Oswald Cobblepot to Oz Cobb) to ground the character within Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe. But, the character has kept his comic book nickname, The Penguin…just don’t let him hear you say it.
Speaking to Deadline, Lauren LeFranc explained why Oz Cobb gets so irate when hearing his villainous title. In the comics, Oswald looks very much like a Penguin, with a short stubby body and a long, hooked nose. Matt Reeves’ version has drastically altered the character’s appearance to make him appear more realistic. However, as revealed in the first episode, this version of the character has a congenital foot deformity which has given Cobb a limp for most of his life, leading his criminal counterparts to give him the avian nickname.
“I knew that Oz didn’t appreciate the term, and that was something that felt derogatory toward him,” LeFranc said, revealing that Cobb believes the nickname means his enemies are joking about his disability. LeFranc was careful about balancing Cobb’s disability with his aggressive personality, not wanting one aspect to lean too hard on the other. She explained:
“I’m trying to [work] from a place of empathy, but not an excuse as to why he’s the way he is. It was important when we filmed it and when we chose music for it, that we don’t have saccharin music. It’s not something that’s supposed to say, ‘oh, look at Oz, poor him.’ He doesn’t view it as that, and that’s not why Oz is the way he is. That’s not something that Oz discusses with other people, so it just didn’t feel appropriate.”
The Penguin Avoids Comic Book Tropes About Disability
In universes where grown adults (and occasionally children) patrol the streets wearing latex costumes, beating up criminals, it takes a lot to present their rogues’ galleries as “other.” One way the comic book industry, and Hollywood, has done this is through disability. Some villains are given physical impairments and disabilities to present them as “strange” in the eyes of audiences. It is a portrayal that has, rightly, come under heavy fire from contemporary audiences — with the entire James Bond franchise having since been criticized for only featuring villains with physical disabilities.
During the conversation, Lauren LeFranc said the entire creative team were adamant about avoiding these tropes. While Cobb does have a physical impairment, it is not used to present him as “other,” nor does it inform or influence his villainous actions. Instead, it is simply a part of him as a person. LeFranc explained:
“Also, I am conscious of the terrible tropes in the comics in terms of disability and what defines a villain. A lot of it would be facial scarring or something that makes them feel other. I wanted to understand him psychologically and have his villainy come from who he is at his core emotionally and not have it because of any kind of physical ailment or disability.”
New episodes of
The Penguin
will be released weekly on HBO and
HBO Max
.