'The Penguin' Introduces a Classic Batman Villain, but Not the One You Think (2024)

The Penguin

'The Penguin' Introduces a Classic Batman Villain, but Not the One You Think (1)

By Aidan Kelley

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'The Penguin' Introduces a Classic Batman Villain, but Not the One You Think (2)

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for The Penguin Episode 4The Penguin just had its most explosive episode yet, exploring the long-awaited origins of Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti). We get to see first-hand how she learned of her father Carmine's (Mark Strong), bad habit of strangling women, only for him to throw his own daughter into Arkham Hospital for over a year. The pain and torture that Sofia is subjected to is exactly what motivates her to take over the Falcone crime family, thus poising her to take control of all of Gotham City.

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Sofia's time at Arkham shapes the future crime lord into the villain she's destined to become. In both the comics and the many adaptations of said comics, Arkham is often the birthplace of some of Batman's greatest foes, and that's clearly the case here whether Sofia ends up meeting Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) or will only go toe-to-toe with Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell). That said, Sofia isn't the only villain who takes up a residency at Arkham, as another classic comics character she forms a relationship with is also living right next door.

Sofia Meets an Arkham Patient Named Magpie in 'The Penguin'

Framed for the murders of seven women and infamously dubbed "The Hangman", Sofia Falcone is sent to Arkham before her trial even begins. She consistently tries to profess her innocence, but it's clear that Arkham's doctors and much of the surrounding staff are all on Carmine's payroll. Following a traumatic and literal dressing down by the staff, Sofia is thrown into a cell, where she meets her next-door cell neighbor, Magpie (Marié Botha).

Magpie may be a bit eccentric, and she clearly has issues of her own, but she seems to be legitimately friendly to Sofia from the get-go (though that may be motivated out of fear of her newfound reputation as The Hangman). Magpie even offers Sofia a spot to sit next to her, though she would soon find that to be a grave mistake. Paranoid to the point where she thinks Magpie is another spy for her father, Sofia brutally beats Magpie to death at lunch, thus claiming her as the first of many kills before Sofia decides to poison most of her remaining family later in the episode, years after her release from Arkham.

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Magpie is a Classic Villain From DC Comics

'The Penguin' Introduces a Classic Batman Villain, but Not the One You Think (3)

Many fan theories have been making their way online about whether some of The Penguin's characters are secretly origin bases for popular Batman villains, with some thinking Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) is a young Victor Zsasz and Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi) is an early version of Dr. Hugo Strange. Whether that ends up being the case remains to be seen, but even if those theories are correct, Magpie beats them to the punch. While we probably won't be seeing her again on account of her brutal, mortal beating by Sofia, Magpie has a significant history in DC Comics as a classic Batman foe.

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Originally named Margaret "Mag" Pye, Magpie was first introduced in 1986, in the third issue of The Man of Steel, which also technically makes Magpie a Superman villain as well. Magpie's origins begin when she is a curator for a Gotham City museum. She's a Kleptomaniac with a keen obsession for shiny objects (as referenced in The Penguin with Magpie's drug-induced hallucinations), and she decides to leave her comfortable museum job behind to pursue a life of crime. Like Gotham's favorite Caped Crusader, Magpie doesn't have any superpowers of her own. Instead, Magpie relies on gadgets and gizmos to conduct her heists, with her signature calling card being booby-trapped replicas of the very items she is stealing. Her antics eventually get the attention of both Superman and Batman, who team up to track Magpie down and send her to Arkham.

The original continuity of Magpie, fittingly enough, would later be killed by goons working for the Penguin. However, she would be among the many heroes and villains to be revived as a Black Lantern during the "Blackest Night" saga, which created zombified versions of the DC universe's repertoire of dead characters. Other variants of the character also frequently showcase Magpie as a member of the Suicide Squad. The character has also had brief appearances in other Batman shows, such as Beware the Batman, Gotham, and Batwoman.

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The first four episodes of The Penguin are streaming now on Max.

'The Penguin' Introduces a Classic Batman Villain, but Not the One You Think (4)

710

The Penguin

TV-MA

Crime

Drama

It follows the transformation of Oswald Cobblepot from a disfigured nobody to a noted Gotham gangster.

Release Date
September 19, 2024
Cast
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

Franchise(s)
Batman , DC Elseworlds

Showrunner
Lauren LeFranc

Watch on Max

'The Penguin' Introduces a Classic Batman Villain, but Not the One You Think (2024)
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