What You Need To Remember From ‘The Batman’ Before ‘The Penguin’

The Penguin is slated to expand the world of The Batman, putting the spotlight on Colin Farrell‘s Oz Cobb as he works toward becoming the top gangster in Gotham City. This concept is unique for a Batman-themed series; where Batman: Caped Crusader focused on the early days of The Dark Knight and Harley Quinn is full-on animated chaos, The Penguin is a crime series that feels more in line with The Sopranos or The Wire. But comic fans shouldn’t worry, since The Penguin looks like it will take influence from a beloved Batman story during its run. Here’s a rundown of what happened in The Batman, especially as its final act sets up the events of The Penguin.

How Does ‘The Batman’ Set Up the Events of ‘The Penguin’?

The bulk of The Batman is dedicated to Batman (Robert Pattinson) investigating a series of grisly crimes committed by the Riddler (Paul Dano). Along the way, he encounters Oz twice — first when he breaks into Oz’s nightclub, the Iceberg Lounge, and then in a high-pitched car chase throughout Gotham which serves as one of the film’s many, many highlights. Eventually, Batman apprehends the Riddler, but the criminal mastermind sets off his final gambit: timed explosions that take out Gotham’s seawall, flooding the city. The Riddler also builds an online legion of followers who are ready to carry out his every word, including assassinating Gotham’s new mayor, Bella Reál (Jayme Lawson), until The Dark Knight stops them. The Penguin will pick up a week after these events, showing a Gotham that’s on the brink of chaos.

‘The Batman’ Establishes Carmine Falcone’s Massive Influence on Crime

During The Batman, the Riddler’s victims are revealed to be part of a massive criminal conspiracy with Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) at the center. Falcone’s influence touches multiple characters in the world of The Batman; Oz is his lieutenant, Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) turns out to be his illegitimate daughter, and Batman learns that Falcone may have had a hand in the murder of his parents. When Bruce Wayne confronts his butler Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis) about this, Alfred reveals that Bruce’s father, Thomas, only wanted Falcone to intimidate a reporter who was planning to leak news about his mother Martha’s mental health. Falcone instead chose to murder the journalist, and Thomas planned to turn himself into the police alongside Falcone; Alfred assumes that Falcone hired the man who murdered Bruce’s parents to keep himself out of jail.

The Batman also reveals that Falcone is the mysterious informant who chirped to Gotham City’s police about the drug trafficking operation Salvatore Maroni was overseeing, which flooded the streets of Gotham with a highly addictive drug known as “drops.” Falcone is apprehended by Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and taken into custody after recordings implicating him are leaked to the media, but the Riddler kills him, triggering a power vacuum in Gotham’s criminal underworld which Oz wants to fill in The Penguin. Maroni is also set to appear in The Penguin, with Clancy Brown filling the role of the notorious mobster.

‘The Batman’ and ‘The Penguin’ Pull From ‘The Long Halloween’ and ‘Dark Victory’

Power-hungry criminals and a flooded city aren’t the only obstacles to Oz’s rise to power in The Penguin. He’ll also have to contend with Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), Carmine Falcone’s daughter. Sofia was recently released from Arkham Asylum, the institution where most of Batman’s foes are incarcerated. The Riddler is sent to Arkham at the end of The Batman, and his cell’s next to a scarred prisoner that fans will immediately recognize as the Joker. But Sofia is also referred to as “the Hangman,” which is a plot point set up in Batman: The Long Halloween and its sequel Batman: Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.

The Long Halloween takes place early in Batman’s career, as a mysterious serial killer known only as “Holiday” is targeting Gotham’s criminal underworld. Batman eventually discovers that “Holiday” is Carmine Falcone’s son, Alberto, but not before Salvatore Maroni scars Harvey Dent — triggering his transformation into Two-Face. Two-Face kills Falcone, leaving Gotham City to Batman’s rogues gallery. Dark Victory has a similar setup: the mysterious “Hangman,” aka Sofia, starts hunting down Gotham City’s police and murdering them with nooses for their role in making Harvey Dent district attorney as revenge for Dent killing Carmine Falcone. The Long Halloween was one of the major inspirations for The Batman, especially since Falcone serves as a major antagonist.

‘The Batman’ Is Only the Start of Matt Reeves’ Plans for the Dark Knight

The Batman director/co-writer Matt Reeves has a grand vision for The Dark Knight’s world, and The Penguin is one of the first steps. Prior to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Reeves unfurled the plans for what he calls The Batman Epic Crime Saga to Entertainment Weekly, while also noting how The Batman sets the stage for Cobblepot’s rise to power: “This movie creates a power vacuum, and because Penguin is so underestimated, people don’t really see who he is. We wanted it to be, not in a grandiose way, but in a mythic Shakespearean way, this kind of great tale.” Reeves also mentioned that The Penguin will set the stage for The Batman: Part II, which he’ll return to direct and co-write. Setting the stage for Gotham’s criminal underworld will help The Penguin stand apart from other Batman-centric TV shows, as well as the upcoming slate of DC Studios projects by James Gunn & Peter Safran.

The Penguin premieres on Max on September 19 in the U.S.

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