A fun reference to 1978’sSupermanmovie was hidden at the beginning ofThe Penguinepisode 1. Spinning off from Matt Reeves’The Batman, set outside the mainDC Universeas an Elseworlds franchise,The Penguinpremiered on September 19, with Colin Farrell reprising his role asOswald “Oz” Cobb, a.k.a. the titular Penguin.The PenguincontinuesThe Batman’sdark, gritty and grounded themes, exploring Cobb’s rise to power in Gotham’s criminal underworld, but this distances the HBO series from DC’s other, sometimes more lighthearted, stories.
While DC Studios' co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran work on developing their ownrebooted DC Universe,The Penguinis one of several expectedspinoffs and sequels toThe Batman. Matt Reeves' 2022 hit starred Robert Pattinson in the titular role, butwhileThe Penguinmakes many references toThe Batmanand Pattinson’s vigilante himself, there is a scarcity of references to this franchise’s wider world. One has been found, however, which could hint at a catastrophic event having occurred inThe Penguin’suniverse.
The Penguin Is Surprisingly Light On DC References
The Penguin Is Set Outside The Main DC Universe
The Penguintakes the form of a very self-contained story, meaning there is a noticeable lack of references to the wider world of this DC franchise. Oswald Cobb is well-connected to the undergroundcriminal groups of Gotham City, meaningThe Penguinstays very grounded throughout. While Cobb’s rise to power as the Penguin will surely have an impact on future sequels toThe Batman, it seems unlikely that any major superhero would care about Cobb’s low-life politics. Even so,The Penguindid find a way to call back to one brilliant joke from 1978’sSuperman.
The Penguin Homages A Weird Superman Movie Joke
The Penguin Calls Back To 1978’s Original Superman Movie
In the opening moments ofThe Penguinepisode 1, “After Hours,” news footage reports on the devastating events of 2022’sThe Batman. Simultaneously, a ticker reveals the weather reports for various locations, including Crest Hill, the Financial District, Gotham Heights and Otisburg, as spotted byBill “Jett” Ramey. The latter is a fantastic reference to a very weird joke in1978’s originalSupermanmovie, which debuted Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent.While Lex Luthor reveals his plan to decimate California and establish his own districts in its place, his bumbling henchman, Otis, suggests one could be named Otisburg.
This was a pretty strange and inconsequential moment in 1978’sSuperman, and the joke wasn’t even that funny, meaning it simply felt awkward, misplaced and unnecessary. However,this moment has been remembered in subsequent DC projects, most notably in the 2015 video gameBatman: Arkham Knight, which featured Otisburg as a district on Founders Island. It’s possible that, in the world ofThe Penguin, Lex Luthor achieved his goal of wiping out the West Coast and establishing Costa del Lex, perhaps including Otisburg alongside districts including Lexington, Lex Springs and Luthorville.
The Penguin
Cast
Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime-drama spin-off television series of 2022’s film The Batman. Set shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, A.K.A. the Penguin, begins his rise in the underworld of Gotham City as he contends with the daughter of his late boss, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family’s empire.
