You would need to be the world's greatest detective to catch all of these changes. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the most significant differences between HBO’s original show, “The Penguin” and its source material, diving deep inside the pages of the Batman Comics Universe.
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00:00I only wish it had been under different circumstances.
00:02Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most significant differences
00:06between HBO's original show The Penguin and its source material,
00:10diving deep inside the pages of the Batman comics universe.
00:13As we're going to be covering the first five episodes of the show's first season,
00:17keep your umbrella handy because it's going to be raining spoilers.
00:21You really think people can make a float of your dumb face
00:24and march it down the street chanting your goddamn name?
00:30THE LONG HALLOWEEN
00:32In an interview, show creator Matt Reeves discussed that his main inspirations for
00:36the show were Al Pacino's Tony Montana and the Batman comic The Long Halloween,
00:40which tells of the bloody war between the Maronis and the Falcons,
00:44all instigated by the Holiday Killer.
00:46Johnny Viti was murdered tonight.
00:50Damn it.
00:51The Roman's nephew.
00:52He has a name. It's Carmine Falcone, not the Roman.
00:55Harvey, calm down.
00:56Where were your men, Jim? I've been working on Viti for months.
01:00In The Penguin, Oswald Cobb takes over the holiday role in the story,
01:04serving as mastermind to the conflict.
01:06However, that is where most similarities end.
01:10But don't worry, we'll be coming back to both storylines as we slide through this video.
01:15All right, listen, if I don't come out...
01:21No, I'll be fine. You'll be fine. It's gonna be fine.
01:24GOTHAM
01:25The ever-changing context and scenery of Gotham always serves as a jumping-off point for many of
01:30the Dark Knight shows and movies, and this time is no exception.
01:34The city streets are crowded for the holiday.
01:40Even with the rain.
01:42In Matt Reeves' Batverse, Gotham City is plagued by crime,
01:46corruption, and a surprisingly low sea level height.
01:49While the first few points are usually a no-brainer,
01:52the inclusion of sea walls and the threat of flooding is a first
01:55for the live-action iterations of the city.
01:58You ready? Everyone's already on their way.
02:00I, uh, I gotta drop this off real quick, but I'm gonna meet you up there, okay?
02:06As seen in the third episode of the show, the Crown Point neighborhood,
02:10home to Victor's family, is a hub for the immigrant, mainly Latino, inhabitants of the city.
02:16It was a vibrant, colorful, and tightly-knit community,
02:19in sharp contrast with the comics, until a flood came and brought the neighborhood closer
02:23to its literary description as one of the most violent and worst neighborhoods in the city.
02:28No one really cares about Crown Point, so...
02:32During the show's fourth episode, we get the very disturbing and oh-so-very-talked-about
02:37flashback involving Kristen Milioti's Sofia Falcone.
02:40During her first night in Arkham Asylum, Sofia meets Magpie.
02:44You're the hangman, aren't you?
02:46I saw you on the TV.
02:52My name is Magpie, like the bird.
02:55Played by Marie Buetta, she can be overlooked given the stacked cast.
03:00Despite this, her character has a somewhat lively comic book background.
03:04Actually premiering in a Superman comic,
03:06Magpie made her debut in The Man of Steel No. 3 in 1986.
03:10This strange jewel thief has an affinity for bird-themed valuables, thus her name.
03:16Slowly becoming mad, she fashioned booby-trapped replicas of the jewels she stole.
03:20She was stopped by Batman and Superman and landed in a cell in Arkham right next to Poison Ivy.
03:26In an interview with Screen Rant, actor Marie Buetta mentioned that as soon as she got the part,
03:30she quote,
03:31"...ordered every single comic that featured Magpie and got to reading and studying."
03:36We sincerely hope the deep dive prepared her for taking a food trade to the face.
03:40We can celebrate holidays and birthdays.
03:43Mine's in February, which makes me an Aquarian.
03:48Victor Vic Aguilar
03:50Played by Renzi Feliz, he has been a very welcome addition to Reeves' Batverse,
03:55albeit on the wrong side of the law.
03:57You act like wanting more is a bad thing, but I mean, don't you want a better life than this?
04:03Victor.
04:05You remember where we came from. We have more than enough.
04:09His last name Aguilar comes from the Spanish word for eagle,
04:12very much in keeping with the bird theme.
04:14Vic is somewhat of a grounding element for the power-hungry Oz,
04:18always reminding him of where he came from,
04:20and his own struggle in coming up the ranks of the Gotham Underground.
04:23You stayed because you want something better.
04:28You want more than your father ever had.
04:30Oh, my dad would be ashamed of me.
04:34You want to know what's shameful, Vic?
04:38Working your whole goddamn life, having nothing to show for it.
04:41He's described by many as a representation of the Robins in the Batverse,
04:46continuing the longstanding tradition of employing orphan kids for questionable jobs.
04:50Some point out the obvious reference to Jason Todd,
04:53who was also recruited by his mentor while trying to steal the wheels off his bat car.
04:58In the comics, a relatively unknown character called Chick once served as the Penguin's teen
05:03sidekick, but other than the familiar-sounding name, the relationship between the two is more
05:08coincidental. Theories about his future in the universe are varied and numerous,
05:13some even naming him the first Robin or even a Nightwing-type character.
05:17The show's fifth episode has very much put him on a path to villainy,
05:21so we'll have to see if it holds.
05:23My mother, my father, they won't stand for this.
05:27That's what I'm counting on.
05:30Drugs and Gotham go together like peanut butter and jelly.
05:34In The Batman, the narcotic flooding the streets is called Drops.
05:37Jesus, I hate drop heads.
05:39Really? Because when I first saw you, it looked like you were dealing for Penguin.
05:43You don't know what you're talking about. Can we not do this right now?
05:47As we move into the show, a new, more potent substance is introduced into the mix.
05:52Masterminded by Alberto and Sophia Falcone,
05:55this new drug was supposed to be a way to take business to a new level.
05:58After Alberto's tragic fall down a flight of stairs,
06:01Oz saw this as an opportunity to start climbing the ranks.
06:04A byproduct of the resin from mushrooms grown in Arkham itself,
06:08the drug was given to inmates during Sophia's stay in the asylum.
06:12These people need to escape,
06:15and nothing delivers a better escape than bliss.
06:20That's why they gave it to us in Arkham.
06:22It induced a state of euphoria and a welcomed disconnect from their reality,
06:26as Oz would later call it, a sense of bliss.
06:29In one Teen Titans comic arc,
06:31bliss had little to do with feeling good about your surroundings,
06:34and more about surrendering your brain power to a villain called the Brain
06:38in an effort to expand his mental capacity.
06:41Party drug or not,
06:42bliss follows a long line of chemical compounds in the Batman universe,
06:46and its connection to Arkham in the show could lead to other,
06:49more notable substances like fear toxin, venom, or laughing gas.
06:54You think they deserved it, huh?
06:57You think they deserved it.
07:02Serving as a base of operations and a cool place to have a villainous good time,
07:06in the comics,
07:07the Iceberg Lounge was the proud creation of the gentleman of crime,
07:11Oswald Cobblepot.
07:12This man is the best assassin I've ever seen,
07:15and I only work with the best.
07:17I am to please, Mr. Cobblepot.
07:19While we got a glimpse into the infamous nightclub in the Batman,
07:22it has fallen into disrepair during the events of The Penguin.
07:26This time around, the club belonged to Carmine Falcone,
07:29and was only given to Oz as a front for both the drops trade,
07:32and serving ice-cold corruption to Gotham's elite.
07:35Who is she?
07:39I really don't know, Chief.
07:42I might have been coming out same time, but I wasn't rolling with him.
07:46The Iceberg Lounge put Oz on the criminal map,
07:49and gave him enough power to get his fins in the game.
07:52While the future of the lounge in Reeves' Batverse is still uncertain,
07:56the fact that Oz found a new base of operations deep within Gotham's old tram system,
08:00is a good sign that we're only seeing the tip of the...
08:03You get it.
08:04Welcome to our new base of operations.
08:08One of the more robust elements of The Penguin is the Moroni family structure.
08:12While they had earlier appearances in the comics,
08:14it's during the events of the long Halloween comic series,
08:17that the Moroni crime family really came into the mainstream.
08:21At that point, the Moronis were composed only of Luigi,
08:24his son Salvatore, and his grandsons Pino and Umberto.
08:27What happened to your friend's face, Moroni?
08:30Nothing, what happened to yours?
08:32Tell me everything he said.
08:35If you get off of my neck!
08:37As the villain Holiday starts targeting Moroni men during the events of the comic,
08:41an all-out war breaks out between Gotham's biggest crime families.
08:45The conflict lands Sal Moroni in the witness stand in front of Harvey Dent,
08:49with a bottle of acid between them.
08:51Reeves bolstered the Moroni family for The Penguin,
08:53bringing only Sal over and putting him
08:56in the hands of legendary character actor Clancy Brown.
08:59What is it you're really after, Oz?
09:01I just told you what I'm after, what do you mean?
09:04I know who you are, I know what you are.
09:07I don't work with people whose loyalty is for sale.
09:10This iteration of the Moronis included new and exciting members
09:13in the form of Nadia Moroni, played by Shoray Agdashloo.
09:17The introduction of Nadia broke the Italian-centric trope
09:20of the mobster ingrained in the comics.
09:22Being of Iranian heritage, the character of Nadia filled the Moroni ranks
09:26with a diverse crowd of henchmen and goons.
09:29Sadly, the outcome of the show's fifth episode will bring with it a new Sal
09:33that will more than likely join Sofia Falcone in her hatred for our flightless protagonist.
09:38We kill Oz, and then we take over the city.
09:45Together.
09:46The Falcones
09:47While the Falcones are a staple of the comics,
09:50the family structure was changed to better suit the show's universe.
09:53With the death of Carmine Falcone in The Batman,
09:56the criminal organization is headed by his brother Luca,
09:59underboss Gianni Vitti, and conciliare Milos Grappa.
10:02What the hell are you doing?
10:04Supporting Uncle Luca.
10:06Same as you.
10:07You're best at meatballs.
10:09The show includes characters that fill out the Falcone family ranks,
10:12such as Isabella Gigante, Sofia's mother, and Carla and Gia Vitti.
10:17During the events of The Long Halloween,
10:19the apparent death of Alberto Falcone at the hands of Holiday marks the beginning of a conflict
10:24that would bring about the return of Sofia Falcone and a war that will trap Harvey Dent,
10:28Jim Gordon, Batman, and Catwoman in the middle with all of Gotham's freaks.
10:33You think I'm Holiday?
10:35Oh, puppet, I didn't know you cared.
10:38In the show, Carmine's death is the powder keg,
10:41and Oz becomes the proverbial match that lights up the conflict between the two families.
10:46And there's the return of Sofia, who while very much a made woman in the comics,
10:50is treated as an outcast and a nuisance for the new heads of the family in the show.
10:55They desperately try to get rid of her as she vies for a seat at the table.
10:58After the family suffers a suspicious end,
11:01Sofia takes the reins and decides to change both her and the organization's name to Gigante.
11:07As of today, my father's legacy is dead, and we will never speak his name again.
11:16From this point on, I am a Gigante, and this is a new family now.
11:24While taking the Gigante name for herself is comic accurate,
11:28Falcone's name remained throughout the comic book run.
11:31Sofia Falcone, a.k.a. Sofia Gigante.
11:35There's betrayal, and then there's what happened to Sofia Falcone.
11:39He was punishing me for something he did.
11:42You don't know that.
11:43Alberto, wake up! Are you kidding me?
11:46Having witnessed the death of her mother, her childhood wasn't exactly a happy one.
11:50With the help of her brother Alberto, Sofia was able to overcome many things,
11:55even becoming the public face of the Falcone family.
11:58Everything came crumbling down after realizing that her father was not only
12:02responsible for the Hangman murders, but also for the death of her mother.
12:06She was framed for her father's murders and spent 10 years in Arkham Asylum.
12:10For 10 years, men have lied to me.
12:18And then I come home, and it's all the same.
12:22Other than the physical differences between the original character and her Penguin counterpart,
12:26her character arc is the one that most distances itself from the source material,
12:31first appearing in The Long Halloween.
12:33The tall and very muscular Sofia Falcone returns to Gotham for Father's Day.
12:38A violent, calculating, brutal daddy's girl,
12:41Sofia relies on her savage physical nature to protect her father,
12:45but ultimately fails in this task.
12:47Returning later in the follow-up story Dark Victory,
12:50Sofia names herself the head of the Falcones and takes up the mantle of the Hangman,
12:55punishing cops who worked with Harvey Dent against her father.
12:58While she would adopt the name Gigante after marrying mobster Rocco Gigante,
13:02the impact of the name change is hardly felt.
13:06Her punches, though? That's another story.
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13:24Oswald Oz Cobb, aka The Penguin.
13:27Let's get the obvious out of the way.
13:29Yes, they changed his name on the show.
13:31One of the first surprises that we got from the first episode was the reveal of our main character's actual name.
13:36Showrunners have explained that the name change came out of a need to ground the character.
13:41During the events of The Penguin, it's revealed that Oz came from a poor background.
13:46During the fifth episode, Francis Cobb, Oz's mother and another original character played by Deirdre O'Connell,
13:52were both named after the same person.
13:54The showrunners have explained that the name change came out of a need to ground the character.
13:59During the events of The Penguin, it's revealed that Oz came from a poor background.
14:03Oz's mother and another original character played by Deirdre O'Connell,
14:06mentions to Vic that the family lived in Crown Point, one of the poorest areas of Gotham.
14:11This looks like the apartment I have my boys.
14:17I hate it here.
14:19In keeping more with the Scarface connection we mentioned at the beginning,
14:22the show steers more towards a mob-based Goodfellas style story,
14:26staying away from the wealthy upbringing of Oswald Cobblepot in the comic books.
14:30In the first episode, the creators make a point of showing Oz's disability, a clubfoot,
14:35which more than likely went untreated as a child,
14:38and has become the main reason for his signature walking style.
14:41In the comics, this condition is hardly mentioned,
14:44linking his penguin persona more to his physical appearance and tragic upbringing,
14:48contrary to the show where the penguin moniker is used more as a derogatory term,
14:53and is obviously a trigger for Oz considering what happens to those who decide to use it.
14:58But people don't keep you around because they think you're smart,
15:01and they sure as shit don't trust you.
15:05People keep the penguin around as entertainment,
15:08because everybody knows that you're a goddamn joker.
15:12What has been your favorite moment from The Penguin?
15:14Let us know in the comments.
15:16Stay put.
15:21You don't understand, but I'll sense it.
15:23Did you enjoy this video?
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