The Batman recap: Everything you need to know before watching The Penguin
Colin Farrell's character had a supporting role in the star-studded 2022 film.
Colin Farrell has once again spent hours in a make-up chair to disappear into his role as The Penguin – with the iconic Gotham City crime lord getting his own spin-off show following his appearance in 2022's The Batman.
Although the main supervillain in that aforementioned film was Paul Dano's Riddler, Oz Cobb still had a major role to play in the events of the movie – and so you might well be racking your brains for any crucial details you need to remember before embarking on the new series.
With than in mind, we've put together a recap of the events of that film – largely focused on the sections involving The Penguin, of course – to put you in the best possible place to enjoy the show without that nagging feeling that you've forgotten something.
Read on for out recap of the events of The Batman.
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The Batman recap: Everything you need to know before watching The Penguin
The Batman was the first entry in a new Gotham continuity – completely separate from any previously released DC films. It saw Robert Pattinson take on the role of the caped crusader as he was called in to help Gotham PD investigate a string of murders of high ranking Gotham officials.
The supervillain behind this particular scheme was the Riddler – who was very menacingly played by Paul Dano – but the Penguin himself is also involved in Bruce Wayne/Batman's investigations. We learn that he is the operator of a nightclub known as the Iceberg Lounge and that he is a lieutenant of crime boss Carmine Falcone.
What is especially relevant is the fact that one of the things central to Riddler's campaign of terror was the mysterious identity of a police informant who had been directly responsible for ending the operation of now-incarcerated mob boss Salvatore Maroni (played in the new series by Clancy Brown).
Bruce originally thought that the Penguin might be the informant, but it quickly became apparent that he simply did not know enough, and we instead learn that Carmine Falcone had been the rat – turning Maroni in and then taking over the drugs trade for himself, cementing his place at the top of the Gotham underworld.
When Falcone is arrested towards the end of the film, he is almost instantly taken out by the Riddler using a sniper. Of course with Falcone now out of the picture, a power vacuum has been created which lays the foundations for Penguin to step up another rung on the ladder of the Gotham criminal underworld – which will be the focus of the new series.
The show will also introduce two of Falcone's children, most notably Sofia Falcone (Cristin Miloni), who is fresh out of Arkham Asylum and represents the main threat to the Penguin as he attempts to rise to the very top.
Of course, one of the major themes of The Batman – as has been the case in most depictions of Gotham – is the corruption of several important institutions, and we learn that many police officers were on Falcone's payroll. This is something else that seems certain to play into the events of The Penguin.
Meanwhile, at the end of the film, Riddler detonated a number of car bombs that destroyed a seawall around Gotham and flooded the city. Given that the series picks up just two weeks after the events of the film, the ramifications of that disaster will still very much be being felt.
But one aspect of The Batman's ending that probably won't come into play in the series is the scene at the very end in which we hear him interacting with a familiar villain once incarcerated in Arkham Asylum: the Joker. While that could come into play in future films, we're not expecting it to play a part in the events of The Penguin.
The Batman is currently streaming on Prime Video and The Penguin will air on Sky Atlantic and NOW from Friday 20th September 2024 – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
