‘The Penguin’ has already revealed Batman’s true nemesis, and it’s not who you think it is

While The Penguin has many reasons for its critically acclaimed premiere, the limited series should be celebrated first and foremost for how it echoes the themes of Matt Revees’ The Batman. After all, in its first episode, The Penguin already confirms who Batman’s number one enemy is.

Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers for episode 1 of The Penguin, “After Hours.”

The first episode of The Penguin explores how Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell) is a different kind of criminal from the Falcones he serves. The Falcones are a well-established family whose members were born into money. In turn, the Penguin is a twisted, self-made man who has to work hard for everything he has. Right off the bat (!), The Penguin underlines how Gotham City’s underworld reflects the city’s functioning — an oligarchy calls the shots while everyone else must fight for scrapes.

The message becomes even more evident thanks to Victor Aguillar (Rhenzy Feliz). In the first episode, Victor is a survivor of Crown Point, a neighborhood that was wholly destroyed after Riddler (Paul Dano) flooded the city. Together with other desperate young men, Victor tries to steel the wheels of Oz’s car, willing to get some extra bucks by selling the rims’ metal. He is caught by the Penguin, who holds Victor hostage for the night, forcing the boy to help him hide Alberto Falcone’s (Michael Zegen) body.

At first, Victor is just an unfortunate victim of the Penguin’s schemes. However, as the episode unfolds, Victor slowly becomes more attached to Oz. Yes, the Penguin is a ruthless criminal who doesn’t hesitate to murder anyone who stands in his way. He was also born a poor man before he started to waddle around with a stack of bills in his pocket. For Victor, the Penguin represents the hope of a better life where he is not at the mercy of corrupt public institutions.

Adding Victor to The Penguin is an inspired creative decision. He’s just an average Joe pulled into the criminal disputes of Gotham City after a moment of despair. As such, he shows how social inequality favors criminality. That’s an excellent way to double down on The Batman’s lesson, as the movie teaches Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) he can punch poverty.

In Matt Reeves’ universe, Batman’s greatest foe is Gotham City’s social inequality

For The Batman, Reeves has completely revamped Riddler’s origin story. In the movie, the Riddler is an orphan forced to grow up in public orphanages, sharing a room with dozens of children and hoping heat and food would be enough to survive another winter. Riddler resents Bruce Wayne and the wealthy class of Gotham City, as they represent everything he could never have. All this bottled anger is eventually channeled into the killer’s master plan to unveil the truth about Gotham: in this city, mobsters strike profitable deals with politicians, police officers, and even public defenders.

Riddler’s methods are reprimandable, to say the least. Furthermore, his thirst for revenge has blinded the villain, making him see every public institution as beyond saving — that’s why he plans a terrorist attack against recently elected mayor Bella Réal (Jayme Lawson), despite her working hard to defend people’s interests. Still, Riddler was not the only nobody tired of having no perspective in life while the rich got richer, which is why he even managed to recruit dozens of other people to help him with his plan. Plus, as The Penguin shows, the Riddler still has followers in Gotham, as his words have some truth.

Now, with The Penguin, Matt Reeves wants to hammer home his point by exploring how social inequality and the feeling of injustice push people into a life of crime. Especially after the flooding of Crown Point, Victor has nowhere else to place his ambition but in Oz. The young man has unlikely planned to steal cars or join the Penguin to take down the Falcones. Yet, this tortuous path pays off. While he’s with Oz, Victor has a bellyful and knows he can get more money than he ever dreamed. So why not risk it? What else does he have to lose?

Reeves forces DC fans to examine Bruce Wayne’s privileges by stripping Gotham City of supervillains and mystic elements. The threats Batman faces would not exist if Gotham City weren’t drowning in social inequality. A fair wealth distribution and solid public institutions capable of supporting those in need would never give birth to Riddler. In addition, while the Penguin is turning out to be a different kind of sociopathic creature, he can only extend his influence if there are more desperate people for him to recruit, like Victor.

As much as the Dark Knight wants to help, it’s not enough to instill fear in the hearts of criminals. Most criminals would not be roaming the streets if they could have a good quality of life without risking their necks. So, as a millionaire who belongs to the status quo, Bruce Wayne is part of the problem, not the solution.

At the end of The Batman, Bruce realizes this, and hopefully, his absence from The Penguin means he’s rethinking his actions in Gotham. Batman might still be needed to deal with the monsters already unleashed in Gotham City. But to transform the city, Bruce must work against social inequality, a foe better fought in broad daylight.