ByGraves
After the runaway success of the Penguin, featuring Colin Ferrell’s fantastic return to the role of Oswald Cobblepot after his time in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, many people are clamoring for more. With only one episode being released a week, though, it can feel like torture to have to wait. Thankfully, The Penguin is a show which wears its inspirations on its sleeves, and so that can give you some ideas for what to fill that time with.
In order to make that easier, though, we’ve compiled a list of 7 movies and TV shows — from gangster flicks to subversive superhero shows — that either directly inspired The Penguin, or otherwise work as excellent companion pieces to the epic superhero/crime show. Without further ado, let’s explore the dark world of mob bosses and supervillains.
On the off chance you didn’t know, The Penguin is a spin-off of The Batman. That alone should be enough to convince you that you need to make sure to watch it before getting too far into The Penguin, which picks up within days of where The Batman ended, following one of that film’s major characters. In fact, we’d go as far as to say The Batman is required viewing for The Penguin (and if you already have Max, you already have access to both), just so you understand the context of the events that define the early part of the show and the entire arc of its main character.
But, even if you’ve already seen The Batman, you’d also do well to revisit it while you wait for The Penguin’s next episode. Why? Because of all the little things you might miss. For one example: you can notice how prevalent the fictional “Drops” drugs are on the streets of Gotham in both shows, but only with a careful eye can you see exactly how much worse it is getting, by comparing news footage and character dialogue between both The Batman and The Penguin. Or, if you want something more subtle, notice the exact kinds of phrases that set Oz off in the show, and compare those to the phrases used by Batman and other characters in the movie. You might be able to recall the major plot details that led Oz to where he finds himself in the show, but without rewatching the movie The Penguin is spinning off from, you’re liable to miss a lot of little things.
Okay, okay, we know. Much has already been said about The Penguin taking a lot of inspiration from the crime-movie-classic-to-beat-all-classics, the Godfather (Parts 1 & 2, don’t worry about Part 3). And for good reason. From the grimly dark cinematography to the intense, just-barely-restrained performances to the masterclass of set-up and pay-off, The Penguin definitely takes a page out of Francis Ford Coppola’s playbook. But, there’s more to it than that, and there are many good reasons to watch (or rewatch) the Godfather while you wait for the next part of Oz’s story.
Firstly, upon rewatch, you’ll notice just how many little nods the Penguin makes towards the classic crime thriller. From certain phrases in dialogue to some pretty major plot moments, watching the Godfather will show you where some of the ideas in the Penguin started. And then there is the contrast between the main characters. Both the Godfather’s Vito Corleone and the Penguin’s Oswald Cobblepot feature impeccably-acted main characters whose drive and ambition clearly brings both great success and enormous suffering to everyone around them, and at almost equally epic scales. And, while Vito never had to contend with the caped crusader, the larger-than-life portrayals of the side characters makes it feel like he is up against far more dangerous foes than that.
In short, as though you needed an excuse, you would do well to bide your time waiting for the next episode of the Penguin with the crime drama to end all crime dramas: the Godfather. Well… At least Part 1 and 2.
While The Godfather is important to The Penguin in its epic crime genre, Batman Returns is important to the Penguin for a much more personal reason. Namely, that Tim Burton’s Batman Returns from 1992 was the last live-action film to feature the Penguin, aside from The Batman itself. And, suffice to say, Danny DeVito’s spin as the character takes a very different approach to the character. DeVito’s Penguin is much more similar to his classic comic book depiction, with hunched features, tuxedos, and trick umbrellas.
And that is why it makes such a good compliment to The Penguin. Colin Ferrell’s grounded, rough-and-tumble, gangster-inspired manipulator is almost the polar opposite of the megalomaniac, campy, hyper-gothic supervillain, and this makes contrasting the two versions especially enjoyable. And, while Batman Returns certainly takes itself less seriously than the “Reeves-verse” Batman stories, it is important to remember the kind of comic absurdity and grandiosity that the Penguin came from. Not to mention how fascinating it is to see a number of traits that the two Penguins share, despite their monumental differences, such as their penchant for black umbrellas, their signature waddles, and a similarly sociopathic bent.
Perhaps even more than The Godfather, The Penguin is inspired by The Sopranos (what is it with gangster flicks and that naming scheme?). Because, while the visual language and certain character traits that Colin Ferrell’s Oswald has call back to the Godfather, the overall structure and primary characterization of Oz borrows even more from The Sopranos, which aired from 1999 to 2007. That is to say: The Penguin’s Oz might as well be Tony Soprano if the latter lived in Gotham instead of New Jersey (though it might be difficult to say which is more terrifying).
Both Oswald and Tony suffer from psychological trauma, bouts of prideful rage, and a series of confused loyalties and inevitable betrayals, all strung together in a series of connected-but-episodic turns of increasingly dramatic and dangerous escapades. Just give Tony a purple (sorry, plum) car and you might struggle to see the difference. And that’s to say nothing of the dark comedy and family-scale conflict that defines both shows. That is to say: if you like The Penguin, it is hard to imagine you would have any trouble liking one of the best crime shows of all time, the Sopranos.
A little bit of explanation is in order for this one. While The Watchman is based off of a comic book (one which often finds itself in the #1 spot of “best comics ever written”), the show is not a direct adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal graphic novel. Instead, it is a sequel, set decades after the original graphic novel, and featuring a much different story. And, while one might argue that the show doesn’t exactly do justice to the characters that return (and I might be one of those people), what is impossible to deny is that the differences that the show makes from its source material are what make it a good companion to the Penguin.
That is because, unlike the comic, The Watchmen is, at its essence, a crime/mystery show with superheroes on top. It is a deeply psychological and philosophical story about such familiar themes as ultimate power, opportunism, and corruption. While The Watchmen does feature more focus on systemic injustice and racism than the Penguin, its broad-scale focus on the ethical implications of both superheroics and power make it excellent to watch and think about alongside The Penguin. Put another way: if The Penguin explores the robber, The Watchmen explores the cop.
So, who watches the Watchmen? Well, after you finish with the newest episode of the Penguin, hopefully you.
Any list of shows that pair well with The Penguin should include several seminal gangster films and shows. And, any list of “seminal gangster films and shows” would be incomplete without Goodfellas. Thus, it should be obvious why Goodfellas shows up here. An undeniable tour de force from Martin Scorsese — an obvious inspiration to Matt Reeves’ — Goodfellas follows the story of Henry Hill, and his rise and inevitable fall in the mafia.
But, if you think the similarities end there, you’d be wrong. From nightclubs and carjackings to themes of ambition and power, the story of Henry Hill in Goodfellas is one which The Penguin seems to have carved up and spread around, and the aesthetics of the movie bare a striking similarity to many of the places we see in The Penguin’s Gotham. It would be pointless to try to list every way in which Goodfellas’ story mirrors that of the Penguin — to the point where some of the themes are almost direct parallels — so, instead, I would just insist that you watch it while you wait.
Amidst the slew of crime dramas and superhero epics above, there is a strong focus on Oswald Cobblepot himself; the titular Penguin. And for good reason: Colin Ferrell’s incredible, literally transformative turn as the Penguin is unforgettable in every way, from the writing to the acting to the look. But, there is also a darker edge to The Penguin, one which the above movies and shows don’t really address: that is to say, The Penguin has a touch of derangement in the form of Sofia Falcone.
Suitable for a Batman villain, even if she isn’t from the comic books, Sofia Falcone mixes the high-minded deception and ambition of a mob boss (something we’ve already seen plenty of in the Batman and The Penguin) with the insanity and malice of a serial killer. That is because, as well as being the presumptive heir to the Falcone crime family, Sofia Falcone is also “The Hangman,” and did a long stint in Arkham Asylum (yes, that one) as a result of her murders.
This is a lot to say, all to come to the ultimate point: if you are watching The Penguin as much for Sofia Falcone as you are for Oz himself, it is safe to assume you are curious about the more… deranged side of crime thrillers. And, with that, you can’t do much better than Silence of the Lambs, featuring the one-and-only Hannibal Lector, expertly played by Anthony Hopkins. As you watch it, you might realize the many similarities Sofia has not only with Hannibal, but also with detective Clarice Sterling, making it more than worth the watch if you are more eager in waiting for The Hangman than The Penguin.
And, with that, you have the complete list of films and shows to watch while you wait for the next episode of the Penguin. Given just how eager we all are to see what happens next in the criminal life of Oswald Cobblepot, we hope that this will sate your criminal/superheroic urge just long enough to see where it’s all going.
But, a week is a long time to wait, and we’ve got several more episodes yet to come, so if you have any other suggestions for shows and movies similar to The Penguin, please leave them in the comments below.
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