The Penguin has been a great watch both in itself and as part of the larger universe of The Batman. The HBO series expands on the context and storylines built by the movie and uses the original Batman comics very well in establishing its own beats. One of such beats is the Hangman, the villain whom we all guessed was Sofia Falcone now Gigante (Cristin Milioti) before the series debuted. After all, she is the serial killer in the comics, so it would make sense to translate that onto the screen, too, right? The reveal about the Hangman's real identity is one of the best twists in the series, but, as it turns out, it was already being teased by The Batman.
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Carmine Falcone Was Already Known for Strangling Victims in ‘The Batman’
The main twist in the identity of the Hangman is that, although the blame for the killings was pinned on Sofia, it was actually her father, Carmine Falcone (John Turturro in The Batman, Mark Strong in The Penguin) that actually did them. In the series, there are seven women who are murdered in crime scenes that were made to seem like a suicide by hanging, plus Sofia's mother and Carmine's wife, Isabella (Jenny Heaton), and journalist Summer Gleeson (Nadine Malouf). But, in The Batman, there were already some hints about this, as Carmine was already killing his female victims by strangling them.
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The hint comes in the form of Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), also known as Catwoman. In a scene talking to Batman (Robert Pattinson) in the building where the Bat-signal is located, she reveals to him that Carmine owes her money because he is her father. Carmine had an affair with Maria Kyle, who was a waitress at 44 Below, the club-within-the-club for high-ranking mobsters and politicians only, located inside the Iceberg Lounge, the Penguin's (Colin Farrell) club. Together, they had Selina, Carmine's illegitimate daughter. Maria used to take Selina with her to work, but when Selina was seven years old, Maria was strangled by Carmine, and Selina was sent to social services, hence her grudge against Carmine.
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Later in the movie, Carmine tries to strangle Selina herself with a billiard cue and almost succeeds in killing her if she hadn't clawed his face with her sharp nails. That would make another strangling victim for the Hangman, although Maria Kyle's death apparently wasn't made to look like suicide by hanging since it happened at the club where she worked. When The Batman came out, people didn’t pay much attention to Selina’s line about her mother being strangled, and it was likely just a nod to the Hangman's serial killing history from the comics. With all the reveals in The Penguin, it turns out that Maria Kyle is the Hangman's first victim we actually learned about on screen.
In the Comics, the Hangman’s Identity Is a Vital Piece of the Falcone Puzzle
Carmine Falcone being the Hangman is a significant departure from Batman lore. The Batman and The Penguin draw a lot from two iconic comic runs, Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory, and the Falcone crime family plays a key role in both of them. It's in Dark Victory that Sofia is established as the Hangman, but that comes only after a lot of blood is spilled by the Falcones.
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Carmine being the Hangman in The Batman universe makes all the main members of the Falcone family serial killers in separate stories. In The Long Halloween, Alberto is one of the people behind the Holiday killings, with many people considering him the actual Holiday killer, and, in Dark Victory, Sofia is the Hangman, which is why everybody thought she would keep this serial-killing identity in The Penguin. Not really a merry bunch.
Sofia Gigante Not Being the Hangman Is an Important Part of ‘The Penguin’
The Batman mentioning Carmine Falcone's serial-killing practices is an important moment in terms of worldbuilding, showing just how long it has been since his killings started. Maria Kyle was killed when Selina was seven, meaning it was around 2004. Another death that took place around the same time is that of Isabella Gigante, Carmine's wife. As Johnny Viti (Michael Kelly) reveals in The Penguin's Episode 5, "Homecoming," Isabella was about to leave Carmine but was found dead by a young Sofia shortly after, in what seemed like a suicide by hanging.
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Later in life, Sofia is framed by Carmine as the Hangman and sent to Arkham Asylum for ten years despite asserting her innocence. The fact that Sofia was never the actual Hangman defines her character since it's the reason all her family betrayed her to protect Carmine. After she is released from Arkham, the Hangman remains a shadow over Sofia, but now she uses it in her favor to instill fear in her enemies and build her image as a fearsome crime boss who is nothing like her father. Although Isabella's death is not included among Sofia's charges when she is arrested, her death can be counted as a Hangman killing, just like Maria Kyle's death.
The Penguin is available to stream on Max in the U.S. New episodes air weekly on Sundays.
710
The Penguin
TV-MA
Crime
Drama
It follows the transformation of Oswald Cobblepot from a disfigured nobody to a noted Gotham gangster.
- Release Date
- September 19, 2024
- Cast
- Colin Farrell , Cristin Milioti , Rhenzy Feliz , Michael Kelly , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Deirdre O'Connell , Clancy Brown , James Madio , Scott Cohen , Michael Zegen , Carmen Ejogo , Theo Rossi
- Seasons
- 1