The Penguin Comic Connections You Missed Include The Secret Origin Of Catwoman
Now that Colin Farrel’s The Penguin is finally here, long-time Batman fans are impressed with how deep into the comic lore of Gotham the series goes, and it’s only been one episode so far. From obscure gangsters to the villains of classic Batman stories, there’s a lot to unpack here, but one that’s likely the easiest to miss involves Catwoman. In case you weren’t aware, Rex Calabrese, the gangster Oswald discusses in the opening scene, is Catwoman’s dad in the main DC comic universe.
Rex Calabrese Is Catwoman’s Father
When Oswald is talking about the future with Antonio Falcone, he shares the story of Rex Calabrese, the gangster who ruled his neighborhood back in the day. According to the Penguin, Rex was the type of guy who would help cover the rent, and when he died, residents threw a parade in his honor. That’s a little different from Rex “The Lion” Calabrese, who, in the pages of Batman Eternal, reveals he’s Catwoman’s father, and Selina Kyle is now heir to a criminal empire.
Of course, The Penguin takes things in a different direction, as The Batman instead reveals Selina is the illegitimate child of Carmine Falcone, but name-dropping Rex as the old-school mafia boss of Gotham is a deep pull from the comics.
A Dangerous Batman Villain
During that same opening scene, the Pegnuin is telling the story of Rex to Antonio Falcone, another character from the Batman comics, and in this case, he’s a major villain in the classic story, The Long Halloween. Antonio goes head-to-head with the Caped Crusader, partly why, when he was announced as being part of the new spin-off, fans started speculating how much of The Long Halloween was going to be adapted, as it turns out, none because Antonio is blown away at the end of his first scene.
Deep Pulls From The Comics
Instead of Antonio heading up the Falcone crime family, Oswald meets with Johnny Vitti, and if that name doesn’t sound familiar, don’t worry, but he’s another character straight from the comics. Also pulled from The Long Halloween, Johnny Vitti, the nephew of Carmine, tries to kidnap Jim Gordon’s son, is stopped by Batman, and then becomes the very first victim of The Holiday Killer. In The Penguin, he’s alive and well (for now), but that’s another fun comic cameo for long-time Batman fans.
Sofia Falcone Is A Comic Creation
The inclusion of Sofia Falcone, the cop-killing serial killer known as The Hangman from Batman: Dark Victory, is delightfully lampshaded in The Penguin itself, but what’s left out is that in the comic, she kills Alberto. Worse, she even tries to take out Two-Face before Batman stops her, losing her life in the process due to a sudden case of lead poisoning. The odds of Two-Face being involved in the new show are, of course, zero, but it’s going to be fun seeing one of Gotham’s most demented criminals get the spotlight.
The Penguin Connection
Finally, The Penguin has another subtle connection to classic Batman, but in this case, it’s the Adam West Batman ’66 series. Did you notice towards the end, when Oswald is outside the Iceberg Longue, that the business next door is Burgess Jewelers? That’s a shout-out to Burgess Meredith, the legendary star who played the Penguin in the classic series.
There’s no telling what deep comic book pulls will be made as The Penguin moves on, but for now, it’s more respectful toward the source material than the last few Marvel Disney+ shows have been.
