10 Best Oswald Cobblepot moments from The Penguin

In HBO’s series, The Penguin, Oswald Cobblepot, portrayed as a nefarious character, has a ruthless nature and cares for no one. In this series, Oswald, also famously known as The Penguin, is largely driven by a hunger for power that makes him often take questionable routes. The series doesn’t particularly highlight his good side. He has been justly depicted as an archetypal villain. The series brings to light the traumatic past of Oswald Cobblepot, which ultimately becomes a driving force behind his power-hungry nature. Here’s a list of 10 best Oswald Cobblepot moments from The Penguin.

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1. His relationship with Victor Aguilar

Victor Aguilar attempted to rob Oswald with the help of his friends but ended up getting caught by Oswald. Cobblepot saw a piece of himself in Victor Aguilar, when he realized they had more in common than one could fathom. Victor had the same issue of speech impediment as Oswald himself. He too came from poverty much like Oswald. Thus, instead of punishing Victor or ending his life, Penguin took Victor under his wing, and decided to assign him some of his unmentionable criminal works. He uses Victor to dispose of Alberto’s body. Victor reciprocated Oswald’s gesture by saving the latter’s life in a critical situation.

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2. The Alliance with Sofia Falcone

The daughter of the late Carmine Falcone, Sofia Falcone, intimidates Oswald to a great extent. Oswald anticipates that Sofia might have to do with her brother’s disappearance. Sofia is a powerful criminal, and Oswald estimates that forming an alliance with her might benefit him in gaining a strong foothold in the city’s criminal underworld. Despite allying, there is a sense of mutual distrust. Oswald uses his wit and cunning nature to fill in the void left by the death of Carmine Falcone in the criminal underworld.

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3. Oz’s relationship with his mother

In HBO Max’s The Penguin, Oswald Cobblepot is depicted as a man child who strives for others’ approval, especially his mother’s. He needs to be constantly coddled by his mother, giving a sense of an abnormal relationship that he might share with her. Francis berates Oz and states how much more he could do for her than what he was already doing. In the final episode, we get a whiff of the mother-son relationship through flashbacks.

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4. Oz’s yearning for a legacy

Oz is often believed to have the sole desire of getting to the top of the criminal underworld and having power, but there’s more to him than that. The monologue about a low-ranking gangster revealed another side of this supervillain. Oz has always desired to create a community that feels like family. Oz’s deep desire for a legacy to be left behind is depicted through this monologue.

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5. Killing off Alberto Falcone

Alberto Falcone was the son of the late Carmine Falcone and brother to Sofia Falcone. After the death of Carmine Falcone, Alberto took over the family business. Oz was looking to overthrow the Falcone family and gain his place in the criminal underworld of Gotham City. Upon finding that Alberto was to become the successor of the Falcone family business, he tricked Alberto into giving him information about a drug shipment. Although initially he didn’t intend to kill Alberto, but he ended up killing him anyway when he lost his cool right when Alberto made an offensive remark about Oz’s desire to rule the criminal underworld.

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6. Oz being more than a one dimensional supervillain

Oswald Cobblepot was never the main villain in the Batman universe. He has got more quirks than one can imagine. There’s a moment in the series wherein it's revealed that Oz is very serious about how he eats his slushies and sandwiches. While being in the process of incinerating the proof of Alberto Falcone’s murder, Oz complains about the inappropriate number of pickles, thus rendering the supervillain a human moment. In the same episode, we come to know about the fact that Oswald doesn’t sit in the handicap seats on the subway, emphasizing on the fact that he’s not all that evil.

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7. Eliminating Sal Maroni

Oswald and Sal Maroni got into a fight and the latter was ready to kill Oz. The fight was taking place in an old trolley car. Sal kept taunting Oz and Oz continuously gave it back to him with his witty comebacks. This banter went on for a while until Sal started to act as though he was getting a heart attack, which he was. He started clutching his left arm and gasping for breath. Sal Maroni died from a heart attack while fighting with Oz. Even though Oz claimed victory upon the death of Sal, he knew deep down that he didn’t beat Sal. Oz needed the fight to end a certain way and it didn’t, which left him dissatisfied.

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8. Oz trying to unite rival gang members

Oz has lived in the shadows of the Falcones. He was the right-hand man of Carmine Falcone, but he never had a footing in the criminal underworld. He always wanted to become the ruler of Gotham City’s criminal underworld. His troubled childhood, his past trauma, the relationship with his mother and his constant need for other people’s approval made him the supervillain that he was. Oz finally realized that he needed to form alliances with other criminals. He encourages like-minded fellows to partake in coups against their masters, thus bringing a significant revolution in Gotham City’s criminal underworld.

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9. Oz handing Sofia over to the law enforcement’s hands

After becoming the king of Gotham City’s criminal underworld, Oz makes a defining move that earns him a place in the city hall. He informs the law enforcement officers. Oz deliberately pins the murders by the Hangman on Sofia even though he later reveals that it was Carmine Falcone, who was the actual Hangman. After this last nail in the coffin, Oz finally becomes more powerful than before and inherits Camrine Falcon’s position as the unofficial mayor of Gotham City. Oz takes over the empire left behind in the criminal underground and is admittedly more dangerous than the former ruler, Carmine Falcone.

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10. Oz kills off Vic

The young man Oz had once taken under his wing becomes his prey. Vic had started considering Oz as his family and Oz sensed that he too was getting emotionally attached to Vic, which isn’t something that he was looking for. So, in the finale episode, after what Vic had done for him, and practically saving his life in a dire situation, Oswald decided to end Victor’s life. In the scene where both Oz and Vic are sitting in the park and Vic stutters to say that he considers Oz to be his family, the latter strangles Vic to death, and after that he takes Vic’s wallet and throws his ID into the Gotham river. The series brings to light that no human is completely good or bad, there are always underlying facts that make them momentarily good or bad, and everyone is equally flawed.