Disclaimer: This article is solely the author's opinion and parts of it contain spoilers for The Penguin Season 1. Reader discretion is advised.
The DC fandom has been left impressed after watching episode 1 of The Penguin which aired on September 19, 2024. The first episode packed quite a punch with Colin Ferell’s ‘Oz Cobb’ realizing his passion to become Gotham’s top brass in crime.
The series delivered as promised: a dark and unfiltered genesis of one of DC’s most notorious Batman villains and game-changing easter eggs. The episode titled “After Hours” saw Gotham in the wake of The Riddler’s psychotic attack via a flood.
While the dark knight himself doesn’t make an appearance, the series does feature other references from Batman’s universe including the peculiar QR Code. During the episode, one of Riddler’s followers hand out a flyer with a QR attached for its inhabitants to learn more about Gotham’s “true colors,” to Cobb.
Fun fact: it takes you to a website known as ‘Rataalada,’ explaining The Riddler’s thoughts about the “Falcone Power Grab,” Arkham releasing prisoners, and the dawn of an unstoppable revolution.
However, this wasn’t the only intriguing easter egg; there is a direct reference made to Batman’s most iconic sidekicks - The Gotham Knights!
The Penguin's connection to The Gotham Knights explained
Just when things couldn’t get more mind-boggling, DC dropped one of the coolest references in episode 1 of The Penguin. To quickly recap, in an attempt to stop Falcone’s power grab (as the Riddler states), he decides to murder Alberto (the late Carmine Falcone’s son) and pin the blame on Maroni.
En route to a body dumping ground, Cobb does a little sleuthing on Alberto’s phone while Vic drives around his “plum” Masserati.
While scrolling through his contacts and some emails, Cobb decides to open Alberto’s calendar to find out where he’s been and who he’s been talking to. That’s where it was: “Meeting with the Gotham Knights.”
Any die-hard DC fan would know the Gotham Knights are a very prominent part of the Batman lore. Each knight is personally trained by Batman and specially selected by him to assist him during missions - keeping the streets of Gotham crime-free.
The group includes Robin, Nightwing, Batwoman, Oracle, Orphan, Catwoman, Spoiler, Batwing, Clayface, and Azrael. Each one stays in constant contact with everyone’s favorite butler Alfred Pennyworth when Batman isn’t in town. This ties perfectly with The Penguin storyline - the absence of the dark knight.
This opens up several new possibilities for the future of DC heroes appearing in the Matt Reeves universe. Not only do the Gotham Knights exist in the universe, but they’re perhaps silent spectators currently unaware of the sinister ploys in play between The Penguin, Maroni, and Sofia Falcone.
Final Thoughts
The aforementioned easter egg certainly changes things in the Matt Reeves universe hoping for more superhero appearances apart from the Dark Knight or The Penguin himself.
With just one episode containing such a profound piece of history from the DC universe, the sky is the limit.
While Reeves has refrained from commenting about this recently discovered easter egg, whether or not viewers can expect an appearance from any of the Gotham Knights in The Penguin is still a far-fetched idea. However, this does beg the question: What more easter eggs have Reeves planted?
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