Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The Penguin episode 4The Penguinepisode 4 features several Easter eggs fromThe Batmanalongside references to the original DC Comics. The dark past of Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) is finally explored in this new episode, including the 10 years she spent in Arkham State Hospital. As such, there are several nods and teases along the way as she struggles to retain her sanity.
InThe Penguinepisode 4, Sofia is abandoned by Oz after it’s revealed that he killed her brother, Alberto Falcone. Wounded and needing assistance, the bulk of this new episode is set in the past, revealing the truth about Sofia’s past as the Hangman, and how she ended up in Arkham.To that end, here are 11 of the biggest Easter eggs and references to be found inThe Penguinepisode 4.
11Summer Gleeson of The Gotham Gazette
From Batman: The Animated Series
While speaking at a gala put on by the Falcone family’s foundation in honor of her late mother,Sofia is approached by Summer Gleeson of the Gotham Gazette. Gleeson first debuted inBatman: The Animated Series, a creation for the show before appearing in the comics (much like Harley Quinn). InThe Penguin, Summer is investigating a series of murders where women were strangled and hung, each of them having ties with various businesses run by Carmine Falcone. Additionally, Sofia’s mother was said to have committed suicide by hanging.
10The Penguin Debuts A Younger Carmine Falcone
Played by Mark Strong
Returning home for dinner, Sofia eats with her brother Alberto and her father, Carmine Falcone. Set 10 years before the events ofThe Batman,Carmine is alive and is played by Mark Strong (rather than John Turturro). No stranger to DC projects, Mark Strong playedSinestro in 2011’sGreen Lanternand Doctor Sivana in theShazam!movies. As such, it’s very exciting to see Strong take on a brand-new DC character, especially one that doesn’t necessarily keep him away from taking on a bigger role in the upcoming DCU coming from new DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran.
9Congressman Hill
DC Comics' Hamilton Hill?
InThe Penguinepisode 4,Carmine makes mention of Congressmen Hill who finally started taking his calls thanks to Sofia. This is most likely Hamilton Hill from the original DC Comics, a corrupt politician and mayor of Gotham seen on the page as well asBatman: The Animated Series. While Alberto was supposed to look into Hill’s financial holdings, he’d yet to do so. Regardless, taking Carmine’s calls does imply that Hill is similarly corrupt in this universe as well.
8Carmine and Alberto’s Relationship
Similar To The Original Comics
Displeased with Alberto’s partying, irresponsibility, and overall disinterest in the family business,Carmine reveals that he eventually wants Sofia to take his place rather than his son. This mirrors the original comics in which Carmine similarly didn’t want Alberto involved in the family business. However, the reasoning is different as the Carmine of the comics believed Alberto could be better and do more with his life than crime. Regardless, Alberto grew bitter due to his father keeping him at arm’s length, resulting inAlberto becoming Holiday inThe Long Halloween.
7Detective Kinzie
First Seen InThe Batman
After Oz rats Sofia out to Carmine about speaking with reporters regarding multiple women’s deaths connected to Carmine, Sofia suggests she remembers that her father killed her mother. As such, Carmine has Sofia arrested and institutionalized at Arkham.However, the cop that does the arresting inThe Penguinepisode 4 is none other than Detective Kinize (Peter McDonald)who’s on Carmine’s payroll and first appeared in 2022’sThe Batman.
6Gotham Newspapers Teasing Firefly?
A Major Industrial Fire
Gotham newspapers all start referring to Sofia as the Hangman, her father’s murders having been pinned on her thanks to Carmine’s various connections to the police and the courts, as well as coercing his family to testify to a history of mental illness (except for Alberto).However, it’s also worth noting that each paper also makes mention of a large industrial firethat’s currently under investigation. This could be a nod to theinfamous Gotham arsonist and classic Batman villain known as Firefly, who perhaps caused the blaze.
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In the comics, Firefly’s real name is Garfield Lynns, a sociopathic pyromaniac with an obsessive compulsion to start fires all over Gotham City. A professional arsonist, Lynns is sometimes portrayed equipped with a jetpack along with his signature flamethrower, allowing him to evade capture and set fire to Gotham as a major threat. As such, he’s a notable member of Batman’s rogues gallery, and it would be very exciting to see him in the future of Matt Reeves' Gotham.
5Dr. Ventris
Perhaps Named After Floyd Ventris aka Mirror Man
The corrupt lead doctor at Arkham State Hospital introduces himself to Sofia as Doctor Ventris inThe Penguinepisode 4, tasked with putting her through a series of torturous psychological experiments.Having a rather unique name, it’s possible that he could be named after DC Comics' Floyd Ventris aka The Mirror Man. Not to be confused with The Flash’s Mirror Master, Mirror Man simply used mirrors in his crimes and eventually used them to discover Batman’s true identity (though no one believed him).
4Magpie is Sofia’s Neighbor In Arkham
A Classic Gotham Thief
In Arkham, Sofia interacts the most with Magpie, the neighboring patient in the next cell to hers (played by Marié Botha). In the comics,Magpie is a notorious thief in Gothamobsessed with all things shiny. She was also one of the very first criminals to be captured by the joint efforts of Batman and Superman in the comics. However, Sofia murders her near the end ofThe Penguinepisode 4’s flashback sequence once she realizes that Magpie was spying on her for Doctor Ventris in exchange for drugs (the same drug Sofia has now introduced to Gotham’s underworld).
3Same Arkham Visitation Room
When Batman Confronts Riddler
When Alberto is finally allowed to meet with Sofia,the siblings meet in the same visitation room where Batman will confront the Riddler in 2022’sThe Batmanfollowing Edward Nashton’s arrest. It’s also the same scene fromThe Penguinepisode 2when Sofia was having a nightmare about her brother’s death (though this time Alberto has all his fingers). Unfortunately, Alberto is there to tell Sofia that she won’t be receiving a trial, thanks to Doctor Ventris' evaluation (that was likely paid for by Carmine).
2“The Death Of A Parent"
Doctor Rush May As Well Be Talking About The Batman
While Doctor Ventris is quite sinister and more than likely working for Carmine, Doctor Julien Rush is far more sympathetic and seems to genuinely want to help Sofia (even in the present). At one point, Rush makes a poignant comment to Sofia:“The death of a parent can be traumatic and it’s not unusual to transfer that grief into anger or even violence.“While Rush is talking about Sofia and her mother’s death, he might as well be talking about Batmanand his crusade of vengeance following the death of his own parents in Crime Alley when he was a child.
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The end ofThe Batmandid see Bruce Wayne seemingly learning to balance his desire for vengeance upon Gotham’s corrupt with a mission of seeking justice and protecting Gotham’s innocent. That said, one could still apply Rush’s diagnosis to Batman far better than Sofia Falcone. Clearly, the death of his parents sent Bruce Wayne down a spiral of anger and violence as a vehicle for his grief, while Sofia was simply saddened by her mother’s death (even if she’s being blamed for having done otherwise).
