Warning: light SPOILERS for The Penguin are in play. If you haven’t started the series yet, you’ve been warned.
One of the greatest gifts to the 2024 TV schedule has to be The Penguin. As HBO's limited series is currently two episodes into its eight-episode run, Colin Farrell’s would-be kingpin of Gotham is getting himself into some dangerously hot water with the movers and shakers of that city’s criminal element. And I don’t think that’s the worst that’s about to happen in the Batman Epic Crime Saga mythos, as events are pointing to a huge villain potentially making their debut amidst the chaos in the upcoming DC movie The Batman: Part II.
I Think The Penguin Is Setting Up The Scarecrow's Introduction
Right from the jump, The Penguin has been setting up a huge shift in Gotham City’s drug trade. The Falcone crime family is not only moving its Drops operation to the suburb of Robbinsville, but recently departed son Alberto (Michael Zegen) was on the precipice of kick starting a new product. That is, until he took several rounds from a very upset Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell).
The main thrust at the moment seems to be Oz’s quest to pit the Falcone and Maroni families against each other, while he plays both sides to his benefit. However, details about Alberto Falcone’s pet project have me thinking Dr. Jonathan Crane, better known as The Scarecrow, is going to be introduced to us in the near future.
In just two full episodes, and the preview for the third set to air next week, there are enough clues for me to start spinning the wheel on this hypothesis.
Alberto Falcone’s “New Kinda High” Opens The Door For The Fear Toxin
The first episode of The Penguin, “After Hours,” establishes Alberto Falcone as an addictive personality. Alcohol and Drops are two vices he holds dear, and the latter is a key piece of the family business. So when the young Falcone said the following in The Penguin’s big premiere, my ears perked up:
This shit’s good. But after a while, you get curious. There’s gotta be something else out there. A new kinda high. … We’re not just adding ketchup to fries man, I’m talking about revolutionizing the game.
Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen) - The Penguin, Episode 1 "After Hours"
So right there, we know that Alberto is tired of the high that Drops are giving him, and he wants something new. Maybe, in the words of The Dark Knight, he wants a drug that can take him places… even if he might not like where he’s going. That seems to be the only place to go when Drops’ reported side effects, according to The Batman Universe Wiki, are listed as “hyperactivity and paranoia.”
What sort of sensation could top this combination with the ultimate adrenaline rush? In my opinion, it’d be the Fear Toxin that Dr. Jonathan Crane is famous for using against Gotham in various incarnations of the Batman mythos.
We Still Don’t Know What That Mysterious New Drug Shipment Is
The events of The Penguin start on November 13, 2022, a week after the election night catastrophe of The Batman. That much is confirmed by Alberto Falcone’s grave plate in Episode 2, “Inside Man,” which means the November 18th date of this mysterious new drug shipment isn’t far off.
After the first two chapters of Oswald Cobb’s potential ascent to power, we still don’t even know what this new narcotic happens to be. We may have gotten a new clue this week thanks to the preview for Episode 3, “Bliss.” A brief moment shown in that tease offers us a look at an unknown liquid in clear bags as it’s being carted around in Arkham State Hospital containers.
If this new drug is being moved under that particular guise, Dr. Jonathan Crane’s fingerprints could be all over this fresh threat. The fact that we also don’t know who this shipment is coming from is even more of a chance for this theory to be proven as valid.
The Penguin Originated As A Piece Of The Batman 2’s Story
Some friends I’ve talked to about 2022’s The Batman seem to think that the Robert Pattinson reinterpretation had too many plot threads going on at once. While I don’t particularly agree with that assessment, I do admit there were quite a few threads put into place for future projects to cover, and it looks like the powers that be wanted to avoid such criticisms about The Batman 2 pretty early.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, The Batman producer Dylan Clark shared that The Penguin series started as a piece of the next theatrical film’s story. Recalling how chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content Casey Bloys latched onto making this aspect into an entire series, Clark shared this story:
The streaming-cable space was a no-brainer for some of the bigger characters. Casey was the first person that said, 'I need a marquee character.' And Matt [Reeves] said, 'You know, I have this really good idea for Colin for the second movie.' And Casey said, 'I want that. You can't just have these characters be in the movie space.'
Dylan Clark, ComicBook.com
As what we know about The Batman: Part II tells us that Colin Farrell’s Oswald will be returning for the next Robert Pattinson blockbuster, we know he won’t be out of commission when we return to Gotham at the movies. But could this TV-MA-rated crime drama be taking the time to lay down the tracks for Dr. Jonathan Crane’s arrival so that by the time he theoretically appears in the next Batman movie, he can truly cause chaos?
Dr. Jonathan Crane’s Absence From The Penguin Doesn’t Mean He’s Not There
Something else that came to mind with the story at hand is some information that we happened to score in interviews with show director Craig Zobel. After learning the reasons why Dr. Jonathan Crane isn’t in The Penguin, part of my theory was scrapped because I was kind of hoping Dr. Julian Rush (Theo Rossi) was indeed Dr. Crane himself.
But even with that option potentially sidelined, as there’s always room for a surprise reveal or two being hidden, the door is still very open for him to appear in the near future. Zobel also says that the series didn’t want to explicitly link up with the Scarecrow’s character, “in case Matt [Reeves] wanted to do something with that later.”
That doesn’t mean the groundwork for his eventual appearance in The Batman 2, or another project altogether, is totally off the table. Rather, Dr. Jonathan Crane might be the puppet master who's being hidden in the shadows for the time being. As these convenient story threads being woven into this mysterious narcotics shift open up the usage Dr. Crane’s services, there's a chance that even the unhinged nature of the "rehabilitated" Sofia Falcone (Cristin Miloti) could act as a catalyst.
The Scarecrow Could Be The Perfect Stepping Stone For The Joker’s Potential Rise
As we continue to see Barry Keough’s dodging of The Batman: Part II questions, the world is still wondering if Matt Reeves’ variant of The Joker will get his day to threaten Gotham yet again. I’m still worried about returning to that member of the Batman Rogues Gallery any time soon, despite how Matt Reeves changed my mind on revisiting The Joker.
But if it’s going to happen, having Scarecrow entering the picture first is a pretty ingenious decision. Madness, chaos and corruption will continue to turn Gotham City into even more of a mess, and Edward Nashton/The Riddler (Paul Dano) merely lit the fuse. The Joker is supposed to be the ultimate antithesis of Batman, acting as his de facto arch nemesis throughout the canon of comics and other media.
With Dr. Jonathan Crane potentially moving his Fear Toxin into town in the near future, this conflict could result in a city only further primed for The Joker to wreak havoc. We’re still in the early days of The Penguin, so this theory could be totally debunked, or maybe just end up being partially correct.
For now, we’ll just have to keep watching the limited DC series unfold, with new episodes dropping every Sunday at 9 PM ET, on HBO. Or, if you have a Max subscription, you can stream the latest episodes as they air, so you don’t lose your place in the overall conversation. As for The Batman: Part II, that picture is currently slated for an October 2, 2026 release date.
