Full spoilers follow for The Penguin‘s opening episode and The Batman.
The Penguin has premiered worldwide on streaming services – and the first episode has already filled Batman fans with joy or dread, after including a specific reference to the Dark Knight’s 80-plus year history.
Episode 1, titled “After Hours,” re-introduces audiences to Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb, aka the title character, as he attempts to become Gotham’s new crime boss following the death of Carmine Falcone in The Batman. In a wild 15-minute opening, before the wily gangster can even put his plan into motion, he a) steals some expensive jewelry from Carmine’s secret vault, b) impulsively shoots Carmine’s son Alberto after he insults Cobb, c) nearly gets the hubcaps stolen from his car by a couple of teenage criminals, and d) enlists one of them – Victor, played by Rhenzy Feliz – to help him dispose of Alberto’s body. Busy night, huh, Oz?
It’s on the way to disposing of Alberto’s body that the most intriguing Batman Easter Egg of the Max crime series is revealed. While Cobb is inspecting Alberto’s phone, he opens the diary, which contains a meeting with a group called… Gotham Knights.
Now, fans of the Caped Crusader don’t need me to expound on the significance of this DC Comics reference. But for anyone who isn’t quite so fanatical about the Bat and the decades-long mythology surrounding one of the most iconic superheroes ever created, here’s what you need to know about the Gotham Knights.
Who are the Gotham Knights? And why are they mentioned in The Penguin?
At their core, the Gotham Knights are a superteam of Batman sidekicks and allies who fight crime alongside, and in the absence of, the Dark Knight himself. The group’s first foray came in March 2000’s ‘Batman: Gotham Knights’ #1, with the intention of using the multi-year comic series to showcase the exploits of the Dark Knight and the extended Bat-Family — that is, his confidant Alfred Pennyworth, as well as crimefighters trained by Batman (Robin, Nightwing, and Batgirl) and other characters who’ve allied with the legendary vigilante, including Oracle and Catwoman. Devin Grayson, the first female writer to helm a Batman comic book series, was the brains behind the operation.
‘Batman: Gotham Knights’ ended in April 2006, but a new team – simply called the ‘Gotham Knights’ and formed by James Tynion IV and Eddy Barrows – made their literary debut in ‘Detective Comics’ #934 in June 2016. This supergroup was formed by Batman and Batwoman, with the latter eventually leading her fellow vigilantes (minus Batman) on numerous missions to clean up the streets of Gotham. The team’s original lineup included crime fighters Robin, Spoiler, Orphan, Azrael, Batwing, and Clayface.
Why they are mentioned in this article The PenguinI have no idea. It’s possible that it’s just one of my Easter eggs that Batman fans will want to keep an eye out for during the eight-episode HBO miniseries. It’s also plausible that the Gotham Knights is the name for a group of vigilantes who, following the events that unfolded at the end of The Batmandecide to follow in his footsteps and fight crime to rid Gotham of its deep-rooted criminal community. However, that would be a disservice to the Gotham Knights as they are depicted in the comics.
The other and most obvious option of course is that we will see a version of the Gotham Knights in The Batman Part 2. After all, plot details about the sequel to one of the best Batman movies ever are a closely guarded secret, and with filming not set to begin until early 2025, The Batman 2‘s release in October 2026, we won’t know anything about the Gotham Knights’ possible involvement for some time.
That said, I’d be very surprised if they showed up in the next installment in The Batman Epic Crime Saga. Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader is still in the early stages of his crime-fighting career, so he doesn’t have the experience to train anyone, let alone an entire team of fellow vigilantes. For that reason, I can’t imagine the Gotham Knights (as we know them, anyway) appearing in the next Matt Reeves-directed Bat-Flick.
Why would a Gotham Knights reference make Batman fans happy or sad?
On the ‘yay, Gotham Knights!’ front, it would be exciting to see Reeves’ take on the supergroup. As my review of The Batman and assessment of The Penguin I want to be clear: I loved this version of the Dark Knight universe, so I’m very curious to see how Gotham Knights would be interpreted in the more down-to-earth, gritty, and grim world.
As for why the term “Gotham Knights” might send shivers down the spines of some Batman fans, there are two main reasons. The first and most obvious is the bluntly average Gotham Knights game that was released on PC and consoles in October 2022. The action role-playing game wasn’t exactly the fun multiplayer experience that many gamers wanted, even though our review of Gotham Knightswe said it was a “great crime-fighting game that will remind you of what you loved about Gotham and the bat family.” However, our reviewer’s opinion was an exception to the rule, with the general consensus being that the video game wasn’t the thrill ride others had hoped it would be.
However, the game adaptation wasn’t as panned as The CW’s. Gotham Knights TV series. Gotham Knights premiered on the American cable network in March 2023 and was a critical and commercial failure. The superhero series received a meager 21% critical score on Rotten tomatoes before the series was unceremoniously canceled after just one season, just three months after its premiere.
Unless The Batman Epic Crime Saga finds a new and fan-adoring way to introduce the Gotham Knights at some point, I wouldn’t want to see them shoehorned into the Pattinson-starring franchise and further tarnish their reputation. If that’s what happens, I’d rather it be nothing more than an Easter egg that audiences pick up in the opening chapter of The Penguinalso known as one of the best Max shows of 2024.
The first episode of Penguin is available to watch now on Max and HBO (US), Sky and Now TV (UK) and Binge (Australia).
