Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: Batman, colin farrell, hbo max, robert pattinson, The Penguin

The Penguin: Where's Batman? Some Reasons Why The Dark Knight Is MIA

Why hasn't Batman shown up in HBO's The Penguin as all hell breaks loose in Gotham? We have some totally plausible theories to share...

Published Mon, 04 Nov 2024 08:37:08 -0600

by Adi Tantimedh

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The Penguin is a spinoff series from The Batman movie. TV series spun off from hit franchise movies have been a common thing for almost as long as network television has been around. It's one of the better spinoffs from a recent superhero blockbuster movie, leaning into the adult gritty end of the spectrum that HBO can allow, and is primarily a gangster series that just happens to have spun off from a superhero movie. Batman (Robert Pattinson) never appears in the series so The Penguin, or rather, Oz, gets to go around Gotham taking over the underworld to build his crime empire. Isn't Batman supposed to be the presence that strikes fear into the hearts of criminals because they are a cowardly, superstitious lot? Where has he been during all the months the Penguin and his enemies have been running around murdering and betraying everyone all over Gotham anyway? The show offered no explanation, but we have some theories.

Batman is in the Hospital

Did you watch The Batman? Did you see the beatings he took throughout that movie over just a few days? That included a shotgun blast point-blank to the chest and multiple traumas to his body. Why wouldn't he be in a hospital or a clinic somewhere and getting months of physiotherapy to recover before he can start dressing up in his goth gimp suit and beating up street criminals again? That would certainly take him out of the picture for months and away from The Penguin and his shenanigans.

Batman is on Vacation… From The Penguin

Maybe after he separated from Selina Kyle at the end of the movie, Batman decided he needed a mental health break and decided to take a break for his mental health. It's 2024, people. Self-care is everything! And nobody needs self-care more than an emo goth orphan billionaire, so why wouldn't he go on vacation at some sunny resort somewhere before he comes back to dress up like a bat to beat up criminals? That certainly gives The Penguin and all the other gangsters free reign to run amok. Call it their summer vacation, except it always seems to be early winter in Gotham. Or maybe it's all the ashes in the air blocking out the sun.

Batman is Out of Eyeliner (That's a Big Deal!)

Maybe Batman ran out of black coal eyeliner, and he's waiting for Amazon to ship it to him. The problem is large parts of Gotham City are flooded including various routes in and out, so the shipments and supply routes might be cut off. Do you know how hard it is for a violent emo goth vigilante who dresses up like a flying rodent to maintain his image? That black eyeliner is crucial for putting around his eyes before he wears his mask to get that "spooky white eyes poking out of darkness" look! Don't judge! He can't go out as Batman without it – the look is not complete! You can't strike fear into the hearts of criminals if you look like a goofy Halloween cosplayer! Bruce has to sell it! Maybe he's left town and flown to France to the manufacturers to get a major consignment of cruelty-free, eco-friendly, hypoallergenic, non-toxic black eyeliner and personally bring it back before he can get back on the streets. Don't worry, he'll back back all broody and violent in The Batman 2, and so will The Penguin – he's not going to die in his own TV series. He's not Agatha Harkness, after all.

The Penguin is streaming on MAX.

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