In the history of superheroes, there is perhaps none more recognizable than Batman. With his cowl and cape, his silhouette alone has been striking fear into the hearts of criminals across Gotham City for more than 80 years. As we all know, every good hero has to have a villain to balance the scales, and while the Joker might be Batman’s most iconic foil, Penguin has to rank a close second, especially when it comes to the new animated series Batman: Caped Crusader, which sees Oswald Cobblepot reimagined as a female voiced by award-winning actress Minnie Driver.
Longtime fans of Batman certainly weren’t happy when it was revealed that Driver would be portraying the role of Oswalda Cobblepot, with many labeling the new series as woke, which seems to be the go-to phrase these days for anything that dares to differ from people’s myopic worldviews. Driver sat down with Collider during SDCC to discuss her controversial role, which was championed by Batman: Caped Crusader (and Batman: The Animated Series) creator Bruce Timm. Driver says that despite this version of Penguin being female, Timm still stuck to the characters’ sinister roots.
“The Penguin that Bruce has imagined for me is properly evil.
She skims the depths of human depravity in what she does
. She’s also a rather larger-than-life kind of burlesque cabaret singer in her spare time, which I think is always good for a villain. Her alter ego is a kind of Mae West-type burlesque singer.
It’s strange and beautiful and oddly fitting
.”
3.5/5
Wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne, transformed by tragedy, takes on the mantle of Batman to combat the rampant corruption and crime in Gotham City. His vigilante actions attract both allies within the GCPD and City Hall and deadly adversaries, leading to unforeseen consequences. The series delves into the noir roots of Batman, exploring the psychological depths of Gotham’s inhabitants.
Release Date August 1, 2024
Seasons 1
Driver would go on to explain that even though Penguin is a female in the latest incarnation of the Batman universe, the character still embodies all the traits that fans have come to know and love. She’s hoping that those same fans will be able to open their minds a little and look past appearances to recognize that at the end of the day, Penguin is still Penguin.
“The Penguin is iconic, and I think this about Batman, as well. I am the first female Penguin.
The Penguin is an essence in the way that Batman is an essence, in the way Doctor Who is an essence
. They constantly regenerate and are voiced and acted by lots of different people. What they’ve done is cast good, strong, interesting actors as the Batman franchise really always seems to do.”
I hope that that’s what the fans will engage with and love, that the essence of these characters is true, even if I am some mad cabaret-singing evil version of the Penguin.
Batman: Caped Crusader Feels Like “Comfort Food”
Drawing inspiration from stories of the 1940s, Batman: Caped Crusader puts a noir twist on the legendary hero, presenting a more mature incarnation of the Batman mythos. It’s those dark undertones that set it apart from past animated offerings such as Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, but yet Caped Crusader still manages to capture what Driver called the “essence” of the characters in a way that has garnered the series critical acclaim thus far. MovieWeb’s own Greg Archer said of the show in his review: “it’s easy to slip into this universe and, for many comic book fans, this will feel like comfort food.”
Comfort food indeed, as despite the initial outcry over Penguin being female this time around, reviews for Batman: Caped Crusader have been mostly positive thus far, with the good far outweighing the bad. Unlike shows such as The Acolyte or House of the Dragon, the series has yet to become the victim of review bombing, which is quite an achievement in this day and age where everyone seems to want to complain about the most minute details.
Related Batman: Caped Crusader’s Penguin Shows the Value in Deviating From Canon
This new variation of Batman’s iconic villain has the potential to re-invent the character.
For those that refuse to watch Caped Crusader just because the Penguin is female, they can hold out to see Colin Farrell put his own spin on the classic villain when the live-action series The Penguin hits HBO later this year. For the rest of us, we’ll enjoy all the Batman stories and characters we can get, no matter their gender.
All 10 episodes of
Batman: Caped Crusader
are available to stream on Prime Video.
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