Some fans have been a little shocked to find out that the beloved DC Comics supervillain, The Penguin, is a woman in Batman: Caped Crusader.
Coming from the mind of Batman: The Animated Series creator Bruce Timm, this new animated Batman epic is finally streaming (available now on Amazon Prime Video), telling a unique Gotham City story that still feels true to the character.
The series is a Batman: Year One-esque animated tale of a 1940s Gotham in which Batman has only been operating for a short time.
Because of this, the show features never-before-seen takes on iconic Batman big bads as audiences experience the characters for the first time just as Bruce Wayne/Batman is on the screen.
Why Is Penguin a Woman in Batman: Caped Crusader?
In one of the more shocking changes to the Batman canon, Batman: Caped Crusader features a take on the Gotham City crime boss known as The Penguin, who is a woman.
This new interpretation is turning heads as the character has long been a beastly cooked-nosed man, Oswald Cobblepot.
In this particular animated series, the character is named Oswalda Cobbelpot sporting a similar look to what one would expect from The Penguin, just with longer hair, lipstick, and more female presenting features.
Aside from this gender-bend by the creators, there is not much difference from the character when compared to her comic book (or big screen) counterparts.
She is seen leading a criminal syndicate as she does on the page, although instead of using a Gotham City club as a front, Caped Crusader has her running a high-end gambling boat.
The only major difference is she seems to be a bit younger and more agile than the typical Penguin, but this would make sense seeing as Caped Crusader tells the story of a younger Batman meeting many of his villains for the first time in a 1940s alternate reality.
Minnie Driver, who voices the female Penguin, spoke at a roundtable event for the series at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 (attended by The Direct), calling the character a "great reimagining" of the longstanding DC personality:
"She's a very new character that so fits into the Batman oeuvre - it's a great reimagining. It's amazing as a lot of times today we are trying to redress the balance of representation and you sometimes feel that things have been shoehorned in - it's more performative than organic."
She said this gender switch was something that felt "organic" and "believable," as the persona of The Penguin is something that transcends gender:
"This is organic, like it is completely believable that this bizarre, strange, larger-than-life character is genderless, because it's the essence of The Penguin, what we are looking at, which is the essence of the original comics and animation. The way that this person is drawn, I feel like that's kind of what we went into. When you even look at her, she's kind of weirdly genderless to me, she's a creature, so I kind of love that that's what we're exploring now."
Driver would reiterate these comments in interviews across the Comic-Con weekend.
In a conversation with Showbiz Junkies, the Caped Crusader star again said that The Penguin "is outside of that like male/female binary" and is more of an "essence" than anything:
"Well, they just called me up and asked me to do it. I was like, 'Wow!' So we are already into this great gender-bending moment, which should not be a big deal because, and I said this at the panel, the essence of The Penguin is the essence of The Penguin. It is outside of that like male/female binary. It is the essence of The Penguin."
She would then mention that the character being female brings up an interesting twist in the show as she is seen as a mother, calling seeing it "exciting" to see this motherly character also be a terrifying psychopathic criminal:
"So you either want to jump on board with that and have the best time and create this really dastardly character, which I have got to say, arguably, the fact that they made her a mother is utterly terrifying because she is a psychopath. It was very exciting, and I feel that only J.J., Matt Reeves, and Bruce Timm could have come up with this as a concept."
This is hardly the first time a comic character has been reinterpreted into a new gender. Some popular examples include Taskmaster in the Black Widow movie, The Mighty Thor, and Spider-Woman.
However, seeing as it is the first time The Penguin has gotten the treatment, it may catch some fans off guard. After a few moments with this new take on the character though, it is easy to see that Penguin essence coming through.
[ Batman: Caped Crusader Ending Explain: How *SPOILER* Tease Sets Up Season 2 ]
Batman: Caped Crusader is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Read more about Batman on The Direct:
Full Cast of Batman Caped Crusader Cast - Characters List With Spoilers (Photos)
Joker Movies in Order: All 9 Appearances from Heath Ledger, Joaquin Phoenix & More
DCU’s Next Batman: Every Actor Who Wants To Be Brave & The Bold's Batman and Everything Else We Know
Robert Pattinson's Batman Universe: First Look at Recast Gotham Character
