Let’s face it: The Penguin is the best piece of comic book media we’ve had in a long while. The series is just the shot in the arm DC needed, now that Warner Bros. is reinventing their cinematic universes – and undeniable proof that Matt Reeves was definitely the right guy to helm a darker Batman universe. Oswald Cobb’s descent into a psychotic criminal mastermind was a wild ride, especially after that shocking ending. ‘Great or Little Thing,’ the series finale, will likely go down in TV history on the same level as Breaking Bad‘s Ozymandias or Game of Thrones‘ The Rains of Castamere; it was just that great.
Still, we must address the elephant in the room regarding that spectacular finale. Beware of spoilers if you still haven’t watched Great or Little Thing, by the way. Colin Farrell’s Penguin is a heartless bastard, sure – but I bet no one was expecting he would be the one to personally kill Vic Aguilar, his most loyal ally and closest friend. It’s a finale that sets the stage for Oz as a borderline inhuman psychopath – just the kind of villain Batman loves to beat every night. That said, some fans still felt that Vic’s finale was a bit too abrupt, even for a series that establishes no one is safe. Vic could have been so much more – and to some keen-eyed fan theorists, he isn’t dead at the end of season 1 of The Penguin.
Vic’s Death In The Penguin Finale
According to Matt Reeves, Vic’s character arc could have ended much differently. At one point, Vic was meant to meet Bruce Wayne. It would have been a momentous event that could have changed Vic’s career choice for good. As Oz himself told Vic while he strangled him, “You have a good heart.”
If Vic had a better moral compass, he could have become a great asset in bringing down people like Oz Cobb. Instead, he died at the hands of the only person he still considered family. It was a tragic finale for such a promising character – only that some fans still believe this wasn’t the last we see of Vic Aguilar.
Enter the Bat-Family
After Oz kills Vic, he steals money from his wallet – possibly to make it seem like a random mugging – and throws his ID in the river. Considering Gotham’s top-notch police work, Vic would likely end in an unmarked grave. That is if we believe he really died in that scene. There’s always a chance that Vic could have survived the attempt on his life. I mean, this is a comic book show, after all. If Vic were to survive the strangling (and he isn’t really dead) and eventually meet Batman as Reeves intended, that final scene with Vic in The Penguin was not just the end of Vic Aguilar – it could have been the birth of a new Dick Grayson.
Without a family to return to, betrayed by his closest friend, and after losing his identity (literally,) Vic could emerge as a new vigilante in Gotham – one that isn’t afraid to push things even further than Batman if the situation demands it. That leads me to believe that Vic could either be the Reevesverse version of Dick or maybe he could even be a new take on Jason Todd. That’s pure speculation at this point, though. For all we know, Vic is truly dead after Great or Little Thing. Still, Reeves has shown he enjoys playing with the source material, delivering a new and refreshing take on the dark world of Batman: Earth One. And if The Batman‘s sequels stick to the plot from Earth One, let’s say things aren’t looking great for good old Penguin in the near future.
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Tell us, do you think The Penguin‘s Vic is really dead?
The Penguin (TV series) |
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Following the events of The Batman (2022), Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. the Penguin, makes a play to seize the reins of the crime world in Gotham. |
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| Creator: Lauren LeFranc |
| Cast: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Theo Rossi, David H. Holmes, Myles Humphus, Hunter Emery, Clancy Brown, Carmen Ejogo, Scott Cohen, Michael Kelly |
| Genre: Crime, Drama, Fantasy |
| Number of Seasons: 1 |
| Streaming Service: HBO Max, Showmax |
