Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The PenguinI still can’t believeDCkilled off one of my favorite new characters only weeks after they were first introduced. As seen inThe Penguin, Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb fights to gain control of Gotham City following the events of 2022’sThe Batman. While it was quickly established that Oz was willing to do whatever it took to get what he wanted, it’s still hard to believe that one of the final costs was the loss of one ofThe Penguin’smost critical characters.
As seen inThe Penguin’sfinale episode, Oz Cobb gets everything he wants, having united Gotham’s gangs under one banner while also working with corrupt politicians at city hall to get Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) sent back to Arkahm State Hospital. By the show’s end, Penguin is one of the most powerful criminals in Gotham, though none of it would have been possible without the help from his right-hand man Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz). As a result,I can’t believeThe Penguinended with Victor’s brutal and shocking murder so sooner after being introduced and considering the potential future he could have had inThe Batmanuniverse.
Victor Aguilar’s Introduction & Death In The World Of The Batman Were Only Weeks Apart
He Died So Soon (And So Young)
Remarkably,Victor Aguilar debuted inThe Penguinepisode 1 on September 19th, having been caught by Oz trying to still the wheels off his Maserati. Forcibly taking Victor under his wing and making him his right-hand man, Victor quickly became a key ally and confidant whole helped Oz get his drug operations off the ground and even helped keep Oz’s mother safe throughout the DC show. However, Victor ultimately was murdered by Oz himself inThe Penguin’sfinale which aired on November 10th.
The Penguin Show Cast & DC Character Guide
Set to release in 2024, The Penguin will continue to flesh out Matt Reeves' Gotham with Colin Farrell set to reprise his role as Oz Cobb.
Without Victor, it’s likely that Oz wouldn’t have gotten nearly as far as he has at the top of the Gotham underworld. Case in point, it was Victor’s idea to unite all the various deputies of Gotham’s gangs and earn their loyalty, especially now that they’re the new heads going forward. Having a kind streak even as he further embraced the Gotham gangster life, Victor easily became a fan-favorite character inThe Penguin. As such, it’s no wonder that the internet was in shock followingOz’s surprise decision to murder Victor, having feared that he could become a weakness and be used against him.
Victor Aguilar’s Connection To The Batman’s Gotham Meant I Hoped He Would Live
I Was Hoping For Some Sort of Redemption Arc
I really was hoping for some sort of redemption arc for Victor Aguilar, even as he gradually compromises himself to become one of Oz’s most loyal allies. He was also a very useful character to show the inner workings of the underworld and how the work being done by Penguin could serve to benefit the lesser-off parts of Gotham overall. However, my initially hope had been that Victor would eventually become estranged from Oz byThe Penguin’sfinale, perhaps even being unwilling to work with him further after the truth about Oz’s past came to light.
Instead, Victor remained by Oz’s side throughout his entire gambit to become Gotham’s new kingpin of crime. As such, this only serves to make Victor’s death even worse as it’s the exact reason why Penguin decided to kill him. They’d grown too close, and the well-intentioned Victor knew too much about how to hurt Oz most. He’s also become a potential point of leverage that others could have used against Oz down the line, a perceived “weakness” The Penguin apparently couldn’t tolerate now that he’s got the top spot in Gotham.Oz killing Victor, all they’d been through together, was the moment that truly broke me.
The Batman’s Robin Theory Makes Victor’s Death Even Worse
Victor Could Have Been So Much More
Additionally,what makes Victor’s death even worse is thinking about all that Aguilar could have become in Gotham going forward. For example, he could have been an effective deputy in his own right for Penguin. However,there were other theories beforeThe Penguin’sfinale that Victor could have become a version of RobininThe Batmanuniverse, becoming unable to reconcile all the pain and suffering Oz is capable of causing in the city.
“It kills me that Victor Aguilar was murdered so soon after he was introduced intoThe Batmanuniverse…”
Interestingly enough, it was confirmed that an interaction between Victor and Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne was considered before the sequence was ultimately scrapped. At any rate, it would have been fascinating to see what Victor could have become had Oz not ended his life so young.As such, it kills me that Victor Aguilar was murdered so soon after he was introduced intoThe Batmanuniverse.
The Penguin
Cast
Created by Lauren LeFranc, The Penguin is a crime-drama spin-off television series of 2022’s film The Batman. Set shortly after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb, A.K.A. the Penguin, begins his rise in the underworld of Gotham City as he contends with the daughter of his late boss, Carmine Falcone, for control of the crime family’s empire.
