Did ‘The Penguin’ Just Hint at Mr. Freeze or Zsasz?

‘The Penguin’ recently debuted with its first episode, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from both critics and audiences. Set one week after the events of ‘The Batman Part I,’ the show explores the aftermath of the seawall explosion and Gotham’s descent further into corruption.

In a moment of weakness and impulsiveness, Oz Cobb murders Alberto Falcone, the new head of the Falcone crime family, setting off a chain of events that leads to an escalating downward spiral.

The Penguin needs to dispose of the body quickly and discreetly, but while attempting to stash it in the trunk of his purple Maserati, he spots a group of kids trying to steal his rims.

Furious, the Penguin opens fire, acting on impulse yet again. One kid, Victor Aguilar, fails to escape and is caught. His life is spared when he nervously begins to stutter while speaking to Oz, who recognizes the speech impediment as something he relates to from his own struggles. Instead of killing him, Oz decides to use Victor’s help to get rid of the body.

Without giving away how their relationship develops in the first episode, by the end, fans are convinced that Victor Aguilar is destined to become a major villain—possibly Mr. Freeze or Victor Zsasz.

The only link between these characters is the name Victor (which could, if we stretch logic, include Cyborg as well). However, considering the dark tone Matt Reeves is crafting for his Batman universe, it’s far more likely that Victor Aguilar will become a live-action version of Zsasz.

Zsasz is one of DC Comics’ most notorious serial killers. A nihilist, he believes life is meaningless. After suffering a personal tragedy, he spiraled into despair and madness, turning to murder as his way of “freeing” others from what he views as the futile struggle of existence.

His killings are brutal and intimate, often carried out with knives. After each murder, Zsasz carves a tally mark into his skin, leaving his body covered in scars, with only a few spots (like his forehead) still “reserved” for future victims.

Given his dark nature, it’s easy to see how he’d fit into this universe’s grim tone.

Got thoughts? Share them in the comments below!