The Penguin: 6 Characters we want to see in the HBO show

Five years ago, I would have laughed if you told me that The Penguin would be an anticipated project. Yet, here we are. And of all the people playing Oz Cobb (Penguin), it’s Academy Awards nominated actor Colin Farrell. The one thing that isn’t surprising is HBO making this a project to look forward to.

HBO knows how to get people excited about their original content. In this case, they have fans of comic books and people looking for something new to watch. That's enough to bring in hundreds of thousands of weekly viewers. Another thing that will keep people watching is the possibility of Batman characters popping up. Here are the six who will hopefully appear.

The Riddler

Paul Dano’s portrayal of The Riddler will always be one of the best movie versions of a comic book character. He remained the enigmatic villain but easily darker than his comic book counterpart. Since he’s still alive, it wouldn’t be shocking if he or his cult went after Oz. Riddler hated Carmine meaning Oz inherited it.

Harvey Dent

During Batman: Long Halloween, Salvatore Maroni throws acid in Harvey Dent’s face turning Gotham’s district attorney into Two-Face. In Previews of The Penguin, Maroni (played by Clancy Brown) is in prison. Just because he's incarcerated doesn't mean he can't turn Harvey Dent into Two-Face.

The Penguin takes place a week after The Batman and leads into the sequel. Even if Salvatore Maroni is in prison, he may still have a trial coming. If that's the case, we'll see Harvey's transformation. It would be the perfect way to let fans know what other villains are in this universe.

Calendar Man

Admittedly, this is a random and odd choice. That’s what makes it perfect. Gotham is full of weird people with colorful personalities. Among them is aptly named Julian Day, Calendar Man.

Calendar Man would be a great transition into Batman 2: The Long Halloween (that’s my guess for the next movie). He could see the events coming and tell Oz to watch himself and his empire. Even if this isn’t a prelude to Long Halloween, he’d be a weird and entertaining character to appear in The Penguin.

Thomas Wayne

Yes, we’re all tired of seeing Martha and Thomas Wayne getting shown in Crime Alley. Thankfully, that isn’t what this is. We should see Thomas Wayne when he has his conversation with Carmine Falcone.

During The Batman, Carmine Falcone messes with Bruce’s head saying Thomas worked for him. This leads Bruce to believe his father was crooked and only stopped working with Carmine Falcone to keep his image clean for his political run. Alfred tells him this isn't true and that Thomas cares more about Martha and Bruce's image than his own. But is it the entire story?

There are three sides to every story. The ones argued and the truth. Oz Cobb was probably around and knows the real story. It would be interesting to see what happened from a non-biased perspective.

James Gordon

Jeffrey Wright is an amazing actor playing one of Batman’s most trusted allies, James Gordon. With the Dark Knight not appearing in The Penguin, someone has to keep up with the crime in Gotham City. That will likely be James Gordon. Wright may not be credited to appear, but that doesn’t mean he won’t.

Joker

Teasing the Clown Prince of Crime is the new thing to do. It happened in Batman Begins, the season finale of Batman: Caped Crusader, and the end of The Batman. It would make sense that The Penguin showed him at some point. It would be a memorable moment that gets more people into the show and trending on social media.

What if, and hear me out, Sofia Falcone (played by Cristin Milioti) has a connection to him? She shouldn't be Harley Quinn or his sidekick. Maybe Joker gave her some advice on how to take what’s rightfully hers. Not saying it would be good, but advice nonetheless.

Who else should show up during The Penguin? What topics would you like discussed? We want to hear from you. You can email us at entertainment@fansided.com