The Penguin TV show changes villain’s name for “stupid” reason

Before The Penguin premieres on HBO, get one thing straight: his name is Oz Cobb, and so don’t think about calling him his other name.

Colin Farrell’s incarnation of the iconic Batman villain returns this week, headlining his own show on HBO that’ll continue “The Batman epic crime saga that filmmaker Matt Reeves began” in 2022.

In more detailed terms, the series will follow Oz as he tries to assert his power in a fractured Gotham, wrestling for control of the city against Sofia Falcone (Cristin Millioti), the ex-Arkham, newly freed daughter of the late Carmine.

If you’re au fait with the best superhero movies, you’ll know the Penguin has changed quite a bit over the last seven decades – and Farrell’s stands alone, especially in name.

Why The Penguin series changed his name

In the comics, the Penguin’s real name is Oswald Cobblepot. However, it’s been changed to Oz Cobb in the new HBO series to make it more “grounded.”

HBO

In The Batman, people referred to the Penguin as “Oz”, with many people presuming it was just a shortened version of his name. But his name isn’t Oswald whatsoever, nor does he come from the Cobblepot family – he’s just Oz Cobb.

Speaking to SFX Magazine, producer Dylan Clark explained: “They never got around to changing his name in the comics like they did with the Riddler, going from Edward Nigma to Edward Nashton, from an unreal name to a real name. By doing that they grounded the character.”

If anything, it would make sense if he was using a shortened version of his name: he’s a prideful man and doesn’t like anyone laughing at him, so the idea of him being ashamed of his sillier birth name tracks.

Alas, as showrunner Lauren LeFranc explained, they’ve created a whole new canon. “Matt’s created new canon in his film, and I’m creating new canon in this show. We have characters you’re familiar with but there’s a different spin on them,” she said.

“It felt like in the Gotham City that Matt created in his film, Cobblepott seemed less of a real person in the way that Cobb is a real last name. He’s a gangster and it just kind of felt more correct.”

A lot of fans aren’t happy with the change. “That’s honestly a dumb name change,” one user wrote. “Oz Cobb sounds really stupid,” another tweeted.

“I don’t get it. How is the name ‘Cobblepot’ not ‘grounded’ in a film about a billionaire orphan dressing as a six-foot bat and stalking criminals at 3am?” a third asked.

Don’t just blame Matt Reeves and co., because it got the seal of approval from DC Comics chief Jim Lee. LeFranc said: “Matt asked, ‘Can I call our character Oz Cobb?’ And Jim said, ‘Absolutely!’

“So we got a blessing from the king himself. That small change of the name allowed us to look at this character in a grounded way.”

Episode 1 of The Penguin drops on HBO on September 19, and the show runs for eight episodes, concluding on November 10, 2024.

For more comic book action, check out our list of the best superhero TV shows ever, as well as what we know about Joker 2 and every upcoming MCU movie and series.