The Penguin has now kicked off on HBO, and the first episode of The Batman spin-off is a grisly return to the dark underworld of Gotham. It mostly focuses on Oz Cobb’s new bid for power following Carmine Falcone’s death, but there is a little subtle tease in there for fans of Matt Reeves’ movie.
We’ll be getting into details of The Penguin episode 1 from here on out, so make sure you’ve seen the first episode before reading on.
About 40 minutes into the first episode, when Oz is riding the subway, he’s approached by a masked passenger telling him to “scan the code”. On his piece of paper, it says, “Gotham’s True Face”. Oz tells him to, “Get the fuck out of here” but this QR code is actually real.
If you scan it, it leads you to a very familiar website: rataalada.com. Now this was a key part of The Batman’s viral marketing campaign and was supposedly the website used by the Riddler, Edward Nashton, to post riddles to the citizens of Gotham City.
This time, there’s another hidden message, which you can see a screenshot of below. It reads: “Cl0ckbreak3r: What’s been put in motion can’t be stopped. xxREIGNITINxx: Arkham’s releasing patients and Blackgate is a mess… no one’s really a prisoner in there. Not even our old pal Sal Maroni. HOLDTHELINE81: People say they want the truth but they shield their eyes when we shine the light. DETERMINATOR: Let’s make sure they’re not blinded again to the corruption, the killings, the Falcone power grab… HOLDTHELINE81: We start in the streets. Tonight at 9pm. Meet at the metro outside Crown Point. Cl0ckbreak3r: Done and done. The revolution is just getting started.” There’s also a link leading to a news article about Alberto Falcone being spotted partying around the city.
The exact meaning of this isn’t yet clear, but it seems like The Penguin is setting the scene for a Gotham in disarray, where corruption will continue to rise. We did see Sal Maroni in episode 1 too, when Oz goes to visit him in jail, and this tease suggests that he’s still got a lot of influence in Gotham.
For more on the show, check out our guides to The Penguin release schedule, The Penguin review, and all the upcoming DC movies and shows you need to know about.
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