The Penguin Episode 6: 9 Easter Eggs & DC References

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for The Penguin episode 6The Penguin episode 6 features several Easter eggs and references to The Batman, comics references, and even some key nods to the past to the titular Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell). Having built up his new drug empire beneath Gotham City itself, business is booming for The Penguin who’s carving out his very own slice of the criminal underworld. As such, some new faces have emerged with connections to the original DC Comics as Oz prepares for war with his key rivals, The Maronis and Gigantes.

In The Penguin episode 6, Penguin has massively expanded his Bliss operations with distribution taking place underground thanks to the city’s abandoned trolley system. This has allowed him to remain one step ahead of Sofia Gigante (Cristin Milioti) and Salvatore Maroni (Clancy Brown). However, battle lines are still being drawn, motivating Penguin to forge some key alliances going forward. To that end, here are 9 of the biggest Easter eggs and references in The Penguin episode 6.

9 Victor Biking Through Tunnels Feels Very Familiar

Bruce Wayne in 2022’s The Batman

At the very beginning of The Penguin episode 6, Oz’s right-hand man and protégé Victor Aguilar can be seen riding a motorcycle through several access tunnels underneath Gotham as he heads to the central trolley hub that’s become Penguin’s new base of operations, having greatly expanded from two buckets of mushrooms he had with multiple crews in his employ in Crown Point. To that end, this feels very familiar to the opening scenes of 2022’s The Batman. Following his investigation into The Riddler’s murder of Mayor Don Mitchell Jr., Bruce Wayne rides his motorcycle back to his Batcave underneath Wayne Tower.

As Batman heads to the Batcave, Bruce is also seen riding through access tunnels underground so the comparison is pretty easy to spot. That said, these aren’t the same tunnels being used by Penguin and his crews. While the trolley system was once public access before it was shut down, the tunnels connected to the abandoned train station known as Wayne Terminus were all privately owned by the Wayne Family.

8 Burnley Town Massive

Run By Able Crown

Penguin confirms he intends to do business with all of Gotham’s smaller time gangs, including the Burnley Town Massive. Led by Able Crown, the Massive is a predominantly African-American gang in DC Comics’ Gotham. As such, both Crown and his crew are featured at the end of The Penguin episode 6 when Oz gathers all the gang leaders to his “Gold Summit”, proposing an alliance against Sofia and Sal to take back Gotham and stop taking the scraps the bigger crime families leave behind.

In the comics, Able and the B.T.M were all taken out alongside other crimelords and gangs during the Batman: War Games crossover event. This was the same event in which Stephanie Brown was fired by Batman as his Robin after only 71 days as his sidekick. Seeking to prove herself, Brown used an old contingency plan of Batman’s that would have united the gangs under Matches Malone (Bruce Wayne’s undercover criminal identity). However, the plan went horribly wrong, leading to an all-out war and multiple deaths (including Crown’s).

7 LoBoys

Another Classic Gotham Gang

The LoBoys are another classic Gotham gang from the comics featured in The Penguin episode 6. Sometimes spelled as the Lo-Boys or LoBoyz, Fox’s Gotham television series prominently featured the gang during its own No Man’s Land adaptation, where they ironically clashed with Penguin (played by Robin Lord Taylor). While not much is revealed about the LoBoys in Penguin episode 6, two women are shown representing the group at Penguin’s summit meeting, and Oz confirms their gang scraps with everyone to get their due respect.

6 Sullivan Crime Family

One of Gotham’s Oldest Gangs

Penguin also confirms that while the Sullivan Family is the oldest criminal gang in Gotham, they are certainly not the most powerful. This is also true in the original DC Comics as well. Also known simply as The Irish Gang, the Sullivan Family is run by brothers Donny and Mickey, and “Donny Boy” is present at Penguin’s summit. In the comics, the Irish worked as hitmen for Carmine Falcone before they were all taken out in one night by the Holiday Killer (as seen in The Long Halloween).

5 Pauli’s Diner

A Reference To Batman: Arkham Knight

While having breakfast with Victor and his mother, Oz asks Francis if she remembers when they used to go to “Pauli’s Diner”. Fans of the Arkham video games will likely remember Pauli’s from the opening scene of Arkham Knight where gamers initially play from the POV of a GCPD police officer who’s attacked with Scarecrow’s fear gas (before playing as Batman). The diner can also be found in the LEGO DC Supervillains game, and the restaurant itself gets its name from legendary Batman and DC Comics writer Paul Dini.

4 More Mentions Of Rex Calabrese

A Personal History With Penguin’s Family

Continuing to struggle with her dementia, there’s a moment when Francis thinks Oz is his father. Angry with him, Francis claims that if he’s not going to provide for his children then she’ll just go talk to “Rex”. This is yet another reference to one of Gotham’s original gangsters, Rex Calabrese, whom Oz looked up to as a kid and briefly worked for.

That being said, this is the first time there’s been an allusion to some sort of personal connection between Rex Calabrese and Francis Cobb. As such, it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s eventually revealed that Oz might have unknowingly been Rex’s son. While conjecture, this could very well be what set Oz apart from his late brothers, the idea being that he was always destined to become one of Gotham’s greatest criminals, as it was secretly in his blood all along. In contrast, all that’s currently known is that Jack and Benny were “taken by the city”.

3 Photo Of Penguin’s Brothers

Jack and Benny Cobb

Breaking into Penguin’s old apartment, Sal and Sofia search for anything that they could use against Oz. As a result, Sal finds a photo of Oz as a child with his brothers, Jack and Benny. Oz’s brothers have been referenced before in The Penguin, though the photo is rather notable considering it’s still unknown how they died. That said, Sofia does eventually learn that Francis Cobb is still alive, as Oz had long maintained the lie that she had died years ago to keep her protected from his enemies. To that end, Sofia eventually finds Francis in Crown Point by the episode’s end, the clear implication being that she intends to keep Oz’s mother hostage to gain the upper hand in the episodes still to come.

2 Councilman Hady

A Corrupt Gotham Mayor In The Comics

Angered by the ongoing lack of power in Crown Point and wanting to provide for his mother, Penguin goes to City Hall and threatens Councilman Hady in the parking lot. Clamping the politician’s nose with a pair of pliers, Oz demands that Hady do his job and stop diverting power away from the worse-off parts of the city. Originating from the comics, Hady is one of Gotham’s many corrupt mayors, and it seems The Penguin’s version is no different.

This episode confirms that Councilman Hady had been blackmailed by Carmine Falcone after Hady was caught paying off his gambling debts using public funds. Now, it seems Penguin has his very own politician under his thumb, especially considering that Hady makes good on his promise and the lights come back on by the end of The Penguin episode 6. As such, an ongoing relationship with Hady should prove to be very valuable as Oz continues gaining power in Gotham’s underworld.

1 Umbrella Light at Eve’s

Symbolizing Their Complicated Relationship

When Sofia confronts Eve to learn about Oz’s whereabouts, the two women meet in her apartment. Hanging over the bed with an umbrella-shaped light. Considering this is a show about DC’s Penguin, the umbrella doesn’t feel coincidental in the slightest. Likewise, an umbrella is certainly a good symbol for Oz and Eve’s partnership, seeing as how they had agreed to protect each other and watch each other’s backs. However, the agreement only goes so far with Eve choosing to protect her girls, eventually telling Sofia Gigante where Oz has been hiding out after Sofia reveals Oz wrongfully got her sent to Arkham for 10 years as “The Hangman”.

New episodes of The Penguin release Sunday night on Max.

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.

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