Diksha Sundriyal
When we meet Oz Cobb, aka the Penguin, in Matt Reeves’ 2022 rendition of ‘The Batman,’ he is nowhere near the power that he is destined to wield over Gotham’s criminal underworld. There are still other major players above him, most significantly Carmine Falcone, his boss. However, the tide begins to turn as the caped crusader chases after the Riddler, kickstarting the events that lead to Falcone’s death. With the city in turmoil and still reeling from the destruction caused by the several bombings, courtesy of the Riddler, Oz finds his opportunity, and this is where we meet him in HBO’s ‘The Penguin.’ SPOILERS AHEAD
A Murder Puts Oz Cobb’s Story in Motion
Following Falcone’s death, his son, Alberto, is made the new boss, but he doesn’t seem up to the task, and everyone, including Alberto, knows it. Oz goes to the destroyed Iceberg Lounge to retrieve the secrets of some very powerful people from Falcone’s safe. Getting his hands on some jewels is the cherry on top, but before he can have it all, Alberto shows up. Luckily, Oz has always been good at getting his way out of a bind by talking, and this is exactly what he does. He gets Alberto to drink a little and get high on the Drops his father has made a criminal empire out of selling.
This is also when Alberto lets loose the secret of something new he is planning to roll out in the market, something that will render the Drops impotent and completely change the game. The shipment is set to arrive soon, and if it all goes according to plan, Alberto will show everyone what he is made of. Oz has no problem with that, and it seems that the meeting will come to an end with no trouble caused. But then, Alberto starts talking down to Oz, making fun of his looks and his standing, and this is where Oz draws a line. To show him his place, he shoots Alberto to death. The lack of remorse for his actions is momentary, as he immediately realizes how badly he has messed things up.
Victor Aguilar Gets Entangled with Oz
Killing the new boss is not going to do any favors to Oz, and his best chance to get out of this bind is by getting rid of the body. It is a very difficult task to do alone, but luckily, Oz finds a couple of kids trying to steal from him. All but one escape the scene, barely missing Oz’s bullets. The one who remains is Victor Aguilar, and Oz decides that he is going to get the kid to do the dirty work for him. So, they throw the body in the trunk, drive around the city, get an alibi for Oz from his lady love, Eve, and eventually find themselves in a seedy place. They throw Alberto’s body in an abandoned car. Oz gets the ring from Alberto’s finger, which was previously worn by Carmine Falcone. As the sun rises, Oz decides to do away with the kid then and there as well, but then Victor claims he can be useful, and Oz decides to give him a chance.
The decision to keep Victor alive proves fruitful the very next day as Oz quickly realizes that it is not as easy to get away with the murder of your boss. He is called in by the top bosses, who reveal that they are planning to shut down their operation in Gotham as it is not so profitable anymore. In trying to buy some time from them, Oz tells them about the replacement of the Drops that Alberto had mentioned the previous night. This is also when Alberto’s sister, Sofia, fresh out of Arkham, shows up and starts questioning him about Alberto.
While Oz tries to throw Sofia in a different direction, he quickly realizes that he made a mistake by claiming Alberto’s plan as his own. It turns out that Alberto had talked about it with Sofia, who is now convinced that Oz has something to do with his disappearance. Knowing where this is leading, Oz decides to skip town for a while. He visits his mother, trying to get her away for a little while, but she tells him to stay and fight. This turns out to be bad advice because soon after, he is chased down by Sofia’s men and put in front of her, bound to a chair, and tortured until he tells her what happened to Alberto.
Who Cut Alberto’s Finger? What Does Payback Mean?
Considering the position he is in, it seems that Oz is done for as Sofia loved his brother so much that she would kill whoever killed Alberto. What she doesn’t know is that a while back, Oz visited Salvatore Maroni, who is in prison since Carmine Falcone betrayed him. The ring that Oz took from Alberto originally belonged to Maroni, whom Oz tells that Falcone wore the ring to flaunt his betrayal. This is enough to rile up Maroni, but that’s not exactly what saves Oz’s life. While he was chased down and tortured, Victor went back to Alberto’s body. He was told to cut off the head and deliver it to the Falcone house in the trunk of the car with “Payback” written on it.
This would signal that Alberto was killed by Maroni and his people as, well, payback for what Falcone did to Maroni. However, the kid cannot get himself to cut the head off a dead body, so he takes a baby step and cuts off his finger instead, the one on which he had worn the ring. In hindsight, the cutting of the finger sends a bigger message than cutting the head would have. In any case, the body is delivered and it has the intended effect. Sofia and the gang’s attention is diverted towards other enemies and Oz is let go because he is not a suspect anymore. In the end, Oz has an ice cream with Victor from Buddy’s, but they both know that all that has transpired is just the beginning of what’s to come.
