Did The Penguin need a new name? Series producer Dylan Clark reveals why the villain is now called Oz Cobb in The Batman universe.
The Batman brought a lot of subtle changes to the world of Gotham. One of the most confusing to many fans was changing The Penguin’s name from “Oswald Cobblepot” to “Oz Cobb,” with many wondering why such a subtle difference was even made. When asked about this choice, The Penguin producer Dylan Clark revealed that it was their way of modernizing a classic villain for a more grounded story.
They never got around to changing his name in the comics like they did with the Riddler,” Clark explained to SFX Magazine. “Going from Edward Nigma to Edward Nashton, from an unreal name to a real name. By doing that they grounded the character.”
“We had a lot of conversations with DC Comics and with Jim Lee [President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer]. They had thought about changing his name at some point but had never done it. 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.”
The name Oz Cobb certainly fits better in the world of The Batman than Oswald Cobblepot, especially given the villain’s new origin in The Penguin. However, some fans across social media still dislike this decision, claiming that this and Todd Phillips’ massive changes to Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn are signs that the directors are ashamed of their comic book origins. Though given the quality of both franchises, many are willing to turn a blind eye!
The Hidden Meaning In The Penguin’s Name Change
Many eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice that “Oz Cobb” doesn’t seem to be just any random name. Rather, The Penguin‘s new moniker seems to draw from the iconic DC comics villain The Talon, whose real name is William Cobb. This led many to believe that the name change from Oswald Cobblepot meant The Batman may be setting up a Court of Owls storyline. However, according to showrunner Craig Zobel, it’s a connection he personally wasn’t made aware of.
“I can’t 100% answer that because I don’t know everything in Matt Reeves’ mind,” Zobel explained in a recent chat with The Hollywood Reporter before reiterating. “But largely, we all kinda felt like Cobblepot wasn’t a real person’s name. The goal was to just find a real, rooted, more grounded name.”
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the Court of Owls isn’t coming to The Batman universe. It’s possible that Matt Reeves and his team simply didn’t notice the connection between Oz Cobb and The Talon. It’s entirely possible that, now that the internet has made them away of the villain’s similar name, a possible season 2 of The Penguin could shift gears to focus on that storyline!
The Penguin is set to drop on HBO on September 19th, 2024. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe and make sure to stay tuned to our YouTube channel for more content.
