‘The Penguin’ Just Introduced a Hilariously Obscure Batman Villain
Part of what makes The Penguin such a great comic-book adaptation is how little the TV series actually borrows from the comic books. It feels counterintuitive, but it’s quite a joy knowing that you don’t have to hunt through the Batman spin-off looking for Easter eggs. Here’s a great example: Episode 4 took viewers to Arkham Asylum and didn’t show us the Joker.
Instead, the story focuses on Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti). The actress plays a remixed version of “the Hangman” from the Batman comics; she’s one of a handful of characters on the series that stem from the source material. But when Sofia meets a fellow inmate named Magpie, The Penguin’s trip to Arkham highlights another obscure Batman villain.
Premiering in a Superman comic titled The Man of Steel #3 (1986), Magpie is a rather strange jewel thief who only steals valuables that are named after birds. (I wish I could explain it, but I’m just the messenger here.) Eventually, she’s driven mad and sent to Arkham following her defeat. Throughout her short-lived comic-book history, Magpie’s most notable contribution to Batman lore is that she once shared a cell with Poison Ivy. She even joins the Suicide Squad for a single mission! Still, Magpie’s appearance on The Penguin is without a doubt the most prominent use of the character so far. (Like I said, she’s very obscure.)
Magie is played by Marié Botha (Dickinson), who is presumably the only person in the world to own every Magpie comic. The actress told Screen Rant that she “ordered every single [comic] that featured Magpie on eBay” to prepare for the role—which sadly lasts only one episode. As Sofia’s mind dwindles away in episode 4, she murders Magpie by slamming her head against a table. It’s safe to say that the character won’t return in Matt Reeves’s Batman universe, but there’s always the potential for more Arkham flashbacks. As Botha said in her Screen Rant interview, “There is a part of me that feels not quite ready to say goodbye to Magpie just yet."
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