“There is no talent or originality left”: DC Changing the Penguin into a Woman for Batman: Caped Crusader is Making Fans Question Every Female Villain They Ignored
- Batman: Caped Crusader introduced Minnie Driver as the voice for The Penguin.
- Bruce Timm acknowledged the change in the series and said it will lead them to something new.
- Fans are not happy with the gender-swap of The Penguin.
The highly anticipated animated series Batman: Caped Crusader is all set to make its debut on Amazon Prime Video on August 1st, 2024. Created by Matt Reeves, JJ. Abrams, and Bruce Timm, the series is going to follow Bruce Wayne, a wealthy socialite becoming something both more and less than human—the Batman. Wayne’s one-man crusade for justice in Gotham City attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but at the same time, his heroic actions spawn deadly, unforeseen ramifications.
Hamish Linklater is going to voice the character of Bruce Wayne along with Christina Ricci, who plays Catwoman, Jamie Chung as Harley Quinn, and Diedrich Bader as Harvey Dent. The series will be built on Batman: The Animated Series co-created by Bruce Timm from 1992 to 1995. A recent addition to the cast has got fans wondering if there is any originality left or not.
Minnie Driver to voice the Penguin in Batman: Caped Crusader
At the San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Prime Video revealed that actress Minnie Driver will be voicing a gender-flipped Penguin in the upcoming animated series Batman: Caped Crusader.
The actress acknowledged at the panel that some purists may take issue with a female Cobblepot but insisted that the character that she’ll be voicing will bring the essence of The Penguin. She added (via Variety),
If we’re lucky enough to be invited onto the stage to inhabit these characters that already exist in the ether, we just sort of rise to meet them. And this was such a beautiful retelling of that villain. It was joyful. And I mean, she’s dreadful.
Originally, Penguin a.k.a. Oswald Cobbelpot is a villain who is commonly known as the adversary of Batman. Penguin is one of Batman’s most endearing enemies and reportedly belongs to the collection of the Dark Knight’s rogues gallery. In comics, the character owns and runs a nightclub, which also provides a cover for criminal activity.
Cobblepot is always seen using a high-tech umbrella as different tools. The character is said to be in full control of its actions, which goes on to form a unique relationship with the superhero. Bob Kane designed the character that said it was inspired by the mascot of Kool cigarettes in the 1940s.
Bruce Timm, during an interview with IGN for the cover story, shared when asked about the changes in the characters,
You might think that we’re changing something just to change it. But it was never about that; it was more about where will it lead us. Will it lead us to do something new?
Hamish Linklater at the time noted that all the villains come with a fresh take, and it’s a really exciting surprise for the series. He added that there’s going to be a lot to discover about every character on the show.
Fans react to gender-flipped Penguin in Batman: Caped Crusader
As soon as the announcement of Minnie Driver being the voice of The Penguin was announced, ardent fans of DC Comics shared their views on how DC Comics has some really good female villains that could be introduced rather than gender-flipping the already existing characters.
According to GameRant, characters including Lady Clayface, Jinx, Rose Wilson, Foara, Knocknot, Queen Bee, and more are known to be some of the iconic female villains in DC. These characters can fight back, use their seductive skill sets against their enemies, have super strength, and more abilities that set them apart. Fans wonder if the makers have given up on writing powerful female characters to appear on-screen or simply just want to revamp the old ones.
A user wrote, ‘Instead of making every other male character a woman, why don’t you just write better female characters?’ with another one noting, ‘There is no talent or originality left in that industry. They are incapable of creating new compelling stories or characters.’
Instead of making every other male character a woman, why don't you just write better female characters?
Weird, am I right?
— mikeymumbelz (@mikeymumbelz) July 27, 2024
https://twitter.com/CharlieCKing/status/1817357621076087176
Batman has plenty of good female villains though. This is weird.
— RogueGen (@gen_rogue) July 28, 2024
They could have just reintroduced Red Claw in this version. I think she only appeared in 3 episodes of BTAS. also the Phantasm too!
— TheBubbleCast (@BubbleThe40498) July 28, 2024
This doesn't even make sense. The penguin wasn't even a supervillain. He was a well-dressed crime boss. Turning him into a woman is absurd.
— Hugh Mann (@The_Broface) July 27, 2024
Another woke disaster
— Professor Oak 🍎 🌳 (@My_name_is_L69) July 28, 2024
A fan pointed out that DC has a lot of great female characters, which makes it worse that they have to flip a male character into a female. A lot of fans complained that this action simply shows that the studios wish to be ‘woke’. A user asked why the makers decided to gender-flip the Penguin, to which a user replied by stating that it was an easy choice.
The user explained that The Penguin is a low-tier Batman villain whose gender was never really relevant to their character. They can make a change that lets the virtue signal while changing nothing about the plot. But a lot of them urged the studios to give the spotlight to the iconic female villains in DC so that they get a chance to shine.
Batman: Caped Crusader debuts on Prime Video on August 1, 2024.
