Why THE PENGUIN changed Oswald Cobblepot’s name

The Batman in 2022 gave us our first glimpse at Matt Reeves’ version of Gotham City. While it’s not the first “realistic” take on the fictional comic book city, though it may be more in line with a much more comic book-esque Batman aesthetic, The Batman perfectly toeing the line between grounded and fantastic. It’s not The dark knightbut that’s not it either Batman and Robin. As a result, some of the dumber elements had to be changed to fit better. Some of these are the character names. The most important of these is the Penguin (Colin Farrell). In the film, we learn that he is called “Oz”, and the series The Penguin confirms that his name is not Oswald Cobblepot.

The series changes the name Oswald Cobblepot to Oswald “Oz” Cobb. Small change, but bigger consequences. In the comic, Oswald Cobblepot is a wannabe high society criminal. He is the black sheep of a decidedly white sheep family. That really doesn’t fit The Batman‘s version of the character, a mob enforcer who fancies himself a big shot. Similar vibe, totally different execution. So the easy answer is that “Oswald Cobblepot” is a silly name.

Speaking with Sound effects (via GameSpot), The Penguin Producer Dylan Clark explains the change further. “(DC) never got around to changing his name in the comics the way they did the Riddler, from Edward Nigma (or Nygma) to Edward Nashton, from an unreal name to a real name.” This is of course true. In the comics, we learn that Edward Nygma was an adapted pseudonym for Edward Nashton when he took on the persona of the Riddler.

“We had a lot of conversations with DC Comics and with Jim Lee (President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics),” Clark continued. “They had thought about changing his name, but never did it. Matt said, ‘Can I call our character Oz Cobb?’ And Jim said, ‘Absolutely!’ So we got a blessing from the king himself. That little name change allowed us to look at this character in a more down-to-earth way.”

Man, they really are worried about a story where a guy dresses up as a bat and feels grounded. Oh well, it is what it is. Oz Cobb fits the character better, somehow, so maybe they had the right idea.

The Penguin premieres September 19 on HBO.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here . Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.