Batman villain [SPOILER] makes surprise appearance in The Penguin episode 4

We're officially halfway through The Penguin, HBO's DC limited series which takes place one week after Matt Reeves' The Batman. I was definitely looking forward to watching this show, but it's blown my expectations out of the water. Not only is the storytelling great, but the performances from Colin Farrell as the titular character and Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone are fantastic. The Penguin is already one of my favorite shows of 2024 and I know I'm not alone in that opinion.

The fourth episode, titled "Cent’anni," picks up during the final events of last week's episode, "Bliss," showing us how Oz managed to escape the Maronis and leave Sofia all alone. We get to see the events through Sofia's eyes and that continues with flashbacks to a decade prior when her father was alive, showing us how she ended up in Arkham to begin with.

WARNING: Spoilers for The Penguin episode 4 are below.

This week's episode is a particularly strong one as we discover how Oz betrayed Sofia and who the "Hangman" really is. Remember, throughout the show so far, Sofia is referred to as the "Hangman" on occasion, and it's revealed that she's a suspected serial killer. But is she really? No, she is not. She was set up. About 10 years before the events of The Penguin, Sofia and her father Carmine were close, with Sofia helping him out by making connections through their organization that aimed to help women and girls with mental health issues. But Carmine didn't hesitate to frame his own daughter when she caught him for his crimes.

Sofia believed Carmine was the serial killer, to be known as the Hangman, and talking to a reporter and confronting her father about it was her downfall. Oz ratted her out to her dad and that's when she was sent to Arkham. Though she believed she would have a trial six months into her admittance, that never happened. She ended up spending 10 years in the asylum which caused her to lose her mind for at least a little while.

Meet Magpie, Batman's enemy

Expectedly, Sofia had a hard time in Arkham, especially in the beginning. One of her fellow patients that she met early on was a woman named Magpie, who DC fans will know from the comics and other adaptations. In the flashbacks of The Penguin, Magpie tried to befriend Sofia, though Sofia wasn't necessarily looking for friends in her new environment. As Sofia fell deeper into madness, having to go through electric shock treatment and other mistreatment, she became more and more angry. Unfortunately for Magpie, who seemingly just wanted someone to talk to, she got in Sofia's way.

Sofia ended up beating Magpie to death — though I'm honestly not sure if that actually happened or if that was just Sofia's imagination. Either way, Sofia didn't get out of the asylum until a decade later, which completely changed her as a person.

In the comics, Magpie (or Margaret Pye) is a villain, one of Batman's enemies. Her biggest personality trait is that she is obsessed with shiny things, and after Batman and Superman take her down in the issue "One Night in Gotham City" — from the comic book series The Man of Steel by John Byrne — she has a breakdown and is sent to Arkham. As for her days in Arkham, she appears in the comic book series Arkham Asylum: Living Hell by Dan Slott and Ryan Sook.

The Penguin isn't the first time we've seen Magpie on the small screen. Sarah Schenkkan portrayed the character in Gotham, while Rachel Matthews played her in Batwoman. We've also seen Magpie in the animated series Beware the Batman and other media.

I doubt we'll see more from Magpie in The Penguin assuming the Arkham flashbacks are over, but it's still a fun callback to the comics.

Watch new episodes of The Penguin every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.