Oz Cobb was always a little suspicious of his brothers in The Penguin, and in episode 7 we find out exactly how they died – and it’s horrible.

The Penguin has already changed a few things about the iconic Batman villain. To start, his name is not Oswald Cobblepothe does not wear a monocle or top hat, and unlike in the comics, he has two brothers: Jack and Benny.

Earlier in the series, Oz told Victor that they were “lost to the city”, implying that they had been killed in the Riddler’s attacks. However, he bit Victor’s head when Victor told his mother about his brothers, telling her that he “didn’t have the right.”

In other words, there was clearly a story to tell about their fate, and Episode 7 jumps back in time to the day they died.

The Penguin murdered his brothers

HBO

When he was a child, Oz locked his brothers in an underground sewer during a storm. As rain fell on Gotham, the sewers filled and no one could hear them scream before they drowned.

Oz was the middle child (Jack was 15 and Benny was 10 when they died). However, it is clear that he always felt like the most responsible brother of the three; more specifically, he cared about his mother the most and wanted to spend all his time helping her. He also idolized Rex Calabrese, the neighborhood gangster.

Oz’s mother asks her three boys to go out while she works in the apartment, and they see Rex and his men beating up a guy in the street. He gives Jack a $50 bill and asks about Francis, but in Jack’s eyes, Rex is not a good person – something Oz strongly disagrees with (remember in the first episode, he told Alberto Falcone how much he admired Rex and wanted to be known as someone who helped people the same way he did).

Before going home, they play a game of “flashlight tag” in the underground railway tunnels. Oz is first, so he counts to 10 and tries to find them. He finds them hidden in the sewers, but he can’t go down because of his clubfoot. “Fuck you guys, you know it’s hard for me to go down there,” he shouts.

Jack tries to apologize, but Oz doesn’t listen. Instead, he closes the sewer door… which cannot be opened from the inside. He comes home alone and when his mother asks him where his brothers went, he lies and says they went to the movies.

He sits with Francis and watches a movie, occasionally watching the rain pouring outside the window, knowing that his brothers are still trapped underground. Meanwhile, Jack and Benny slam the door, begging Oz (or anyone) to let them out.

Their cries fall on deaf ears. Their screams are eventually drowned out by the sound of their gargling underwater, and soon, the sewers become silent.

The Death of Oz’s Brothers Proves He’s a Monster

HBO

The Penguin portrayed Oz as a slightly tragic, undoubtedly villainous character; he limpseveryone doubts him and makes fun of him, and all he wants is to be THE a guy that everyone respects and supports his mother.

He also did (sort of) nice things for people. Vic tried to steal his Maserati rims, and instead of getting revenge, he gave him more money, power, and purpose than he ever had. He looks after all the men who work for him and keeps his Bliss operation running. I also believe that he would have happily allied himself with Sofia if he hadn’t been scolded by Salvatore’s wife.

But here’s the difference: Oz is a bad person capable of good things, and Sofia is a good person capable of doing bad things. Sofia killed people (including her entire family), but they betrayed her and left her to rot in Arkham while protecting the patriarch, who happened to be a serial killer.

She captured Oz’s mother in Episode 7, and while she was definitely tempted, she didn’t harm her. Once she learned of Francis’ condition and visited her cousin Gia in Brookside, she understood to some extent her mistake.

Oz, deep down, is broken and resentful. No summit is ever high enough and no agreement is ever set in stone. Even when Salvatore dies of a heart attack, he proclaims that he “beat” him and throws bullets at his corpse out of malice.

It didn’t start after his brothers died. His mother is not to blame. He was a clinical traitor from the start, and while I’m sure he regrets his brother’s death, it doesn’t change who he is: a bad guy.

Keep up to date with our The Penguin release schedulelearn more about Pie, if Robert Pattinson is in The PenguinAnd why Dr. Julian Rush could be a secret Batman villainand read our list of best superhero movies of all time.