‘The Penguin’: Who Is Selina Kyle, Sofia’s Half-Sister Who Sent the Letter?
The closing minutes of The Penguin, while gut-churningly uncomfortable, gave two tiny hints of a superhero (and an anti-hero) yet to come. And while we’ve been short on actual heroes to root for in this origin spin-off story – our feelings on Sofia Falcone-turned-Gigante (Cristin Milioti) are still… conflicted – it looks like they might be in line for season two.
While we’re still waiting on the green light for The Penguin’s follow up series, let’s unpack those two DC Comic easter eggs in the finale, including an all-important letter for Sofia by someone who goes by the name Selina…
Who is Selina Kyle?
Sofia is back in the slammer at Arkam State Hospital – Oz managed to frame her for many of the deaths that plagued the series – and we know from flashbacks that she barely survived the first time around, when she was locked up by her family for a decade. So when we see her back in her cell, she’s zoning out in the corner. Still, at least she has her strange side-kick lover, Dr. Julian Rush. He tells her that there have been letters for her, “the usual rants, poems and marriage proposals”, but there is one particular letter he thinks she should take a look at. It’s in a black envelope – the first clue – and it’s from a woman claiming to be her half-sister. It’s from a Selina Kyle… a.k.a. Catwoman.
Selina first popped up as Catwoman, her cat-burglarising and jewellery thief alter-ego, in Batman #1 in 1940. In 1966, she had her first on-screen TV appearance in Batman, played by Julie Newmar, then Eartha Kitt, followed by big-screen movie adaptations of her slinky cat persona by Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry.
Taking a quick dip back into the DC Comics catalogue, in several stories it’s suggested that Carmine Falcone is in fact Catwoman/Selina’s dad – although other stories suggest it’s Rex Calabrese. And Selina’s letter perks the previously catatonic Sofia up as she smiles a knowing smile. The sisters could be doing it for themselves in series two: will they finally take down The Penguin together?
Bat Signal
The letter from Selina is not the only nod to an incoming favourite. As the unbelievably creepy final scene of the series, Eve says to Oz: “There’s nothing standing in your way now,” to which he replies: “Goddamn right.”
Then, oh-so-faintly in the night sky outside, a beacon of light shines up, with the iconic Bat signal on it. Watch your back, Penguin: Batman’s back.
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