2024 was a strange year for comic book adaptations. While many still claim that superhero fatigue is increasing, Deadpool and Wolverine brought the MCU back to Comic-Con and is currently the highest-grossing film of the year so far, with more than $1.3 billion. That massive number used to be the norm, but is now an outlier as comic book movie adaptations of certified box office hits have become a struggle to recoup their immense budgets in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a year of superhero flops in 2023, and Hot Labor Summer 2023. All of this combined means that 2024 has been decidedly slow in terms of major comic book releases, with the only other superhero releases so far being the surreal meme-ization of box office flops. Madam Web, the potential franchise-starting flop of the impressively strange The Crowand the low-budget reboot of Hellboy, which currently has no US release date and will likely be released straight to VOD The Crooked Man. The sluggish list represents and reflects apathy among moviegoers and the complex problems facing the box office in the wake of streaming and strikes. And in the midst of all this comes The PenguinHBO’s prestigious television series in the world of Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

This fantastical gothic take on Bruce Wayne’s nighttime crime-fighting escapades grossed nearly $800 million and was widely well-received. But with never-ending content wars, seething streamers, constant debate, a box office rebound and non-stop unprecedented events, for many The Batman already seems like it was released at a different time, even though it won’t be released until 2022. The last DC film was in 2023 Aquaman and the Lost KingdomJames Wan’s Technicolor fantasy, which grossed $434 million worldwide. It was the last gasp of the previous DC film continuity, which ended with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in 2013, as the finale of a series of bombastic superhero films in which Ben Affleck, as a middle-aged Batman, had to contend with the rise of metahumans around the world. But that was not all – The Flash added two more Bruce Waynes to the mix last year, when Michael Keaton and George Clooney both returned to the role, in a multiversal story that could charitably be described as jam-packed and more accurately as utter chaos. There were rumors that more than one of these Batmans would appear in the recent buzz-grabbing Aquaman sequel, but ultimately they were all cut in the flurry of changes that came with James Gunn’s arrival to head up DC’s upcoming big-screen relaunch, which kicks off next summer with the Guardians of the Galaxy Direction Superman.

Deadpool and Wolverine played on the appeal of the typical Marvel cameo, with all the Easter eggs and references you’d expect – a tried and tested technique for Marvel, but one that never had the same impact at DC. Warner Bros.’ attempts to create a shared live-action universe for its pantheon of godlike heroes have failed time and time again, with the respected competition always being at its best when it allowed the creators to create something unique and original, and didn’t worry too much about connections. Whether Gunn’s hyper-political The suicide squadCathy Yan’s great girl gang film Birds of Preyor the charming family action of Ángel Manuel Sotos Blue BeetleThis diversity is what has kept DC interesting during the multiversal movie wars.

The Penguin is another shining example of how well this freedom from executive orders and desperate need for constant reminders of a shared universe can work for DC, even if the show’s timing might make it seem like an afterthought. But it might also be its superpower, especially as eclectic critics from across the TV spectrum The Penguin rave reviews, earning it 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s an even higher score than The Batmanproving that a spin-off series like this can grow beyond its origins, even without direct connections or tongue-in-cheek Easter eggs.

Reeves’ interpretation of the Caped Crusader was released separately from the primary DC cinematic continuity of the time and was allowed to exist in its own isolated universe with no obvious superpowers and no connections to a larger world of superheroes. The Penguin carries the torch that was lit with The Batmanwithout worrying about how Superman or Wonder Woman will feel about the events of his story. In fact, the creator of The Batman And The Penguin has already told fans that Robert Pattinson will not appear in the series. Instead of stalling them with juicy interviews, he nipped that theory in the bud and prepared viewers to enjoy what actually happens in the show, not what it might be.

While The Batman was relatively grounded, The Penguin takes this to the next level. Without Bruce Wayne’s fortune, there are no Gothic churches or supernatural devices or even nefarious online serial killers. Instead, The Penguin is a world that we recognize very well: gangsters live in McMansions, mothers live in small semi-detached houses in the suburbs and Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) drives his Volvo as often as his characteristic purple Maserati.

Another interesting aspect is the fact that Batman – Part II will not be released for another two years, although it is only a week after The Penguin ends. It’s far from ideal brand synergy when it comes to a slick, ongoing story, but it gives the series room to breathe and to exist outside the expectations of the larger franchise. Boards and shareholders may see this as a missed opportunity, but to audiences, this is their win: They’re delivering quality stories that have the autonomy to live in their own stylistic and narrative niches, unencumbered by forced post-credits scenes to set up the next five films. Battinson doesn’t need to be spread so thin that his presence is required to The Penguin the feeling that it’s “important.” Batman’s specter is enough to ratchet up the tension in Gotham, an ever-present awareness that he’s out there like some sort of invisible Bat-Signal hovering over the events of the series. Somehow it adds something meaningful to the universe, knowing that even the horrific crimes we see in Oz’s world aren’t on Batman’s radar, so things must be really bad in Gotham.

It’s not unusual for WBTV to produce great comic book series. For years, the company had a monopoly on the format thanks to the hugely popular and long-running Arrowverse series, which went a long way in familiarizing the average TV viewer with the basics of superhero storytelling. Even aside from that, it had critical hits with Death Patrol and even some of his less popular series, like another DC Universe Original, Titanswhich had tremendous streaming success after being included in Max.

What sets The Penguin What makes it special is that it is the first series set entirely in the world of one of WB’s feature films, and it comes with a budget and production quality that previous DC television series could only dream of, immediately positioning it as a potential success in prestige television rather than a feel-good show or cult hit for fans. In the David Zaslav era of Warner Bros., pretty much all of the superhero television that DC was long known for is over, thanks to a series of budget cuts – only the HarleyQuinn Animated series, its spin-off Kite Man: Of course!and now The Penguin not yet completed. (It is advisable to mention here that yes, Prime Video’s recent hit Crusader with cape was a DC show, but one that Zaslav sold as part of his cuts in 2022.) These cuts and the ever-changing corporate maneuvers make The Penguin and its quality feels even more unexpected.

Following in the footsteps of one of HBO’s most famous series, The Sopranos, The Penguin is an emotional drama wrapped in the backdrop of a mafia story. We follow Oz as he tries to climb to the top of the power vacuum created by the events of The Batmanincluding the death of mob boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro). It’s a slippery ladder covered in the blood of his fellow men, causing Oz to stumble and thrash in a way we rarely see in comic book villains; this is not the polished Penguin who could possibly defeat Batman. Instead, this is the story of a power-hungry petty criminal who will strain, lie and kill to get what he wants.

It’s an underdog story that makes us root for truly awful people – a powerful lure that can attract both comic book fans and those who’ve never read a single issue and can’t be bothered to watch superhero movies in the theater. This is a grimy world that feels as lived-in as any crime series, but with the humanistic flair that Reeves brings to all his projects, building up Oz and Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) in a way that ultimately feels haunting and bleak, but still very distinctly human, not superhuman.

Will its success lead to more spin-offs in the Batman Epic Crime Universe? Or will the Gunn universe end up gobbling up the so-called Elseworld properties? We’ll have to wait until 2025 to find out, but for now, I’m just grateful we got this deeply strange, brilliantly violent, and unique Reeves series about an underrated and underappreciated villain and his new origins.

Episode 1 of The Penguin Premieres on HBO and Max Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.