What Really Happened To The Penguin's Foot, According To The Showrunner

"My dear penguins, we stand on a great threshold!" But if you haven't caught up with the first episode of "The Penguin," then turn around because there are some spoilers ahead.

Batman is only as recognizable as his villains, and few of them are as recognizable as The Penguin. From his long beak-like nose to his morning suit and signature umbrella (and occasionally his army of penguins), there's a reason the character continues to be a big part of Batman stories after so many decades. Now we have "The Penguin," which is finally a chance for Oz Cobb (formerly known as Oswald Cobblepot) to get the spotlight. Even if the show changes some elements of the character, one important trait remains the same — the Penguin's waddle.

In most of the comics, this is how Penguin gets his nickname, a mockery of the way he walks like a penguin. In the new spin-off series of Matt Reeves' "The Batman," you can see Colin Farrell's Penguin limping in virtually every scene, nodding to the character's signature waddle. The reason for this comes in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment wherein Oz takes off his shoes and we see his misshapen foot, a congenital deformity the character has had since birth. Speaking with Digital Spy, showrunner Lauren LeFranc explained the reason for the character's limp. "What we establish in the first episode is that he has a clubfoot," LeFranc explained, referring to a condition that is relatively easy to fix via surgery nowadays. "But in my mind, his mother, who didn't have a lot of money, decided that the difference in him would make him stronger. That he didn't need to change an aspect of himself in that regard."

In a separate interview with IGN, the showrunner added that this was born out of a desire to break away from an unfortunate part of comic book history. "Something I was conscious of are the sort of comic book tropes that have come before, of those who are other, those who have disabilities, those who have scars on their face," LeFranc noted. "They're often easily depicted as the villain, and I think it's just an unfortunate thing in our comic book history, and I wanted to try to disrupt that as much as possible."

Speaking with The Wrap, makeup designer Mike Marino explained that he sculpted a foot that he thought was "crazy." For his part, Farrell praised the prosthetics and makeup effects of the TV show. "Not to deny the advent of technology and the benefits of it as well in all sorts of realms of experience -– but the hands-on makeup that this guy designs and applies," the actor said. "I just hope that all filmmakers choose to use practical, in-camera stuff."

Each iteration of the Penguin has played with changing the reason for his nickname and affinity for the flightless bird. In the excellent "Gotham" TV series, Cobblepot's nickname is the result of mockery from colleagues when he is hired to be the personal umbrella-man of Fish Mooney, underboss to Carmine Falcone. After betraying Mooney, Cobblepot is beat up and one of his legs is permanently damaged, forcing him to walk on a limp which many compare to that of a penguin. This was a rare adaptation that had Oswald Cobblepot not initially embrace his nickname "Penguin" but rather hate it so much as to kill people who call him that.

In many of the comics, however, Cobblepot's nickname comes from bullying when he's a child, based on his love of birds and traits that make him look like the flightless bird — like his long nose and limp.

Tying up the Penguin's limp to an issue of class and money fits the more grounded approach of "The Penguin" and Matt Reeves' "Batman Epic Crime Saga," which started with Riddler terrorizing Gotham to expose deep corruption within Gotham City. And yet, the story of "The Penguin" is not some rags-to-riches tale, or even some big politically-charged story about the haves and the have nots. Cobb's rise to power is not cheer-worthy. He is not a sympathetic figure or even a figure trying to fight the system. Instead, Cobb is a pathetic, sociopathic loser who hates everyone and kill, lies, and cheats to get what he thinks he is entitled to.

"The Penguin" is now streaming on Max.