When it was announced that Minnie the driver would play a gender-reversed version of the Penguin in Batman: Caped Crusader animated series, has become one of the most talked about aspects of the series and, as you can imagine, the reactions have been mixed.
Some fans weren’t happy to see this classic DC gangster character reimagined as a raunchy, flirtatious cabaret performer who works as the head of a criminal organization.
According to the creator of the series Bruce TimThe inspiration behind the change came from what he calls a “lack of good villains” in the Batman world.
During an Emmy interview, Timm said, “James and I were talking about the overview of the series and we said, ‘One of the problems with Batman, as it stands, is the lack of good villains.'”
“You’ve got Catwoman, you’ve got Poison Ivy, you’ve got Harley Quinn. But it would be really cool to have more bad women. And right off the bat, I said… ‘What if we gender-swap Penguin?'”
Producer James Tucker added: “When he said, ‘Maybe we can reverse the gender of Penguin,’ I had a flood of ideas. I was thinking about Marlene Dietrich in a tuxedo and Cabaret, the musical and the art form of cabaret, and I started drawing…
“Also, I was thinking a little bit about Harvey Fierstein, Hairspray, and Divine. It was like I knew instantly what it could be.”
I like Driver’s take on the Penguin, but I would also like to point out that there are a lot of interesting female villains in the Batman universe and it would have been nice to see some of these characters, who aren’t normally the focus, explored in the series.
There are characters like Roxy Rocket, Lady Clayface, Lynx, White Rabbit, Ma Gunn, Lady Spellbinder, Dragon Fly and many more.
Driver previously talked about the new Penguin, saying it’s a “big reimagining” that fits Batman’s history.
He continued: “It’s amazing because, often today, we try to re-establish the balance of representation and sometimes it feels like things have been forced: it’s more performative than organic.”
“This is organic. It’s believable that this bizarre, strange, larger-than-life character is genderless because that’s the essence of The Penguin. What we’re looking at is the essence of the original comics and animation. When you look at her, she’s strangely genderless, she’s a creature, and I love that that’s what we’re exploring now.”
The series description reads: “Welcome to Gotham City, where the corrupt outnumber the good, criminals are rampant, and law-abiding citizens live in a constant state of fear.
“Forged in the fires of tragedy, wealthy socialite Bruce Wayne becomes something more and less than human: BATMAN. His single-handed crusade for justice attracts unexpected allies within the GCPD and City Hall, but his heroic actions have deadly and unforeseen ramifications.”
The rest of the cast includes Hamish Linklater (Midnight Mass) like Batman, Christina Ricci like Selina Kyle / Catwoman, My Friend Jamie Chung is Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn, and former voice actress of Batman Diedrich Bader will play Harvey Dent / Two-Face.
Other cast members include Eric Morgan Stuart, Michelle C. Bonilla, Krystal Joy Brown, John DiMaggio, Grace McKenna, Written by Jason Watkins, Paul Scheer, Answers, by Gary Anthony Williams, Dan Donohue, David Krumholtz, Haley Joel OsmentAND Toby Stephen.
This animated series has been in development for some time with Timm, The World of JJ Abrams, Mattia Reevesand comic book writer And Brubaker leading the charge.
What do you think of Timm’s comments about the lack of good Batman villains?
by Joey Fear
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
