Summary

The Penguin's season 1 focuses on the turf war between Falcones and Maronis in crime-riddled Gotham City.
Sal Maroni's character in DC Comics is crucial in the creation of Two-Face, potential foreshadowing in The Penguin.
Sal Maroni, played by Clancy Brown, could introduce Two-Face in The Penguin, potentially linking to future Batman sequels.

While Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb rules the roost on HBO’s The Penguin, Gotham City is filled with conniving criminals and malevolent monsters. Aside from Oz trying to amass his own criminal empire, the crux of The Penguin season 1 has been the turf war between the Falcones and Maronis as they fight for control of the crime-riddled city.

Important movers and shakers from the pages of DC Comics have already found a place in The Penguin’s expanded cast, with Cristin Milioti's portrayal of Sofia Falcone being a particular highlight. Although Clancy Brown’s Sal Maroni has played a relatively minor role, he could be important to the future of Matt Reeves' Batman universe and potentially introduce a major villain for The Batman Part II or beyond.

The Penguin's Sofia Falcone Is Based On Surprising Real Life Person

One of The Penguin's most interesting characters was changed a bit to more resemble a real life person with a tragic backstory.

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By Oliver VanDervoort

Who is Sal Maroni in DC Comics?

Introduced in 1942's Detective Comics #66, Sal Maroni was originally called Moroni and appeared as a mobster who was on trial for "Bookie" Benson. It just so happened that his prosecutor was a man named Harvey Kent – the original name of Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, in the comics. Maroni has since appeared in several continuities, with his origin story largely unchanged and him boasting a complicated history with the Falcone family.

Apart from helping fund Hugo Strange's Monster Men experiments Post-Crisis, Sal is featured prominently in Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween, in which the serial killer known as Holiday targets the crime families. Tensions grow between the Falcones and Maronis, with both assuming Holiday is working for their rival. After Sal's father, Luigi "Big Lou" Maroni, is killed by Holiday, he makes a plea deal with Harvey Dent to expose all of Falcone's criminal dealings.

Sal is shot in the chest during the dramatic trial, but having survived his injuries, he is then killed by Holiday. The big reveal is that Holiday is actually Alberto Falcone before the story of The Long Halloween spills over into the Batman: Dark Victory sequel without Sal. While it's possible some of these events could play out, The Penguin is taking a loose approach when it comes to adapting the comics.

Sal Maroni is a Major Player in The Penguin

Clancy Brown as Sal Maroni in The Penguin

The Shawshank Redemption's Clancy Brown has taken on the role of Sal Maroni for The Penguin. Brown sat out The Batman as it focused on Carmine Falcone’s (then played by John Turturro) relationship with Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) as his illegitimate daughter. Despite Carmine’s death at the end of The Batman, his ghost has loomed large over The Penguin.

The Penguin isn’t the first time Sal Maroni has appeared in live-action, popping up in Gotham season 1 (played by David Zayas) and even in The Batman, where an uncredited extra played him. Sal also has an important part in animated outings like Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Gotham Knight, and Batman: The Killing Joke. If handled properly, The Penguin could keep Brown around for a little longer and make him an important part of Two-Face's introduction.

After both the Falcones and Maronis have been betrayed by Oz, The Penguin has forced an uneasy alliance between Sofia and Sal. This is a possible nod to their backstory in The Long Halloween, where it's revealed that the pair are secret lovers. It seems unlikely that this will play out in The Penguin, but as the series heads into its endgame, the crime bosses are hot on the tale of Oz. Farrell is confirmed to return for The Batman Part II, which means things aren't looking good for Sofia and Sal. Still, while Sofia's story could be coming to a natural close, Sal has a lot more potential.

Sal Maroni Can Be Used To Introduce Two-Face

Two-Face flipping his coin in the Batman comics

Despite his minor appearances across various generations of DC stories, Sal has almost always been linked to the creation of Two-Face. Typically, Maroni throws acid in Harvey Dent's face while on trial, triggering the character's different personalities and scarring the District Attorney to make him Two-Face. This story played out via flashback when Dennis Paladino played Sal in the underrated Batman: Forever, although it's not the only way to bring Harv into this world.

Christopher Nolan took the character down a different route when Eric Roberts played him in The Dark Knight. Maroni became the successor of the Falcone crime family after Carmine's death, while the Joker caused Dent's (Aaron Eckhart) disfigurement. As The Batman has already given revamped origin stories to the Riddler and even the Caped Crusader himself, audiences could be in for a surprise when it comes to Two-Face’s introduction. After all, The Dark Knight proved it doesn’t take a courtroom acid splash to turn the District Attorney into his villainous alter ego.

While Reeves is remaining tight-lipped on who the big bad of The Batman Part II will be, there have been whispers that Mr. Freeze could be integral to the story. There have also been discussions about Two-Face appearing in some capacity, although James Gunn debunked the rumor that Logan's Boyd Holdbrook was playing Harvey Dent. After Joker: Folie à Deux was accused of wasting its own version of Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey), fans are excited to see where Reeves could take the damaged DA.

Reeves himself has teased that Dent could be out there somewhere, and when The Streamr grilled him on the potential of a Dent-centric legal drama in the vein of The Penguin, the director said it was a 'possibility.' Despite a series focusing on the GCPD and one on Arkham State Hospital having been seemingly shelved, the success of The Penguin will surely spark the conversation about whether more spin-offs can fill the gaps between movies. It might take two movies to properly tell Two-Face's story, but if Sal Maroni makes it out of The Penguin alive, it could be the first step to bringing Two-Face into the Reevesverse.

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