The Penguin Comic Connections You Missed Include The Secret Origin Of Catwoman

When Oswald is talking about the future with Antonio Falcone, he shares the story of Rex Calabrese, the gangster who ruled his neighborhood back in the day. According to the Penguin, Rex was the type of guy who would help cover the rent, and when he died, residents threw a parade in his honor. That’s a little different from Rex “The Lion” Calabrese, who, in the pages of Batman Eternal, reveals he’s Catwoman’s father, and Selina Kyle is now heir to a criminal empire.

Of course, The Penguin takes things in a different direction, as The Batman instead reveals Selina is the illegitimate child of Carmine Falcone, but name-dropping Rex as the old-school mafia boss of Gotham is a deep pull from the comics.