Victor Aguilar Explained – Is He Based On A DC Comics Character?

Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Penguin

HBO’s The Penguin introduces Oz Cobb’s unlikely sidekick Victor Aguilar, who serves as the titular DC villain’s equivalent to Batman’s Robin. The Penguin episode 1 reveals Gotham’s criminal hierarchy, with Oz Cobb beginning to topple the Falcone empire out of sheer recklessness. Killing Carmine Falcone’s son Alberto gets Oz in hot waters, as Alberto’s sister Sofia Falcone a.k.a. The Hangman has just been released from Arkham. Although The Penguin doesn’t introduce any major Gotham heroes or villains as popular as Batman and the Riddler, it does dive deeper into The Batman‘s lore with a few new characters.

Besides Sofia Falcone, Oz Cobb’s impulsive behavior leads him to cross paths with Carmine Falcone’s main rival, Sal Maroni. Maroni underestimates Oz, but he soon realizes what the infamous Penguin is truly capable of when Oz gifts him the ring Carmine Falcone had taken from him years before. This wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Oz Cobb’s sidekick, Victor Aguilar. By the end of The Penguin episode 1, Victor Aguilar becomes Oz Cobb’s right-hand man, all because he dared mess with the Penguin in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Who Is Victor Aguilar In The Penguin?

Victor Aguilar Is Oz Cobb’s Most Skilled And Trustworthy Ally In The Penguin

The Penguin episode 1 introduces Victor Aguilar as a young bandit who tries to steal the rims off of Oz Cobb’s car. Victor’s speech impediment inspires Oz to spare Victor’s life, and Oz recruits Victor as his personal assistant. Victor Aguilar is evidently a naive teenager driven to crime due to Gotham City’s lack of opportunities. But while Victor is hesitant to execute Oz’s twisted tasks, he’s ambitious enough to leave his morals aside and push his own boundaries, to the point that he helps Oz deliver Alberto Falcone’s corpse straight to Sofia.

When Oz orders Victor to grab Alberto’s corpse and put it in the car’s trunk, Victor admits that he’d never done anything similar before. Oz understands Victor’s hesitation, and says ” Listen, Vic… the tenement where you live… I know it’s gone. Nothing on Sixth was left standing “. This line suggests that the Riddler’s terrorist attack from The Batman‘s ending destroyed Victor Aguilar’s home, leading him to petty crime in order to survive. Unlike the Clown Gang members at the beginning of The Batman, Victor likely hasn’t crossed paths with Batman yet.

Is Victor Aguilar Based On A DC Comics Character?

Victor Aguilar Hasn’t Appeared In DC Comics Yet, But He May Have Been Based On A Famous DC Sidekick

Although Victor Aguilar is The Penguin‘s deuteragonist, he is an original character with no comic book counterpart. There are several characters named Victor in DC Comics: the supervillain Victor Fries a.k.a. Mister Freeze, the serial killer Victor Zsaz, the detective hero Vic Sage a.k.a. the Question, the Teen Titans and Justice League superhero Victor Stone a.k.a. Cyborg, and even the lesser-known criminal Victor Singleton a.k.a. The Single Bullet Killer. However, none of these characters has any resemblance to Victor Aguilar, played by Rhenzy Feliz in The Penguin.

Nevertheless, The Penguin‘s Victor Aguilar does seem to be inspired in part by a famous DC hero. Jason Todd, the second Robin, made his comic book debut in 1983’s Batman #357, where he tries to steal the Batmobile’s tires in an alley, just like Victor Aguilar does with the Penguin’s purple sports car. Similarly to Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb, Batman chooses to take the kid under his wing and recruit him as his sidekick — only that, instead of killing and disposing of corpses, Batman teaches Jason Todd how to be a crime-fighting vigilante.

Did Penguin Ever Have A Sidekick In The Comics?

The Penguin Has Had A Sidekick And Several Henchmen In DC Comics

DC Comics’ Oswald Cobblepot isn’t known for taking apprentices under his wing, though the Penguin once had a sidekick nicknamed Chick. Chick was introduced in 1976’s Super Friends #1 as a member of the supervillain team “Super Foes”, which included popular villains such as Poison Ivy and Cheetah, as well as lesser-known criminals like the Human Flying Fish. Each of the Super Foes’ more experienced villains tutored one sidekick, and Chick was one of the most promising. For instance, Chick helped infiltrate the Penguin into the Hall of Justice.

The Penguin has hired the services of several henchmen throughout the years. For instance, the Penguin is assisted by Jay, Raven, and Lark at the Iceberg Lounge. Batman saves the Penguin’s henchman Harold Allnut from his boss and hires him as the Batcave’s resident mechanic. The twins who safeguard the Iceberg Lounge in The Batman may have been inspired by DC’s Trigger Twins, who have also worked for the Penguin in the comics. Now, like Chick, Jay, Raven, and Lark, The Penguin‘s Victor Aguilar joins the list of Penguin allies whose names are not-so-subtle references to birds — Aguilar being derived from the Spanish word “águila”, or “eagle”.

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