“The Penguin” isn’t just good, it’s great. 

Years of subpar and formulaic Marvel shows have likely driven my standards for these projects into the basement. As such, I can’t help but to review them on a curve. 

This show in particular reminds me of what I’ve been missing, especially in terms of layered characters, which Marvel doesn’t do. 

Its lead, Oswald Cobb (Colin Farrell) is one of the best examples of this in the show. On the surface, Oz is a scumbag gangster who has no code of honor, who screws over anyone he comes into contact with. He’s deeply unlikeable, especially to those at his peripheral, who serve as little more than chess pieces he’s free to sacrifice. 

But he has a distinct private persona with those in his inner circle that makes you want to root for him. He’s an underdog who’s been mocked all his life because he’s a cripple — he has a bad foot that caused him to waddle, which led to his signature nickname, the Penguin, which likely originated as an insult. 

Unlike his comic book counterpart, Oz does not come from wealth. In fact, he grew up in the same slum as his right hand man, Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz), whom he finds off the street and initially threatens to kill. But he sees something of himself in the kid and gives him a chance, taking him in as a surrogate son. 

I absolutely love this change to his character, as well as the beautiful contrast the show pulls off between how Oz views himself and his goals (he aspires to be a beloved, righteous mobster that takes care of people) and how he is actually perceived through his actions (a violent man with no honor or respect). 

That’s incredibly hard to pull off, but it allows for Oz to undergo many different character arcs, with perhaps the grandest one being self awareness. 

I’ve since caught up, though I’ve yet to see this week’s episode. But I think his path as a villain will be cemented once his dreams of grandeur — to use his power for the betterment of others — die. He’s certainly in the wrong business to do so, and we also see him routinely fall back on fear and violence in order to control people when his diplomacy fails. 

In this show, Oz gets his big chance to rise to the top and become the next big bad of Gotham. But ascending such an unscrupulous enterprise comes with a devastating cost, and I predict only disillusionment and heartbreak await in his future. 

To be fair, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Colin Farrell, showrunner Lauren LeFranc and “The Batman” director Matt Reeves have developed such a tantalizing anthero who is climbing the ranks of evil and discovering his own greatness, as terrible as it may be. 

But a fall is always inevitable with great characters like this. Eventually, good will prevail; all of Oz’s debts will come due. And like Walter White, Vincent Vega and Jay Gatsby, he’ll set the stage for his own destruction.