The Batman: Every Character Ranked From Worst To Best

Though The Batman is a fairly self-serious film for the most part with only occasional flashes of comic relief, this is why Colin Farrell's Penguin is in many respects its secret weapon.

Oswald Cobblepot is an extremely tricky character to get right in any "realistic" iteration of Batman, but reimagining him as a charismatic criminal more reminiscent of Tony Soprano was a seriously smart choice.

Stripping away the sillier aspects of the character for a more grounded mid-level mobster with crime boss ambitions is another shrewd call.

But at the same time "Oz" is responsible for most of the film's biggest laughs, particularly when chiding Batman's poor grasp of Spanish and waddling around like a penguin when his legs are tied up.

Oz is also the only major villain left free and standing at the end of the story, seeming to suggest that he'll become Gotham's new criminal overseer amid the fallout of the Ridder flooding the city.

It's just as well, because Farrell is an absolute firecracker in the part, from his hilarious yet not fully cartoonish New York accent to his pedal-to-the-metal daring during that incredible car chase with Batman.