From the moment she first emerges a soft-focus haze over Oz Cobb’s shoulder in HBO’s The Penguin series premiere, Cristin Milioti ‘s Sofia Falcone is a riveting, terrifying, live-wire presence; her opaque eyes never missing a trick and aggressively advertising her widely presumed instability — sure, I’m crazy, you wanna see how crazy?

The Penguin, a spin-off of Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022), is as much a show about the titular character (played by Colin Farrell) as it is about Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), the daughter of deceased mob boss Carmine Falcone.

With The Penguin streaming now all eyes are on Colin Farrell's scheming Oz Cobb. While the new series is not a part of James Gunn's relaunched DC Universe, it is a spin-off of Matt Reeves' 2022 film The Batman, centred on the infamous supervillain and criminal mastermind – you can read our The Penguin review here.

The Penguin introduced Sofia Falcone in the first episode and has a compelling history in the comics that may play out in the series.

Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone is the standout villain of Max’s The Penguin. But she started in Batman comics as a mafia enforcer and serial killer the Hangman.

In its second episode, The Penguin waddles toward the pulpy crime show it needs to be.

Cristin Milioti portrays serial killer Sofia Falcone / The Hangman in the HBO series The Penguin, a spin-off of Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022). Milioti recently spoke about her interest in the superhero genre and how she faced multiple rejections before landing the role in The Penguin.