The Penguin takes inspiration from some classic Batman comics in episode 5, "Homecoming," which follows Sofia Falcone as she takes the name Sofia Gigante.

Sofia's arc in The Penguin is incredibly different from what Batman comic readers know of the Falcone family. Appearing in two series by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale titled Batman: The Long Halloween (1996) and Batman: Dark Victory (1999), the Falcone clan's war with the Maronis plays out on a much larger scale.

It seems impossible, but HBO’s excellent The Batman spin-off series, The Penguin, keeps getting better. Last week, we watched Cristin Milioti put on a masterclass as Sofia Falcone, learning how the scorned woman went from mafia princess to Arkham inmate to de facto head of the Falcone crime family after killing them all in one fell swoop.