The Penguin: How Did Ozwald Cobblepot’s Brothers Die?

HBO’s The Penguin made some significant changes to the names and even characters from the original DC lore. Oswald Cobblepot has three brothers in the comics, but the television series made changes here too and we meet two brothers of the deranged DC villain with the changed names: Benny and Jack. In the earlier episodes of The Penguin, we often see Oz avoiding talking about his brothers. He also warned Victor not to mention them in front of his mother. The Penguin Episode 7 finally reveals how the boys die, and it doesn’t match what Oz told us about their deaths.

How did Ozwald’s siblings die?

Oz locks his brothers in the sewer and lets them drown. The Penguin Episode 7 features a young Oz, his older brother Jack, and Benny, the younger one. It is clear from the flashback that Oz was always Francis’ most loving and protective son. Oz even sees his mother at work on the weekend and asks her to watch a movie with him, but she ignores him because she has a lot of work to do. When Jack and Benny enter the room, Francis becomes distracted, so she asks the former to go out with his brothers for a while. At first Oz denies it because he wants to help Francis, but when his mother insists, the boy can’t deny it.

Jack, Benny and Oz see it Rex Calabrese on the street, and when Jack approaches him, the gangster gives him $50. He also inquires about Francis before leaving. Oz can’t hide his excitement after seeing Rex because he admires him so much. Afterwards, the boys decide to play Flashlight Tags in the dark tunnel. Benny asks Oz to count to 10 before hunting them. Oz does the same and starts hunting for the boys.

Oz discovers Jack and Benny hiding in the sewers. After trying for a while, Oz considers it a humiliation and thinks his brothers are deliberately hiding in a place he can’t reach because of his clubfoot. He locks them up and heads home. After he reaches, when Francis asks him about Benny and Jack, Oz lies to her. Oz’s brothers definitely died too young in the series, and Oz made that decision when he was just a child. He couldn’t think of any consequences for what he had done at the time, but now he does carry that guilt in his heart.