Spoilers for the full 2024 season of The Penguin, including its finale, and for Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory.
Sofia Falcone is tied to the Hangman murders in both The Penguin and the comics, but the stories give her very different roles. In the series, her father Carmine commits the original murders and frames her; after enduring abuse at Arkham, Sofia later embraces the identity and becomes violent herself. In the comics, Sofia is the killer behind the Hangman mystery from the start.
Who is the Hangman in The Penguin?
Sofia Falcone, Carmine Falcone’s daughter, is the woman associated with the Hangman identity in the series. The key distinction is that she did not commit the original murders that brought the name to public attention: Carmine did, then arranged Sofia’s arrest and framed her, including for journalist Summer Gleeson’s murder. The series’ reported Hangman victims were women.
An episode-four flashback shows Sofia’s earlier relationship with Oz and her investigation into the killer. Summer raises the possibility that Carmine is responsible. Sofia is not simply exonerated and restored to her former life: after her wrongful confinement and mistreatment, she eventually commits violence herself and takes on the identity Gotham had already assigned to her.
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How does Arkham change Sofia?
The series depicts Arkham as abusive and coercive. Sofia is subjected to mistreatment and electroshock therapy. When the legal case against her collapses but confinement continues, she kills Magpie and embraces the Hangman label. Her arc moves from being framed for Carmine’s crimes to becoming a violent figure in her own right; the wrongful framing does not make her later actions innocent.
DC’s 2024 editorial discussion of the series highlights the way Gotham’s labels can shape a person’s villain identity: How “The Penguin” Confronts Batman’s Biggest Problem.
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How is the comic-book Hangman different?
Sofia first appears in Batman: The Long Halloween #6, but the Hangman mystery unfolds in its continuation, Batman: Dark Victory. There, Sofia is the actual killer. She secretly recovers the ability to walk after her injuries, hides that recovery, and targets police officers and employees associated with Harvey Dent, framing Dent for the murders. The comics’ Sofia dies in the final confrontation.
The series changes both the original killer and the victims. In Dark Victory, Sofia is the hidden murderer of Dent-linked police; in The Penguin, Carmine commits the original murders of women and frames Sofia. Her later violence in the series is part of a different character trajectory, not a retelling of the comic mystery. See ComicBook.com’s account of Sofia’s comic history and TheWrap’s explanation of the two versions. TheWrap reports seven victims in the series; that is an in-story count, not a real-world statistic.
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| Story detail | Batman: Dark Victory | The Penguin (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Who committed the original Hangman murders? | Sofia is the hidden killer. | Carmine commits them and frames Sofia. |
| Victims | Police officers and employees associated with Harvey Dent. | Women; TheWrap reports seven victims in the story. |
| Sofia’s relationship to the identity | She is the killer behind the mystery. | She is first framed, then later embraces the label and commits violence. |
| Role of confinement | Not the defining transformation described in the series account. | Abuse at Arkham contributes to her transformation. |
| Outcome | Sofia dies in the final confrontation. | Sofia survives the season finale and returns to Arkham. |
What happens to Sofia in the finale?
Oz maneuvers Sofia back into Arkham as she is close to leaving Gotham. She receives a letter from her half-sister, Selina Kyle. Showrunner Lauren LeFranc told TVLine that Sofia’s return to Arkham was planned and that she was meant to survive, preserving the possibility of continued conflict between the characters: TVLine’s interview with Lauren LeFranc.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where should you start reading Sofia’s comic story?
Batman: Dark Victory is the direct choice for the original comic Hangman plot. Read Batman: The Long Halloween first if you want Sofia’s earlier comic context; it introduces her in issue #6. These are comic-continuity stories, not versions that the series adapts scene for scene.
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For the series performance, Cristin Milioti, who plays Sofia, described the character’s appeal to TheWrap this way: “you understand her, whether or not you condone her actions, you understand them.”
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