The Penguin has set up the easiest way for a DC villain to get the upper hand against Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight going forward. The Batman provided an engrossing look at a new Gotham and its seedy underworld, as well as showing Batman’s journey to a hero who wishes to inspire hope rather than just fear. However, The Batman‘s ending – and The Penguin‘s story – may put the Caped Crusader’s hopes in a more dire position than ever going into the story of The Batman – Part II.

Not only does The Penguin‘s ending cement Oz as a more powerful figure than the criminal Batman met before, it also teases at a range of further complications for the Dark Knight down the line. One of these teases could bode especially poorly for the hero, given it suggests a villain that would be particularly lethal for Batman – especially at this point in his story – may have already been set up for the universe.

The Penguin Subtly Set Up The Batman Universe’s Scarecrow

The Penguin subtly teases the concept of Sofia’s therapist Julian Rush potentially becoming The Batman‘s equivalent to Scarecrow in a few different ways throughout its run. Not only is Rush shown to be an Arkham psychologist with deeply questionable morals and a fascination with people’s trauma, one moment in episode 4 shows his office with items that are seemingly intentionally supposed to evoke images of Scarecrow and his needle-clad fear glove and mask.

Though The Penguin production designer Kalina Ivanov confirmed the props were “left open to interpretation” in regard to teasing the idea of Scarecrow, she also mentioned this was a “red herring“, and that the glove was “from Bali”, establishing things weren’t so straight forward as Rush already being a bonafide Batman villain on the down-low. However, this notably still leaves the possibility open for these teases to be capitalized on down the line, potentially with this glove even being an inspiration for Scarecrow’s actual gauntlet.

This is especially true given The Penguin‘s ending would justify a villainous turn for Julian Rush, both due to his love for Sofia Gigante and thus theoretical desire to free her from Arkham, and since his time delving into Francis Cobb’s past could have awoken some desire to further explore the corners of people’s psyches that they most seek to ignore. Should this prove true, Scarecrow could essentially prove to be this version of The Dark Knight’s Kryptonite.

Batman’s Fear Factor Can Be His Biggest Vulnerability

The Batman makes the extent of its hero’s trauma evident from the first moment audiences meet him. Bruce has taken his fear and guilt regarding what happened to his parents and made it into what drives him and energizes him – helping him become capable of feats others couldn’t imagine even taking on, but also giving him a crucial gap in his armor for those who know how to manipulate it.

As such, someone who is able to weaponize that against him would immediately have a considerable upper hand against the character. Julian Rush has already demonstrated an ability to do just that, which means he could already pose a real threat to someone who is still battling with their inner turmoil on such an intense level. Rush forcing Francis Cobb to relive her most painful memories – and playing on her fears and torment about them – seems an approach that would be especially potent against Batman at this point in his vigilante career.

The Batman establishes that Robert Pattinson’s hero is in an even more vulnerable place than ever as a result of realizing the issues with his vengeance-focused approach to taking care of Gotham. With director Matt Reeves teasing in an interview with Digital Spy that Bruce is finding it “very hard to be Batman” in The Batman – Part II – and that “[Batman’s] out there trying to grapple with the aftermath of everything that happened, which to some degree he blames himself for.” – the stage is theoretically perfectly set for a version of Scarecrow to play on Batman’s vulnerabilities.