Penguin theory argues one unsuspecting character is secretly an iconic Batman villain that we haven’t seen since the Christopher Nolan trilogy

(Image credit: HBO)

One eagle-eyed fan has pointed out what looks to be either a massive Batman Easter egg or ominous foreshadowing for a potential second season of The Penguin.

In The Penguin episode 4, there's a brief, zoomed-out shot of Sofia looking through Julian Rush's office. Upon closer look, we can see two objects that look eerily like Scarecrow's syringe glove from the comics as well as his creepy rag mask.

"Not just any rag mask but the classic comic book-y one he wears with the noose," someone observed.

"You can see the syringe fingers poking out into the scene with Sofia’s face all creepy at 42:43. Great work detective!!!" one fan exclaimed.

"Now this is fucking compelling. Even if it's just an easter egg and not a hint at a future identity reveal/collaboration w/ Dr. Crane etc, this is dope. Extremely well spotted!!" said another.

In the comics, Dr. Jonathan Crane is not only a supervillain, but an expert psychologist and biochemist. He uses toxins and chemicals that cause frightening hallucinations, much like we saw in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins – where he was played by none other than Cillian Murphy. We haven't seen him on the big screen since The Dark Knight Rises, though he has appeared in numerous Batman video games like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham Knight among others.

Given that Matt Reeves has given us Colin Farrell as The Penguin, Paul Dano as The Riddler, and Barry Keoghan as The Joker, we wouldn't be surprised if Theo Rossi turns out to be Scarecrow. Fingers crossed that we get a The Penguin season 2.

The Penguin is streaming now in its entirety on Max. For more, check out our The Penguin review for our verdict on the show, as well as our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows for everything else that's in store.