Is Dr. Julian Rush a new villain in The Penguin? Explained

The Penguin is a new HBO superhero crime series that has given fans more insight into Batman's side of the DC Extended Universe. The show explores the Penguin and how he navigates the criminal underworld of Gotham City. It is a spinoff of Matt Reeves's The Batman. Naturally, the character meets many more villains along the way, while exploring the Gotham crime situation.

One of these characters is discovered during the backstory of Sofia Falcone when she recounts tales of her therapy sessions at Arkham Asylum.

The series introduces her therapist, Dr Julian Rush, who uses improper and experimental medical procedures to treat his patients. Many fans wonder whether the unhinged psychiatrist could be connected to any other DC villain.

Though the show has not explored this in detail yet, many fans have their own theories about the character. Some believe that Dr Julian could be linked to villains like the Scarecrow, Hugo Strange, or Calendar Man. All these characters are linked to psychiatry at Arkham in the DC Comics.

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Who is Dr Julian Rush on The Penguin?

Dr Julian Rush, played by Theo Rossi, is introduced in a flashback to Sofia’s time at Arkham Asylum. Julian is seen trying to trigger hallucinations for Sofia, which makes her wary of him. Julian even seems to hold her in a lingering and strange manner to reassure her that she is safe.

Upon seeing his eerie behavior, many fans believed that the character would end up being the Scarecrow, who was also known to be working at Arkham in the psychiatry wing.

The Scarecrow was also previously featured in director Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, so the character would have to be reprised completely to fit the new storyline based on Matt Reeves's Batman universe.

A second theory surrounding another Batman villain is that Dr Julian could be Hugo Strange, one of Batman’s oldest nemeses. In DC Comics, he uses his knowledge to attack Batman psychologically.

The character has not appeared prominently in the film or television versions of the story, so he would still be a fresh role to bring in. The character also matches the profile of being a psychiatrist working with unethical methods in Arkham.

According to avid fans, Julian could also be the rogue known as Calendar Man. In the comics, this character usually commits crimes on holidays and other notable dates on the calendar. Though the comics usually treat him as a minor villain in his storylines, the show might give Calendar Man some new terrorizing to do, making him a bigger threat to Gotham at large.

Fans think that Calendar Man is a likely choice if Rush is a comic book character after all.

However, since the showrunners have not confirmed the character's identity yet, it is just as easy to assume that Julian Rush might be introduced as a standalone villain.

Certainly, he is portrayed as evil and unethical in the series. It remains to be seen how unhinged he might truly become by the end of the season.

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Audiences can watch The Penguin streaming on HBO Max and its adjoining platforms like JioCinema as per regional availability. New episodes of the show are released on Sundays at 9 pm ET every week.