The Penguin: What’s the Deal with Sofia Falcone’s Neck Scratches?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Penguin Episode 2, “Inside Man.”

Attentive viewers will clock a cluster of painful-looking lacerations below Sofia Falcone’s chin in The Penguin Episode 2 – however, these injuries are never addressed on screen. So, what’s the deal with Sofia Falcone’s neck scratches, and does she suffer similar wounds in the comics?

Why Does Sofia Falcone Have Scratches on Her Neck in The Penguin?

Around 25 minutes into The Penguin Episode 2, “Inside Man,” Sofia wakes up from an intense nightmare. Based on the way she gasps, it seems likely she was dreaming about being strangled. This presumably ties in with her largely unexplored past as Gotham City’s notorious serial killer, the Hangman. But, just as importantly, Sofia also has multiple, hitherto unseen scratches across her throat. What caused these scratches? The obvious answer is that they’re something that happened during her stint in Arkham Asylum. But the problem with that theory is that the wounds look fresh. They’re cuts, not scars.

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As such, the implication in this scene is that Sofia’s neck scratches are self-inflicted. There’s even a subtle hint that this is the case, immediately after Sofia sits up on her bed. Look where her hand is: it’s grasping her skin, just above her collarbone. Apparently, her nightmare was so traumatic, Sofia tried to pry an imaginary noose free from her throat, harming herself in the process. Why is she suffering such extreme night terrors? We’ll just have to wait for further installments of The Penguin to find out!

Does Sofia Falcone Have Neck Scratches in the Comics?

Nope – but Sofia does have scars on her face! In the final issue of limited series Batman: The Long Halloween, Catwoman rakes her claws across Sofia’s right cheek. It’s the same spot she targeted on the face of Sofia’s father, Carmine, prior to the events of the series. Sofia then takes a tumble out a high-rise window, so when we next see her in The Long Halloween‘s sequel, Dark Victory, she’s in a wheelchair – and inexplicably sporting scars on her left cheek, not her right! While this could easily be mistaken for a simple continuity error by artist Tim Sale, it’s actually a major clue that Sofia’s secretly the Hangman killer.

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It turns out Sofia didn’t plummet multiple stories. Instead, Catwoman’s bola slung her through a window two floors down. So, Sofia didn’t break her back – she sheared off the right side of her face! A plastic surgeon later patched her up, but post-surgery she grabbed a scalpel and carved three replacement claw marks into her cheek – the wrong cheek, due to her flipped reflection in the mirror – as a symbol of her devotion to her dad, before she set out to get revenge on his enemies. None of the above seemingly applies to Sofia in The Penguin, however!

The Penguin is currently streaming on HBO and Max, with new episodes dropping Sundays.