The Penguin Episode 2: Who Is Julian Rush, A Potential Batman Villain?

The Penguin Season 2 is running in full force and today, we got to see the second episode of this series after a long wait. The Penguin episode 2 opens with a rather creepy sequence where Sofia dreams or hallucinates about her brother’s death. She sees herself back in Arkham Asylum which initially seems to be a flashback but is revealed to be a dream or a hallucination when her brother appears. As it turns out, Sofia was going through a therapy session with a doctor named Julian Rush, played by Theo Rossi. Let’s find out who Julian Rush is, the Batman villain being potentially set up in The Penguin Episode 2.

Is Julian Rush a Batman Villain?

Julian Rush seems to be a new and original character created for The Penguin series. There is no such character in the DC comic books and hence Julian Rush is not one of the Batman villains. This is the first time we have seen this character on stage and the official cast announcement mentioned that he is going to be Sofia Falcone’s lover. However, some fans have certain theories regarding his identity and one of them particularly stands out. So let’s take a look at it.

Julian Rush Could Be a Name-Swapped Scarecrow in the Penguin

One of the villains in DC featuring a close resemblance to The Penguin’s Julian Rush is Jonathan Crane aka The Scarecrow. Jonathan Crane is a twisted psychologist known for conducting experiments on the inmates of Arkham Asylum and gradually making the inmates go crazy with the use of his fear gas. Now, with that description given to you, let’s take a look at Julian Rush.

When he is introduced to us, he gives Sofia an unconventional kind of therapy by using a red light. We see Sofia in a trance-like state where she is afraid and losing her mind hallucinating about her worst fear, her brother’s death which is pretty similar to the effect Jonathan Crane has on people. There is a possibility that if in The Batman Crime Saga, Edward Nygma can become Edward Nashton, and Oswald Cobblepot can become Ozwald Cobb, it is not completely unlikely that they change up the name for Scarecrow. However, this is just a theory and only time will tell us how true it turns out to be.

Theo Rossi Is Playing Julain Rush in The Penguin

Julian Rush is being played by Theo Rossi in The Penguin. His character is rather unexplored since he appears only in the very first few minutes of The Penguin Episode 2. So, we can’t say how major of a role he is going to have in the trajectory of this series. Theo Rossi is known for playing Juan Carlos “Juice” Ortiz in the popular TV show Sons of Anarchy.