'Gotham' season 2 spoilers: Penguin struggles to stay on top of the pack

Penguin feels threatened by new villains in "Gotham" season 2B.Facebook/FOX

The second half of season 2 of the hit FOX series "Gotham" will see Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) struggling to maintain his position as number one evildoer in the city.

According to TV Guide, the rise of the new villains, specifically Dr. Hugo Strange (B.D. Wong), will have a profound effect on Penguin, making him more dangerous than ever. It appears that Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and the rest of the Gotham City Police District (GCPD) will have their hands full trying to keep the bad guys in their places. Penguin will reportedly see the arrival of Dr. Strange as a serious threat in his ascent to power, especially now that Theo Galavan (James Frain) is out of the picture.

According to showrunner Bruno Heller, the deranged professor will bring out the worst in Penguin. After losing his mother, the villain is bound to be more unstable than before, as viewers have seen during the midseason finale. He even succeeded in pushing Jim to execute Theo and not let him stand trial. The citizens of Gotham will feel his renewed thirst for blood soon, as the madness hiding behind the surface is about to overflow.

"Dr. Hugo Strange has a profound effect on Penguin. He makes a new man of him in many ways," Heller teased.

Meanwhile, McKenzie addressed the million-dollar question on whether or not his character would be sporting facial hair soon in the series. Jim has been known in the Batman universe as a mustachioed man, a direct contrast to the clean-cut detective in the FOX series. According to the actor, Heller once told him that getting a mustache would look ridiculous on him, as it would fit a more mature Jim.

"It's 20 years before he can grow into the maturity and wisdom that it takes to sport a mustache, and that's the line we're sticking to. Maybe 20 years from now, the mustache will feel earned," McKenzie told Collider.

"Gotham" season 2 will return Feb. 29, 2016 at 8 p.m. EST on FOX.