Batwoman: First Look at Magpie Revealed

Batwoman still has yet to make its network television debut, but fans just got a look at one of the show’s newest villains. On Wednesday, TVLine debuted new photos from the upcoming The CW series, including an exclusive first look at the show’s take on Magpie. Their report also revealed that the Batman villain will be played by Rachel Matthews, and is expected to guest-star in the show’s fourth episode. Matthews is known for playing Danielle in the Happy Death Day franchise, as well as upcoming roles in Looking for Alaska and Frozen II.

Also known as Margaret Pye, Magpie is a jewel thief who developed an obsession with beautiful things while curating Gotham’s museum. She eventually takes on a life of crime, taking valuable objects that she thought were rightfully hers. In the comics, she later shared a cell at Arkham Asylum with Poison Ivy, and was ultimately killed by Tally Man. She eventually was brought back to life as a part of the Black Lantern Corps during Blackest Night.

While there’s no indication exactly how Magpie will factor into Batwoman‘s events, she certainly feels like a good aesthetic and narrative fit for the show’s first season. The show’s first big bad, Red Alice (Rachel Skarsten), takes on a similar sort of aesthetic and relationship with Gotham’s elite. The series as a whole is expected to pave new ground in terms of Arrowverse villains, while weaving in a bit of Batman lore in the process.

“We are not going to repeat villains from the Arrowverse; we’re using a whole new chapter of villains and heroes,” showrunner Caroline Dries said during this summer’s San Diego Comic-Con.

And with the show being set prior to Kate Kane/Batwoman’s (Ruby Rose) debut in last year’s Arrowverse “Elseworlds” crossover, the show is setting out to establish its titular vigilante in a unique way.

“It’s actually really fun,” executive producer Sarah Schechter told reporters in August of the series’ structure. “I kind of wish we could do it on every show because you get to kind of just be with the character and not have to have all of the explanation and introduce the world and you really just get, sort of, a flavor of who they are. Then you can kind of go back in and fill it. I wish we could just honestly, it’s a great way to do it because it’s less pressure than ‘Here’s the world. Here’s all the people. We are going to tell you everything you need to know in 42 minutes and go.’”

“So it was actually a great advantage to be able to do that, I think, in this show because then it also meant, when we did the pilot, we could really because I think this cast is incredible and it was fun to be able to spend time with everyone,” Schechter continued. “And I think, if we hadn’t known Kate a little bit, it would be harder to have the bandwidth to do that.”

What do you think of the first look at Batwoman‘s Magpie? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Batwoman will premiere Sunday, October 6th at 8/7c on The CW.