Bane Easter Egg Spotted In New Arrowverse "Elseworlds" Image

The Arrowverse is finally making its way to Gotham City this weekend as part of the "Elseworlds" crossover event, and its debut will be packed with plenty of DC Comics references and Easter eggs. As if the debuts of Batwoman and Arkham Asylum weren't enough, it looks like the popular CW franchise is going to be teasing iconic Batman villains like Bane as well.

On Wednesday morning, The CW released a batch of new photos from the upcoming event, and one of them included a very obvious nod to Bane, particularly the version of the character played by Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight Rises.

In the photo below, you'll see new character Nora Fries (Cassandra Jean), the wife of Mr. Freeze, poking around in a creepy room. This could easily be the inside of Arkham Asylum, but it's the item to Nora's right that will catch the eye of every DC fan. As can probably tell, this is a version of Bane's mask, likely inspired by The Dark Knight Rises.

Now, let's be clear, this doesn't mean Bane himself is in the crossover, or that he will appear in the Arrowverse any time soon. With Batwoman potentially getting her own show, this could be a tease of future villains in Gotham, but that remains to be seen.

While the idea of Bane existing in the Arrowverse is certainly exciting, it's nothing compared to the notion that Batwoman will actually be involved and is set to have a major role in the franchise going forward. Perhaps the only person even more pumped to see Batwoman than DC fans is Supergirl herself, Melissa Benoist.

"Their scenes are really nice because of their similarities," Benoist told reporters during a recent visit to the set of Supergirl. "Kate Kane is Bruce Wayne's cousin and all these things, so they really relate on a lot of levels that I don't think Kara's found yet in another female superhero. There's a really deep understanding from the get-go between the two of them."

Are you excited for the Arrowverse crossover? Do you think that mask truly belongs to Bane? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

"Elseworlds" begins on Sunday, December 9th on The CW.