Batwoman: Could Batman Appear in Season 1?

From the moment that Batwoman's arrival in the Arrowverse was announced at last year's upfronts, DC fans have had one burning question: when will we get Batman, too? While the answer has long seemed to be "no", The CW released the first stills from the upcoming Batwoman pilot today featuring what the Arrowverse's Batman's suit looks like and it's reignited the question -- could Batman be coming to Batwoman's first season?

We already know that Batman will have a significant influence over Batwoman's first season as it's the hero's disappearance that is one of the prompting factors for Kate Kane to suit up in the first place. As was mentioned during the "Elseworlds" crossover last fall and then reiterated in the updated series synopsis released by The CW today, Batman disappeared from Gotham City three years ago. His absence has caused the already troubled city to fall even further into darkness with crime permeating nearly every aspect of life in Gotham. In response, Colonel Jacob Kane starts up the military-grade Crows Private Security to protect the city but even they aren't immune to Gotham's woes. The Dark Knight's absence inspires Batwoman's rise on her own path to becoming Gotham's hope.

The fact that Batman has an influence is further driven home in those first photos from the series. The photo featuring the Batsuit -- thus far the most direct representation of Batman in the Arrowverse -- literally has Ruby Rose's Kate Kane standing in its shadow, presumably in the Batcave as she talks with Luke Fox. If Kate is picking up where he cousin left off and using his base of operations as her own, it makes sense for the suit to be there, but fans probably shouldn't bank on the suit being a clue that the hero himself will arrive.

While there is opportunity for Batman to appear in Batwoman's first season, it's not particularly likely. The season will be, largely, Batwoman's origin story, an opportunity to establish the hero in her own right and tell new stories. While Batman's disappearance may be addressed and would be the most likely opportunity for fans to get a glimpse of the iconic DC hero, that's a story that can be told without ever seeing the hero. When a hero like Batman goes missing, that's not something that people aren't aware of. As a result, fans can likely expect to hear a lot about the hero, just not actually see him.

From a practical standpoint, it's not likely we'll see Batman on Batwoman from a permissions standpoint. Ultimately DC gets a say in what characters can appear in The CW's Arrowverse and sometimes, they just say no. Such has been the case with Deathstroke/Slade Wilson, whose presence on Arrow has been inconsistent as a result of DC's changing in permissions. With Batman being such an iconic character and such a big part of movies on DC's film slate, Batwoman may not have permission to bring the character in directly. There's also the idea that Batwoman is set in a world without Batman, something that series executive producer Sarah Schechter previous told The Wrap.

"It's a post-Batman Gotham City," Schechter said.

Batwoman will debut this fall on The CW on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.

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