Batwoman: Who Is Nocturna?

Last week’s Batwoman saw Gotham’s hero dealt a major blow. After making the difficult choice to save Beth, the alternative reality version of her twin and watching Alice (Rachel Skarsten) die, Beth ended up being murdered, resulting in Alice’s surprising return to life. It’s a heartbreaking situation that will have major repercussions this week, but Kate Kane/Batwoman (Ruby Rose) will have something else to deal with that may be far more chilling in this week’s “Drink Me”: a vampire-like villain, Nocturna.

Vampires in Gotham City? It may not be too much of a stretch considering the show already has a face-swapping mimic in Jonathan Cartwright/Mouse (Sam Littlefield) not to mention the Beth from another reality situation, but when it comes to Nocturna, the character has some basis in the comics. In DC Comics, there have been a few versions of the character. the first is the pre-Crisis Natalia Knight. That character had a passion for astronomy and ended up working at the Gotha City Observatory. While working there, she was in an accident involving a radioactive laser which drained her skin of pigment and made her very sensitive to light. After her adoptive father and benefactor was murdered, she discovered that he was a criminal and ultimately teamed up with his biological son to continue the crimes in order to sustain their lifestyle. This version of Nocturna also, at some point, fell in love with Bruce Wayne and ended up adopting Jason Todd, who would eventually go on to put her in a hot air balloon after she was stabbed.

Nope, we’re not making this up. Comics are wild, folks.

The second version of Nocturna is the post-Crisis Natalie Mitternacht. This version of the character first appears in Robin #100 in May 2002 and is a former astronomer who encounters Robin and Spoiler when her piano playing caused everyone who heard it to cry — except for Spoiler, who was recovering from a cold. It’s discovered that she secretes a pheromone that causes those around her to lose their inhibitions and become emotional. That pheromone power is what caused her to abandon her scientific pursuits. This version isn’t directly referenced as Nocturna during that storyline, though she later appears with the Nocturna mantle and as a member of the Injustice League.

The third version of Nocturna is also named Natalie Mitternacht and is, most likely, the version we’ll see adapted on Batwoman. This version of the character first appeared in Detective Comics #9 from July 2012 and is a black widow-type character who was incarcerated at Arkham for the murder of several of her husbands. She’s also a literal vampire and, in comics, ends up in a romantic relationship with Batwoman. And, in keeping with the “comics are wild, folks” of it all, there’s even a moment in comics where Natalia controls and manipulates Kate by kissing her. We never said Natalia and Kate had a healthy romantic relationship, just that they had one.

You can check out the synopsis for “Drink Me”, below.

“BEING A HERO IS DRAINING – A new villain sinks her teeth into Gotham and The Hold Up opens in grand fashion. Sophie (Meagan Tandy) reluctantly requests that Batwoman (Ruby Rose) keep her distance knowing their interactions could compromise her career. Dougray Scott, Rachel Skarsten, Nicole Kang and Camrus Johnson also star. Dermott Downs directed the episode written by Jerry Shandy.”

Batwoman airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.