Batwoman: Who Is The Executioner?

Batwoman is well into its first season on The CW and as Kate Kane finds her footing as Gotham’s new caped protector, she’s also taking on various villains with their own interesting connections to Batman in the comics. We’ve already seen Tommy Elliot make an appearance as well as Batwoman take down Magpie, but this week The CW series digs deep and introduces a very obscure villain, one that even the most hard-core Batman fans may have a little trouble placing: The Executioner.

The Executioner dates all the way back to 1953 where he made his one — and pretty much only — appearance in Detective Comics #191. In that issue, The Executioner was Willy Hooker, a carnival worker who used that identity to murder wanted criminals and then, in turn, claim the reward for their capture. It also turned out that Hooker was responsible for breaking those same criminals out of jail in the first place, essentially setting himself up a lucrative, if not brutal, little racket. He is ultimately discovered by Batman and Robin who put a stop to his activities.

While The Executioner is obscure, tonight’s version on Batwoman isn’t the only live-action version of the character we’ve seen. Fox’s Gotham also introduced a take on The Executioner in the Season 2 episode “Strike Force”. That version, real name Nathaniel Barnes, was the captain of the Gotham City Police Department but ended up taking the law into his own hands by killing off the criminals he decided were guilty. While he was ultimately found out and imprisoned in Arkham Asylum, he was broken out by the Court of Owls and, eventually ended up escaping justice entirely.

The Executioner’s appearance on Batwoman continues what series executive producer Caroline Dries told fans at San Diego Comic-Con this summer when she explained that Batwoman would be bringing new villains from the DC Universe — meaning they wouldn’t simply recycle villains Arrowverse fans have seen before.

“We are not going to repeat villains from the Arrowverse; we’re using a whole new chapter of villains and heroes,” she said.

As for how Batwoman will interpret this unusual character, fans won’t have to wait too much longer to see how they approach things. “I’ll Be Judge, I’ll Be Jury” airs tonight, Sunday, November 10 at 8/7c on The CW.

Are you excited to see The Executioner debut in the Arrowverse? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.