“Elseworlds” is finally here with the first night of the three-night crossover event kicking off and introducing fans to a rewritten reality. But it’s not just a life-swapped Oliver Queen and Barry Allen that fans were presented with. Tonight, fans got their first look at another hero joining the Arrowverse: Batwoman.
The arrival of Kate Kane/Batwoman isn’t one that’s been a secret. The hero’s arrival was first announced during The CW’s Upfronts presentation back in May. The announcement was a monumental one for fans as it signaled the first live action appearance of the character. But who is Batwoman? She’s a character with an interesting comics history.
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Initially introduced in Detective Comics #233 in 1956 and created by Edmond Hamilton and Sheldon Moldoff, Batwoman/Kate Kane was wiped form existence during 1985’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, and then returned as an all-new character in 2006. Since then she’s been a fan-favorite character and fans were vocal about their excitement on social media. The Batwoman in current continuity is openly gay with her sexuality a significant part of her backstory. When Bruce Wayne died in comics, Kate took over Detective Comics. The series gave readers a deeper look at her background which included a story about how she is accused of having a lesbian relationship with her roommate at the United States Military Academy and, when she refuses to deny it, is forced to leave. It’s a crucial and defining moment for the character that shapes a large part of who she is as a civilian and a hero.
Kate’s military experience also shapes and defines who she is now. Early in her crimefighting career, Kate used stolen military equipment and armor. Her father, who worked in military intelligence, eventually becomes involved and sends Kate off for two years of intense training that you can bet she puts to good use on the criminals on the streets of Gotham.
In addition to being openly gay, in comics Kate Kane is also Jewish — if the Arrowverse take on the character is also Jewish she will be the third character to share the faith in the Arrowverse behind the late Martin Stein/Firestorm from Legends of Tomorrow and Felicity Smoak from Arrow. But religion isn’t the only thing she has in common with a few of her fellow heroes. Kate, like Gotham’s other major hero Batman, has the tragic death of a parent as part of her history with her mother having been murdered on her twelfth birthday. While Kate didn’t lose her father in the tragedy, her twin sister was also a victim though Elizabeth “Beth” Kane ends up being a major challenge for Batwoman later on as Alice in Wonderland, part of the Religion of Crime.
As for how much of Batwoman’s rich and fascinating history The CW will bring to life not only in “Elseworlds” but in the potential Batwoman solo series that remains to be seen. However, what is well-established is just how excited actress Ruby Rose is to play the character, who fans got to see kicking butt in a scene from the crossover shared by The CW.
“I get to be Batwoman,” Rose said when she was first cast in the role. “I feel like the reason I kept getting so emotional was because growing up watching TV I never saw someone on TV that I could identify with, let alone a superhero. I’ve always had this saying, well not me, Oscar Wilde, which is ‘be yourself because everyone else is taken’ and so I always lived by that motto and the second motto when I came into the industry was ‘be the person that you needed when you were younger’ and I feel like one motto sort of led me to the other and I just kept crying about it.”
Are you excited for Batwoman? Let us know in the comments!
“Elseworlds” will begin with The Flash tonight, December 9th, at 8/7c, followed by Arrow on December 10th at 8/7c, and Supergirl on December 11th at 8/7c.
