Batwoman Fans React to Javicia Leslie’s Debut as Ryan Wilder

Batwoman returned Sunday night with its second season and for fans of The CW series, there was a lot of expectation. At the end of the first season of the Arrowverse series, Ruby Rose exited the role of Kate Kane/Batwoman, leaving a Bat-shaped hole in the story. While the network initially said they would recast Kate, they ended up taking an entirely different route by introducing a new character, Ryan Wilder, as the new Batwoman. Played by Javicia Leslie, Ryan is the first Black Batwoman, and given the various narrative threads left from Season 1 — whose production was halted early due to the coronavirus pandemic — the stakes were high for this new hero in the new season. But, if the reaction on social media is any indication, Leslie crushed as fans are loving Ryan Wilder and are more excited than ever for the new season.

Warning: mild spoilers below for the Season 2 premiere of Batwoman.

The season premiere, “What Happened to Kate Kane?” addressed Rose’s exit by having Kate Kate missing and presumed dead in a plane crash over Gotham. That crash caused the world of Batwoman to collide with Ryan Wilder’s life — literally — as the young woman found the Batsuit in the plane’s wreckage. Soon enough, Ryan is suiting up and bringing a whole new side of Gotham City to the story. It’s that new perspective that Leslie herself spoke about during a recent press conference, remarking that it gives viewers a chance to imagine themselves as the hero.

“You know what I love so much about Ryan? I feel like when I watch superhero shows, they’re so opposite of me as a human being and I’m really watching something that’s very much like a fantasy,” Leslie said. “And that’s cool because we’re able to lose ourselves in it. But what I love about Ryan is she’s like us, and then she enters that fantasy. So, now you can have like … there’s a stake in it for you. There’s something that you can invest in because you understand that you relate to it, you connect to it. And she’s not some rich, wealthy socialite. She is literally like all of us, and she’s now entering this world of fantasy. And it kind of like … I feel like a lot of people will feel this when they watch it, it brings that childhood likeness to it. You can really imagine yourself in that world, through Ryan’s journey.”

And, even in just this first episode, it seems like there are plenty of fans ready to go on that journey. Read on for how fans are loving Leslie as Batwoman and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Amazing

Worthy

Exactly

Loving Ryan Wilder

Digging it

Sorry not sorry

The actress is great

Loving the “rookie” aspect

So good

Sold!