Here at Moonbase Alpha, it’s kind of become a running joke over the years that a major news story always tends to break the very moment after our upcoming new issue has gone to print. So, with us going to print literally yesterday morning, now comes the huge news that The CW has brought in Ruby Rose to play their Batwoman.
The network themselves confirmed the news, with the Orange is the New Black fave having signed up to play Kate Kane in the Arrowverse. Two months or so ago, it was revealed that the Batwoman character would make an appearance in this December’s crossover between Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. Since then, SDCC saw The CW make the brilliant announcement that Batwoman would then go on to have her own TV series within the Arrowverse.
Not only has Batwoman brought in Rose to play this hugely popular fan favourite character, but the first synopsis has been revealed for the series:
In The CW’s Batwoman, written by Caroline Dries based on the DC characters, armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, Kate Kane soars onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman, an our lesbian and highly trained street fighter primed to snuff out the failing city’s criminal resurgence. But don’t call her hero yet. In a city desperate for a savior, Kate must overcome her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham’s symbol of hope.
The inclusion of Batwoman in the Arrowverse – not to mention the casting of Ruby Rose as the character – is yet another indicator of the constantly progressive nature of The CW’s superhero shows, with this news following in the footsteps of Supergirl bringing in TV’s first live-action transgender hero as Nicole Maines will be playing Nia Nal, aka Dreamer, in the Maid of Might series. And now, bringing in the genderfluid lesbian and LGBTQ activist Rose as lesbian hero Batwoman again reiterates this shared realm’s focus on being all-inclusive and progressive.
For those not familiar with Batwoman, she’s a character who’s found herself back in the spotlight again in more recent years, although her origins actually date back to a 1956 debut as Kathy Kane in Detective Comics #233. The Kathy Kane character was a creation of Edmond Hamilton and Sheldon Moldoff, and soon became synonymous with the Silver Age expansion of Batman’s supporting cast of players.
In more recent years, Batwoman was given a spruce up as part of DC Comics’ New 52 reinvention. Now while The New 52 as a concept was largely flawed and found wanting for a number of reasons, the change to Batwoman was one of the more positive moves to come from the rejig. After seemingly dropping off the face of the Earth, Batwoman was brought back into the fold in that 2006 refresh, reimagined as Kate Kane, a Jewish lesbian with bucket-loads of cash behind her. Inspired by Batman, she decided to use her hefty resources to don the cape and cowl and become one of Gotham City’s protectors.
Up next for Ruby Rose is The Meg – which swims to UK screens this Friday – and Batwoman is to premiere at a to-be-confirmed date next year.
