One of the more highly anticipated Arrowverse adventures coming this season is the arrival of Greg Berlanti’s latest DC TV series, Batwoman. After making her debut in the "Elseworlds" crossover, Ruby Rose will be leading her own series as Kate Kane joins the Arrowverse franchise in the fall. While the pilot will take place before the events of last year's crossover, Batwoman will later take part in the Crisis on Infinite Earths event this fall.
However, one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the series is the fact that Batman has been missing for over three years. His absence leads to Kate suiting up as Gotham City's new guardian angel. While the Dark Knight seems to be active on Earth-38 (Supergirl's Earth), his status on Earth-1 remains a big mystery for now. That's why it's time to go through some possible theories on what's going on with him as well as a few that probably isn't the case.
UNLIKELY: Happily Married
While it's always a debate whether or not Batman could settle down with someone he loves, it probably isn't the case for the Earth-1 version. If he was actually happily married, wouldn't his cousin know about it?
In the crossover, it seems like even Kate doesn't fully know why her cousin up and vanished. All that she seems to know is that he fought for the city. With that said, it would be strange for Bruce to up and leave Gotham City just to live with his wife, whether it's Selina Kyle or someone else.
LIKELY: Mourning a Friend’s Death
If you have ever read a Batman comic or two, then you know that the famous detective has had to deal with several personal deaths. It wouldn't be the strangest thing in the world if, for example, the death of Jason Todd (the second Robin) caused Bruce to leave his city out of mourning.
Given that Alfred Pennyworth doesn't seem to be in Batwoman, perhaps Bruce is heartbroken about his butler possibly being dead in this universe. A death like that could easily cause Bruce to up and leave the city he swore to always protect.
UNLIKELY: Stuck Somewhere with Amnesia
Something that would be an easy way out for the Arrowverse to solve its Batman problem is a dose of amnesia. It is an incredibly boring and simple story solution that would in many ways be offensive to pull for a character like Batman.
Even if that was the case, would that still justify him being gone for over three years without even being remotely close to finding his way back to Gotham?
LIKELY: Held Prisoner
One of the dangerous aspects in Batman's mythology is, without doubt, his rogues' gallery. If you look at some of his most powerful foes - the Joker, Bane, Ra's al Ghul, and Hugo Strange - it wouldn't be completely unrealistic if a band of villains got together to kidnap the Bat.
Even someone as powerful as Batman can be outmanned every once in a while. While it's unlikely that Earth-1's Ra's al Ghul had anything to do with it, given that he died in Arrow Season 3, it's plausible that Bruce is being held prisoner somewhere in the world.
UNLIKELY: Retired
While we don't know the age of Bruce on Earth-1, it still wouldn't make any sense if this version of Batman has already retired. In the trailer for Batwoman, we see his Bat-suit among many other Bat-gadgets that he left in the Batcave.
Whatever caused him to disappear, it doesn't seem like Bruce was entirely done as Batman when he did leave. With that said, retiring him off-screen doesn't seem like it would be a logical choice in explaining his absence.
LIKELY: Forming Batman Incorporated
While we would probably never see much of it on-screen, what if Bruce is off forming Batman Incorporated? Imagine Bruce wanting to expand his protection across the whole planet, hence him leaving Gotham City to pursue this initiative.
The idea that he would seek and train the next generation of vigilantes that would follow in Batman's footsteps would make a lot of sense.
UNLIKELY: Protecting another City
Gotham City is as big of a character in the Batman mythology as Bruce himself. The death of his parents happened in this city and that became one of the major motivations behind him deciding to protect Gotham at all cost.
It would be completely insane if Bruce, for whatever reason, opted to abandon Gotham to go and protect a different city. It would be out of character for the Caped Crusader and a huge disservice to the Batman universe as a whole.
LIKELY: Stuck on another Earth
Even though Batman is one of the smartest characters in the entire DC Universe, how strong is he against the Multiverse? It could be that Bruce has never faced the Multiverse or traveled to a different Earth.
What if he is trapped on another Earth and simply hasn't been able to find a way to get back home? Especially if he got left at an Earth that is mostly abandoned.
UNLIKELY: Dead
Could you imagine the Arrowverse killing off the Caped Crusader off-screen before even introducing him? Well, we definitely can't. It would be one of the most controversial things that the DC TV franchise ould possibly do to one of entertainment's biggest heroes.
Even if the DC movies would prevent Batman from making a full-on appearance in the Arrowverse, it still wouldn't justify killing off such a big character off-screen.
LIKELY: Working for the Monitor Elsewhere
The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) is going to need all the help he can get for the upcoming Crisis. Because of that, it would make plenty of sense if he had actually recruited Batman a long time ago and made him start building up forces against the Multiverse's largest threat.
One of Bruce's greatest qualities is that he is a powerful leader, so it is not entirely impossible to imagine the Monitor making use of this skill. What if this year's crossover is where we finally meet Batman because he has been working with the Monitor this whole time? Stranger things have happened in the Arrowverse.