Batwoman is breaking more ground for the Arrowverse than expected, as the series is not only replacing its leading actor Ruby Rose, but the main character all together with Kate Kane’s mantle set to be passed on to a new player. While recasting isn’t new territory for the almost 10-year-old franchise, Ruby Rose’s exit opened up more than one door for the second season as The CW is creating a new character to don the cowl and cape. The news of “Ryan Wilder” being a new character that will be given the Batwoman torch has already seen a mixed reaction. The Arrowverse has never had to deal with an issue like this with any of their series leads until this season, when Rose and Warner Bros. TV made the decision to part ways. The idea of replacing the main character who owns said title in the comics is a shocker, as there hasn’t been any confirmation yet whether or not “Ryan” is someone from DC or an exclusively created character for the TV show.
The Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries has opened up on how she, through consulting with Arrowverse creator Greg Berlanti, made the decision in letting a new face take over for Kate. While it remains to be seen how Kate is written out of Batwoman that will set up “Ryan’s” path in taking over for her, the decision has been questioned and criticized by viewers and comic fans alike. The sophomore season is currently eyed to premiere in January 2021, although filming has yet to begin due to the Coronavirus pandemic’s effect on the TV and film industry. But it’s likely that an actress will be cast prior to September/October, which is when they’ll likely start filming.
But as Batwoman heads into a new season that is almost beginning to feel like a whole new series altogether, the production’s decision is coming with more issues than it is solving. Despite Dries’ recent comments, the decision to abandon Kate Kane, her legacy as Batwoman and the way that character has driven the show at its core, is looking to be one of the biggest mistakes for not just the series, but the Arrowverse as a whole.
Batwoman Faces A Problematic Reboot
The principal premise of Kate becoming Gotham’s new hero since the beginning was that she became part of a larger legacy when discovering that her cousin Bruce Wayne was the legendary Batman. Through their family bond as well as Batman's mysterious disappearance, Kate picking up his crusade while forming her own makes Batwoman someone special in the Bat-family. It’s still a mystery why Bruce abandoned his life as the Caped Crusader, but through Kate’s discovery of his secret, someone in his family tree is keeping the symbol he created alive. While this version of Kate has adapted to a lot of his tools and methods, she has still discovered ways to be a hero in her own right.
Batwoman season 1 saw her go through those challenges, of which there were many. But Kate managed with her team to get to a point where her progression as a hero could be seen very clearly. From her war with Alice, the new conflict she faces with the Crows because of their father, and looming threats from afar, Kate’s role as Batwoman is more crucial than ever. The idea that Batwoman will now have to find a convincing way to explain why Kate will no longer be Gotham’s hero erases the progression that the first season worked hard on. What is the “right” way to start over with a character as Batwoman who isn’t Kate Kane? Killing her off would be the biggest disservice possible as that takes away one of the Arrowverse’s primary LGBTQIA characters.
But what is a compelling reason to end Kate’s story that somehow feels true and respectful? Not only does a new character bring the show back to square one, but “Ryan” will have to face the entire Arrowverse at some point where multiple fresh dynamics with the other heroes will have to be created. Unless plans have changed, Batwoman is still set to lead the annual crossover with Superman & Lois next year which also becomes a burden in regards to having to create new relationships rather than getting to revisit old ones that Kate had. With Kate’s departure, several important dynamics will not get to have proper conclusions, primarily the one Batwoman had with Supergirl in the last two crossovers as fellow Paragons.
Erasing Several Batwoman Characters' Large Roles
The decision for Batwoman to replace Kate Kane with a new character doesn’t only complicate the relationships with the other Arrowverse characters, but also the roles that most of the Batwoman characters have in Kate’s life. The series is driven by many layers, but one of the key components is Kate’s respective relationship to each of the characters in the main cast. One of the elements that has helped Batwoman stand out from the other shows is Kate’s compelling dynamic with her villainous sister Alice, the show’s primary antagonist and the biggest foe in Kate’s comic lore. Throughout Batwoman season 1, viewers have followed the emotional roller coaster that has been their journey as being on opposite sides. Even at times when it seemed like Alice was a lost cause, Kate has had to battle the decision whether to give up on her or not. That is a hero/villain conflict that most of the other shows don’t have and where Batwoman got to bring something new into the Arrowverse. The complicated war between Batwoman and her father Jacob, who doesn’t even know that it’s Kate that he is hunting, is another angle that only this show gets to explore, especially after his actions in the finale.
After a season of struggling with their sisterhood, Kate and Mary finally got to a strong compelling place as step-sisters that heavily benefited from Mary discovering Kate’s big secret. Luke began this crusade because of Kate and has evolved as a character because of her and is more than just his father’s gifted son. But with “Ryan” stepping in, it takes away a lot of those characters’ stories and relationships because of Batwoman’s decision to abandon Kate. That’s not to say that characters like Jacob, Alice, Mary, Luke, Sophie won’t continue to be important because they 100% are their own characters, without a doubt. But to take away all of those precious and unique dynamics that they had with Kate and relegate them to as “Ryan’s new team members”, “Ryan’s new villains”, and “Ryan’s possible new love interest”, is a major step backward for the series.
But a major glaring issue is the disconnection that will occur between Batwoman and her cousin, Bruce. Kate being the one to take over for him symbolized the true meaning of family and how in his absence, she is doing everything she can to represent the symbol on her chest. Even though he never told her, Kate, who could have simply not cared about it, took responsibility by reviving the icon that her cousin had created while also using it as a way to serve and protect in her own ways.
Now that the Arrowverse also has a Batman, writing out Kate to replace her with “Ryan” takes away that future encounter those cousins would have had eventually. Even though Batman has taken in complete strangers under his wings in the comics, this version of the Bat-mythology gets complicated because of the new character. In this universe, the emotional investment and commitment began through Kate, someone who shares a bloodline with Bruce, discovering his other life. That became an essential foundation for her becoming a Bat-member and the way that the Bat-family exists in the Arrowverse. With “Ryan”, it’s a lot to demand from viewers to make that same investment and commitment with someone who isn’t connected to any of the principal characters, especially Kate and Bruce.
Batwoman Isn't a Legacy Title
DC has a powerful history of legacy and how titles live on from one person to another. While there have been multiple Robins, Batgirls, and even Batwings, there was always only one Batwoman. Since her re-introduction in 2006 where DC reinvented her, Kate Kane has been the sole person to carry that title. The Bat-Family, while diverse to a point, got something special with Kate being introduced into the modern DC era as not only an openly gay Jewish superhero but also Bruce’s cousin. It gave Bruce a family connection in a positive light while also extending DC’s line of strong, compelling, and iconic heroines. But the title as Batwoman was always Kate’s and something she had uniquely, as there’s not always a need to have to let a title be carried by multiple people.
Even if Batwoman gives Kate an exit that allows her to come back down the line, it’s still a metamorphic erasure of Kate as the woman who owns this title. When adapting fictional characters to the screen, liberties are expected with perhaps storylines, certain aspects of the characters, and even the overall mythologies. But there’s a line to be held and this adaptation is vaporizing it by its questionable decision to end Kate’s run in the Arrowverse and have her title somehow be given to someone else when it was never a legacy title to begin with. While it became clear that Rose and the production had obstacles that led to the sudden exit, it doesn’t change the fact that the character is bigger than the actor. As dedicated and as much time as an actor put into a character, sometimes their run comes to an end sooner than expected. However, the character isn’t meant to be beholden to an actor being done playing said role, especially as there are constantly multiple iterations out there whether it’s in animation, various comic runs, or video games.
Recasting parts should in today’s landscape not be seen as something “possibly confusing” for viewers like that, per automatic, insults the intelligence of TV and film watchers. Rose will not be the only actress to have ever played Batwoman as this part will be played by others in different projects in years to come. Just like many actors who have played Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and several iconic superhero roles, not one artist has ownership of a character after having played them. Essentially what the actress’s departure has done is punish the character of Kate Kane and not letting her live on in one of the most successful shared live-action superhero-franchises that exists right now. Even if the intentions with creating a new character are good, it’s coming down at the expense of Kate’s legacy, both from the mythology, but also in the context of the Arrowverse.
What Happens To The Plots Set Up In Season 1 Finale
While it’s been known that Batwoman season 1 didn’t get to air all of its episodes before production was suspended, Hush was set-up to play a larger role in the new season. With Tommy now looking like Bruce, Alice’s intention was to have him pose as Kate’s cousin so he could get Kryptonite from her which is something that can penetrate any of the Bat-suits. But because of Kate’s upcoming departure, it removes the emotional impact Hush would have had as a larger antagonist. “Ryan” as the new Batwoman taking on someone that looks like Bruce wouldn’t be as emotionally compromised compared to Kate. That’s to say if the Hush storyline even sticks in the upcoming season or if that gets modified due to the planned wrap-up of Kate.
What had the potential to be a strong opening storyline for Batwoman season 2 will now not be able to be fully realized as it doesn’t matter if the plot is concluded after several episodes or not since Kate won’t be leading the show. Even though Tommy can still run around being a Bruce Wayne imposter, not having Kate there takes away a lot of this villain’s effect. To have a new character as the one to stop him will not have the same satisfaction as it would have if Kate had gotten to do it. However, the challenges with the new Batwoman inheriting Kate’s rogues’ gallery, doesn’t stop with Hush. To imagine Alice’s overall role as a primary villain without Kate on the other side risks the troubled Kane-sister in losing her graces as the strong antagonist that the first season established her to be.
The results of how the new Batwoman character will connect with viewers won’t be seen until whoever is cast as she makes her Arrowverse debut in January 2021. Whether she’s from the comics or not, there’s the chance that “Ryan” will be a wonderful addition and could end up surprising a lot of viewers. But is this a risk worth taking in the long-run as a television series based on a comic book character that is known by only one name to people? With the amount of groundwork that Batwoman will need to do amidst the evident and disappointing abandonment of Kate Kane, the true holder of the name, this will be the most challenging and risky sophomore season out of any of the Arrowverse shows of all time.