Warning! Spoilers for Batwoman on The CW below
DC Comics is about to launch a brand new limited series starring some of its greatest heroes from The CW Earth-Prime superhero universe, starting with a new in-canon Batwoman series. Earth-Prime: Batwoman by Kelly Larson, Natalie Abrams, Clayton Henry, Marcelo Maiolo, Tom Napolitano and Kim Jacinto, will star Ryan Wilder's Batwoman as she encounters the villain Clayface, while also running into a familiar Arrowverse character, Lena Luthor.
Earth-Prime will feature stories starring CW versions of popular DC Comics heroes, including Batwoman, Superman & Lois, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Stargirl. We spoke to Earth-Prime: Batwoman writers Kelly Larson and Natalie Abrams about their adaptation of the CW series, the differences between writing for TV vs. comics, and what readers can expect in Ryan Wilder's newest adventure. Check out the interview and preview for the series below.
Why was the timing right for introducing the CW version of Batwoman in the comics? Ryan Wilder exists in the Prime-Earth universe, but this is the Earth-Prime universe.
Kelly Larson: The timing was perfect for the show because not only is this a chance for Ryan Wilder as Batwoman to appear as the focus of a DC comic book, but also for our entire cast to make their comic book debuts. Given how hard Javicia, Meagan, Cam, Nicole, Rachel, Nick, Robin – our whole cast really – have worked to bring their iterations of these characters to screen, it’s been so heartwarming to get to place their versions in a comic book. It’s honoring them really, and I’m so grateful to be part of it.
Natalie Abrams: I think most writers in the CWverse have, at some point or another, wanted to get the chance to write a comic that exists in the sandbox we're playing in every day. This was an extremely exciting opportunity that Kelly and I both jumped at when our amazing showrunner Caroline Dries came to us with DC's plans. I grew up obsessively reading superhero comics, which offered escapism, but also provided relatable stories that were wrapped up in genre. And the biggest thing I learned was that everybody deserves to see themselves represented – whether it be on screen or in the pages of a comic book.
How did this project come to be and what drew you to doing an Earth-Prime Batwoman story initially? What were the biggest differences between writing the show, as opposed to writing the comic?
Natalie: DC reached out to our various showrunners about wanting to do a six-issue event in the comics, where each show (Batwoman, Superman & Lois, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, DC's Stargirl and The Flash) would have a solo story, as well as a small tease to what would ultimately be a big crossover in the final comic. From there, writers from each show all jumped on a Zoom call to discuss the possibilities of the overall story, as well as throwing out ideas of things we wanted to address from our own shows that we may not have time to do in a 42-minute episode.
Kelly: I’ve always wanted to be part of writing a comic for our show’s Batwoman, and so when it all started and we got together with the other shows, I was like a kid in a candy shop.
Natalie: Those massive Zooms with writers from across all the shows involved were some of the most fun I've had in my career. I really nerded out, particularly because – due to the pandemic – a lot of us haven't been in physical writers' rooms in so long, which means we also haven't been able to bump into each other in the halls of Burbank Studios or at the commissary. I missed the camaraderie.
Kelly: You mean you miss the nerd wars between shows? Because I miss that.
Natalie: And it was fascinating to hear where each of the shows was in the process of breaking their seasons – yeah, I was absolutely there for the spoilers.
Kelly: As for the differences, writing for TV is a much different medium, even using different software and formatting. Comic book writing is a different muscle you use, but just as wonderful as TV. It challenges you to get every intention into one line, one frame as opposed to TV where you have room to stretch it out. So it’s been fun getting to jump into these waters, and it makes you appreciate those who have written before us, like Greg Rucka, Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion IV.
What's in store for Ryan, Renee Montoya, and Luke Fox in this story?
Kelly: There’s going to be a lot of feelings.
Natalie: Get the tissues ready!
Kelly: All. The. Tissues. Since this takes place right after Alice and Mary skip out on the Bat Team in the mid-season finale, our heroes are feeling raw. It’s a moment we get to see how Ryan handled the emotions of Mary leaving them behind after being infected by Poison Ivy, but also how Luke is processing.
Natalie: Also, Ryan, Renee and Luke are far from the only characters who appear in the issue. We really wanted to give love to our entire cast, so you will see moments with everyone. And what’s fun is that fans of the show already know how the season ends and where some of these characters end up — cough, Wildmoore. We were developing and writing the comic as the writers’ room was breaking the end of the season, and so we definitely played into some of the emotions that would be forthcoming.
How fun was it to bring Lena Luthor back to the Arrowverse in this story?
Kelly: I’m gonna let Natalie take this one because I feel like I can sense her excitement through the ether sphere.
Natalie: Yes, despite us currently being in different countries at the moment, Kelly just knows!
Kelly: It’s like we share the same nerd brain or something.
Abrams: When Supergirl started, I was a reporter for Entertainment Weekly and covered the show from the very beginning. So I already had an affinity for the cast and for the Supergirl fandom. I was so fortunate to then get the chance to write an episode of Supergirl back in season 4 after I became a TV writer. I had actually been struggling in my personal life a bit when I went into their writers’ room, and getting to write for characters that I loved and admired so much gave me a creative outlet that ended up being really cathartic. (Hence the wounds and scars speech that Kelly gives to Alex in Episode 420.) This is a really long way of saying that I would’ve loved to write for those characters again. Seriously, the amount of times I’ve pitched a crossover between Batwoman and Supergirl in our writers’ room could probably be a drinking game.
Kelly: And we’d all end up sloshed in the end. But in the best of ways.
Abrams: Alas, the pandemic made any crossovers pretty impossible. So with Supergirl ending their run and therefore not being part of the comic event, both Kelly and I felt we wanted to find a way to get that crossover to happen somehow — and show the Supergirl fans a little love as well. Lena felt like the perfect character to bring into this world. She’s always been a force to be reckoned with, she’s extremely brilliant and she knows what it’s like to deal with a megalomaniacal brother — something Ryan is struggling with in season 3. Also, Lena’s grown so much over the course of Supergirl and fans now get to see a little bit of what her life is like after the show has ended.
Kelly: I’ve loved Katie since the days of Merlin, Dracula, and even yes – that Princess movie with Sam Heughan. So getting to write in Lena, someone Katie had taken so much time to perfect over the years, and take part in her comic debut, was a DREAM.
How about introducing a huge villain into the story in Clayface? What role does he play?
Natalie: He’s our villain of the issue. At the end of season 2, the trophies Batman had kept from various infamous DC super-villains were lost in the river and our third season has been about our BatTeam trying to recover those trophies. Of course, some of those have fallen into the wrong hands — The Mad Hatter’s hat, Poison Ivy’s vine, and, in this case, someone is infected by Clayface’s mud.
Kelly: It was a character we didn’t get to do on the show due to Clayface being a difficult character to bring to life, but it’s one that everyone loves – I mean Harley Quinn made us love him even more, right? Our person who has been infected by Clayface is dealing with the insane amount of power the clay brings them. It could change anyone – but it’s how they handle that change that is important to dissect. Everyone has gone through insane things happening to them, so you blaming it on the world can only go so far.
When writing this story, how was the collaboration process like with the CW, as this story is canon in the Batwoman universe?
Kelly: Our interactions were more with DC, our showrunner, and our artists. Andrew Marino, our Editor, is possibly one of the best human beings to have shepherded us through this.
Natalie: Also, our executive producers Chad Fiveash and James Stoteraux were, as always, extremely helpful through the development process of the story.
What was it like to work with artists Clayton Henry and Marcelo Maiolo on this project?
Kelly: GODSENT. Those two men are ridiculously talented and I wish that the world would put them on a pedestal. The imagery, the colors, the poses, all of it was done so quickly and perfectly.
Natalie: I feel like people read comics and sometimes think it’s just the writers who deserve credit and that’s the furthest thing from the truth. We can write the words and describe the imagery of a panel, but without the artists, the colorists, the letterers, none of this happens. They are vital and essential to this process and truly deserve as much recognition. I’m so grateful to everyone who worked on this issue.
Who would you say this book is for? Comic readers who want to learn more about the CW Batwoman? Or do you see it as an avenue for Batwoman fans to learn more about the comics? or both?
Kelly: It’s a bit of both. As someone who gets overwhelmed trying to dip a toe into a run of comics, I think it’s a gateway for comics for some, and then an insight into our show for others. Our show is so unique, even in our fans, that we all want anyone to be able to jump into our world and get excited. Feel heard and seen. So hopefully this comic is a way to show others that we love the world of DC and we love the world of our show. We love both and want fans from both sides to find a seat at our table.
Natalie: Well said, Kelly! I was in a comic book store up here in Toronto — shoutout to the amazing staff at Silver Snail! — and I overheard a customer asking his friend whether he can just start with any issue of a comic. And his friend was like, “Well, you might not understand what’s happening. You gotta jump in at the start of a run.” While that can be true sometimes, I also think if you picked up any issue of a comic, you’d get a complete story — so much so that you’d want to buy the previous issue to find out more and the next and the next and so on. But for those who want to start on a new run, guess what? Earth-Prime is the start of a new run! Come join us in the sandbox!
What do you hope readers get from the book?
Kelly: They get excited. They get eager for more. They want to rewatch season 3 on HBO Max so they can relive the moments we reference in the comic.
Natalie: I hope they see a story that — despite being about a superhero — they can still relate to. Javicia brings such heart to Ryan Wilder on the show, and I think Ryan Wilder’s Batwoman will too in the comics.
Kelly: I want the readers to also get that we do this for everyone: the fans, the crew, the cast, the writers. We don’t go into a creative medium for selfish reasons, no one does. And we owe a lot to not only the people who have made the show, but the people who watch it and keep us on air. This comic is a love letter to them.
Thank you so much to Kelly Larson and Natalie Abrams for taking the time to speak with us about Earth-Prime: Batwoman #1. The new comic will be available on Tuesday.