Batwoman season 1, episode 7, "Tell Me the Truth," has introduced the character of Julia Pennyworth, daughter of Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth, into the Arrowverse. However, Julia's appearance is already proving controversial, due to a slight change the Batwoman showrunners made to the character for the sake of their story.
Julia Pennyworth first appeared in Detective Comics #501 in April 1981, though at the time she used the name Julia Remarque. It was revealed that Julia was the product of a brief romance between Alfred and Mademoiselle Marie; a French resistance fighter, who fought alongside many of the stars of DC Comics' war comics set during World War II. Raised by her mother's friend Jacques Remarque, Julia first sought out Alfred Pennyworth thinking he was her mother's killer, as she reportedly kept saying his name after she was fatally wounded. Batman eventually unraveled the mystery and Julia came to know her long-lost father and become a long-term guest at Wayne Manor.
Julia was reintroduced into the modern era of Batman comics during the 2014 mini-series Batman: Eternal. The new Julia Pennyworth was a more active character, being an operative in the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) of the British Army. She was also of mixed heritage, with visibly darker skin than her father. She would go on to become a supporting character in the Batwoman comics, where she had a visible attraction to Kate Kane. The Arrowverse version of Julia Pennyworth, who is played by Christina Wolfe, draws upon all this backstory while adding its own little twists. This Julia Pennyworth is also a covert operative, as in the modern comics, but which organization employs her is not specifically identified. However, Batwoman's Julia Pennyworth differs from her comic-book counterpart in that she and Kate had a romantic relationship in the past.
The action of "Tell Me the Truth" reveals that Julia met Kate shortly after she began her trip around the world, seeking out specialized trainers in the hopes of earning a place among Jacob Kane's Crows. Julia posed as a Krav Maga instructor to check up on Kate at Bruce Wayne's request, not expecting to honestly fall for Kate as she took a hand in training her. Unfortunately, any chance at romance was lost when Julia's cover was blown by an assassin who addressed her by her real name and Kate, already suffering trust issues after losing the first love of her life, walked without allowing her to explain.
The Arrowverse take on Julia Pennyworth is already causing controversy, due to her being played by a Caucasian actress when the current character in the comics is of mixed heritage. Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries told EW that they agonized over this point when casting the character, but ultimately felt Christina Wolfe was the best actress for the job and that their plan for introducing Julia into the show by having her pose as Batwoman wouldn't work with a mixed-race actress. While this point may be debatable (and probably won't be going away anytime soon) it cannot be denied that Wolfe had a fantastic first outing in the role and that Julia Pennyworth is bound to make Kate Kane's life as Batwoman even more interesting.