While Batwoman replacing Kate Kane with a brand new character taking over the cowl is a risk, it’s also a major loss for Supergirl. Kate was introduced to the Arrowverse during the Elseworlds crossover almost a year before her series premiered. Bruce Wayne’s cousin had less than 10 minutes of screentime during the 3-parter, but one of the most well-received aspects of Kate’s debut was the relationship that was born between Batwoman and Supergirl. During their adventures in the alternative version of Earth-1, Kara, along with Oliver Queen and Barry Allen, visited Gotham City to find out how the Monitor was responsible for changing their reality. This set up Kate’s introduction to The CW’s DC TV franchise as she helped them find some more clues to what was going on. That’s when Kara and Kate had a chance to bond, as they both reflected on their respective cousins while getting to befriend one another.

Despite their screentime together being limited in Elseworlds, there was immediate admiration for this new friendship because of the strong chemistry between Ruby Rose and Melissa Benoist. That became one of the prospects to look forward to with Batwoman as it could eventually lead to more storylines between Kate and Kara. Since Supergirl moved over from CBS to The CW, Kara has interacted with most of the Arrowverse in the last couple of crossovers. But as far as special bonds go, Kara has really only gotten close with heroes like The Flash’s Barry Allen and eventually Arrow’s Oliver Queen. While Kara has been seen with other Arrowverse heroes like the Legends of Tomorrow, her immediate friendships are mostly through the other Supergirl characters.

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But befriending Kate was a different friendship for Kara as there were more things that the heroines could bond over. Ever since Kate became Batwoman, she has, in similar ways to Kara, had to feel what it’s like to live in her cousin’s shadow after finding out that Bruce was Batman. By the time they first met in Elseworlds, Kate seemed more at peace at doing this her way rather than trying to be her cousin. When Kara first began her journey as a superhero, she had to struggle with the pressure of getting out of Clark’s shadow by becoming her own hero. That connected the two characters and made their friendship special as they had both overcome their respective obstacle. However, it’s not just their cousins that made Kara and Kate’s dynamic so organic.

Crisis on Infinite Earths Supergirl and Batwoman with Book of Destiny

In many ways, they compensate each other, which were especially highlighted in Crisis on Infinite Earths. With Kara being the Paragon of Hope while Kate is the Paragon of Courage, the 5-part crossover became a testament to why this relationship stands out in the Arrowverse. After Kara lost her Earth and tried to risk everything to bring Earth-38 back, that’s when Kate became the perfect person to help her deal with the massive loss by grounding her. Even when Batwoman was given Kryptonite by Earth-99’s Bruce (who had killed the Superman of that world), Kate stayed true to her loyalty for Kara by offering to give it to her. But Kara felt it was better that she held on to it, hoping that Kate would never have to use it.

This was a friendship that needed more attention in the Arrowverse especially after Crisis on Infinite Earths brought all the heroes of The CW together on Earth-Prime. But because of the showrunner’s decision to make “Ryan Wilder” the next Batwoman, rather than recasting Kate, the upcoming sophomore season will end the World’s Finest dynamic that was created between her and Kara. Since Kate will be “disappearing” in the second season, Kara won’t even get to say goodbye to her fellow Paragon. That doesn’t mean that Kara can’t befriend the heroine or have a Supergirl/Batwoman crossover in the future. But no matter how good that new relationship might be, it’ll never be like the one Supergirl had with Kate as Batwoman when Rose leaves the Arrowverse for good.

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