The new Batwoman is now more like the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Daredevil than Bruce Wayne. In Batwoman, Ryan Wilder is a grounded hero, having experienced the volatile nature of Gotham City as a regular civilian in the throes of life’s daily struggle. In this vein, she has a lot more in common with Daredevil, the hero of Hell’s Kitchen, rather than with playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne or Kate Kane, who both come from wealthy and very privileged families.
Season 2 of Batwoman introduced Ryan Wilder (Javicia Leslie) and she quickly established herself as a hero worth rooting for. The season 2 premiere, called “What Happened to Kate Kane?”, also revealed a lot of Ryan’s backstory and connections to the other characters. Orphaned and alone, Ryan was in and out of the foster care system as a child until she was adopted by Cora Lewis. However, Cora was later killed by Alice’s Wonderland gang, who had been squatting in her and Ryan’s new apartment. Ryan also spent 18 months in jail after being arrested for possession of drugs that were not actually hers. By the time Ryan happens upon Batwoman’s suit, she is homeless and struggling to find a job in a system that doesn’t give second chances to felons, innocent or not.
Ryan taking up the mantle of Batwoman was cathartic and immediately distinguished her from other superheroes. She doesn’t come from money and, as a Black woman, is not afforded the same privileges as her white counterparts. What’s more, Ryan is a hero of and for the people. She understands the various social structures of Gotham, as well as the system itself and who it fights (and doesn’t fight) for. Ryan has an advantage that other superheroes like Batman and Kate’s Batwoman don't have and her fight — be it physical or against the corruption within the system itself — is far more meaningful as a hero.
Marvel and Netflix’s Daredevil more or less shared similar themes to the new take on Batwoman. Matt Murdock was abandoned by his mother and his father was killed by mobsters, leaving him alone in the world until he was taken in by Stick, a martial artist. By day, Matt was a pro bono lawyer. By night, he was a crime-fighting vigilante called Daredevil. Like Ryan, Matt understood the inner workings of Hell’s Kitchen and New York in general more so than, for example, Iron Man, whose wealth and upbringing keeps him separate from local issues.
Daredevil also doesn’t come from a wealthy family and his living standards aren’t posh by any means. As a pro bono lawyer, he barely makes ends meet. His work sees him fighting battles on behalf of the people, often against greedy corporations and dangerously powerful men who sought to harm civilians in a bid to maintain the status quo. Ryan certainly shares many similarities with Daredevil. As Batwoman, she has some of the power she doesn’t have as a regular Gotham City citizen. With her turn in Batwoman, Ryan fights to defend the underprivileged and anyone else who is harmed by the city’s corruption. She understands the systems that seek to maintain the status quo and pushes against it like Daredevil always has and it’s an incredibly refreshing take.