Ruby Rose’s Kickass, Lesbian Batwoman Shows Plenty of Promise

You’ll be forgiven for feeling a bit overwhelmed by the DC Arrowverse, the CW’s interconnected small-screen world based on the comic book giant’s many properties. Bringing together the Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), the Flash (Grant Gustin), Supergirl (Melissa Benoist), the Legends of Tomorrow, and Black Lightning (Cress Williams), it’s a convoluted, crossover-happy franchise that makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe look downright straightforward (and simplistic) by comparison. And with the introduction of its newest big-time player, it’s not about to get more clear-cut—or accessible—anytime soon.

While Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) has recently been re-added to the Arrowverse mix, Batman has so far remained MIA. Which isn’t to say that Gotham is without a protector. Having had its heroine first introduced in last year’s Elseworlds event, Batwoman (premiering Oct. 6) now firmly cements Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) as a different sort of Caped Crusader, and yet another crime-fighting member of the Arrowverse’s already stuffed roster. Creator/showrunner Greg Berlanti, the insanely prolific man behind this entire endeavor (among many others), is intent on expanding the CW’s comic-book saga until it literally bursts. And with his latest, he takes his cue from recent DC Comics’ storylines to deliver a distinctly feminist, lesbian twist on the Dark Knight template.

As on the illustrated page (at least since 2016’s DC Rebirth re-launch), Kate is the wealthy cousin of Bruce Wayne. Why Batwoman has done away with Kate’s Jewish ethnicity is a question left unanswered by its origin-story pilot, although it does focus heavily on her still-burning feelings for Sophie (Meagan Tandy), a former girlfriend who opted to break up rather than get expelled from the military academy she and Kate both attended, and which frowned upon their homosexuality. That backstory is dished out by quick-hit flashbacks, as is Kate’s traumatic childhood tragedy, in which Batman was unable to save her mother and sister from plummeting to their deaths after a car crash caused by the Joker.

Read more at The Daily Beast.