With Marvel and DC still having a stranglehold on both TV and movie universes, the CW has added another superhero show to their already jam-packed slate: Batwoman. Joining Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Black Lightning (which even the CW forgets is on their network), Batwoman is the latest in a long, long, long list of DC characters to make it to the small screen. After a teaser trailer dropped last week, the CW released a full-length trailer today for the show’s premiere, set to debut on Sundays in Fall 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrIiPcv4_iY
Batwoman looks to start out as yet another superhero origin story because is it even a comic book story if we don’t focus on the beginnings? Played by Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black), Kate Kane makes her debut by…not so subtly pilfering every aspect of her identity from Gotham’s already established Dark Knight and making half a dozen oddly delivered commentaries on girl power.
Dear CW: Batwoman is not just a female Batman. Kate Kane is not just a female Bruce Wayne.
The thing with female superheroes is that we don’t need every line of dialogue to be dripping with obvious feminism. With Batman missing from Gotham’s streets, give me Kate Kane as Batwoman, a vigilante navigating the perils of a city rife with corruption and crime.
Just like with Supergirl stepping into the red cape behind Superman, Batwoman must be cognizant of donning that oh-so-similar cowl and her relation to Batman’s legacy, but she isn’t defined by it. Given that the CW made more mention of Batman in the “Elseworlds” crossover event than Batwoman and that the trailer for the standalone series doesn’t seem to course correct that tendency, I’m worried Batwoman may be more about showcasing a Batman world and story with a slightly different, ahem, more feminine lead. And that’s a shame for Kate Kane because she is a fascinating hero who is capable of protecting Gotham and leading the Batfamily, with or without Bruce Wayne.
I hope the CW proves me wrong and come the fall, Batwoman is a success, giving me an engrossing narrative about a kickass lesbian hero who has no problem kicking in the teeth of evil doers in Gotham.
Batwoman premieres in the fall of 2019 on The CW.
