Only one year in, Batwoman remains a rookie of sorts, so mistakes are to be anticipated. After all, Green Arrow started out as a masked murderer, and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow were anything but legendary when they first boarded the Waverider.
But, Batwoman has stumbled more than most following the death of Ruby Rose. Rather than just recasting Kate Kane with a brand new, a choice was made to substitute her new character. Does this essentially reverse an entire season’s worth of story creation, but it also robs the show of its lively, cutting on the sisterly bond involving Alice and arch-enemies Batwoman.
The CW has confirmed that former drug-runner Ryan Wilder will take over as the Caped Crusader, and it is almost impossible to imagine her sharing that relationship, while it remains to be seen how this character will fare.
Following this news, rumours started to suggest Kate might be killed off completely at the start of year two, feeding into the horrible”Bury your gays” trope.
Showrunner Caroline Dries was quick to debunk these claims on social media, describing the rumours as”misinformation”.
While that is reassuring for Batwoman’s large queer viewership, it remains to be seen what will become of Kate herself. In her statement, Dries teased that this question will play a pivotal part in the long run, explaining that Kate’s”disappearance is going to be one of the mysteries of season two”.
The answer to this puzzle might lie in the heart of one seemingly huge plot hole although there’s not much to go on just yet.
A couple of weeks ago, Redditor Funbun71 remembered one line in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover which makes sense in light of the departure of Ruby Rose. The second in question takes place when The Monitor clarifies why Batwoman is among the chosen paragons, saying, “Kate Kane, you’re the Bat of the Future.”
Of course, no-one could have predicted that Kate Kane could be replaced so soon, but still, it’s unfortunate that this”future” The Monitor speaks of finished so fast. In other words, unless the authors really turn this to their own benefit…
Another Redditor known as LightingWolfMoon indicates how this might be accomplished below the original post, theorising that Kate may end up leaving precisely because she is the”Bat of the Future” and therefore needs to travel ahead. Why her fate might lie in the future remains to be seen, but time travel is nothing new to the Arrowverse, and it would not take much to make this happen at the start of season two.
Kate Kane wore the mask following Batman mysteriously left Gotham City. Therefore it would be fitting if Ryan Wilder did exactly the same after Batwoman vanishes too. And by sending Kate, it writes the character out of the show of Ruby without unnecessarily killing off her. The Batwoman, that way is gone, but the door may be left available to return, while it’s just to get a cameo or maybe even for something later down the line.
While this doesn’t fix all of the problems, Batwoman still faces, twisting this storyline hole to the actual canon would certainly soften the blow, giving a better motive for taking Kate from the running entirely. After all, it’s a lot more satisfying to imagine her fulfilling a fate fighting crime in the future than if she abandoned Gotham for greener pastures or retired.
