Just a few months ago, it was announced that a new DC television series centring on Kate Kane aka Batwoman is in the works. Orange is the New Black star, Ruby Rose, will be portraying the groundbreaking lesbian superhero. She’ll make her debut in an upcoming crossover between Arrowverse shows The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl. Presumably, the collective Legends of Tomorrow will be off getting into all sorts of zany mischief someplace else?
Cassandra Jean Amell, who is married to Arrow lead Stephen Amell in real life, is set to play Nora Fries in the three-episode event which will air in December. In the DC comics, Fries is a supervillain, who goes by the name Lazara, and is also the wife of iconic baddie Mr. Freeze.
At this stage, it’s unclear whether Fries will only appear in the crossover or whether she’ll make further appearances in the small-screen multiverse. It’s worth noting she’s already popped up in non-Arrowverse Batman origin show Gotham, played by Kristen Hager — but nonetheless, news of her inclusion got us wondering which villains in Batwoman’s rogues’ gallery we might expect to show up in her eagerly-anticipated series. Or more accurately, which foes we’d love to see the titular hero come up against. Here’s who is currently on our wish-list.
Bane
Thanks to Christopher Nolan’s big-screen blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises, Bane (who was played in the 2012 film by Tom Hardy) is one of Batman’s best-known adversaries. But in the comics (and animated movies), he’s a one-time enemy of Batwoman’s too.
Having grown up in prison, Bane is known for his heightened intelligence and unrivaled physical strength. He even broke Batman’s back once. But when Batwoman faced off against him, he came off worse — she took him out with some kind of razor-wire whip.
Seeing as he’s so closely linked to Batman, however, it’s unlikely that Bane will make an appearance in Batwoman; particularly in Season 1. But hey, that won’t stop us dreaming!
Wolf Spider
If the shows in the Arrowverse have taught us anything, it’s that not every villain that is included in a series has to be straight-up evil. So someone like Wolf Spider might make for a cool inclusion.
Wolf Spider — also known as rich playboy Evan Blake — was formerly a friend of Kate Kane’s but he found himself on the receiving end of his pal’s crime-fighting ways when he developed a penchant for stealing high-value, Depression-era paintings. It turned out that he was robbing the artworks because they formed a map to money stolen from a corrupt businessman, and he had been hired by the businessman’s grandson to retrieve it. In the pursuit, the latter died.
Batwoman never did find out Wolf Spider’s true identity and we can imagine the above being the plot of a standalone episode.
Catman
Catman has an interesting relationship with Batwoman. Upon meeting Kane’s alter ego, Catman — otherwise known as Thomas Blake — fell for her and become hellbent on making her the ‘queen’ to his ‘king of crime.’ She scoffed at the idea and later, Batman and Robin seemed to kill him.
However, he later resurfaced and Batwoman ultimately claimed that she had “mixed feelings for him”. She promptly ditched the Dark Knight for the feline baddie. However, it all turned out to be a power play and she eventually reached out to Batman and Robin to get them to stop him once again.
The Weeping Woman
Supergirl and Arrow have always featured fairly conventional villains, often seeing their heroes facing foes that have similar powers to them. The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, on the other hand, allow themselves to be a little wackier; the former having showcased more colourful crime-doers such as King Shark and Gorilla Grodd, while the latter featured a supernatural entity named Mallus. Which paves the way for Batwoman facing off against a slightly bizarre baddie of her own.
With that in mind, we’d quite like to see Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane take on Maria Salvaje, aka La Llorona or the Weeping Woman, who was transformed into a watery spirit by shapeshifting warlock, Maro Ito, after she lost custody of her children. Over the years, she has appeared in several issues of the Batwoman-focused comics, and has an affiliation with criminal cartel, Medusa, and abducts children.
Scarecrow
Like Bane, a live-action Scarecrow has been seen before – in Christopher Nolan’s 2005 outing Batman Begins, and also in Gotham. Also like Bane, Scarecrow more associated with Batman than he is Batwoman, so an appearance in the new Arrowverse show is unlikely. But not impossible.
Scarecrow alter ego Jonathan Crane was left emotionally damaged after years of abuse from his father who subjected him to twisted experiments. Having lived in fear for the duration of his childhood, he set out to make a hallucinogenic toxin that caused those he used it on to experience their worst nightmares.
He might prove too nasty a villain for the Arrowverse but if Batwoman manages to tone down the scares, it’d be great to see Kate Kane try to defeat him.
Nocturna
Nocturna’s most famous encounter with Batwoman in the comics is a pretty controversial one but if a few details were changed and their shared story was done right, she could prove to be an interesting addition to the show.
Socialite vampire Natalia Mitternacht first came across Batwoman when the latter was fighting Wolf Spider in Arkham Asylum. Mitternacht had been imprisoned for murdering her husband, but managed to escape when chaos ensued within the establishment.
Later, she discovers Batwoman’s identity and breaks into Kate Kane’s house, using mind control to have sexual relations with her, drink her blood and continually convince her that they are in a relationship. It’s messy and dark but if lightened up slightly, and made less harrowing, a vampire might make for a fun villain of the week.
Green Fairy
While the Arrowverse doesn’t do badly in this area, and there’s plenty in this list already, superhero shows could always do with more female antagonists. And considering the show will be led by a woman, we’re all for a double-dosing of girl power. So how about Green Fairy rocking up and trying to defeat Batwoman?
Like Nocturna, Green Fairy was also released from Arkham Asylum during a fight between Batwoman and Wolf Spider. While the latter got away, some — including Green Fairy — decided to battle the titular hero. Batwoman eventually takes her opponent down by slamming a gelatinous handful of former foe in Green Fairy’s face, shortly after she set her sights on her. Nice.
Alice AKA Beth Kane
Of all the characters listed here, Alice is undoubtedly the one we’d like to see appear in Batwoman the most. Why? Because who doesn’t love an evil twin sister storyline?
That’s right, Alice, the former leader of Gotham City pests the Religion of Crime, is actually Elizabeth Kane, Kate’s sibling. Whom Kate believed was dead. And if that doesn’t sound entertaining enough, she’s depicted in the comics as psychotic and violent. If there’s one thing we know, it’s that DC fans love those types of bad guy. Did someone say The Joker ?
In the comics, Beth also has links to the Department of Extra-Normal Operations (DEO), which is seen regularly in Supergirl. So it could provide a good Arrowverse tie-in. In ‘The New 52’ comics, the organisation revived Beth Kane and she went on to adopt more of a heroic persona. She even went on to save her sister from Nocturna, which could provide good fodder for an ongoing storyline in the new series.
The three-night crossover introducing Batwoman to the Arrowverse will premiere on December 9.
