Following the grandiose crossover event “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” the CW’s Arrowverse looked more promising than ever, with a whole multiverse left open to explore as well as a tease for its own Justice League.
One of the members of its superhero team was Ruby Rose’s Batwoman. However, it came to the shock of many when Rose announced that she would be leaving the role before Season 1 had even wrapped up. While the news did put the survival of the series into question, the CW made it clear that it would find a new protector of Gotham.
The CW and DC officially unveiled their first full look at Javicia Leslie as the new Batwoman on Oct. 26.
Leslie will portray a new character, Ryan Wilder, who will be driven to discover what happened to Kate Kane (Rose) and will ultimately lead her to take on the mantle of The Bat. She is also set to take on classic Batman villain, The Scarecrow played by Jonathan Crane.
In released images, viewers were able to see her full suit, minus the boots, though we can assume they will remain unchanged from Rose’s design. The suit now has more red elements, including the wrist gauntlets and belt, the latter of which now sport a bat symbol similar to the one on her chest.
Another key difference from Rose’s suit is the hair. In Season 1, she wore a vibrant red wig. Now, it appears that Leslie’s suit ditches the wig for her natural hair and red highlights.
While this suit has modifications from the original Rose suit, it remains virtually the same as the one seen in Season 2. Although, it is likely we will see a costume change later down the line as just about every CW hero gets a suit upgrade each season.
Leslie is a relative newcomer to the TV industry. Her biggest credit so far was a role on the CBS series, “God Friended Me.” This will be her first outing in the superhero genre. Leslie will also be the first actress of color to not only portray Batwoman, but will also be the first female of color to lead a CW superhero series. Rose will return to finish the last of the filming for the final episodes of Season 1 as production was cut short due to the COVID-19 coronavirus.
“Batwoman” will return in January 2021 along with the rest of CW’s superhero lineup. Season 1 is currently streaming on HBO Max.
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