For years, Arrow has danced around references to the Dark Knight, a comic character seemingly forever out of reach to the CW/DC multiverse of shows. But no more – because the next crossover is heading to Gotham City, and meeting up with a familiar face: Batwoman herself.
Confirmed by Stephen Amell and CW CEO Mark Pedowitz on stage at the CW’s upfronts presentation today, the four-way crossover between Arrow, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl will take place in Gotham City.
However, there was no confirmation on which Earth this Gotham is – Arrow’s latest season finally alluded to the existence of Bruce Wayne and Gotham on its own Earth, but Supergirl has also made references, acknowledging its existence on Earth-38. At least we do know that at least one bat-hero will be there to meet the gang, in the form of Batwoman herself. The announcements didn’t specify if this will be the modern Kate Kane incarnation from the comics, or if it will be an alternate take on the character. Or whether or not Batwoman’s appearance in the crossover is a tease for bigger plans for the character to come on the network. Could a solo show follow this appearance?
This is far from the first Bat-adjacent character Arrow has introduced over the years in its attempts to turn Oliver Queen into Batman with a bow-and-arrow. Everyone from the Huntress to the al Ghul’s has plagued Ollie over the years, with varying degrees of success (poor Huntress, so wasted). But this really marks a big step forward for Arrow and its fellow shows getting to lean into one of the most beloved sections of DC’s comics roster. It’s not Batman, but it’s a start – and hey, we’ll take Batwoman over yet another version of Bats himself any day of the week. Now we need to know if Kate’s canonical girlfriend Maggie Sawyer will also make an appearance; actor Floriana Lima portrayed the character on Supergirl but left the show not too long ago.
We’ll bring you more details on the CW’s bat-tastic plans for the next DC crossover as we learn them, but get ready to gear up for a trip to Gotham!