Within the span of just a few months, Batwoman recast its lead actress and is now set to usher in an entirely new caped crusader who, surprise surprise, has just made her debut in DC’s comics. While we know a bit about what kind of person Ryan Wilder — portrayed by Javicia Leslie — will be, one of the big questions up in the air has been just what Ryan’s Batsuit was going to look like. Now we know.
Today, the CW dropped two new photos featuring Ryan in her full Batwoman getup and, while it very closely resembles Kate Kane’s, it’s also very clearly meant to be distinctly Ryan’s.
[referenced id=”1515529″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/10/batwoman-casts-another-victor-zsasz-for-the-cws-gotham/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/01/ahpmrepevbu0376zj3tk-300×169.jpg” title=”Batwoman Casts Another Victor Zsasz for the CW’s Gotham” excerpt=”The CW’s Batwoman is getting a new baddie for season two, and it’s played by someone who’s already familiar with the city of Gotham.”]
Ryan’s suit keeps Batwoman’s traditional black/red colour scheme, with her gauntlets now featuring red accents that are mirrored in her redesigned toolbelt and her bat insignia and kneepads. In place of Kate’s purposefully garish red wig is what could either be Ryan’s natural hair — sporting red highlights — or perhaps another wig meant to conceal her identity. We’ve not seen her as simply Ryan just yet.
In a statement about the suit, costume designer Maya Mani explained that when conceptualizing the new look, she wanted to create something that reflected Ryan’s particular fighting style and spoke to the reality that she’s an authoritative presence on the field.
“I was asked by [showrunner] Caroline Dries to design a Batsuit that was unique to the character of Ryan Wilder; as she is a highly skilled fighter, encapsulating her raw, athletic, and passionate nature was imperative,” Mani said. “As Batwoman, Javicia Leslie not only brings a fresh perspective, but physical strength to the role. It was important for the new suit to define Javicia’s commanding presence while showcasing her athleticism and allowing her the freedom to express the physical nature of Batwoman, all while looking ultra-cool in the process!”
It’s interesting to see that the costume departments for a number of DC’s shows have been hard at work crafting translations of classic comics outfits that look damned good, at least in promotional materials. The question now is what these duds will look like in action when Batwoman returns to the CW sometime next year.