Meet Kate Kane, the Batwoman we deserve and the hero we need

The CW’s Batwoman looks to be a faithful adaptation and Kate Kane’s arrival into the Arrowverse will champion queerness in a big way.

The live-action adaptation of the trials and tribulations of Gotham’s seemingly fearless caped crusader Katherine “Kate” Kane is coming to primetime on Oct. 6. If it sticks closely to its comic book origins, we’re going to see a nuanced take on a heroine who’s finally able to embrace her sexuality after a tumultuous childhood — all while defending Gotham from its most devious criminals.

But who are Kate Kane and her alter ego Batwoman? What parts of the comic character are making their way to the small screen? Fortunately for fans, it looks like most facets of the crimefighter are being quite faithfully translated, which should mean viewers should get an unflinching portrait of the openly gay DC hero’s interpersonal relationships.

The heroine was first introduced as a modern version of the Silver Age of Comics’ Kathy Kane, a lesbian of Jewish heritage and Gotham City socialite with a punk rock aesthetic. While far from DC Comics’ first gay character, Kane was a high-profile addition to the company’s portfolio of heroes, especially given her title as Batwoman (not Batgirl), essentially the female analogue of Bruce Wayne’s Batman. Though she’s seen several iterations over the years, these things have remained largely constant.

The CW’s vision of Batwoman looks like it’s going to nail most of what fans have come to know about the heroine over the years, including the fact that Kate is, in fact, gay — an important defining characteristic that omitting would have been an awful idea — as well as her Jewish background.

Batwoman, portrayed by genderfluid lesbian Ruby Rose, is taking up the cape and cowl after earning a significant following from the LGBTQ+ community following her role as Stella Carlin in Orange is the New Black. Rose was “thrilled and honored” to take on the role of Kate, praising it as something she “would have died to have seen on TV” when she was younger. Now, she’s going to make it a reality, and we couldn’t be more excited.

You probably don’t need to be told these things are all important, progressive elements of a storyline that’s massively important to the DC universe (the Arrowverse, specifically), but it’s going to be a game-changer in terms of championing lesser-represented groups, which is absolutely fantastic news for LGBTQ+ and diverse viewers looking to see more of themselves in the space.

All the important set pieces that tie Batwoman the TV series to the comic mythos look to be in place. Kate is going to explore several relationships with female characters — including a badass traffic cop, a detective, and the girl who stole Kate’s heart back when she was just a student —
and come face to face with her new nemesis Alice. Crucially, she will look the part. The CW has done a fantastic job of ensuring the character’s outfit looks much like it does in the comic, hairstyle and all.

Typically, Kate rocks a shock of flame-red hair, which we see styled differently throughout the comics: a chic bob, a buzzcut, or even a massive lion’s mane of crimson. For Batwoman, Ruby Rose is keeping her signature short hairstyle and donning the character’s signature red hair as part of her crime-fighting outfit as a wig she’ll wear with the Batsuit. The wig goes beneath a familiar cowl, which is black to match her caped suit that features a red bat on the chest. Her cape is more transparent than the one Batman wears, but it tends to fit her aesthetic more as well.

It also looks like the show is going to stick pretty close to the original comic beats, combining elements from different histories and continuities. Kate has been shown to have a history in the military, having attended West Point, the United States’ military academy. She excelled as a student and even earned a variety of awards and accolades for her performance there. Unfortunately, when she’s accused of being in a lesbian relationship with another student, she’s asked to lie about it and deny the allegations.

Kate refuses to do so (in a win for representation), and she’s ejected from the academy, despite not wishing to violate the Honor Code of the Academy. Her father appreciates the gesture, but this action haunts Kate for the foreseeable future, as she’s forced to return to Gotham City and immediately adopts a party-filled lifestyle.

That’s when she meets traffic cop Renee Montoya, as she’s pulled over for speeding. Renee becomes an important force for change in Kate’s life, and it looks as though she’ll be making an appearance in Batwoman as well, though it isn’t clear just yet if this will be the relationship that’s spotlighted during the course of the series.

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That said, any love interest pulled from the source material will highlight a major queer relationship between a DC superhero and a woman of color. Sophie, the girl Kate was in love with during her time at the military academy, is Black, while Renee is a Latinx woman – either way a win for diversity and representation on TV, as well as for female comic fans.

As far as Kane’s nemesis? “Alice” is none other than Beth Kane, Kate’s sister. She’s long thought dead in the comic timeline before eventually ending up as a creepy Alice in Wonderland-like villain akin to the Joker with a penchant for quoting Lewis Carroll. Alleged early character descriptions shared for the Batwoman series confirm “Batwoman’s greatest enemy,” or “her own personal Joker.”

Though Batwoman isn’t set to air until early October, it certainly appears that all the puzzle pieces are falling into place to make certain that The CW’s attempt at bringing the character to life for the first time in live-action TV history is successful. It’s going to be a moment to remember for various fan circles, as well as groups that have long deserved more representation in the comic community. Color us terribly excited.

Batwoman premieres Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.