Today is the day that Javicia Leslie dons the cowl as Batwoman.
There have been episodes or short arcs of someone becoming the Green Arrow and the Flash, but this is the first time in superhero television that there is going to be a full on handing off of the mantle. This happens regularly for a lot of comic book characters, especially in DC that are not the trinity of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman, barring one of those small arcs in Batman's case. So, to finally see it happen in television is great. Normally when we get someone new to play a hero, it's a full on reboot years later. We did have Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but it didn't feel like a handing off of a mantle because of all the alternate universe spider people like Peter B. Parker and Spider-Gwen alongside Miles. And it's a movie, so it's not a long-term relationship that we have with Miles that we had with Kate Kane and that we will have with Ryan Wilder, the new Batwoman.
And it'll be interesting to see the new relationships that form with all of the returning characters to Ryan Wilder, especially because all but one of the characters were Kate's family and her first love. So to see who they react to losing her and having someone new put on the cowl and become the figurehead of this operation.
But I'm optimistic that the show can handle it. When Batwoman is on its game, it's amazing. And with Alice as the main antagonist, it has one of the most interesting villains on superhero television. And they really know and understand the relationships characters have with each other, so I'm certain they'll know how to position Ryan into this motley crew of people, and I can't wait to see how it all shakes out.
