| Kate Kane | |
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| Arrowverse character | |
 Promotional image ofRuby Rose as Kate Kane / Batwoman for theArrowverse's 2018 "Elseworlds" crossover event. | |
| First appearance |
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| Last appearance | |
| Based on | |
| Adapted by | Caroline Dries |
| Portrayed by |
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| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Katherine Rebecca Kane |
| Alias | Circe Sionis |
| Species | Human |
| Title | Batwoman |
| Occupation |
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| Affiliation |
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| Family |
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Katherine Rebecca "Kate"Kane, also known by hersuperhero aliasBatwoman andsupervillain aliasCirce Sionis, is afictionalcharacter inThe CW'sArrowverse franchise of TV series, first mentioned in the 2018 episode "Nora" of the television seriesThe Flash,[1] based on thecharacter of the same name, created byGeoff Johns,Grant Morrison,Greg Rucka,Mark Waid andKeith Giffen in 2006,[2] and adapted for television byCaroline Dries.[3] In this version, she is the cousin of famous superheroBruce Wayne, living inGotham City, and becomes a superhero in his absence. The character has been portrayed by two different actresses,Ruby Rose[4][5] andWallis Day.[6] In thefirst season of theBatwoman television series, Rose portrayed Kate; when Rose wasfired after the end of the season for "multiple complaints" about her behavior,[7] Day was cast as Kate in a recurring role for thesecond season, while the position of series' lead was taken over byJavicia Leslie asRyan Wilder, Kate's successor as Batwoman.
This version of Batwoman has also appeared in other series such asThe Flash,Arrow,Supergirl andLegends of Tomorrow, for theElseworlds andCrisis on Infinite Earths crossover events. Kate is a wealthy individual and aspiring businesswoman, having become the acting owner ofWayne Enterprises after Bruce Wayne disappeared. When she learned that he wasBatman, she took up his mantle, operating as the vigilante superhero known asBatwoman. After losing her memory following a plane crash, Kate is then taken in byRoman Sionis, becoming the supervillainCirce.
Kate Kane's version ofBatwoman is a relatively recently createdDC Comics character, first appearing in52 #11 in 2006.[8] She has only appeared in live-action in theArrowverse series and has also made cameo appearances in numerous animated projects.[9][10] With the announcement that, during theElseworlds crossover event, Batwoman would make her debut,Ruby Rose was cast as Kate Kane[11] and would later return to the role in her own series titledBatwoman.[12] She also appeared in the crossover eventCrisis on Infinite Earths. As of 2022, she has appeared in five out of the seven Arrowverse shows:The Flash,Arrow,Supergirl, Batwoman andLegends of Tomorrow.
Rose said that she took the role too serious, and had a diet, while training everyday, something easy to her after she starred inxXx: Return of Xander Cage andJohn Wick: Chapter 2.[13] Rose admitted to being a fan of the character before she was cast, and got emotional when she did.[14] She also added that the sexuality of the character, which islesbian, was an important part of the show, and something that got her on board.[15] When asked if she is a female version ofBatman, she said that she is nothing like him, and she is a "game-changing" character.[16] She also said that her character would be a strong woman, and inspiration for all women and young women of the world. Rose left the show in 2020, initially claiming abuse by the studio;[17] however, in October 2021,Warner Bros. and Luke Fox actor Camrus Johnson confirmed that Rose had actually beenfired from the series following "multiple complaints about [her] workplace behavior that were extensively reviewed and handled privately out of respect for all concerned" over the course of an investigation that took place over several months.[7]
Taking Rose's place is actressWallis Day, who would be playing the same character as her; making little changes to her portrayal.[18] When asked what she likes more about the character, she said "Batwoman is awesome, [...], Kate Kane is obviously such a huge character in the superhero world, so playing her is surreal but an honour.", while also saying that she will try to be comic accurate, something the fans want from adaptations of superheroes.[19]
Kate Kane was born on January 26, 1990, toJacob Kane and Gabi Goldstein, along with her twin sister,Beth inGotham City. From an early age, she was very close to her cousin,Bruce Wayne, who was like an older brother to her. On January 26, 2003, Kate and Beth had a bat mitzvah party, and while their mother was driving them home, theJoker hit the car with a school bus, almost throwing it off a bridge. Then, Batman appeared, and stopped the car from falling, and left to arrest Joker. Kate climbed out of the car, but her sister and mother didn't, with the car falling over the bridge. After the incident, Kate's hatred for Batman grew, while his father grew distant from her, during his grief. At some point, the police found her mother's body, but not her sister's. That made Kate obsessed with finding her. On May 25, 2004, her father marriedCatherine Hamilton, and met her step-sister,Mary Hamilton. Kate accepted Catherine as a mother figure, but not Mary as her new sister. At some point, Kate came out as a lesbian.
Wanting to join her father's security agency, Crows Security, she studied at the military academy, Point Rock. There, she metSophie Moore, whom she fell in love with. She rose to the top of her class, but was expelled when she and Sophie were caught kissing. Following Kate's expulsion, Jacob suggested that she leave Gotham to travel around the world, training under combat and survival specialists. Sometime in 2013, she travelled toLondon, and developed a relationship withJulia Pennyworth, daughter ofAlfred Pennyworth. Julia revealed to her that she was sent by Bruce to look after her, resulting into the two breaking up.
In 2018, she learnt byMary, thatSophie was kidnapped by a group calledWonderland Gang. She went toWayne Enterprises to use the company's security system to locate Sophie, and met withLuke Fox, the head of Wayne Security. She tracked the gang in the Burnside Orphanage, saving Sophie, and there she came face to face with their leader,Alice. Kate arrested her, and met with herfather, who was furious that she went alone against the gang. She went back to the Wayne Enterprises to talk to Luke, and discovered theBatcave, realizing her cousin's secret identity isBatman. Luke revealed to her that he was devastated by his mistake in the car crush that killed her mother, and felt he had to take care of his cousin. As Kate was observing theBatsuit, she asked Luke to modify it so it would fit her. After that, she found and arrested members of the gang. Later, she went back to the Batcave and examined a knife Alice threw to her, and realized she was in fact her lost sister. Kate started searching for Alice, and revealed to her family her believe that she is Beth, only for Jacob to lecture her, and saying to move on. Kate went to the Batcave, and found other gadgets Batman used and after a discussion with Luke, she decided to become a hero. A suspicious Sophie confronts Kate and asks her if she is dressing up as Batman, with her denying it, saying that if she would be a superhero, she would beWonder Woman. As Kate asks Sophie to run a DNA test on Alice's knife to see if she is in fact Beth, gang members attacked them, stealing the knife while fleeing defeated. After the attack, she goes to the hospital were a member of the gang is, and releases him, telling him to say to Alice the word "waffles", a word Beth would understand its meaning. Then, Kate went to the Waffle Factory, where Alice was waiting for her, giving her some blood of hers, to DNA test it. Then, Crows Security arrived, and sent her to theArkham Asylum. Kate, wearing her Batsuit, broke out Alice, letting her go. After the operation, Kate goes to her father, but have a heated argument, leaving to talk to Sophie, in which she expresses her feelings, when she abandoned her in the military academy. The next day, see met with Luke, citing a theory that someone else stole the knife. As she was about to leave Wayne Enterprises, she found a box containing a bat and a letter, revealing that Alice is Beth, and knows that Kate is the superhero dressing up a Batman. Ten days later, in her journal, she wrote that the reason for wearing the Batsuit, was to scare Alice and her gang, but now she can't anymore, while doubting her ability to being a hero. Later, Kate is called into action when someone flashes the bat signal onto Wayne Tower. It turns out it was Alice who called Kate, telling her that Beth is dead. She returns to the Wayne Tower, where is foundTommy Elliot inside Bruce's office, who is there to invite him to a celebration party, only to find out he is missing. Luke then calls Kate to tell her that the only gun that can penetrate the Batsuit has been stolen from one of Wayne Tower's secret weapons facilities. As Kate suspected Elliot to be behind this, she attends his party, and talks to him, learning that he knew Bruce is Batman, and that's why he stole the gun, so that he could kill him. Elliot threatens to kill citizens of Gothan, if Batman doesn't show up. Kate then went to the Batcave and asked Luke to paint a bat logo on her suit, becoming Batwoman. She wore it and went to meet Elliot on the top of his privet building, and fought defeating him. Elliot cuts the robes of elevators in the building, in which Catherine and Jacob are, but Kate managed to save them. As the police take him away to the Arkham Asylum, Kate arrives and he tells her to tell Bruce, that he won't stop until Bruce shows his face. When a thief calledMagpie appeared, she had to prove to the people of Gothan that they need her. At some point, Magpie stoleMartha Wayne's necklace from Luke. When Kate visited Crows' Headquarters, Sophie expressed her interest on why Kate was investigating when Batwoman was on the case, saying that she doesn't trust vigilantes. She eventually located the thief, and defeats, realizing she is Margot, the photographer taking pictures of the necklace. Afterwards, she goes to the hospital that the gang member is and tells her to look for someone namedMouse, who is above Alice. Kate decided to take over Wayne Enterprises, and run them.
After an altered realityOliver Queen / The Flash andBarry Allen / Green Arrow, withKara Danvers / Supergirl fromEarth-38, were arrested inGotham City, Kate bails them out from jail. She took them toWayne Enterprises, and gave them equipment to use to find whom they were seeking. Kara met with Kate, and discussed the situation, asking if she knew whoJohn Deegan, who altered reality using the Book of Destiny, saying her that he used to work atArkham Asylum. The trio left for Arkham, where a riot occurred, and Kate went to help them. After reality was restored back to normal, she contacted Oliver to ask him if Deegan was still a danger.
Two weeks after the event,Luke tells Kate about "The Skin Pirate", who is being reported as a citizen ofGotham that had hit three morgues in one night, and taken skin from the corpses. After investigating, she finds out it wasAlice. Kate dons her Batwoman suit and ambushes Alice and the rest of herWonderland Gang. She interrogates Alice, and learns thatCatherine Hamilton faked her death, and that aman saved her after the car crush, whom she never learnt his name, and kept by force. This man had a son,Jonathan Cartwright / Mouse, and they were friends, who also helped her escape. During their conversation, Kate was drugged by her and Mouse, and taken in a basement. She eventually escaped, and found Mouse, who threaten to kill, if she didn't let go of herfather, who was captured when trying to save Kate. The two agreed to leave the scene with the people they wanted, and Jacob finally had no doubts that Alice is Beth. Sometime later in the Crows headquarters, Jacob tells Kate about the man who kept Alice,August Cartwright, a madman with a medical license. Then, the news announced the existence of a new vigilante, going byExecutioner. Kate left and arrived to theBatcave, were a happy looking, because of the use of the Batwoman signal, Luke informed her about the Executioner. Kate goes to Sophie, where an assassin was waiting for her and wounded Sophie. She called her "Kate", while wearing herBatsuit, meaning she knew her identity. Kate rushes her to the hospital, where herstep-sister works. Luke tracked the warehouse that the Executioner was hiding. Kate goes to investigate, but the Executioner appeared, knocking her out, and taking a hydrogen cyanide gas with him. Luke was able to identify the track he used, belonging to a man named Bertrand Eldon. Kate then broke into Bertrand's home and finds no one there. She locates the hydrogen cyanide capsules, and inside it finds aflash drive. In it, Eldon / The Executioner admits to being guilty of killing innocent people. Kate gave the drive to the police. Then, she finds him and defeat him. Afterwards, Kate meets with her father, and he promises to her to find and help Alice. Sophie, later threatens her that she will expose to her father that she is Batwoman.
When Kate was chasing an assassin called Rifle, she meetsJulia Pennyworth and asked her to wear the Batsuit, and pretend to be Batwoman, to distract Sophie. That same night, she met with Sophie, while Julia was after Rifle, who shot her, and the Crows came and arrested her. Kate left and saved Julia, taking her to the Batcave. Luke revealed that Alice hired the assassin to kill Batwoman. As Julia was leaving Gotham, she said to Kate to not allow people to get close to her, a big mistakeBruce Wayne / Batman made. The next day, Kate invited her step-sister to help her open a gay-bar, right across the street of a man who had shown homophobic actions. Sometime later, Kate stole the phone of a gang member, and gave it to Luke to track Alice. Luke tracks her, and Kate went to confront her, only to flee after a lot of gang members arrived. Kate then goes to her father and talks to him, without knowing he is the Mouse. After finding out, she goes to Alice, and she reveals her that the actual Jacob is on the Mouse's cabin. Kate arrived there, but he had already escaped. Later, she went and stopped gang members from kidnapping Catherine and Mary. She then re-confronted Alice, who tells her she poisoned Catherine and as Kate was about to kill her, she was knocked unconscious by the Mouse. Sometime later she went to see her father, who told her that he wants to kill Alice, with Kate responding by saying that she wouldn't stop him.
On December 10, 2019, Kate was fighting members of theWonderland Gang, whenLyla Michaels / Harbinger appeared and teleported her toEarth-38, in the headquarters of theDepartment of Extranormal Operations. There she joined other heroes, likeOliver Queen / Green Arrow,Mia Queen,Barry Allen / The Flash andRay Palmer / Atom fromEarth-1, and withClark Kent / Superman,Kara Danvers / Supergirl andJ'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter fought theAnti-Monitor's forces, not being able to stop them, withThe Monitor teleporting the heroes away, while billions of refugees of Earth-38, left for Earth-1. In theWaverider, she observed Oliver's death. She later joined Kara andSara Lance / White Canary to remember him. In the Waverider, The Monitor informed the team that they have to find the seven Paragons, that can defeat the Anti-Monitor. Kate and Kara travel to another universe to find the "Bat of the Future", who is inEarth-99. There they foundBruce Wayne / Batman, who revealed to them that he killed his universe'sSuperman and many more people. After Bruce tried to kill Kara withkryptonite, Kate killed him, by kicking him into an electrical system. When they returned to the ship, Ray, who had activated the Paragon detector, revealing that she was the Paragon of Courage. During this, Kate questioned herself as a paragon but Kara was able to give her a pep talk. Kate is then revealed to have taken Bruce's kryptonite he had, but Kara said she can keep it. After that, she and Kara went to questionLex Luthor on how the Book of Destiny works, to stop the Crisis. When a brainwashed Lyla, by the Anti-Monitor, attacked the heroes,Nash Wells / Pariah sent the Paragons to the Vanishing Point, a place out of the timestream. After one month of being in there, Oliver as a superbeing namedSpectre, appeared and sent them to theSpeed Force, where Kate talked to Ray and Oliver of2015. Then, Barry took her to the Dawn of Time, where with the other six Paragons, battled the Anti-Monitor's army, and Oliver sacrificed himself to restart theMultiverse.
After the creation ofEarth-Prime, she joined Barry, Kara, Ray andMick Rory to fight a giantBeebo controlled bySargon the Sorcerer, who was defeated. When J'onn found out that the Anti-Monitor was still alive, Kate, Barry, Kara, Sara, J'onn, Clark,Rene Ramirez,Nia Nal andAlex Danvers assembled to fight him and finally defeated him. Afterwards, she joined Barry, Cara, Sara, J'onn, Clark andJefferson Pierce / Black Lightning to create theJustice League in theHall of Justice.
After theCrisis, a version ofAlice, namedBeth Kane, appeared on the Wayne Tower on Kate's birthday, and mistaken for Alice. Kate asked her about her life, revealing that in heruniverse she was saved from the car crush, never being tortured byAugust Cartwright. Beth was later introduced toLuke andMary and became friends. When theMouse kidnapped both the son's Mayor and the son of the Commissioner of theGCPD, Kate went to save them, only to get kidnapped herself. Then, Beth went, pretending to be Alice, to Mouse to trick him, but she failed. Kate managed to save them and go back to theBatcave. Afterwards, Beth started getting sick, a result of the existence of two Beths in the same universe. She had two choose over which one to save, and chose Beth over Alice, but then August appeared seeking revenge, and killed Beth, mistaking her for Alice. Kate was devastated from the event and mourned her death.
Kate learnt about a serial killer, going by "Nocturna", who was draining the blood from her victims. Kate went after her, but was captured. The killer proposed to work together, which Kate declined. As the killer was about to drain her blood too, but the Crows andSophie arrived forcing the killer to leave. Kate planned to lure the killer in her club she opened, by having a party. During the party, Alice arrived asking where the Mouse is, confusing Kate. She eventually tracked the identity of the killer,Natalia Knight, who had a blood disease. Kate went to find her, and she found Alice who had been tied up by Nocturna and had sent her off to Mary as her blood might cure Nocturna from her disease. She went to the Gotham Cathedral Church, where she found her step-sister, and the killer and her with Alice, fought her defeating her. The same night, Kate meth with Sophie and the two reunited as a couple. Sophie revealed to her that she was fired from the Crows, because she was helping Batwoman.
At some point, a new serial killer, going by "Serial Slasher" appeared, who was attacking digital influencers and tearing their faces apart. Kate decided to investigate, she discovered that the criminal was actuallyDuela Dent. Kate located and fought her, but she escaped, as she was about to kill her mother, Evelyn. Duela kidnapped an old friend of hers, and as she was about to kill her too, Kate intervened with the assistance of Sophie, and arrested her.
Sometime later, the Bat-Signal went on, and went to the roof, where August was waiting for her. Kate took him in and interrogated him with the help of her father, Jacob. She found that he killed the alternate Beth, and forced Alice, in her childhood, to kill his wife. These two events made Kate kill August. After murdering him, she was reluctant to suit up, causing a copy-cat effect in the city, along with a rise of its criminal element. After a conversation with Mary, she found inspiration to become a hero again. After some time, they learned thatTommy Elliot was in possession ofLucius Fox's book which contained a way to kill the wearer of Batman's suit as it had been a fail-safe in case the suit ended up in the wrong hands. Kate, withJulia, went to find the book, but Kate was captured by the mob. She was able to defeat the mobsters after a lengthy fight, retrieving the book. The same night, it was stolen by an assassin, angering Kate. She located and asked where is it, only to find out that she gave it toMagpie. She later found out thatHush was involved too. Kate manages to find the book, taking it from Elliot. During the next days, she fought a criminal going by "Titan", and started investigatingJack Napier / Joker.
One day she flew toNational City, to meet withKara Danvers / Supergirl, on whether to destroy the piece ofkryptonite she had in her possession. To the flight back toGotham City, her plane malfunctioned leading to a crash-landing. Kate left the scene of the accident. During her absence, a young woman namedRyan Wilder took up the mantle ofBatwoman. Kate was inBlüdhaven, being tortured byRoman Sionis / Black Mask, who blamed her for his daughter's death. She fought his men while they were pulling her from the plane and her face was disfigured.
After months of torture Roman later hiredEvelyn Rhyme to alter her memory. Eventually, she was transformed into Roman's daughter, Circe, having her personality, and Roman treating her as his own. Roman then sent her to kill Batwoman, but instead broughtAlice to Roman. He putted Alice to make a new face for Kate. With the help of advanced technology, her new face became part of her body, being able to bleed and heal. At some point, Alice andJacob kidnapped her, and ran a DNA test on her, revealing she is in fact Kate. Ryan took her to theWayne Enterprises, where they are welcomed by a happy Mary. However, Kate doesn't recognizeMary and asks who she is. Then, they realize that the Kate and Circe personalities are fighting for control. Circe took control and went to confront Roman, but Ryan arrived and cured her, with Kate being the sole personality. After that, Kate decides not to take back the mantle of Batwoman, as her successor, Ryan has earned that right. She met withSophie, telling her that she was leaving Gotham to find Bruce.
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Rose was cast asBatwoman on the CW showThe Flash, for theElseworlds crossover event of 2018.[20] Producers cited the actress' sexuality as part of the reason she was cast,[21] to bring more diversity to theArrowverse.[22] After her casting, Rose had to delete herTwitter account, citing the backlash from the fans she received,[23] and some online reactions attacked Rose for not beingJewish, while the main focus of the criticism was the assertion that the fact she identifies asgender fluid made her "not gay enough"[24] although some media came to her defence, describing her casting as "perfect",[25] withStephen Amell, the protagonist of the showArrow that kickstarted the shared universe, said on Twitter that her "character will carry the universe [Arrowverse] into the future."[26] The critics went to criticize the character, noting that she hasn't received any character development to take up the mantle of her cousin,Bruce Wayne / Batman, and by doing that she became hateable among fans,[27] although some said that she did her best, when everything else was falling apart.[28] After the ending of season 1, Rose was fired byWarner Bros., a move the company justified on the low ratings of the show, but also the fan backlash to her too.[29] In 2021, Rose said that she would be up on returning as Kate Kane, if the studio wanted.[30] In 2021,Wallis Day took the role, leaving the fans surprised, with no clear reactions, with some fans expressing the idea of killing-off the character instead of recasting it.[31][32]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | GLAAD Media Awards | TV Performance | Ruby Rose | Won | [33] |
| 2019 | Autostraddle Gay Emmys | Outstanding Performance by an LGBTQ+ Actor in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show | Ruby Rose | Won | [34] |
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Arrow | |
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| The Flash | |
| Supergirl | |
| Legends of Tomorrow | |
| Black Lightning | |
| Batwoman | |
| Animated series | |
| Characters | |
| Crossovers | |
| Related | |
