Batwoman (TV series)

Fandom
Name:	Batwoman
Abbreviation(s):
Creator:	Caroline Dries, Greg Berlanti
Date(s):	December 10, 2018 (First appearance in Arrowverse crossover event: Elseworlds); October 6, 2019 - present (Series run)
Medium:	Live-action television show
Country of Origin:	United States
	Related Concepts, Fandoms, Terms, Fanworks
See also	Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Vixen, Constantine
	Click here for related articles on Fanlore.
	Contents 1 Canon 1.1 Main Characters; ; 2 Fan Reception 2.1 Pre-Release / Elseworlds; ; 3 Fandom 3.1 Shipping; 3.2 Terminology; ; 4 Notable Fanworks 4.1 Fics; 4.2 Arts; 4.3 Vids; ; 5 Archives and Fannish Links 5.1 Archives; 5.2 Fansites; 5.3 Forums; 5.4 Tumblr; 5.5 Wikis; ; 6 References;

Batwoman is a 2019 CW live-action television series about the DC Comics superhero of the same name.

Canon

Main Characters

Fan Reception

Pre-Release / Elseworlds

In May 2018, it was announced that Batwoman would be introduced into the Arrowverse by the series' annual crossover event. Fan speculated that this would mean Batwoman would be developed into its own show. Many fans were excited at the prospects of a new Gotham based show in the Arrowverse being lead by Kate Kane. Others did not trust the CW with handling a lesbian character as its lead due to its links with the Bury Your Gays trope trend of 2016.

Following the announcement, it was also revealed that the CW had intention of casting an out lesbian actress as Kate Kane/Batwoman.^[1] Lists of people's top picks were shared, many of which included Ruby Rose among them, and in August it was announced that she would be taking up the role. The reaction to the casting news was mixed. Rose's fans and many of those familiar with her work were pleased and felt it was a great fit. On twitter the hashtags #RecastBatwoman began with users pointing to Ashley Platz as a better candidate thanks to her leaked audition reel that had been shared in the run up to the casting announcement. Platz took to her twitter to thank those who wanted to see her in the role but also noting that Rose worked equally hard to be cast.^[2] Rose left twitter soon after due to the backlash.^[3]

Around this time, #KeepKateJewish was also being used on twitter as fans aware of Kate's backstory from comics feared that only the lesbian part of Kate's identity was being focused on, with little to no talk around her Jewish identity.

Fandom

The fandom for Batwoman began to grow even before the series premiered, or was even announced for that matter as it was believed that Kate's inclusion in the Elseworlds crossover would lead to a Batwoman series being developed, which was indeed true. On May 16, 2019, the series released its first full-length trailer.

Shipping

Following Kate and Kara's interaction in the Elseworlds crossover the two were quickly shipped together and since many already ship Supercorp, the threesome pairing of Kate/Kara/Lena as also appeared. Following the Batwoman trailer, fans started shipping Kate Kane/Sophie Moore. As the series premiered, many fans started shipping Kate/Alice (aka Kate/Beth), Kate/Mary, Kate/Alice/Mary, and Kate/Reagan. The canon pairing of Jacob Kane/Catherine Hamilton-Kane appeared in fanworks.

Terminology

See List of Arrowverse Relationship Names.

Notable Fanworks

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Fics

what you gon’ do (when there’s blood in the water) by Terapsina, The obligatory 'Mary finds out Kate is Batwoman in the most stressful manner possible' fic.
It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then by Anonymous, Explicit, A surprise guest under Kate's desk and an awkwardly timed phone call. (Kate/Alice)
Competition by Terapsina, Mary’s POV shortly before Kate shows up at the clinic the day after Mary was attacked by Alice’s lackey.

Arts

Ruby Rose as Batwoman (fanart) by Royy _Ledger
There’s a lot of drama about Ruby Rose playing Batwoman so here’s some pictures of both Batwoman and Ruby Rose I’ve drawn. by cadhla182

Vids

Archives and Fannish Links

Fansites

batwoman.tv/, a fansite dedicated to the series

References

Related Concepts, Fandoms, Terms, Fanworks
See also	Batwoman, Arrow, The Flash, Vixen, Constantine, Legends of Tomorrow, Arrowverse

[1] Batwoman Series Seeks Lesbian Actress to Play CW's LGBT Hero

[2] Seeing so many people #recastbatwoman and rooting for me. First: I appreciate how much support and love you’re sending my way. Second: I know This role means a lot to Ruby (it would mean a lot to me) and she will work her ass off to fulfill the character. #Batwoman

[3] Ruby Rose Leaves Twitter Following #RecastBatwoman Backlash

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