Arrow: 5 Biggest Questions After The Second Elseworlds Episode

“Elseworlds – Part 2” was Arrow‘s contribution to the annual Arrowverse crossover event. Having finally convinced Team Flash that reality had been rewritten so that Oliver Queen and Barry Allen had traded places, Green Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl made their way to Gotham City. The only clue they had to who was responsible for their current troubles came from a vibe-vision that Cisco Ramon shared with them, during which Oliver Queen speed-sketched a picture of a man with a book, an odd alien figure and a city skyline which prominently featured the Wayne Enterprises building.

The trio didn’t find a warm welcome waiting for them in Gotham. After nearly getting mugged and then getting arrested when the Gotham Police recognized noted vigilante Oliver Queen, the heroes had their bail paid by Kate Kane – a mysterious woman who had taken over the abandoned Wayne Enterprises building. Kate agreed to help the heroes with finding their mystery man, if only to get them out of her city sooner.

Related: The Flash: 6 Biggest Questions After The First Elseworlds Episode

Most of the episode’s mysteries centered around Kate Kane, her connection to Bruce Wayne and the mysterious disappearance of both Bruce Wayne and Batman from Gotham City three years earlier. While the episode told us more about the Gotham City of Earth 1 and Batman than we’ve ever learned before, it still left us with many mysteries to consider. Here are five of the biggest questions raised by “Elseworlds – Part 2.”

5. Why Did Bruce Wayne Leave Gotham City?

After being freed from jail, Barry, Oliver and Kara are informed that the person who paid their bail would like to speak to them. A driver drops them off outside of the Wayne Enterprises building, which we are informed has been abandoned for several years. According to Oliver, Bruce Wayne suddenly disappeared three years earlier and his board of directors sank the company with a number of aggressive get-rich-quick deals. Nobody knows why Bruce Wayne left town or where he went afterward.

In addition to these questions, one must also wonder if Bruce Wayne is still alive and if his “vanishing” was part of an effort by his allies to cover up his death in the line of duty as Batman. When Kara asks Kate about the possibility that Bruce just snapped trying to keep his private life hidden, Kate says that Bruce wasn’t the type to break easily and that he “didn’t leave Gotham without a fight.” This could suggest that either Bruce Wayne was forced to abandon his hometown or that he died defending it.

4. What Is The Relationship Between Superman and Batman on Earth-38?

While “Elseworlds – Part 2” offered the first evidence of Batman existing on Earth-1 in the Arrowverse, it has been known for some time that Batman exists on Earth-38, the world of Supergirl. What is less clear, however, is the nature of his relationship with Superman. When Kara speaks in private with Kate Kane, she says that her cousin is a friend of Bruce Wayne’s before correcting herself and describing them as “frenemies.” Winn Schott used the same term to describe Superman and Batman in the second season Supergirl episode “City of Lost Children” while James Olsen described Batman as “Clark’s friend.” 

Related: The Arrow Easter Egg That Confirmed Batman In The Arrowverse

3. How Long Has Kate Been Batwoman?

While “Elseworlds – Part 2” makes it clear to the viewers that Kate Kane is Batwoman, it does not give us any details as to Kate’s training as a vigilante or just how long she has been Batwoman. The fact that Barry Allen has never heard of a Batwoman before would suggest that she is fairly new to the role. On the other hand, the fact that Batman is apparently an urban myth and that Oliver Queen doesn’t believe in him could suggest that Kate, much like her cousin, is very good at keeping a low profile and has been operating as Batwoman in secret for some time. Either way, this still begs the question of whether or not she was operating as Batwoman before Bruce Wayne and Batman disappeared.

2. Will We See Kara And Kate Team Up In The Future?

After the rest of the team have left Supergirl and Batwoman alone once the Book of Destiny is recovered, Kara says that she regrets having to leave because she suspects that she and Kate would make a good team. “World’s Finest,” agrees Batwoman, in a nod to a classic comic book series that was devoted to Superman/Batman team-up stories. While no future crossovers between Supergirl and the upcoming Batwoman series have been confirmed or even suggested, it seems likely that The CW will want to team the two heroines again given the chemistry between Ruby Rose and Melissa Benoist in this episode.

1. Who Is the Black Suit Superman?

The final scene of “Elseworlds – Part 2” sees reality being rewritten again and Oliver Queen and Barry Allen now being a pair of wanted criminals. After evading a group of Central City police officers (which includes Oliver Queen’s arch-enemy Ricardo Diaz among their ranks), the two fugitives are captured by a black-suited Superman. This is unusual if for no other reason than Earth-1 did not have a Superman before Elseworlds started.

While the episode ends before we learn any specifics on this Superman’s identity, the trailer for “Elseworlds – Part 3” which followed suggested a specifically frightening possibility – Superman Prime, whose existence in the Arrowverse had been hinted at by an earlier episode of The Flash. The final survivor of the dead Earth Prime, this version of Superman became obsessed with the idea of finding another perfect Earth to protect, destroying any reality he found that did not meet his impossible standards. The trailer reveals this black-suited Superman shouting lines like “This is no longer your Earth – it’s mine!” and “I am the hero this Earth deserves!” which certainly sound like Superman Prime’s dialogue in the comics. Thankfully, fans will not have to wait until the next episode of Arrow to find out the truth, as Elseworlds concludes on Tuesday, December 11 with Supergirl.

More: When Arrow Season 7 Returns In 2019 (& What To Expect)

About The Author

Matt Morrison
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Matt Morrison has been writing about comics since before the word
“blogging” was coined. He got his start writing for the
legendary DC Comics digital fanzine Fanzing,
before receiving his own column, The Mount. Since then he has gone on
to write for over a dozen websites, including 411
Mania, Comics
Nexus and The Cult of Nobody. He holds both an MS in Information
Science from the University of North Texas and a BFA from the
University of Texas at Arlington. Known as a font of comic book
history trivia, he has delivered lectures on the history of American
Comic Books, Japanese Manga, Doctor Who, and Cosplay at over a dozen conventions
and served as an Expert In-Residence for a course on Graphic Novels
for Librarians at the University of North Texas. In addition to his
work for Screen Rant, Matt is currently the Editor In Chief of
Kabooooom.com and writes reviews for No
Flying, No Tights – a graphic literature and anime review site
aimed at teachers and librarians. He also maintains a personal blog –
My Geeky Geeky Ways –
which hosts his extensive episode guide for the television series
making up The Arrowverse as well as his
comedic Let’s Play videos. What little spare time he has is
devoted towards acting, role-playing, movie-riffing and sarcasm. You
can follow his adventures on Twitter, @GeekyGeekyWays.

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