Warning: SPOILERS for the Batwoman season 2 finale.

Not only did the Batwoman season 2 finale wrap up Kate Kane’s story, but her next chapter will directly tackle the Arrowverse’s long-running Batman issue as well. Ever since the Arrowverse began playing around with the Batman mythology, The CW has been able to utilize various villains and drop constant Easter eggs, but not use the Dark Knight himself. Before Batwoman had premiered, the only information on Bruce Wayne was that he disappeared from Gotham City and left his home defenseless against the criminal world. While Warren Christie was cast as Earth-Prime’s Bruce, he has only appeared in a few situations.

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The first time was when Tommy Elliot, a.k.a. Hush, had his face changed to look like Bruce, and the most recent was when the real Bruce took part in Luke Fox’s limbo state. Even though Batwoman can’t use Batman on a regular basis, due to the character being favored for the movies, this has been a plot point the Arrowverse hasn’t adequately dealt with since the series premiered. There have been past stories to suggest the possible reason why Bruce left Gotham, but never anything concrete. However, the Batwoman season 2 finale may be the first step in fixing the Arrowverse’s Batman problem.

After Kate got all of her memories back and was freed from Black Mask’s brainwashing, she revealed to Luke, Mary, and Sophie that she was leaving Gotham City. Kate felt she had done everything she could to try to help Alice become Beth again, which is why she now wants to try and find Bruce. By tracking down Batman, Kate felt that she might be able to forgive herself for not finding her twin sister sooner. Not only does the Batwoman season 2 finale properly finish Kate’s story, but it lets the Arrowverse address the Batman issue after all these years. Instead of dancing around the topic of “where’s Batman?”, the series is actively tackling it, even if it’s off-screen. It means there could be an answer to the mystery in the future – potentially near-future.

Logistically, it’s clear why the Arrowverse can’t use Batman consistently due to Warner Bros. prioritizing him for the big screen. However, it doesn’t erase the fact that Bruce simply wouldn’t abandon his city without a strong, believable reason. Almost every version of Batman – whether it be comics, TV shows, movies, or video games – has established that the reason Bruce became a crime fighter was because his parents were murdered. In almost every story, Bruce has seen just how corrupt Gotham City is, which is why Batman was born, partially because he didn’t want another child to lose their family the way he did.

It’s perfectly fine for Batman to not be involved in Batwoman’s story because the show doesn’t need him. However, what the series needs to do is at least justify why Bruce has been missing. Since day one, it has always felt out of character for Bruce to leave Gotham City without finding a replacement to take over for him. While other characters have mentioned they looked for Bruce, the search should never have stopped. Thanks to the Batwoman season 2, they’re letting the perfect character go and search for Batman while giving Kate a new chapter that can be tackled off-screen. Kate even theorized in the season finale that maybe Bruce is trapped somewhere and needs someone to come to rescue him.

For Batwoman season 3 and onward, the Bat-legacy officially lives through Ryan and her version of the Bat-Family. But at the very least, Bruce’s story needs a conclusion if they’re never going to have him around regularly. A powerful ending for Arrowverse’s Batman would be if Bruce decided to start Batman Incorporated to create a new generation of Bat heroes all over the world. It would have to be after Bruce is found from wherever he is, since it wouldn’t look good if Batman left Gotham unprotected before trying to help the rest of the world. Either way, Kate’s Batwoman ending ideally will lead to the Arrowverse’s Batman issue being fixed and addressed on-screen, even for just a single episode.

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About The Author


Andy Behbakht
(1040 Articles Published)

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Andy is a senior writer at Screen Rant as he has covered the world of entertainment journalism since 2010, including superhero/comic book media. In addition to his work as a reporter, Andy co-hosts The Flash Podcast while running and producing the entire DC TV Podcasts network. He is also the founder/editor-in-chief of The Marvel Report since Fall 2015. Andy has previously written for sites such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It’s Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more.

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