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Real name Katherine "Kathy" Webb-Kane, Katherine "Kate" Rebecca Kane
Batwoman is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. In all incarnations, the character is a wealthy heiress who becomes inspired by the notorious superhero Batman and chooses, like him, to put her wealth and resources towards a war on crime as a masked vigilante in her home of Gotham City. The identity of Batwoman is shared by two heroines in mainstream DC publications; both women are named Katherine Kane, with the original Batwoman commonly referred to by her nickname Kathy and the modern incarnation going by the name Kate.
Batwoman was created by Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff with writer Edmond Hamilton under the direction of editor Jack Schiff, as part of an ongoing effort to expand Batman's cast of supporting characters. Batwoman began appearing in DC Comics stories beginning with Detective Comics #233 (1956), in which she was introduced as a love interest for Batman in order to combat the allegations of Batman's homosexuality arising from the controversial book Seduction of the Innocent (1954). When Julius Schwartz became editor of the Batman-related comic books in 1964, he removed non-essential characters including Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Bat-Mite, and Bat-Hound. Later, the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths retroactively established that Batwoman had never existed, though her alter ego Kathy Kane continued to be referred to occasionally.
After a long hiatus, Batwoman was reintroduced to DC continuity in 2006 in the seventh week of the publisher's year-long 52 weekly comic book. Reintroduced as Kate Kane, the modern Batwoman began operating in Gotham City in Batman's absence following the events of the company-wide crossover Infinite Crisis (2005). The modern Batwoman is written as being of Jewish descent and as a lesbian in an effort by DC editorial staff to diversify its publications and better connect to modern-day readership. Described as the highest-profile gay superhero to appear in stories published by DC, Batwoman's sexual orientation drew wide media attention following her reintroduction, as well as both praise and criticism from the general public.
Biography
Kathy KaneIn the original pre-Crisis continuity, Kathy Kane, a wealthy Gotham City heiress and former circus performer, decides to use her skills and resources to become a costumed crime-fighter. This is partly out of altruism and partly to attract the romantic attentions of Batman. During the Silver Age of Comics, Batwoman guest-starred occasionally in Batman stories published from 1956 to 1964. While Batman wished for Kane to retire from crime-fighting due to the danger, she remained his ally, even when she temporarily became a new version of Catwoman. In 1961, Batwoman was joined by her niece Betty Kane, the Bat-Girl. Kathy and Betty were romantically interested in Batman and Robin, respectively. Robin seemed to return Bat-Girl's affection, while Batman remained aloof. In 1964 however, DC dropped Batwoman, as well as Bat-Girl, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite from the Batman titles, which were undergoing a revamp under editor Julius Schwartz that eliminated many of the sci-fi elements that were introduced in the 1950s. However, Batwoman continues to make appearances in stories published during the next few years in the Batman-Superman team-up book World's Finest. The character would later reappear in the late 1970s, made guest appearances in the Batman Family and Freedom Fighters comic book series, often fighting crime alongside Barbara Gordon, who had become the new Batgirl. In a story depicting Batwoman as a retired crimefighter, she becomes the owner of a circus, which she keeps until killed by the League of Assassins and the brainwashed Bronze Tiger.
During this period, DC began heavily using the Multiverse storytelling device which posited that the publisher's earliest stories (from the Golden Age of Comic Books) took place on the parallel world of Earth-Two. DC visited the concept of an older Batwoman in Brave and the Bold #182 (1982), in a story titled "Interlude on Earth-2". In this story, which features pre-Crisis Earth-One Batman accidentally arriving on Earth-Two to battle the Earth-Two Hugo Strange alongside the adult Earth-Two Dick Grayson (Robin), Batwoman is portrayed as middle-aged and still in love with the now-deceased Commissioner Bruce Wayne of Earth-Two. Later, the conclusion of the publisher's 1985 maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths altered DC Universe continuity, subsequently changing the character histories of Batwoman and Bat-Girl. In the new continuity, Kathy Kane did exist, though her persona as Batwoman had been erased. Bat-Girl never existed either, but a superheroine named Flamebird was introduced who had a somewhat similar costume and similar name, "Bette Kane".
Despite the erasure of both Kathy Kane as Batwoman and Betty Kane as Bat-Girl, there were references to both heroines in post-Crisis publications. In Alan Moore's Batman: The Killing Joke, Batman stares at a photograph that portrays Bat-Girl, Batwoman, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite—characters that did not exist in continuity at the time. In Planet Krypton #1, which was part of The Kingdom storyline, a Hypertime ghost of Batwoman haunts the Planet Krypton restaurant. Batman briefly recognizes her as "Kathy", but then quickly denies knowing her. Kathy, sans her Batwoman identity, was also referenced in a few post-Crisis publications. According to The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to The Characters of the DC Universe (2004), Kathy was described as a wealthy former circus stuntwoman that had inherited her father's fortune and later became acquainted with Bruce Wayne as a Gotham socialite. She eventually became a crime fighting ally to Batman, although she never used the Batwoman name. The encyclopedia entry explains that she eventually purchased a circus and was murdered by a member of the League of Assassins; however, Bronze Tiger was not her killer. Her murder was again recalled in Suicide Squad #38. During the Beast Boy miniseries, Flamebird tried to post bail for Beast Boy with money "borrowed from Aunt Kathy." Flamebird further mentioned that "Aunty Kathy's in Gotham" in Teen Titans #39.
The introduction of Kate Kane as the new Batwoman following the continuity-altering events of Infinite Crisis in 2005 allowed the company to revisit elements of the Kathy Kane character it did away with following Crisis on Infinite Earths; Batman writer Grant Morrison explicitly set out to treat Batman's entire publication history as his backstory. In Detective Comics #824 (2006), the Penguin refers to Kate Kane as the new Batwoman, implying for the first time since 1985 that there was an earlier Batwoman. Later Kathy appears in a flashback story in Batman #682 (2009), in a panel showing Batman and the original Batwoman kissing, with Robin showing his distrust of her and Bat-Girl. In this story, Kathy is referred to as "Katy" Kane. In Batman #686, Batman's butler Alfred mentions that Bruce Wayne was once romantically involved with Kathy.
Grant Morrison later chose to heavily reimagine Kathy Kane in 2011 for his Batman Incorporated series. It is established that Kathy Kane was born Katherine Webb, and that she had been an aspiring independent film director prior to marrying a millionaire named Nathan Kane, the son of Roderick and Elizabeth Kane and brother of Martha (Kane) Wayne, Bruce Wayne's mother. Nathan and Kathy were madly in love with one another, and it was Nathan who ended up buying Kathy her circus as a birthday present. After Nathan's untimely death, Kathy was approached by a young man known only as Agent-33, who recruited her into a covert spy organization called Spyral. As part of her first assignment, Kathy was tasked with tracking down Batman and discovering his true identity. Donning a female variation of Batman's costume in order to gain his attention, she embarked on a career as a costumed crime-fighter while attempting to get close to Batman. Her plan succeeded but the two fell in love with one another, despite Kathy legally being Wayne's aunt. As a result, she refused to reveal his identity to her superiors at Spyral. Later, Kathy was confronted by the head of Spyral, a Nazi supervillain named Dr. Dedalus who claimed to be her real father and threatened to expose her to Batman unless she continued her mission. Heartbroken, she broke off her relationship with Bruce in order to save him from Dedalus' plan. In the present, Batman and the South American vigilante El Gaucho are told by the villainess Scorpiana that El Gaucho was responsible for Kathy's murder, as he had originally been Agent-33 prior to becoming a superhero. Batman tells Gaucho that Scorpiana must be lying since Kathy had been killed by the League of Assassins, but Gaucho claims that there is some truth in her accusations, and that Batman wouldn't understand. In the follow-up one-shot Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes, students of an assassin training facility masquerading as St. Hadrian's Finishing School For Girls in England are shown wearing variations of Kathy's Batwoman costume, with the original masks replaced by skulls. Later, these women are shown to be agents of Spyral, dedicated to hunting down Talia al Ghul, whose organisation Leviathan is waging war with Batman. Kathy reappears alive in the concluding issue of Batman Incorporated, in which she shoots Talia al Ghul dead in the Batcave. Identifying herself as St Hadrian's headmistress and requesting Batman not to go looking for her, she thanks Batman for leading Talia into her trap and reports to Spyral headquarters that one more international criminal has been killed.
Later, when Dick Grayson fakes his death and goes to work for Spyral, he works under the direction of the scheming Mr Mynos, who during a tense confrontation with Dick is assassinated by Kane, who is identified only as Agent Zero; she is the real head of Spyral. When Dick tries to leave the organisation behind, he knows he cannot because of the "Hypnos" implanted in his brain which allow him to hypnotise others and disguise his appearance, but also permit Spyral to monitor him always. Kathy, face disguised by hypnos, pursues Dick to Gotham and tells him to take the day to say goodbye to his friends but that he cannot leave Spyral. He travels to Gotham City and reveals he is alive to Robin, Red Robin, Red Hood and Batgirl, and communicates with them by secret code. Acting on Dick's orders, they hack the Spyral hynos so that on their next encounter, Dick can see Agent Zero's true face. Dick's hypnos reveal Agent Zero's identity, but not the name Kathy; it surrenders up the alternative name Luka Netz, Kathy's birth name.
Kate Kane
Origins and early career
In 52 #7, Kate Kane is introduced (although she is referred to as Kathy on several occasions). No Origins titles have been presented for Kate Kane; her fictional backstory is presented in Detective Comics through the use of exposition and flashbacks. In their early childhood, Katherine Rebecca "Kate" Kane and her sister Elizabeth "Beth" Kane were identical twins and were very close to each other. On their twelfth birthday, Kate and Beth were taken by their mother, Gabrielle "Gabi" Kane, to an expensive restaurant for chocolate and waffles, their favorite dish. On the way to the restaurant, a group of gunmen attacked the family and took them hostage, killing their bodyguard in the process. After learning of her family's kidnapping, Kate's father Colonel Jacob "Jake" Kane led a rescue mission to save his captured family, which ended with Kate's mother executed and Beth apparently killed after being caught in the crossfire between the kidnappers and soldiers. Years later, Jake marries Catherine Hamilton Kane. Kate is attending the United States Military Academy, where she receives excellent grades and ranks at the top of her class. However, when it is alleged that she is in a lesbian relationship with another student, Kate's commanding officer asks her to disavow the allegation. Telling the officer that she refuses to lie and violate the code of the Academy, Kate admits to being gay and is forced to leave the school. When she confronts her father with the news, he supports her and affirms that she upheld her honour and integrity. She then moves back to Gotham City where she attends college and pursues a wild social lifestyle. Kate is eventually pulled over for speeding by a young Renee Montoya, who was just a traffic cop at this point. The two date for several months and break up following a fight where Kate berates Renee for keeping her sexuality hidden from her colleagues and family; after Renee expresses concern about Kate's lack of direction, when it's revealed she's not been attending college. While attempting to call Renee and apologize for her behavior, Kate is attacked by a mugger who wants her wallet and cell phone. Using her military training, Kate easily defeats the criminal just as Batman arrives and helps her off the ground. She is then shown fixated by the Bat Signal as Batman flees the scene.
Inspired by her encounter with the caped crusader, Kate begins fighting crime using stolen military body armor and weaponry. After being confronted by Jake, Kate accepts his offer for assistance and begins an intense two years of training across the globe. Upon returning to Gotham, Kate discovers that her father has created a Batsuit for her, along with an arsenal of experimental weaponry and a bunker hidden in the Kane home. The first reference to the modern Batwoman is made by the Penguin in Detective Comics #824 who suggests Batman bring a date to the opening of his club, asking, "Why don't you bring that new Batwoman? I hear she's kind of hot." In 52 #7 (2006) the new Batwoman is introduced. Kane is revealed to have been intimately involved with former Gotham City police detective Renee Montoya and is heiress to one of the wealthiest families in Gotham, owning that which the Wayne family does not. In her third appearance in issue #11 of 52 entitled "Batwoman Begins," Kane assists Montoya and her partner the Question in a mystery revolving around a warehouse owned by Kane's family. When Montoya and the Question are attacked sometime later by Whisper A'Daire's shapeshifting minions, Kane intervenes as Batwoman and rescues them.
In 52 #28 (2006), after Montoya learns that the "Book of Crime," a sacred text of Intergang, contains a prophecy foretelling the brutal murder of the "twice named daughter of Kane," she and the Question return to Gotham, joining forces with Batwoman in issue #30 in order to avert Intergang's plans. Batwoman later appears in a story written by Greg Rucka for the DC Infinite Holiday Special (2006). As Batwoman continues the case, she is joined by Nightwing, who has recently returned to Gotham and becomes infatuated with her. On Christmas Eve, he gives her an 'official' Batarang. She also celebrates Hanukkah with Renee, and the two kiss shortly before Christmas. This story introduced some of Kane's background, including the fact that she is Jewish. In issue #48 of 52 (2007), when Intergang realizes that the image of Batwoman in the Crime Bible and the cited "twice-named daughter of Cain" were one and the same, they ransack Kane's apartment, kidnapping her with the intention to sacrifice her. Montoya arrives too late to stop the ritual, finding Kate bound and gagged to an altar as prophet Bruno Mannheim plunges a knife through her heart. In the ensuing confrontation, the freed Batwoman pulls the knife out of her own chest to stab Mannheim, and then collapses in Renee's arms. She survives her wounds after Renee stops the bleeding in time, however, and as she recuperates in her penthouse, Renee, disguised in her new alter ego as the Question, shines the Bat-Signal into her apartment and asks, "Are you ready?"
2007–2009: Countdown, Final Crisis
Batwoman subsequently appears in the fifty-two issue weekly series Countdown, intended to act as a prelude to DC's summer crossover event the following year. Batwoman appears in Countdown #39 (2007), after the Question confronts Trickster and Pied Piper, having trailed them from the Penguin's Iceburg Lounge nightclub. Batwoman also makes an appearance in the miniseries Crime Bible: The Five Lessons of Blood (2007) alongside the Question. Batwoman is seen again on the final page of Grant Morrison's Final Crisis #3 (2008), one month after the Anti-Life Equation was released, as a new Female Fury along with Wonder Woman, Catwoman, and Giganta. Her costume bears resemblance to the dead Fury Mad Harriet. She is also seen in Final Crisis: Revelations #3 attacking the Question after having just been infected with the Anti-Life Equation.
2009–2010: Detective Comics lead feature
Following the events of Final Crisis and Battle for the Cowl, in which Bruce Wayne has supposedly died and is replaced by Dick Grayson, Kate becomes the lead of Detective Comics from issue 854 to 863. In the first story, entitled "Elegy", Batwoman's seen investigating the arrival of a new leader of the Religion of Crime to Gotham. She briefly meets Batman (it is intentionally left ambiguous whether or not it is Dick Grayson or Bruce Wayne) to discuss her findings. Kate demonstrates greater knowledge of the Religion of Crime, and even corrects Batman by saying there's 13 and not 12 covens of the religion in Gotham. Batman concedes the case to her, and comments on the length of her hair (though panels on the same page reveal the long red wig hides her actual hair, styled short).
Aspects of her personal life are also revealed, including her relationship with her ex-colonel father; serving as Batwoman's ally, whom she addresses as "sir." The strain of her late night vigilante activity has also taken a toll on her romantic relationships. Her lateness and night time absences are interpreted by her girlfriend as an on the side liaison with another woman. She breaks the relationship off as she believes Kate is not ready to commit to an exclusive relationship. A past traumatic incident is also alluded to which she claims still haunts her. As she vaguely describes the experience, her face is shown superimposed on the page over a restrained girl with a bag over her head. She later tracks down the new leader of the Religion of Crime: an elaborately costumed woman named Alice. Over the course of the conflict that ensues, Batwoman observes that Alice only speaks in quotations from Lewis Carroll, believing herself to be Alice Liddell. Alice denies a connection to the Mad Hatter.
While attending a party thrown for the Gotham Police Department, Kate meets and flirts with detective Maggie Sawyer, and runs into her cousin Bette Kane (better known as the Teen Titans member Flamebird). Kate is apparently unaware of her cousin's vigilante activities, and inadvertently hurts her feelings when she cuts her off in the middle of a conversation to answer her cell phone. While dancing with Maggie, Kate discovers that Alice has kidnapped her father and plans to destroy Gotham by spreading a deadly airborne chemical from a hijacked airplane, thus succeeding where Mannheim failed. Batwoman boards the plane and defeats Alice's subordinates, eventually stopping the plot and rescuing her father in the process. However, Alice is accidentally thrown from the plane, only to be caught by Batwoman. Alice then shocks her by saying that Batwoman has "Our father's eyes," apparently revealing that she is in fact Kate's sister Beth (who was believed to have been killed years ago). With Batwoman stunned by the revelation, Alice stabs her in the wrist with a knife. Batwoman is forced to release her grip, sending Alice to her apparent demise in the river below.
In the aftermath of this discovery, Kate locks herself in her crime lab and tries to come to terms with what just happened, while the police struggle in vain to find any sign of Alice's corpse. These scenes are depicted amongst numerous flashback sequences that comprise most of the issue. Throughout them, back story is provided from her childhood that depicts Kate, her twin sister Beth, and their mother being kidnapped. While Kate's father is able to rescue her, it appears as though both her sister and mother have been killed by the time he arrives.
Batwoman appears in the miniseries Cry for Justice, a set-up for a new ongoing Justice League title. When the Justice League of America splits up following Bruce Wayne's death and a disastrous confrontation with the Shadow Cabinet, Green Lantern Hal Jordan leads a group of superheroes to Gotham in order to track down the supervillain known as Prometheus. Kate is shown stalking the heroes from the rooftops after they encounter Clayface. Batwoman later contacts both Leagues at the JLA Watchtower, informing them she encountered and engaged supervillain Delores Winters, who mysteriously collapsed and died right as she was about to be taken into custody. The heroes request that Kate bring the body up to them, but she declines, telling them that she is much too busy due to a rash of criminal uprisings going on in Gotham. Firestorm is then sent to retrieve the corpse from Kate and bring it to the team, who discover that Dolores was forced into fighting by means of a mind control device. In a text piece included in Justice League: Cry for Justice #6, writer James Robinson revealed that Batwoman was initially intended to be part of his new Justice League line-up, but this plan fell apart after Cry For Justice was shortened into a miniseries rather than an ongoing title. This explains why Batwoman is present on the cover of the first issue, and why she was initially said to be a member of the team when the book was first announced.
Later, Kate appears as part of Batman and Robin: Blackest Knight. Batwoman is kidnapped by cultists and taken to London in order for her to once again be sacrificed. She is sealed within a coffin and taken underground to the last remaining Lazarus Pit in order for the ritual to begin. She is saved by the timely intervention of Dick Grayson and British superheroes Knight and Squire. After learning that Grayson plans on placing Bruce Wayne's corpse into the pit in order to revive him, Kate strongly protests, but he simply ignores her. True to Kate's warnings, Bruce (in reality an insane clone created by Darkseid) emerges from the Pit and attacks the heroes. As the battle takes place, the cultists who kidnapped Kate detonate explosives surrounding the Pit, causing a massive cave-in. Grayson discovers Kate, buried alive and with extensive injury to her spine and legs, and tries to help her. Kate is healed after being placed inside the Pit, and she returns to Gotham with the others. Before leaving to return to her home, Grayson flirts with Kate by telling her that he has a thing for red-haired crime-fighters (a reference to his previous love interests, Barbara Gordon and Starfire), apparently unaware of Kate's sexuality.
Batwoman also begins hunting down a crazed serial killer known as the Cutter, who has been abducting young women and cutting off parts of their face in order to create the perfect woman. He eventually kidnaps Bette, but Kate tracks the killer to his lair and attacks him. During the fight, Batwoman reveals her identity to Bette when she mentions her tennis career, and in the aftermath Bette is seen in her Flamebird outfit, saying that she wants to be Kate's new partner.
2010–present: self-titled series
In 2010, DC announced that Batwoman would star in a series with art by J. H. Williams III, who would also co-write the series with writer W. Haden Blackman. Artist Amy Reeder Hadley would also contribute art, alternating story arcs with Williams. The series' introductory "zero issue" was released on November 24, 2010. The launch of Batwoman #1 was originally scheduled for February 2011, then delayed until spring; in early March it was announced that Batwoman #1 would be released sometime in Fall 2011. In September 2013, J. H. Williams III announced that he together with Blackman quit the series after alleging creative difference with the producers, citing a sudden change to not allow Batwoman to marry her partner as Williams and Blackman had planned.
Batwoman appears as a member of an all-female team of heroes created by Wonder Woman to repel a faux-alien invasion of Washington DC masterminded by Professor Ivo. After the battle is over, Kate asks Wonder Woman if she'd like to accompany Kate and the other heroines to a bar in order to celebrate, but Wonder Woman politely turns them down in order to attend the college graduation ceremony of her old friend, Vanessa Kapatelis.
In Batman Inc. Batwoman later appears while tracking down a gangster named Johnny Valentine, who is wanted for his connection to the murders of three marines. She tracks him to a local circus, the same one once owned by her predecessor, Kathy Kane. While chasing Valentine through a haunted house, Batwoman is attacked by what appears to be Kathy's ghost. Batwoman struggles with and eventually defeats the "ghost", who is revealed to be nothing more than a blonde-haired female assassin clad in a wig and a replica of Kathy's costume. Kate realizes that she recognizes the assassin, and asks her father to run a facial-recognition scan. While Kate restrains her attacker, her father reveals that Valentine is connected to a supervillain operating out of South America, and tells Kate that she needs to get down there to find out what is going on.
Played by the actors
Filmography of Batwoman (2 films)
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Batman: Bad Blood (2016)
, 1h12Directed by Jay Oliva
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantasy, Action, Animation
Themes Films about children, Batman films, Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics
Actors Jason O'Mara, Sean Maher, Yvonne Strahovski, Morena Baccarin, Ernie Hudson, Gaius Charles
Rating68%
When Batman is missing, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne try to protect Gotham City. Two new people, Batwoman and Batwing also help discover Batman's disappearance.
, 1h15Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Crime, Animation, Romance
Themes Films about children, Batman films, Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics
Actors Kevin Conroy, Kimberly Brooks, Kelly Ripa, Elisa Gabrielli, Kyra Sedgwick, David Ogden Stiers
Rating66%
A new heroine has arrived in Gotham whose identity is a mystery— even to Batman. During patrol, the Dynamic Duo spots her trying to stop one of Penguin's shipments on Gotham's interstate, using a plasma rifle to send the Penguin's truck with its driver off the bridge. Batman and Robin save the driver from falling to his death. Batman must figure out who Batwoman is and stop familiar enemies, the Penguin and Rupert Thorne, from selling illegal weapons to the fictional nation of Kasnia. The two employ Carlton Duquesne, a gangster, to provide protection.