Photo: Courtesy CW

By Matt Thompson

Batwoman season 2 premiered Sunday January 17th on the CW.

After the departure of Australian actress Ruby Rose, TV Executives were at a loss on what to do moving forward.

Ruby Rose played Kate Kane from DC Comics as the main character and hero of Batwoman season 1. Following her appearance in the “Elseworlds” crossover between The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl, the CW brought Kate Kane into the mix of shows.

While many fans disliked Rose’s adaptation of Kate Kane, many sources had Batwoman listed has one of the CW’s top shows.

The biggest problem going into season 2, was how could they fill that role?

In the big “Crisis on Infinite Earths” Crossover, Rose’s character, Kate Kane, became the Paragon of Courage, even meeting fan favorite Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy from Batman the animated series (BTAS). Many fans thought this was a waste of time now, after all the love this scene got.

Shortly after Rose’s departure the CW announced they would cast a completely new character to star in the role with the name “Ryan Wilder.” She would still be a lesbian in the series; however, she could be any ethnicity.

Batwoman writers eventually cast African American actress Javicia Leslie to play Ryan WIlder. Wilder was not a character in the comics, however since DC Comics is constantly releasing new comics, they decided to continue with Batgirl, instead of moving it over to Future State like the rest of the heroes. This allowed them to introduce Ryan Wilder in the new Batgirl comic, Batgirl #50. This was done, so she could be introduced in the comics before her live action adaptation.

Her comic book character was shown as a drug-runner who is likable, messy, and silly. While she does have a big heart, she would steal if necessary. She gives off a Jason Todd feel, after stealing hubcaps from the Batmobile.

In her live action debut, she lives out of her van, and has the same training in martial arts, but her origin story is changed to fit the show. She is looking to get revenge for her mother after she finds Kate Kane’s Batsuit.

With Luke Fox (played by Camrus Johnson) and Mary Hamiliton (Nicole Kang) resenting her using the batsuit, fans were skeptical of the dynamic, but overall thought it has potential.

In my opinion, there is a long way to go as far as chemistry goes, but it looks like they will get there sooner than later.