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Batmanis yet to come along in the Arrowverse , but could that be because Bruce Wayne ’s retired - or worse ? Gotham answer will surely fare now thatBatwomanis coming to the Arrowverse . The part will be introduced inthis class ’s Arrowverse crossing over event , which will also reveal the DCTV variation of Gotham City .
The crossover will also dish out as a back - door pilot forCaroline Dries’sBatwomanTV show . Dries is no stranger to DCTV ; she ’s worked with them before onSmallville . bear The CW White House approve of the cowcatcher , theBatwomanTV series is expected to launch sometime in 2019 .
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Batman has been referenced before in the Arrowverse , and some of his fundamental villains have actually appeared in the various DCTV show . But the decisiveness to focus on Batwoman raise an interesting dubiousness ; where is Batman himself ? In the real world , TV production and statistical distribution right field for the Dark Knight are actually owned by Fox . The internet was responsible for the classic 1960sBatmanseries , and has keep on those right field ever since ( divertingly enough , that mean that Disney ’s project leverage of the volume of Fox ’s TV and film empire may seeDisney gain the TV rights to Batman ) . But in - universe , what understanding will be give for Batman ’s absence ?
What We Know of the Arrowverse’s Batman So Far
Little by little , though , various references began propose that Batman exists in Arrow ’s universe - and that he ’s been active as a vigilance man for quite some clock time , with a well - develop rogue ' gallery and a phone number of key admirer and allies . Arrowseason 2 had nod to Harley Quinn , with a edit scenery for time of year 2 ’s " Unthinkable " show Harley begging Diggle to free her from A.R.G.U.S .. Arrowhad big plan for Harley Quinn , until gamey - ups at Warner Bros. asked the show to back away in light of theSuicide Squadmovie ; they reverence brand dilution could be a potential problem . Meanwhile , a run gag see Felicity Smoak seek to determine on a code - name , rule out " Oracle " because it was already select . Executive producer Wendy Mericle toldTVLinethat the Oracle name was " off the board , " presumptively in a exchangeable way to the show ’s plans for Harley Quinn , but it did n’t stop the showrunners taking a similar glide slope for Felicity when they crippled her . Most recently , Two - Face was referenced in the season 3 episode " Finish Line . "
Gotham City itself has been referenced , too . The Flashseason 2 instalment " instant of Two Worlds " included a wink - and - you’ll - miss - it reference to Blackgate Penitentiary , a prison and genetic change facility locate on an island in Gotham Bay . This prison is clear-cut from DC ’s more illustrious Arkham Asylum , in that it admit Batman ’s condemnable enemies rather than his insane foe .
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Among all this , there have been two verbatim reference to the Waynes . InThe Flashseason 1 instalment " The Trap , " Barry and his friends search at a newspaper cutting from the hereafter that reveals the Flash is destined to mysteriously go away . Attentive viewers spotted another headline on the front page ; " Wayne Tech / Queen Inc Merger Complete " , suggesting in that particular succeeding timeline - since averted - Queen Inc hurt up owned by another billionaire vigilante . But the most denotative reference was inArrowseason 6,when Oliver name - dropped Bruce Wayne . contend that photograph did n’t prove he was really the Green Arrow , he pointed out that these can be doctored . " They could have put Bruce Wayne ’s head on that organic structure , " Oliver observed , before jokingly ask whether Wayne had leave Gotham anytime recently . This was actuallyStephen Amell ’s idea ; the script originally just cite another famous name . He come near Warner Bros. execs with the idea of throwing in a Bruce Wayne reference , and they sign off on it .
Putting all these pieces together , then , we have it away that the Arrowverse ’s Bruce Wayne is indeed Batman , and Wayne was still fighting as recently asArrowseason 6 . The Dark Knight ’s vigilante career has clearly been belong on for a while , as several of his key friends and foeman have taken on their purpose ; in the comics , Barbara Gordon adopted the codename Oracle after she was crippled by the Joker , while Harley Quinn was originally the Joker ’s therapist ; both reference book suggest even the Clown Prince of Crime is out there in the Arrowverse . So how will this next Arrowverse crossover voter , permit alone the Batwoman series , research Gotham City without introducing Batman ?
Page 2 of 2:Knightfall Could Have Happened in the Arrowverse
Bane Could Have Broken the Bat in the Arrowverse
So far , we do n’t know much about theBatwomanTV series . All we have isthe prescribed outline , which does n’t suggest that Gotham City is well - protect any longer .
" In the series , Kate Kane , armed with a cacoethes for societal justice and a flair for talk her mind , sailplane onto the streets of Gotham as Batwoman , an out tribade and extremely trained street fighter primed to snuffle out the failing city ’s criminal resurgence . But do n’t call her a hero yet . In a urban center desperate for a Jesus , Kate must have the best her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham ’s symbol of hope . "
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It ’s an exciting , comic - leger - precise take , but it most in spades hints that Batman is wanting . Gotham is described as " a city desperate for a savior , " with Kate Kane needing to overcome her own intimate devil " before embracing the call to be Gotham ’s symbol of Bob Hope . " The clean implication is that the felon of Gotham are no longer being hunted down by the Dark Knight ; Batman is pass , his symbolic role as defender of the metropolis plain vacated . Kate will adopt the Bat - symbol in purchase order to become the hero and vigilante Batman used to be . Something has intelligibly happened to the Dark Knight .
The solution may well lie in one last Batman Easter bollock , this fourth dimension inLegends of Tomorrow . In the time of year 1 episode " Blood Ties , " Rip Hunter yield a abbreviated lecture about the welfare of being a Time Master . " I ’ve seen dour days , " he insisted . " I ’ve seen Men of Steel die and Dark Knights fall . " That comment seems to be a reference to famed comedian arcsThe Death of Superman(where Doomsday killed the Man of Steel before his Byzantine return ) andKnightfall , the story where Bane break the Bat . An iconic 1993 - 1994 arc , Knightfallsaw strong-arm powerhouse and tactical strategian Bane wear down Batman , first orchestrating a mass breakout from Arkham Asylum before attacking a physically and emotionally exhausted Dark Knight . He broke Batman ’s back(a key part of the arc pad inThe Dark Knight Rises ) , leading to a catamenia where Bruce Wayne step back from Batman .
Rip Hunter ’s ancestry seems to imply that , at some point , Knightfallhas happened in the Arrowverse . of course , as he ’s is a time - traveler , it ’s impossible to say for sure when that would take spot . It likely had n’t chance byArrowseason 6 given Oliver joked that Bruce Wayne could have left Gotham to dissemble as a vigilante , but it could easy have happened since . Indeed , if the events ofKnightfallhappened in a similar way to the comedian , it would explain why Gotham City is in chaos by the time ofBatwoman : some of the most dangerous lunatics from Batman ’s rogues ' gallery could still be free , wreaking mayhem in Gotham .
It ’s worth noting that this comes mainly from circumstantial evidence , with the key incentive being a throwaway line , but it ’s definitely the most satisfying explanation as we head into Gotham proper .
Will Batman Ever Appear in the Arrowverse?
Batman ’s presence in the Arrowverse is entail byBatwoman , but that does n’t mean we ’re any close to seeing him . Speaking at the Television Critics Association press tour in 2013 , Kevin Reilly - Chairman of Entertainment at Fox - reveal that the electronic connection possess the full franchise right for Batman . That ’s why Batman has n’t already been introduced into the Arrowverse . Of course , the motion bull’s eye is whether or not those right will persist in should Disney ’s offer purchase of the bulk of Fox ’s TV and medium empire go ahead . Some contract bridge do have clause that intend rights revert in circumstances like this , but there ’s as yet no evidence this is the lawsuit for the Batman TV enfranchisement .
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That does n’t think of Batman ’s rapscallion ' gallery and subaltern characters are n’t available for utilization inBatwoman , though;Arrow ’s plan to habituate Harley Quinn hint Fox do n’t have the single rights to the Dark Knight ’s sustain character and cast . In which case , the fact that Oracle has been name - cast make her a real opening , while even baddie like the Joker and Two - Face seem to already be demonstrate character of the Gotham underworld . Classic Batman locations like Blackgate Penitentiary and even Arkham Asylum should be uncommitted to theBatwomanseries as well .
It ’s reliable that , in the past , Warner Bros. has had literal concern about brand dilution ; that ’s whyArrow ’s plans for Harley Quinn were canceled , after all . But that argument seems intemperate to maintain open that the studio apartment currently hasmultiple Joker cinema in the works . It ’s possible that recent charges at Warner Bros. driven in part bythe AT&T / Time Warner uniting , have led to a variety in approach here . If that ’s the case , theBatwomanTV serial publication will have accession to one of the greatest scallywag ' verandah in comic account , as well as classic supporting fictional character like Commissioner Gordon and Oracle .