Ruby Rose will debut as Batwoman in Elseworlds, the Arrowverse crossover that will bring the stars of Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl to Gotham City for the first time. But where is Batman?
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, consulting producer Caroline Dries – who is lined up to exec produce a Batwoman series if such a thing gets officially ordered – said this about the state of play in Gotham when the crossover kicks off:
“Our approach is: What does Gotham look like after the Batman has been gone for three years? So if you have the law and order, protector, and hope gone, what happens as a result? Some people are thriving in his absence because now they can start to do their own thing without the oversight. A lot of other people are suffering and they’re losing hope, and the city itself and infrastructure is falling apart. So it’s not a happy place. Our guys walk into a grimy, scary Gotham.”
Producer Marc Guggenheim added this:
“The way I sort of described it to Stephen [Amell] is, it’s there but for the grace of God goes Star City. It’s the worst case scenario. The reason no one talks about Gotham is the city might as well be dead. It’s practically a ghost town.”
And Grant Gustin offered this take, teasing Oliver Queen and Barry Allen’s different opinions on Gotham’s Dark Knight:
“Oliver is like, ‘He’s not real! They’ve made him up! It’s a hoax just to scare the citizens. Barry is flabbergasted by that and all he wants to do in Gotham is meet Batman. It’s a pretty funny scene.”
In Batman’s absence, we look forward to seeing Batwoman rise up and take centre stage. She has her own arsenal of gadgets, after all, so who needs Batman?!