It's easy to say that I left as Kate and came back as Batwoman. The truth, though, is that I left as your lost little girl and came back knowing exactly who I am. I came back as Kate Kane.
„
~ Prime Earth's Batwoman.
Katherine "Kate" Kane, better known as Batwoman, is a supporting character in the DC Universe, specifically serving as a major character in the Batman franchise, and the titular main protagonist of the series of the same name.
She is the younger twin sister of Alice. In all incarnations, Batwoman is a wealthy heiress who—inspired by the notorious superhero Batman (her cousin, Bruce Wayne) chooses, like him, to put her wealth and resources towards funding a war on crime in her home of Gotham City.
Ruby Rose portrayed the character in the Arrowversetelevision series named after her character. In the second season, Javicia Leslie was succeed the role of Batwoman as an original character named Ryan Wilder. However, in the middle of the season, Kate Kane returns and is now portrayed by Wallis Day.
Katherine Rebecca Kane is the daughter of Colonel Jacob Kane and Captain Gabi Kane, and is the twin-sister to Elizabeth Kane. The family would often move due to being part of the Army, and eventually moved from Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Brussels, Belgium when Jacob started working for NATO.
On the twins' 12th birthday, while driving to get waffles and chocolate as a birthday treat, Kate and her mother and sister were kidnapped by the Religion of Crime amidst a terrorist attack, and she witnessed their deaths.
Jacob led the rescue operation and saved Kate himself, but Kate was traumatized by the event. Unbeknownst to Kate, Bette had survived the incident.
Becoming a Cadet[]
Inspired by Jacob's emotional steadiness in the wake of the tragedy, Kate decided to dedicate her life to following him into Army service. She excelled all through high school, graduating at the top of her class and making it to the Senior Elite level in gymnastics, and was eventually accepted into the United States Military Academy.
Kate continued to thrive at West Point. By her senior year, she had gained the rank of Brigade Executive Officer, completed both Air Assault School and the U.S. Army Airborne School, and maintained an academic placement between the 95th and 99th percentile of her class. In addition, she earned prestigious awards, such as the Superintendent's Award for Excellence and the Recondo Badge. During her junior year, Kate joined the women's boxing team and won an academy championship at the annual Brigade Boxing Open by defeating fellow team member Sophie Moore.
Kate roomed with Sophie, and the two eventually began a romantic relationship. When an anonymous accusation of homosexual conduct was brought against Kate, she confirmed her sexual orientation, but didn't out Sophie. Kate was discharged per the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, and returned home. Despite being discharged, her father found it more important that she didn't lie to save herself.
Becoming Batwoman[]
When her father married heiress Catherine Hamilton, Kate gained the title of a socialite in Gotham City, slowly spiraling down and becoming notorious for her drinking and partying. During this time, she would travel the world to find herself and battle her depression. During one of her travels, she hit her head on a rock while diving, and wound up on the island of Coryana, off the coast of Malta.
She was rescued by the leader of the island, Safiyah, and began a romantic relationship with her. Kate was instantly disliked by the population, seeing her as a distraction from Safiyah's duties. In addition, Safiyah's former lover Tahani came to resent Kate, and attempted to kill her on one occasion. Kate eventually learned that her wound caused a bacterium to hit the island, she was disguised with Safiyah, who killed an innocent man who she blamed for the outbreak (but did know that Kate caused it, now wanting the population to know).
Kate left the island after coming to blows with Safiyah and Tahani, and never returned to the island of Coryana. When returning to Gotham City, she returned to vices, and was pulled over by Renee Montoya, but instead of being arrested, the two began a relationship. The two had a falling out, as Renee believed that Kate had no direction in her life, and had no goal for the future.
One night, Kate was attacked by a mugger in an alleyway, and was saved by Batman. Seeing Batman in person made Kate realized she wanted to be a vigilante, and decided to start training herself to fight crime. Jacob finds out what she was doing, but decided to help train, and she used her wealth and resources to go across the globe. Returning back to Gotham after three years of fierce training, Kate became a vigilante, and took the title of Batwoman.
During her early crime fighting career, she would run into Montoya, and often fight against criminals such as Whisper A'Daire. When the Religion of Crime learned of the prophecy foretelling the murder of a "twice named daughter of Kane" would cause Gotham to perish, they went after Batwoman.
Portrayals[]
Films[]
In Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, she was voiced by Kyra Sedgwick.
In Batman: Bad Blood, she was voiced by Yvonne Strahovski, who also played Sarah Walker in Chuck and Kate Morgan in 24, and voiced Miranda Lawson in the Mass Effect series.
In Catwoman: Hunted, she was voiced by Stephanie Beatriz, who also played Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and voiced Gertie in Ice Age: Collision Course and Sweet Mayhem in The Lego Move 2: The Second Part.
Television[]
In the Arrowverse, she is portrayed by Ruby Rose in season one, and Wallis Day in season two.
Video Games[]
In DC Universe Online, she was voiced by Christina J. Moore.
Trivia[]
She always wanted to be a hero ever since Batman came.
Kate is Jewish, and celebrates Hanukkah with her father.
In the Batwoman TV show, Gotham is inspired by Chicago as the main setting due to its repulsive of high crime rate.
Comics Teams Justice League |
Justice League of America |
Justice League Dark |
Justice League Europe |
Justice League Incarnate |
Justice League International |
Justice League Task Force |
Justice League Queer |
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