The CW has released the first official photos of Javicia Leslie suited up as Batwoman. First shown on the Batwoman show's verified Twitter account, this is the first look that audiences have gotten at Leslie's character Ryan Wilder in full costume, which she'll first put on in the third episode of season two.
While many of the central design elements of the two suits are similar or the same, including the red Bat-symbol on the chest, Wilder's suit features more of a light leather armor look than that of her predecessor, Ruby Rose's Kate Kane. She's also got a second Bat-logo on her belt buckle, as well as the three wrist blades that intermittently make appearances on other Bat-characters' suits. Most crucially, Wilder's also wearing a wig, though hers is curly with red highlights rather than Kate Kane's straight candy red.
“I love the fact that Ryan is becoming her own Batwoman — it’s her style, her swag, and her moment,” Leslie said in a press release. “I felt it was important that viewers could tell by the silhouette that Batwoman was a Black girl. With the form-fitting suit and beautiful Afro, we definitely nailed it!”
The new Batwoman suit was designed by the show's costume designer Maya Mani, a veteran of all the "Arrow-verse shows," and created by Ocean Drive, a Vancouver-based custom leather company. The wig is credited to Janice Workman and Cory Roberts.
Leslie, previously seen on shows such as The Family Business and God Friended Me, is the first black actress to portray any version of Batwoman in any media. Ryan is a brand-new character with nothing in common with Kate Kane besides also being a lesbian; in fact, according to early descriptions, Ryan is first introduced to the audience while she's living out of her van. Ryan, as per the CW, "has been made to feel trapped and powerless by the system her whole life, and believes the Batsuit is the key to breaking out of it."
Ruby Rose abruptly left Batwoman in mid-May after its first season, without initially giving any reasons to the public. In August, she broke her silence on the topic, primarily attributing her departure to the injuries she suffered doing a stunt on a film set in 2019. She went to work on Batwoman while still recovering from back surgery, which added to the stress that came with the job. Rose subsequently decided to leave Batwoman to focus on her recovery, and has explicitly given Leslie her blessing.
Ryan Wilder will make her comics debut in Batgirl #50, the final issue of its volume, which comes out on October 27th. Advance news that the book features Wilder's first appearance has caused a preemptive spike in its collector value, with speculators offering pre-sales on online auction sites for more than twice the comic's cover price of $3.99.
Season 2 of Batwoman is tentatively scheduled to debut on the CW in January of 2021.
Source: Batwoman/Twitter