Batwoman (and Her Crazy Gotham) Leave a Lasting Impression in Elseworlds

There’s never really been a pleasant version of Gotham City, has there? Even in the most colorful and friendly version of the Batman mythos, there are still literal murder clowns running through the streets, armed with poison gas. Now, the Arrowverse version of Gotham has finally been revealed in The CW's DCTV "Elseworlds" crossover, and it’s an even rougher than most versions we’ve seen on television or film. It’s so bad, it’s just barely a step above the outright no man’s land from Dark Knight Rises or Gotham.

But this version of Gotham does have one very bright highlight -- namely, Kate Kane, aka Batwoman. Played by Ruby Rose, Kane and her version of Gotham City has already left such an impression, we can’t wait for her to get her own show. Ahead of the event's airing, CBR was invited to a Q&A press screening with writer Caroline Dries, who is helming the upcoming Arrowverse project and helping bring Batwoman to the small screen, full time. During the event, the writer answered a number of questions about what she -- and the rest of the Arrowverse creatives -- hope the future holds for this new, not-so-dark knight.

To Live (And Die) In Crime Alley

The Gotham City of the Arrowverse is in full-on disarray, despite everything Batman did to protect it. When we arrive, Batman himself is conspicuously absent, having apparently left the city three years ago. It’s unknown where he went, or why, but it’s clear that Gotham has not been doing well without either of Bruce Wayne's identities. When we first meet the city and the people residing in it, there’s a general feeling of “this is just how things work,” no matter how bad it gets.

Part of that feeling is deliberate, Dries explained. “When we were talking about the heroes going to Gotham, we wanted to find a setting that differentiated it from other [versions of] Gotham in today’s viewing world. I think [Gotham’s] Gotham is in New York, and this one -- we loved the idea of Chicago, because that really feels like that was the cityscape we were looking for... It’s Gotham, there’s a million different versions of it, so it’s kind of hard to do a new version of it but we just kind of knew the Vancouver skyline wasn’t quite right. It was a little too modern.”

We quickly learned that the Wayne Board of Investors essentially blew much of the city's money on get-rich-quick schemes, and now the metropolis has devolved into the worst case version of a class divide. The rich travel around the city with personal security, while the poor are so embolden by the way the status quo treats them, that some of them will mug people in broad daylight -- like a group tries to do to Oliver, Barry and Kara when they first arrive.

In short, it’s not going great for the Arrowverse's Gotham. Dries explained that idea was at the very core of this take. “It has a darker vibe," she said. "When they went to Gotham, we were just trying to create, with the music and the exteriors, the alleys and the grime… It’s sort of an uncomfortable city. Being mugged instantaneously is a great way to personify the vibe we’re going for.”

NEXT PAGE: How the Arrowverse's Batwoman Steps Into Batman's Boots as Gotham's Primary Protector

Ms. Rose

Without Batman there, the city is protected by Batwoman, aka Kate Kane – as played by Ruby Rose. Rose brings a steeliness to the character, but not without flashes of humanity peeking through. She doesn’t capture the other heroes and interrogate them; she recognizes them as fellow heroes, even if they are annoying her by being in her city.

She even bonds with Supergirl, hinting at a more relaxed core underneath all the layers of toughness she’s developed over the years. With Kara, she’s friendly, and even a bit flirty. There are already layers to the performance, and Rose throws herself into the part with gusto, figuring out how to meld Kate’s hidden humanity and unstoppable drive perfectly within a single episode.

She's also already perfected the classic “Bat glare,” which is on display when we first meet her in the episode. Dries spoke about Rose's performance, saying, “Ruby has a really strong silent presence… her look is powerful, and you don’t want to take your eyes off of her. She kind of just brings so much to the plate, with just standing there and absorbing what the others are talking about.

“One of my favorite moments was when they show up at Wayne Enterprises and they’re all kind of bickering about Batman, and she’s just standing there, waiting for them to figure out this stuff. I didn’t know how working with her would be actually on the day, but that was a fun surprise.”

Batwoman Begins

Dries and the other creators had an uphill battle with establishing Batwoman; not only do they need to introduce viewers to Kate Kane as both the person and the super hero, they also had to establish the tone of this version of Gotham City, including the various threats that plague it within and without the halls of Arkham Asylum. What's more, they had to figure out and tease what actually happened to Batman in the Arrowverse, all within a single episode during a crossover.

But everything in this version of Gotham is so immediately defined and lived in, it works. Arkham is filled with the classic Batman rouges gallery, presenting Kate with a wide range of villains to come up against. Her base isn’t Wayne Manor, but instead a run-down Wayne Enterprises building she's committed to repairing, a space that could easily become her HQ going forward. There are hints about some of the allies she might call upon, and even the Bat-Signal (covered in dust and forgotten on a rooftop in Gotham) makes a notable appearance, all adding layers to this version of Gotham.

But at its core, what makes Batwoman work so well, so quickly, is the confidence of the storytelling. “As a group, we really knew who the character was as we were breaking the story,” Dries said. “Our goal was sort of trying to set-up, story-wise, where we could meet her, be kind of intrigued by her, introduce Gotham a little bit. Plant little visual things that are curious and then have people wondering, ‘What is this world that she’s part of?’ We just realized the best story for that would be if our guys just went to Gotham, she helped out with their story, and then shoo-ed them away. We knew who the character was, kinda, going into it, so the question for us was how to make her mysterious.”

Batwoman is scheduled to premiere sometime in 2019. Elseworlds Part Three airs as the next episode of Supergirl, 8 pm EST on Tuesday.