‘Hope those boots are comfy’: First look at Ruby Rose as Batwoman

The New Daily
Oct 10, 2018, updated Oct 10, 2018

An image of Ruby Rose, in costume as Batwoman. Photo: Twitter

The first official image of Australian actor Ruby Rose as Batwoman has been released – giving fans plenty to get warmed up about.

Batwoman will make her debut in the annual crossover event between three of the CW Network’s DC shows: The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl.

Filming has just begun in Vancouver for the crossover.

Rose was named to play Batwoman in August, when CW said it was also developing a series based around the character, whose real name is Kate Kane.

“Ruby Rose looks awesome as Batwoman, and props to [costume designer] Colleen Atwood for the design,” wrote Twitter user Adam Teterus.

“It’s bold, but understated. Good mix of shine and cloth, great little accents that wouldn’t be seen in the comics. And I dig the boots, given Kate is military. Can’t wait.”

Brian Ganninger agreed, saying: “It still looks like one of Batwoman’s covers. Kudos to everyone who brought it to life.”

https://twitter.com/carolinedries/status/1049682801438601218

But others were less kind, with one Twitter user describing the costume as “the clone Batman look”.

https://twitter.com/Still_LRE/status/1049680449612783616

Batwoman centres on Kane, who, according to publicity material, has “a passion for social justice and flair for speaking her mind”. She is an out lesbian and street fighter.

But Kane must overcome her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham’s symbol of hope.

Casting Rose as Kane means the CW Network’s superhero stable has an out lesbian superhero played by a lesbian actor as well as a trans actress playing a trans superhero, with activist Nicole Maines joining Supergirl as a regular.

Rose was chosen for the role after the network made it a priority to cast an openly gay actor as Batwoman, The Hollywood Reporter said at the time.

The decision got plenty of online backlash, with Rose quitting Twitter and deactivating comments on other social media as a result.

She is best known to international audiences for playing Stella in Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, and in movies The Meg, Pitch Perfect 3 and John Wick: Chapter 2.