A new poster from The CW offers a better look at Javicia Leslie’s Batwoman suit. It appears that, as was the case with Ruby Rose, Leslie’s costume will evolve over time. As we saw in the trailer, Leslie’s character, Ryan Wilder, will start off in Kate Kane’s uniform complete with the straight shocking red wig, but she will eventually don a curly wig, which is dark in color with red tips. In the new poster, however, it looks as though Ryan will wear a full-head cowl, like the classic Batgirl.
Check out the new poster below:
Leslie discussed her new suit, saying:
“I love the fact that Ryan is becoming her own Batwoman—it’s her style, her swag, and her moment! It was an honor to be able to collaborate with [executive producer] Caroline [Dries] and [costume designer] Maya [Mani]. 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!”
For comparison, here is Rose in her costume:
As you can see, the detail stripes are different on Ryan’s costume, and her belt is also different and more comic accurate with a Bat logo buckle. Ryan also has red wrist bracers which add a pop of color, and knee pads, which make perfect sense for a non-powered hero.
Batwoman executive producer Caroline Dries further discussed the changes in the suit saying:
“Ryan’s journey starts from a place of ‘What can this Batsuit do for me?’ But it’s not long before she realizes the power of its symbol and what it can do for everyone else in Gotham City. As Ryan embraces everything that makes her special, she adjusts the suit to fit her physically and figuratively. This meant creating a new body design and new cowl that was undeniably a statement that screamed ‘powerful.’ Maya Mani sent me her drawings and I loved it. The wig was something we never perfected in season one, and Janice Workman crushed it with this new take. Javicia and I saw various prototypes of styles and red ombres, and at one point we were trading our own iPad-doodled versions. Janice translated that into what we are looking at now. When I see it, I smile. It makes me feel inspired.”
Batwoman will return to The CW on Sunday, January 17. The first new episode will be entitled “What Happened to Kate Kane?” and the synopsis reads:
As friends and family hold on to hope that Kate may still be found, a homeless 25-year-old named Ryan Wilder stumbles upon Kate’s Batsuit. Focused on no longer being a victim, Ryan takes the suit to use as armor and goes rogue in the streets of Gotham, taking out various members of a new gang called the False Face Society.
Meanwhile, both Jacob Kane and Luke Fox launch searches for Kate, Mary Hamilton grapples with losing yet another family member, Sophie Moore struggles with things left unsaid to her first love, and Alice is furious that someone got to Kate before she could exact her revenge.
At the same time, “Bruce Wayne” (played by guest star Warren Christie) returns under the pretense of searching for Kate, but the truth is he wants his suit back and it becomes the clash of impostors as “Batwoman” and “Bruce” square off in the action-packed season premiere.
What do you think of the new Batsuit?
Sources: ComicBook.com, TV Line
