Batwoman Trailer Unmasks Ruby Rose As Gotham's Newest Superhero

Step aside Bruce Wayne, your little cousin Kate Kane is taking your spot as Gotham's protector. 

The CW has unveiled the first-look trailer for its forthcoming superhero series Batwoman, which stars Ruby Rose as Kate Kane in the time after she was dishonorably discharged from military school for engaging in a relationship with her fellow cadet Sophie Moore, played by Meagan Tandy. 

Gotham City is at its most vulnerable when Kate returns home. Its denizens are reeling from the sudden disappearance of Batman three years prior, its police department is struggling to rise up again after criminal organizations dismantled and overran it, and Kate's own father, former military colonel Jacob Kane (Dougray Scott), has become the target of a group of baddies known as the the Alice in Wonderland gang. The crew hits Jacob where it hurts when they attack his private security firm The Crows and kidnap one of its members — none other than Kate's ex-flame Sophie. 

It's plain to see that Gotham needs a vigilante to vanquish evildoers, reestablish order, and keep the peace — and Kate looks to be that very person. Though her father, who lost his first wife and daughter when they were killed in a past crime in Gotham and sent Kate far away from the city so she wouldn't die in the same manner, has a deep disdain for superheroes, Kate is no longer a young girl who must ask permission to do what she believes is right. 

After realizing the scope of chaos in Gotham and getting captured by the Alice in Wonderland gang, led by Rachel Skarsten's Alice, herself, Kate heads to her cousin Bruce's abode at Wayne Tower to do some digging into vigilante life. There, she meets Batman loyalist Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson) and takes a liking to Bruce's sleek Batsuit. Luke tells her the costume is perfect as it is, but Kate quips back that it will only be perfect once it can fit a woman's body. 

From there, the trailer flashes to show Kate suited up as a new dark knight hero — the thing her father hates most in life — and taking to the skies as the new guardian of Gotham. The only problem is that she's not getting any recognition for her hard work as a new hero, as the people of Gotham believe that the costumed vigilante is Batman himself. This lights another fire inside Kate, who states her superhero manifesto loud and proud: "I'm not about to let a man take credit for a woman's work." Well, hello, Kate Kane! 

The first full-length glimpse at Batwoman looks promising — a good sign considering the initial backlash that Ruby Rose faced when her casting as the hero was announced last year. Rose, who also took turns on Orange Is the New Black and in the John Wick film franchise, was incredibly excited about receiving the opportunity to play Kate Kane, an out lesbian like Rose herself. But many people weren't as thrilled — criticizing Rose's acting abilities, arguing that she doesn't practice the correct religion to play Kate (the character is a Jewish woman and Rose isn't), and even calling into question the legitimacy of her sexuality. This pushed Rose to take a social media hiatus until things died down.

However, some still aren't on board with Batwoman after seeing this trailer, and fans are pretty split over it. While some are hyped as all heck to see Rose's iteration of Batwoman, others were put off by the girl-power tone of the footage. "I have high hopes for this show, but the @CWBatwoman writers need to sit down and think about some of that dialog and how harmful it can be. It's fine that the CW wants to be political, even if its femanist [sic] focused, but you need to be consistent with reality," one user wrote on Twitter. On the flip side, another could barely contain their excitement for the series, tweeting, "This... is gonna be... AWESOME!!!!!"

Twitter user Andrew Burnett had a response that fell somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. He wrote, "I really want to like this show. The suit looks good compared to the other CW suits. Ruby Rose is the perfect person to play #Batwoman but the forced strong female power dialogue is so cringeworthy. Just let the character do the talking through how she acts and her actions!"

It seems that the footage featured in this trailer may have been taken exclusively from the pilot episode, so it's best to withhold judgements until A) the series debuts and viewers can catch the premiere in its in entirety, and B) the rest of Batwoman rolls out afterwards. You may be surprised by how much your opinion can change.

Batwoman doesn't yet have an official debut date, though the CW confirmed that the series will air on Sundays starting this fall.