The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Another side of Gotham
First Black ‘Batwoman’ brings her own style and struggle to a world in need of heroics
When Javicia Leslie put on the Batsuit for the first time on the set of the CW network’s “Batwoman” series, it felt like a dream from childhood — and her professional life, too — came true.
“As a person, of course, I’ve always wanted to be a superhero,” says Leslie, who took over the title role Jan. 17. “And especially as an actor, I’ve always wanted to do a superhero role.”
This particular part seemed unlikely to come to her, though. When “Batwoman” debuted in October 2019, it did so with Ruby Rose in the role of Bruce Wayne’s cousin Kate Kane, who had donned the cape of Batwoman in Gotham in the absence of Batman.
But then Rose left the series after the first season, and Leslie landed the part of Ryan Wilder, a character who, unlike the wealthy Kane, comes from a rougher side of Gotham to fill the Batsuit after Kane goes missing.
“In any superhero, it’s just the imagination, you know, the ability to defy what normal humans are able to do,” Leslie says of the appeal of such characters.
“And the thing about Batwoman is even though she may not have a natural power, with her, with the type of determination she has mixed with the gadgets, she’s able to still do things that your typical human wouldn’t be able to do.
“I think the appeal to those roles is just to really be able to expand your imagination as an actor and do things outside of the norm.”
Leslie, 33, has appeared most recently as a regular on the now-canceled CBS series “God Friended Me” and on the BET series “The Family Business.”
When Rose, who made headlines as the first out lesbian superhero, left “Batwoman,” Leslie, who is bisexual, auditioned, won the role and became the first Black woman to play the part of Batwoman.
“It feels good,” Leslie says of her place in the expanding diversity of the superhero universe. “It’s not even just about the similarities with me. I think, in general, just like Ryan represents a community that doesn’t really have representation in the superhero world, it’s the same in real life.
“I don’t think there is a lot of Black representation in the superhero world on television,” she says. “So to be able to be a part of that representation is really dope.”
Unlike the common practice when superhero entertainment reboots — Christian Bale as Batman out, Ben Affleck as Batman in — the creators of “Batwoman” smartly avoid the pitfalls of replacing the exact same character.
Ruby Rose as Kate Kane and Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder can both exist as Batwoman in the same Gotham, making Leslie’s arrival less disruptive to the narrative, less dissonant to the viewer.
“I didn’t really feel like I
had to find my way or create a space,” Leslie says. “Because it’s a character that has never been created before, it’s almost like we were starting off new anyway.
“As far as the established and existing storylines, they are still existing with or without me because they were storylines outside of just Batwoman,” she says.
“As far as exploring the world of Gotham, Ryan is pretty badass on her own,” Leslie says. “Even before the suit, she’s the type of person that’s always defended the ones that needed defending.”
Once Ryan is drawn into the fold of Kate’s allies such as Luke Fox, creator of gadgets and gizmos for Batwoman; Sophie Moore, Kate’s ex; and Mary Hamilton, Kate’s stepsister, early episodes of Season 2 find her struggling to temper her instincts to work as
part of a team.
“One of her biggest battles is having to stop and think before she acts,” Leslie says. “This season, her battle is being able to kind of put to the side her way of handling things, and understanding that her way may not always be the best way and the right way.
“There’s always a bigger picture and a bigger goal, and for at least the first half of the season the bigger picture, the bigger goal is finding Kate.”
In some ways, Kate and Ryan share a worldview.
“The similarity is just their drive to save people that can’t be saved by themselves, to protect people that can’t protect themselves, and speak up for people that can’t speak up for themselves,” Leslie says. “They’re also both out lesbians.”
Their differences are a
matter of perspective.
“Kate Kane comes from money, Ryan doesn’t,” Leslie says. “Ryan is more so a representation of the citizens of Gotham that have not been stood up for. And so she actually represents that community. Kate is part of the Wayne family and Ryan isn’t.”
That, in some ways, reshapes the meaning of Batwoman in her world and ours.
“When you grew up with the Batsuit, you kind of expect it to go through the Wayne family,” Leslie says. “And to see that it’s expanding outside of that, in that the suit is not really always about who’s in it, it’s about understanding that once you put the suit on, what it represents.”
That’s something Leslie herself felt the first time she tried on the newly redesigned Batsuit the show
made for her.
“I was really excited,” she says. “I felt like the moment I put it on I could definitely feel the responsibility of what superhero suits represent.”
Suddenly, the costume was no longer just her work wardrobe, Leslie says. Instead, a sense of wonder and possibility took hold.
“To children, those aren’t clothes,” she says. “To children, the moment they see that suit on, you are superheroes, and that means you defy reality. You’re able to do things your normal human being is unable to do.
“So I think the moment any person puts the superhero suit on you start to feel that power and responsibility.”