Batwoman? Seriously?

So for the next year or so, the caped crusader in Gotham City won’t be Bruce Wayne. Instead it will Katherine Kane, wealthy socialite and the new female dark knight. I am so unimpressed.

Granted I’m not a regular follower of Detective Comics and the Batman franchise, but I’m pretty familiar with the Batman lore, have read many of the comics over the years and have seen every Batman movie and cartoon probably ever made. Though I’m not an expert, I’m no slouch either.

I don’t know what it is about the Batwoman concept that just doesn’t appeal to me. It’s not her background. The fact that the writers made her Jewish and a lesbian doesn’t hurt or help her popularity with me . Those biographical details are actually pretty minor details, the big thing is that she’s a wealthy socialite on par with Bruce Wayne. Having her rich is logical (bat toys are pretty expensive) and lends her some credibility that she has the social connections and wealth to set herself up as a formidable fighter.

What bothers me (and granted, I know very little about Katherine Kane’s background) is that besides her wealth, sexual orientation and religious belief, there’s not much that makes her standout. Bruce Wayne is brilliant, a world class athlete, a master of psychological warfare and probably a borderline psycho. He’s clearly a man on the edge, who’s ethics and actions sometimes blur the line between hero and villain. Part of the fun of reading Batman over the years was anticipating if or when the man would just lose it. It’s what made issues like The Killing Joke so much fun to read.

Katherine Kane just seems too normal to take on the role of the female dark knight. Maybe it’s believable that she’s a world class athlete too. Maybe it’s believable that she has a world class mind on par with Batman’s. However, it’s hard to believe that she holds a candle to Bruce in the psychological department. Batman is one obsessed guy, and what I’ve seen of Batwoman, she’s an attractive pretender.

Even in the comic world, this view of her is not unique as DC announced a Battle for the Cowl story line, in which all three Robins, Batgirl, Catwoman and a host of others compete to take up Batman’s mantle. That may be the most interesting thing to come about from Batman’s absence from Gotham. As for Batwoman, I’ll pass and wait for the real Dark Knight to return.