In July, Javicia Leslie was hired as the new lead for The CW’s Batwoman after original star Ruby Rose decided to step down back in May. Now, the network has released the first images of Leslie in costume as Ryan Wilder, the new Batwoman, with some new modifications to her Batsuit to set her apart from Rose’s Kate Kane. A press release says the suit won’t appear until the third episode of the new season, giving Leslie/Ryan some time to acclimate to her new role, and executive producer Caroline Dries says in a statement from that press release that the new suit was designed to establish a new look that “was undeniably a statement that screamed ‘powerful.’”
The most obvious change is the hair, which replaces the distractingly obvious bright red wig of the Kate Kane suit with a curly look that has more subtle red streaks. The suit also has “shorter boots” and new red forearm gauntlets (which should’ve been there all along because they look great). The press release also highlights that the suit used “laser etching to create more visual depth and a stronger silhouette.” We still don’t know exactly what will happen to Kate Kane in the narrative of the show or how Ryan Wilder will get involved, but obviously that information would be spoilers for season two of Batwoman anyway.
Meanwhile, in other Ryan Wilder news, the character’s actually going to make her debut in the comics before she appears on television. Last week, DC announced that Ryan Wilder will appear in the upcoming Batgirl #50 issue from Cecil Castelluci, Emanuela Lupacchino, Marguerite Sauvage, and Aneke. It’s not the first time a character created for TV has moved over to the comics (John Diggle from Arrow has appeared in Green Arrow books) but it is rare that a character made for TV shows up in the comics before appearing on TV.