Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Batwoman episode "How Queer Everything Is Today!" Read at your own risk.
"Crisis On Infinite Earths" has concluded, but its impact on the Arrow-verse may be felt for quite some time. The Paragons of the new Earth Prime are all on the same world, and as Supergirl and other heroes have found out, their world has changed. "How Queer Is Everything Today" teased some major changes to the world of Batwoman, and may have even teased a connection to Christopher Nolan's Batman movies.
If this is the case, it's a pretty big reveal for Batwoman and the Arrow-verse as a whole. Was it a legitimate reference to a shared universe though, or just a little nod to the world of Christopher Nolan's Batman for fans? Let's break down the moment, past references, and how Crisis could potentially change what we know about the world of Batwoman going forward.
Batwoman's "Scarecrow Incident"
It appeared Batwoman flirted with Nolan's Batman lore when Kate was having a conversation with Luke Fox about a near-accident involving a hacked train. Fox mentioned hacking the trains shouldn't have been possible, as Gotham trains were made to run on an independent analog system following "the Scarecrow incident." In the acclaimed Batman Begins, Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul attempt to use the monorail system to deliver neurotoxin to the city's water supply, but are thwarted when Batman and James Gordon derail the train and kill Ra's.
This moment featured no explicit acknowledgement of Batman Begins, but one can see the connections between the two to suggest the event or something similar may have happened in the Batwoman universe. The mention feels intentional given Batwoman's nods to other Batman media in the past, but gets even more interesting when considering this isn't the first time The CW series has paid homage to the Nolan movies.
The Arrow-verse's Batman Nolan Reference In Elseworlds
The "Scarecrow incident" from Batwoman gets a little more curious when one remembers that "Elseworlds" featured another reference to Christopher Nolan's Batman. In a scene with Nora Fries in Arkham Asylum, a number of items are seen on a shelf. On that shelf rests a mask that looks very similar to the one Bane wore in The Dark Knight Rises and could've been a hint this world was tied to Batwoman much sooner.
What's even better is that the Bane mask would imply that Batwoman is set after The Dark Knight Rises. In that Christopher Nolan film Bane dies, which may explain why the mask is sitting up in Arkham. Again, it could've been just a nod to Nolan's movies, but when combined with the recent revelation that arguably suggests a Batman Begins connection, one could think the Arrow-verse is trying to make a big tie.
The State Of Batwoman And The Arrow-verse Post-Crisis
As mentioned earlier, "Crisis On Infinite Earths" shook up the Arrow-verse in unexpected ways. Lex Luthor is viewed as a living saint on Earth Prime, and Batwoman seemingly revealed that Beth never became Alice in this new reality. The truth is the Paragons still aren't completely aware of all the ways the world has changed post-Crisis, which could mean that while Batwoman wasn't previously tied to Nolan's Batman, it is now.
Of course, not everything was changed by "Crisis On Infinite Earths," so it's also possible that this connection existed both before and after the mega crossover. The main takeaway is, we have no idea how Crisis did or didn't affect the timeline. These two references mentioned above may be tied in some way, or they could be strictly coincidences that are disconnected and spiked in by writers as references to amuse fans. Until someone with Batwoman starts answering questions, we can only speculate.
...But Also, Let's Remember That Batman Is Missing
Batwoman takes place in a world where Batman is gone from Gotham City, which is interesting given the ending of The Dark Knight Rises. While the ending is up for interpretation, Christian Bale has gone on record and said he believed Batman/Bruce Wayne faked his death, and was spotted by Alfred living in Italy. Could this be where Batman is in Batwoman?
It's a big stretch, but it's not completely out of the realm of possibility. Batwoman has been cagey on what happened with Bruce, though there's the simple fact that it would be hard to keep Kate the focal point of Batwoman in a world where Batman is still operating in town. It's not impossible though, as the two members of the Bat Family have worked independently in the past, so maybe there is some crazy plan in the works to confirm these two universes are merged.
Is This Actually What Batwoman Is Doing?
Personally, I doubt that Batwoman is actually trying to connect itself to the Batman movies of Christopher Nolan. While the references are cool and one can slap a tinfoil hat on and make some connections, it would be weird for The Arrow-verse to canonize Nolan's Batman lore when Earth Prime is only currently comprised of the shows that fall under the Arrow-verse umbrella.
Additionally, there would be some unanswered questions to address that wouldn't make sense within the Arrow-verse if Batwoman was connected to Batman Begins. For example, Ra's Al Ghul died in that explosive train crash, and while Lazarus pits can bring back the dead, we've only seen it happen with largely intact bodies in the Arrow-verse. Arrow ran its Ra's story about a decade after Batman Begins, so how would that be possible if Ra's were truly dead?
Still, I can't deny that the fact that Batman Begins never showed the body post-death does leave the door open for a potential resurrection. I'll also remind everyone there was once a point where Liam Neeson was willing to reprise his role as Ra's Al Ghul for Arrow, but the whole thing ended up falling through.
Batwoman could just be trying to make a connection that Arrow attempted to start years ago, and now, we're seeing the beginnings of some eventual confirmation that Nolan's Batman was/is a part of Earth Prime. I still feel mostly confident Batwoman isn't, but there is enough there for a very small bit of me to hope and believe this may one day be confirmed.
Do you believe Batwoman should be tied to the Christopher Nolan movies? Throw all opinions down in the comments, and be sure to watch Batwoman on The CW Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET.
