‘Batwoman’ Is Worse With Secret Identities Than ‘The Flash,’ and That’s Saying Something

Secret identities on superhero TV shows are a weird device. Even more than in comic books, where an artist can distort Clark Kent’s body so that he’s intrinsically different than Superman, we’re expected to believe that when actor Stephen Amell puts on a hood as Green Arrow and makes his voice gruff, he’s suddenly unrecognizable as billionaire playboy Oliver Queen. But we go with it, because that’s how the show works, and it’s fine. Except two episodes in, Batwoman is messing up the process worse than Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) on The Flash, and that’s saying something.

Spoilers for Batwoman‘s “The Rabbit Hole” past this point.

It’s a running joke at this point in the Arrow-verse that Barry will flip off his mask and reveal his “secret” identity for almost no reason at all. Need to create an emotional connection with ally? Off comes the mask, and out comes, “My name is Barry Allen, and I’m the fastest man alive.” Need to show a villain that the hero they’ve been fighting is a human being, just like them? Mask off. Someone delivers a UPS package for The Flash? “Actually, my name is Barry Allen…”

That thread is sort of backed up by the comics, where sporadically through the character’s history he’s been a public figure, known by both his hero name and his regular ol’ person name. It’s absolutely bonkers how often he does it on the show, but fine.

Batwoman (Ruby Rose) on the other hand, usually has the same level of secrecy as her missing cousin Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman (sorry to blow up Bruce’s spot there). She’s got the double life as one of Gotham City’s many flying mammal themed crimefighters, and socialite/dilettante Kate Kane. But the two don’t mix, and her identity is obscured thanks to a flowing, red wig and a mask that — like Batman — covers most of her face.

…Except by the end of episode two of the series, Kate’s ex-girlfriend Sophie Moore (Meagan Tandy) knows, despite Kate’s protests, that she’s wearing the Bat-suit (they’re not calling her Batwoman, yet). And even worse, Kate’s thought-dead sister Beth, who is now in the guise of her arch-enemy Alice (Rachel Skarsten) knows 100% for sure the Bat-hero is Kate, which is revealed when Alice gives Kate a bat in a box. Oops.

That’s not even including into the shenanigans Kate gets into over the course of the show’s sophomore outing, which involve marching into secure locations with clues only Batwoman could have obtained, or loudly declaring at family dinner that Beth is alive, is Alice, and she’s going to prove it — something that would certainly seem to link up pretty clearly with the recent appearances of a hero wearing Batman’s clothes.

Part of this is, of course, emotionally tied to the fact that Kate hasn’t fully committed to the Batwoman identity as of yet. She’s still very hesitant about wearing the armor, or picking up her cousin’s cowl. It also most likely directly leads to the modifications on the Bat-suit seen during Rose’s first appearance as the character in last year’s “Elseworlds” crossover (Batwoman, so far, takes place before she met The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl). Maybe they’ll go for the “yeah, that was me in the Bat-suit, but I have no idea who this scarlet-tressed hero is,” excuse.

But for right now, Kate needs to be a little more discrete. We know that’s not her jam — check out the whole “don’t ask, don’t tell” incident from episode one, where she very much asked and told. But if she is going to become the hero Gotham deserves, she’s got to learn how to stop broadcasting her identity like some sort of signal. Like, a Kate-signal, maybe? Whatever you want to call it, she needs to stop.

Otherwise, she might as well just pack up and move to Central City.

Batwoman airs Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.

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