Batwoman - DC Comics

A DC character I really wasn't too fond of when I first saw her, but I've gotten quite attached to her.
Now if they would just leave her alone and let her be a character....
(As in the New 52)

No...this is not Batgirl all grown up. Or the late 50s, early 60s incarnation.
This is Kate Kane who rose to pretty quick prominence as the "biggest ticket" lesbian superhero around.

Now there had been other gay superheroes before Kate.
At Marvel, Northstar came out as gay in 1992 and Stormwatch had Apollo and Midnighter.
But this was "Batwoman"...an extended member of the Batman Family.

By the way....to be such a loner....Batman sure has a LOT of friends and allies.
Superman is supposed to be way more outgoing and that dude has like three or four friends.....

Anyway, Batwoman's origin is way too complex and complicated to really go into in detail here.
And with DC switching realities...it changes.
So let's just shoot for she's a female counterpart to Batman and is actually a pretty cool character in her own right.
She even took over for Bats for a while when he went MIA.
And now she has her own sidekick, her cousin Flamebird (Mary Elizabeth Kane).
Not too crazy about that name but hey....what does DC care?

Batwoman ( Katherine "Kate" Kane)

After the Infinite Crisis series, a new Katherine "Kate" Kane is introduced. Kate is Renee Montoya's former lover and heiress to one of the wealthiest families in Gotham City . Renee refers to her as "Katherine the younger" and asks Kate to help find the connection between the Kanes and the address 520 Kane Street. While still upset from their breakup, Kate agrees to help Renee, but punches her and tells her to leave after Renee mentions they used to love each other. Not long after that, Batwoman is shown to be observing Montoya from the rooftops as Renee converses with the Question (in his guise as "Charlie") in an alley.

Kate meets with Renee and Charlie in Gotham Park and confirms that the warehouse was being leased by Ridge-Ferrick until six weeks ago. Renee refuses to tell Kate what's going on saying that she doesn't owe Kate anything, which shocks Kate and prompts her to tail them as Batwoman. When Renee and the Question break into Ridge-Ferrick's Gotham offices, they are attacked by Whisper A'Daire's shapeshifting minions, and Batwoman arrives to rescue them. Making quick work of two monsters, Batwoman stops Renee from shooting the third, instead kicking the monster out a window. Batwoman informs them the police are coming, asks that she not be mentioned, and leaves.

After Renee learns that the Book of Crime, a sacred text of Intergang, contains a prophecy foretelling the brutal murder of the "twice named daughter of Kane," she and the Question return to Gotham. They contact Kate by flashing a batsignal, and the three join forces to avert Intergang's plans. As Kate continues the case, she is joined by Nightwing, who has recently returned to Gotham and becomes infatuated with her. On Christmas Eve, he gives her an 'official' Batarang. She also celebrates Hanukkah with Renee, and the two kiss shortly before Christmas.

One year after the start of 52, Alfred Pennyworth mentions Kathy Kane to Bruce Wayne, when listing the various women Bruce dated in his playboy days and the Penguin suggests Batman bring a date to the opening of his club, asking, "Why don't you bring that new Batwoman? I hear she's kind of hot."

Batwoman later appears in a story written by Greg Rucka for the DC Infinite Holiday Special. This story fleshed out some of the current Batwoman's background, including the fact that she is Jewish.

As Batwoman, Kate lacks any superpowers, and instead relies on her martial artistry and Batman-inspired equipment when fighting crime. In the ten years since her breakup with Renee Montoya, she has learned to fight and is able to defeat three monsters, as well as spy on Renee and the Question with relative ease.

Being the heiress of a family whose fortune is comparable to the Waynes, Kate possesses the finances to produce an arsenal of equipment, similar to Batman. This includes a baton-like device which can extend from the center in length and has Bat-shaped attachments at each end. She also makes use of Batarangs and a Batman-like grappling hook.

Unlike the Silver Age Kathy Kane, who was written as being romantically attracted to Batman, the new version of Kane is portrayed as a "lipstick lesbian", while still hiding this fact from nearly everyone she knows. In her civilian identity as a socialite, she is acquainted with Bruce Wayne and is friends with a doctor named Mallory, who treats the Question's cancer. Her homosexuality was announced at the same time as the character was revealed in the spring of 2006. Kate is also Jewish, and celebrated Hanukkah with Renee during the events of 52.

Her homosexuality attracted substantial media coverage when the character was announced in the spring of 2006. Stories appeared on television news outlets such as CNN, general news magazines such as "USA Today", and gay culture magazines such as Out.

Batwoman (Kathy Kane)

Batwoman is a fictional character, a female counterpart to DC Comics' popular superhero Batman.

Batwoman is primarily associated with the Silver Age of comic books. She first appeared in Detective Comics #233 (July 1956). She was a costumed crime-fighter like Batman, his counterpart in many ways. For example, while Batman wears a utility belt, Batwoman carried a utility purse.

Batman co-creator Bob Kane later claimed that he originally drew her to resemble his wife. The fact that he named her "Kathy Kane" supports this statement; however, Kane used "ghost pencillers" such as Sheldon Moldoff and Dick Sprang to draw most Batman comics in the 1950s, and the question of how much input Kane actually had to the Batman stories is disputed.

Batwoman guest-starred occasionally in Batman stories published from 1956 to 1964. Batman wished for Kathy to retire from crimefighting due to the danger. Nevertheless, she remained his ally (even when she temporarily became a new version of Catwoman).

In 1961, Batwoman was joined by her niece Betty Kane, the Bat-Girl, named after Bob Kane's wife. Kathy and Betty were romantically interested in Batman and Robin, respectively. Robin seemed to return Bat-Girl's affection, while Batman remained aloof.

In 1964, DC dropped Batwoman, as well as Bat-Girl, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite from the Batman titles, which were undergoing a revamp under Editor Julius Schwartz that eliminated elements considered too "silly". In stories published during the next few years, Batwoman makes several appearances in the Batman-Superman team-up book World's Finest, which was edited by Mort Weisinger.

In the 1970s, Batwoman only appeared a few times, often fighting crime alongside the second Batgirl Barbara Gordon. During her retirement, she becomes the owner of a circus, which she kept until she died. She is killed by the League of Assassins and the brainwashed Bronze Tiger in Detective Comics #485 (September 1979).

There was also a Batwoman on Earth-Two, who was very much like her deceased Earth-One counterpart. This Kathy Kane retired when the Batman of that world married Catwoman. She married and had children, but her husband was never revealed. She came out of retirement following Batman's death when Gotham City was threatened by the return of Hugo Strange

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