WMG / Batwoman (2019)

Pre-premiere theories

Villains who might appear

• Cavalier
• The Dummy
• Lady Vic
• The Mad Monk
• Blockbuster
• The Trigger Twins
• Penny Plunderer
• Polka Dot Man
• Lock-Up
• Black Spider
• Ten-Eyed Man
• Steeljacket
• Narcosis
• Kitty Kumbata
• Ratcatcher
• Kite Man (Hell, yeah)
• Sterling Silversmith
• Erin McKillen
• Kobra
• Codename: Assassin
• Magpie
  • Set photos have confirmed that Gotham's antiquity museum is a location in episode 3 or 4.
  • Confirmed by Word of God.
• Nightslayer
• Tracer
• Silver Ghost
• Mister Terrible
• Fastball
• Phobia
• Shimmer
• Hellhound
• Cheshire
• Roland Daggett
• Able Crown
• Crimesmith
• Knife
• The Religion of Crime
• Wolf Spider
  • Confirmed. The character is introduced in Season 2.
• La Llorona
• Killer Croc
  • Confirmed.
• Maro Ito
• Pool Hall Gang
• Sister Shard
• Fright
• Nocturna
  • Confirmed via Entertainment Weekly.
• Killer Moth
• Gilotina
• Delores Winters
• The Riddler
• Bat Devil
• Reverend Jeremiah Hatch
• The Council of Spiders
• Scarab
• Lynx
• Roxy Rocket
• The Kabuki Twins
• The Victim Syndicate
• Everywhere Man
• Silver Monkey
• Joker's Daughter
  • Slightly confirmed. Duela Dent appears but uses a different alias.
• Humpty Dumpty
• Egghead
• Birthday Boy
• Louie the Lilac
• Clawhammer
• The Broker
• Prudence "Pru" Wood
• Mister Toxic
• Slingshot
• Tiger Shark
• Nix
• Doctor Moon
• Big Game
• Lime and Light
• Thrasher
• Veronica Cale
• Man-Bat
• Facade
• Temblor
• Papercut
• Skull Crusher
• H.A.R.D.A.C.
• Equinox
• Peyton Reilly
• Max Schreck
• Corrosive Man
• I.Q.
• Catman
• Monocle
• The Body Doubles
• Gunbunny
• The Aryan Brigade
• Quakemaster
• Shatterfist
• Velvet Tiger
• The Spinner
• The Tiger Gang
• Scarecrow
• Joker
• Rupert Thorne
• Sofia Falcone
• Grim Knight
• Poison Ivy
  • Confirmed.
• Film Freak
• Cluemaster
  • Confirmed.
• Zodiac Master
• The Terrible Trio
• Crazy Quilt
• The Mime
• The Director
• Calendar Woman
• Babydoll
• The Three Devils
• Chancer
• Little Italy
• The Grasshopper Gang
• Masquerader
• Vulcan
• James Gordon, Jr.
• Reaper
• Cricket
• Human Magnet
• Jolly Roger
• Signalman
• The Spook
• Lunkhead
• Punchline
• Orca
• King Tut
• Hypnotic
• Cornelius Stirk
• Tracey Buxton
• Prof. Achilles Milo
• Stranglehold
• Sugar Tooth
• Bookworm
• Lightweaver
• Savage Skull
• Spark
• The Brand
• Sweet Tooth
• Mister Hydro
• The Eraser
• Master Bruce
• Olga, Queen of the Cossacks
• Al Reese
• Mirage
• Colonel Sulphur
• Leather
• Rising Sun Archer

Guesses on Batman's fate

He's only been stated to be "missing", which could mean a lot of things. So, let's speculate on what happened to him.

• Option 1: He's dead. It could be that they Never Found the Body, and Batman has died before in the comics (i.e., Superman: Red Son, Final Crisis).
  • If this is the case, perhaps Alfred and Robin (whoever it was at the time in the Arrowverse) died alongside him.
• Option 2: Batman went away for training with the League of Shadows, feeling he went out of shape; said training took much longer than he expected. It would make him leaving without telling anyone not be a mistake on Bruce's part.
  • Since this would be the Earth-1 League of Assassins, they could of abducted him to convert him into an unwilling successor to Ra's al Ghul.
• Option 3: This Batman finally retired.
• Option 4: This Batman is a much more active member of the Justice League.
• Option 5: He went insane after the death of yet another loved one, like Jason Todd or even Alfred.
• Option 6: His back was broken by Bane. He was subsequently shuffled away to one of the best hospitals in the world.
• Option 7: Batman was brainwashed to become Owlman by either the Court of Owls or the world-hopping Injustice League.
• Option 8: In light of what little we learned in Elseworlds, some of these options just would make sense, since Bruce is said to have left... with no one he knows having any idea as to where, so he likely didn't just abandon Gotham because he wanted to do it. He was driven out, or coerced to leave by someone very, very dangerous. Said threat forced him to not let anyone know where he is, hence why Kate is just as lost as anyone else.

Other members of the Bat Family that will show up

And since we're guessing what Batman's fate will be, let's also speculate about the rest of the Batfamily. While Robin would probably be off the table as well if Batman's death is due to him being Exiled from Continuity due to the DCEU using his role, perhaps they'll use other members

• Oracle and Spoiler: Assuming that Batgirl is Exiled from Continuity due to the Batgirl movie the DCEU supposedly has in the works, that would mean that both characters would still be available (especially since I doubt they'd have Stephanie Brown be the first person shown on-screen adapting the identity of Robin).
  • Stephanie appeared in season 2, though seemingly she hasn't become Spoiler yet.
• Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley): Could be used as an Anti-Hero Substitute for Batman, assuming he's dead.
• Batman Beyond: It's only been stated that they can't use Batman. However, Terry isn't Bruce Wayne, and considering the Arrowverse has had crossovers between dimensions, time travel wouldn't be too out of the ordinary. Perhaps they'll reveal that the "Batman" that is missing is in fact, the Michael Keaton one (the present day one having retired simply because of how old he is), and he's been training Terry.
• Tim Drake: At least one Robin is confirmed to exist in this continuity. Odds are that Batman's career is far enough along for Dick to have already become Nightwing and Jason Todd to die and become Red Hood. Assuming that Jason's demise isn't what drove Bruce out of Gotham, then he likely had begun training Tim Drake by the time he left. If so it remains to be seen if he also gave up on being Robin for some reason, or if he left for the same reason Bruce did.

The show will be set on Earth-38

Let's face it, Earth-1 is getting really, really crowded. Besides, Kara needs prominent hero besides her cousin she can regularly team-up with without the need to cross to Earth-1, plus she and Kate can regularly team-up like Superman and Batman do since the Arrowverse obviously can't use those two. And also, Kara and Kate's crossovers can highlight their different approach in heroics the more classic DC way (only Gender Flipped).

• Seemingly Jossed by the first hour of Elseworlds, which sets up Batwoman as existing in the Gotham City of Earth-1.

Earth-1 Maggie Sawyer will appear, played by a new actress

We already know that different versions of the same person can be in the different universes, so it’s possible that we could see the Earth-1 Maggie Sawyer, played by an actress who more closely resembles the comic Maggie Sawyer.

• That would explain why it's on Earth-1 instead of Earth-38 considering that Earth-38's Maggie Swayer's actress wasn't interested in committing to the show. Hopefully they will keep the race lift though.
• There's two issues with this idea; the Arrowverse shows tend to drop characters entirely after the actor leaves or they introduce another character who can fill the same role and they like to have the alternate versions of characters still be played by their primary actor (major exceptions tend to be for wanting cameos from actors with ties to other adaptations of the source material). Throw in that it'd be kind of confusing for a general audience who isn't familiar with the comics' Maggie, they may just stick to using some different love interests for Kate.
• A bit of evidence supporting this is that Kate and Maggie have the same jacket.
• Maggie will be played by the same actress, now that Supergirl's universe merged with the Arrowverse.

Kate was classmates with Lucy Lane.

The Earth-38 version of Lucy attended West Point, so if she exists on Earth-1 at all, this is a possibility.

Mary will turn out to be a Canon Character All Along

But, in a twist, she may not be a counterpart to Bette Kane, but to another, more obscure character, with elements of other characters.

The Penguin is closer to the version from Batman Returns than anything else

This will justify why he's in Arkham Asylum; he's bitten people and lead clowns who lived in a sewer!

Kate and Sophie will fight each other, possibly in a flashback as cadets.

Instagram videos show both Ruby Rose and Meagan Tandy going through boxing drills; while that could be just general warmups or similar, both Kate and Sophie were boxers at West Point in the comics and have sparred on-panel.

Catherine will recruit some of the Crows to eliminate Batwoman, without Jacob's knowledge or permission.

According to her character breakdown, Catherine is unaware that Kate is Batwoman, and also considers Batwoman bad for business. And since Jacob probably is aware of who Batwoman is, he won't agree to using the Crows against her.

Chuck Dodgson is a mole within the Crows, working for the Wonderland Gang.

Chuck is short for Charles. Charles Dodgson is the real name of Lewis Carroll.

• Basically confirmed in the first trailer.

Other heroes and supporting characters who may appear or be referenced

• Vesper Fairchild, since she's was confirmed to exist in Elseworlds.
  • Confirmed...sort of. She's been confirmed to be a cast member as The Voice, portrayed by Rachel Maddow.
• Harper Row/Bluebird
• Julie Madison
• Lucius Fox
  • Mentioned a lot
• Jason Todd/Red Hood
• Vicki Vale
• Helena Wayne
• Chief O'Hara
• Dr. Chase Meridian
• Philip Wayne/Kane
• Tim Drake/Robin/Red Robin/Drake
• Stephanie Brown/Batgirl/Spoiler
  • Confirmed
• Julia Pennyworth
  • Confirmed
• Jack Ryder/The Creeper
• Zatanna
• Tim Fox/Batman (II?)

Kate owned or owns a dog.

As Kate, Ruby Rose's real-life tattoo of one of her dogs on her left hand has not been altered, so perhaps that will be a trait shared with the character. This could also lead to Ace the Bathound's introduction.

Bruce left the Batcave and everything in it to Kate in the event he was unable to be Batman anymore...

... but she only discovered it recently. The trailer seems to indicate she already knew Bruce was Batman somehow, and it makes a decent amount of sense for her to inherit it: she's family and of a similar age, she's local, and she has at least some level of relevant skills. Since she also runs what's left of Wayne Enterprises as of Elseworlds, perhaps the two are a package deal of sorts.

• Jossed. Kate only discovers that Bruce Wayne is Batman in the premiere episode, and has to strong-arm Luke Fox into letting/helping her use Batman's equipment for her own ends.

Batman has been kidnapped by one of his arch foes

It will later be revealed that Batman is being held captive by either Ras Al Ghul or Bane in a foreign country. It'll be up to Batwoman to rescue him.

Luke will only start to become Batwing in Season 2

The whole "flying armored suit" effect may overshadow Kate as Batwoman, so they'll hold off on introducing that element for at least a while.

There will be a Written-In Infirmity regarding Kate.

Sometime between the pilot and the production of early first-season episodes, Ruby Rose had emergency surgery to correct herniated discs in her neck, leaving her with a noticeable scar on her throat. This scar could easily be explained in-universe.

• Perhaps as a new tattoo gone horribly wrong "Never using that tattoo artist again." as Kate is obviously into body art. Or perhaps the tattoo excuse would just be for those unaware of her secret identity to explain a scar from Alice getting lucky with her knife in a fight early in the season.

There are multiple batcaves in Gotham

Kate only found one of them. Notice you don't see any of the batmobiles. Plus the cave in the show is a bit small compare to the ones we see in other media. The one true batcave is under Wayne Manor.

Post-premiere theories

Jacob will become the Two-Face for this universe.

Alice refers to him as a "white knight", similar to Harvey Dent in the Nolanverse.

• Jossed. He was written out after season 2.

Tyler is gay.

He and Sophie married as a way to mutually defuse suspicion about themselves.

• Jossed, as seen in "Down, Down, Down", Sophie never even told him about Kate.

Calendar Man will be a future Big Bad

Due to being very smart and manipulative, this will force Kate to develop her detective skills, which could make for an interesting arc for her character. It also gives them an excuse for episodes set on holidays, which rarely aren't a treat for the audience.

Damian Wayne exists.

He'll either already be Robin or take the mantle on when he arrives in Gotham. He'll be trying to solve where Bruce is.

• Alternatively, Bruce left to raise Damian on his own, rather than risk him being targeted by enemies in Gotham.

Alfred is dead

It wouldn't necessarily be the cause of Batman's vanishing, but it probably didn't help.

• Jossed, it's confirmed in season 3 by his daughter he's still alive living back in England. No word on how he feels about Bruce being MIA for all of these years.

If Catwoman appears, she won't be Selina Kyle

Instead, the role will be given to Holly Robinson or Eiko Hasigawa. Kate could have Les Yay with them, which could lead to jokes about how she's really getting a hang of taking up Batman's role in the city, and, more seriously, a love interest other than the married Sophie.

The real mystery is...

Catherine wanted to kill Jacob's wife, because she was in love with Jacob and thinks his wife "stole" him from Catherine. So she made sure Jacob's wife had gotten a poorly-designed car and hired the Joker to kill her. But she probably didn't count on her taking her daughters. She found out Beth survived but had to plant false evidence of her death to prevent anyone from learning of her scheme. As for Batman, he's been trying to discover the truth about what happened that day, and suspects that the Joker is connected. In his mission to apprehend the Joker to get him to talk, his partner, Jason Todd, got killed as a result. This has taken a toll on Batman, and led him to leave Gotham.

• Jossed on multiple levels. (1) "Tell Me the Truth" reveals Catherine only met the Kanes after the car accident when she joined the city's search for Gabi and Beth. (2) "Who Are You" explains Catherine planting fake evidence was a misguided attempt to give Jacob and Kate closure, she had no idea Beth was alive. She also already had a mercenary on her payroll and no connection to the Joker (who refuses mercenary work with rare exceptions). (3) Catherine owns a defense contracting company and doesn't specialize in commercial cars. (4) If Alice knew this, she would've revealed it. (5) "Off With Her Head" reveals Gabi was driving home from her daughters' Bat Mitzvah, of course Kate and Beth would likely be with her. (6) "We're All Mad Here" in season 3 confirms Robin was killed in an independent incident by Joker and Kiki Roulette.

Beth/Alice was mentored by one of Batman's villains

While there's a chance that she fell into this persona all on her own, the fact that she never surfaced in the time between her accident and the present might hint that something more happened to her, most likely in the house she stumbled into in the flashback from episode 3 (unless it exists solely in her dream). The options:

• The Joker. It'd be an easy parallel to him and Batman, with Alice and Batwoman being each other's greatest foes. Also, Joker has dealt with face removal before.
• Professor Pyg: Just as mad as the Joker, and just as likely to have someone's face in a sink in a house in the woods.
• The Mad Hatter, for obvious reasons.
• The Riddler: Alice's penchant for riddles and references to Alice in Wonderland may've been inspired by Nygma. The fact that he's not only referenced in episode 3 but is mentioned to have figured out Batman's true identity may also hint that he's playing a larger role.
• The Cluemaster. Another riddle-heavy villain, but here he's raised Beth as a replacement for his own daughter, who has already become the Spoiler and foiled him too many times. Plus it throws another log on the fathers-daughters-and-sisters themes that the show has going on.
• Alternatively, Beth was found and molded into what she is now by The Religion of Crime, a cult she was a member of in the comics. The membership of the group will receive an upgrade to churn out multiple foes for the future and take the place the League of Assassins may have played if they hadn't been so heavily used in Arrow.
  • Partially jossed. Season 2 confirms Alice was trained by Safiyah Sohail in the Many Arms of Death after escaping August.

The Joker is dead

After the Clown Prince of Crime caused so much harm, including the results of the school bus attack and possibly shooting Barbara Gordon, Batman killed the Joker in a rage during a confrontation. This Batman had a "no killing" code, and it shook him enough to partially contribute to why he left Gotham. Harley Quinn went after Batman for revenge, but was captured by ARGUS.

• Seemingly confirmed by Luke in "A Narrow Escape". Batman did apparently kill The Joker.

Mary isn't Bette Kane's adaptation

They've instead gone the Decomposite Character route.

Season 2 will see the rise of the "We Are Robin" Collective

Not only is Batman gone, but whatever Robin(s) he had at his side are gone as well. As Kate navigates her way towards becoming the new face of justice in Gotham, a group of disaffected teens will either come to her aid or challenge her position. This will pave the way for Duke Thomas' introduction and he'll either join Kate as her own Robin, or assume his comics identity of The Signal.

• Jossed.

Bat-Mite will appear

At first he'll decry Kate as an inferior replacement for Bruce, who he was expecting to meet when he came here from his home dimension. But as he follows her along on a days work he'll come to respect her. By the end he'll give a Take That, Critics! speech similar to the he gave in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

• To keep the grim-and-gritty realism, Bat-Mite will be just in Kate's head. Everyone will think she's crazy, seeing her talking to nobody. Near the end of the episode, Kate will still wonder whether or not he was real. He will look like a chubby Manchild fanboy wearing a costume resembling the Adam West Batman.
• Jossed

Post-Crisis, some of Batman's Rogues Gallery will be played by their Gotham counterparts

While there's been nothing said about Gotham characters appearing in Crisis itself, there's not much stopping them from showing up after if their Earth is one of the ones fused with Earth-1. They don't necessarily need to be huge characters, but audiences would probably appreciate appearances from the more well-received characters like Riddler or Penguin.

• Jossed. Most don't show up at all, and those who do are played by different actors.

Luke's subplot, and potential path to becoming Batwing, will involve him trying to find his father's real killer.

• Partially jossed. He finds the real killer, but doesn't become Batwing until 2 seasons later.

Mouse's father is dead

Mouse and Alice murdered him.

• His last words will be how he truly finds his son repulsing.
• Jossed. Cartwright is alive, using flesh masks to hide his true identity. He later is killed off for real by Kate after learning he took her mother's severed head to make a face mask for his own mother.

Alice will have a redemption arc and sacrifice herself to save someone

Alice/Beth will die by the end of season 1 (or season 2), but not before redeeming herself and forgiving Jacob and Kate. She will sacrifice herself to kill Mouse. Alice will die with a smile knowing her family have forgiven her for her crimes.

• Jossed. Alice kills Mouse for refusing to continue supporting her plans. In season 3, she starts becoming more selfless by looking after Poison Ivy!Mary and making figurative sacrifices before going on a Redemption Quest.

Tyler will pull a Face–Heel Turn.

He hasn't gotten over Sophie keeping her lesbian past a secret from him and knows she still has feelings for her. This, and other circumstances, will put him in a path to villainy. In a Took a Level in Jerkass moment, he will tell Sophie's mother about her sexuality.

• Probably jossed, as he decided they should separate and he never spilled the beans to his former mother-in-law.

Possibly related to the theory above, Tyler will turn out to be a Canon Character All Along.

Jossed.

There will be an episode solely focused on Kate's training before she became Batwoman.

Jossed. Only a small sliver of Kate's training was ever shown, and just in the pilot.

Catherine really did provide weapons to criminals, and the Joker used some of them during the rampage that resulted in the car crash that killed Gabi Kane.

• Jossed. Alice would've found out and exposed her. Gabi was killed when the Joker rammed a school bus into her car.

At some point, Mary will seek out her biological father

Bruce Wayne will appear in season 2

Similar to how Superman showed up in season 2 of Supergirl (2015). He won't wear the suit, but he will play a supporting role. Similar to his appearance on Titans (2018).

• With the recent revelation that Batman killed the Joker, his return may include more details on what happened to push him that far, even if emphasis will still be placed on Bruce's grief over violating his moral code.
• Partially confirmed. He appears in Luke's vision during his near-death experience.

Mary will either become a super hero or an anti-villain

Episode 8 feels like an origin story for Mary. Having your step-sister "favor" her murderous biological sister over you and your mom being murdered by that same sister could drive a person insane. She could develop a deep hatred for Alice and try to hunt her down.

• Jossed for the villain part as she joins the Bat family and becomes a team member after telling Kate she knows about her being Batwoman.

Jacob's replacement will be an expy of Nathaniel Barnes.

After Jacob was arrested, the corrupt higher-ups will replace him with someone more willing to serve the wealthy of Gotham. He'll be more harsh to his subordinates, especially Sophie. Except maybe Tyler and appoint him as his second-in-command. When he learns of Mary's illegal clinic, he'll have her thrown in jail.

• Jossed. Sophie has basically taken over, or at least isn't being hindered by anyone in such a way.
• Jossed. Jacob returns to Crows Security despite the bad publicity. He himself shuts down Mary's clinic but she's able to find a way to legalize it without reporting her patients.

Sophie will have a Character Arc similar to Renee Montoya's in the comics.

Which involves her being outed, her mother finds out and disowns her, leading her to a drunken mess before coming back up. She'll quit the Crows and become a Vigilante Woman.

How the merge into Earth-Prime affected Gotham

• Bruce knew Clark, like on Earth-38, but still disappeared. The fact that Superman's efforts to find Batman were unsuccessful contributed to the belief that he abandoned Gotham.
• Alice gained powers of some kind, making her even more of a threat.
• The Sange, the white power gang from Freeland, have a "chapter" in Gotham. A member, or even the leader of this faction, is the one who killed Lucius Fox.

Reagan will reappear.

• Seeing that she's proved pretty popular with fans despite a small, rather ancillary role, she will make a reappearance. Either she and Kate will rekindle their relationship (seeing that Kate's not making any progress with Sophie so far) or she'll undergo a Face–Heel Turn.
  • Confirmed, she reappears in "If You Believe in Me, I'll Believe in You", reunites and has sex with Kate, and then betrays her to Magpie.

The Alice who appeared in Kate's office is the one from Earth-99

Jossed: However, this Beth does come from a similar Earth where she was saved from the car crash, however the key difference between her birth earth and Earth-99 is that Kate died circa 2014 while being Batwoman.

Alice will, in an ironic twist, end up killing Dr. Cartwright as Dr. Campbell

• Even more ironic is that he'll be surprised because he thought he killed her, when he actually killed her counterpart from another Earth.
• Jossed. Kate kills him after learning he kept their mother's head in a freezer with the intention to skin off her face to give to his own mother. Even though Alice had a hand in his death, by leading Kate to him she didn't have the pleasure of killing him off for real this time around, unlike the time she thought she did when escaping him.

Mouse will become Hush.

The only hint to this is when his dad said "Hush now, son."

• Jossed, Mouse is killed off and Tommy just like his comic book counterpart becomes Hush.

Alice now wants Gotham to burn because Kate chose Beth over her.

• Jossed, but because Kate double-crossed her in "Through the Looking Glass", Alice probably does want to. That, and spill that Kate killed Cartwright and Jacob buried the body.

August Cartwright was directly responsible for the "accident" that scarred his son's face

We don't actually know how or why Mouse's face looks like that, only that it happened in some unspecified "accident". We've seen what an utter monster his father is, and how he ultimately used the facial disguise technology to assume the life of Dr. Ethan Campbell for prestige that he felt he deserved. I feel like—and it's possible that even Jonathan himself does not know this—that August deliberately burned his son's face, either as an impulsive act of abuse or as part of a Long Game to try and justify to others why he needed to make the masks to begin with; to claim that it was to heal his son's face, but really for himself to take over any life he pleases, demonstrating that he in fact is the real Jane Doe of the Arrowverse, not Mouse.

• Jossed.

Kate didn't kill Cartwright

August somehow gassed Jacob and Kate with fear gas back at the bar. Her killing Cartwright was just an illusion created in their mind. Jacob's biggest fear was having his second daughter become a killer. August Cartwright is alive and well. He was never killed and buried. This is all part of a master plan of his. Sure Alice was there, but how do you know she's not hallucinating August's death as well?

• Jossed. He's confirmed to be dead and Jacob and Kate have to dispose of his body, which haunts Kate for a while.

Tommy's Bruce disguise will be blown when he shows an affinity for guns

In a dire moment, he'll use a gun, and it'll turn out the real Bruce has the "no guns" policy aspect of Batman in tact. On top of that, the way he fires it will match footage of Hush shooting his own guns, allowing the team to see through the ruse.

• Jossed. His cover was blown since he didn't answer Julia's question correctly.

Tommy Monaghan will appear as a hitman hired by Jacob to help the Crows kill Batwoman

He'll be happy to do it (as long as he gets plenty of cash), but things'll change once he sees her team up with Superman in the announced 2021 crossover. Being a fan of Superman despite otherwise disliking superheroes, he'll decide he'd rather not get on Superman's bad side and walk out on the Crows, further driving Jacob to madness.

• Jossed. The crossover was canceled and Jacob knows the first Batwoman was Kate.

Hush will use Bruce's influence to turn people against the Crows

Alice will delight in making her father think his own nephew is plotting against him and undermining his authority, since it will make Jacob even more unhinged and obsessed. This will lead to a confrontation with "Bruce" where, under instruction from Alice, Hush will claim he's been paying a immoral criminal mercenary to be Batwoman all along, and that her entire vigilante career is part of a plot to get revenge on him for allegedly failing to be there to save Beth. Jacob will buy it and then ramp up his efforts to capture and/or kill Batwoman and become more paranoid that "Bruce" is orchestrating more revenge plots. This paranoia will make him become so harsh on the common citizens of Gotham that, when combined with the Crows spending more time targeting Batwoman than actual villains, will cause him to be decried as the real public menace. It won't be helped by "Bruce" appearing on TV and endorsing these views regarding Jacob. The rapidly inflating controversy will force Mayor Akins to step in and strip the Crows of their authority and leave Jacob a hated, maligned figure. Through all this, Kate will try to help her father, but his attempts to gun her down as Batwoman will cloud her judgement and Alice and Hush will succeed in permanently ruining his life.

• Jossed, Hush is exposed before he could cause real damage.

In a future crossover event Ruby Rose will reprise her role as an alternate version of Batwoman in a guest appearance

This is a huge long shot, I'll admit, but since the recent Crisis on Infinite Earths (2019) crossover was filled to the brim with alternate versions of established heroes, often played by actors reprising roles from years in the past, what if they did something similar in a future crossover and brought in Ruby Rose as a single guest appearance as Batwoman from an alternate Earth? While it's believed the fallout between Rose and the series was not on great terms, if Arrow could forgive Manu Bennett for his publicly critical remarks and still bring him back in a few guest spots, surely the same could happen for Ruby Rose?

Alice will change Kate's face

To justify The Other Darrin, the first one or two episodes of Season Two will have Ruby Rose appear one last time before ending up in a situation where Alice uses her ability to transplant faces on her, giving Kate the face of whomever takes Rose's place. Possibly going something like this:

• Much like in Batman: Arkham Knight, Kate will be outed as Batwoman and lose both her secret identity and her credibility as a figure of the shadows. Alice will be angered by this, feeling that Kate's secret identity was supposed to be their own little secret. Enter this mysterious Ryan Wilder character: she will have been introduced early on in the episode as the runaway street punk she's been described as and a ally whom Batwoman takes under her wing. Both of them will end up in a dangerous situation (e.g. a burning building or explosion) but Alice will sneak up on Kate and knock her out, leaving Ryan to die. While Kate is out, Alice will use her surgery skills to switch their faces and put Ryan-with-Kate's-face in the ruins of the building for the police and press to find. The world will assume that Kate Kane is dead but Kate will really still be alive but with Ryan's face, allowing Batwoman to continue on, believed to be either a Legacy Character, not Kate at all or an immortal creature that Batman is often believed to be.
• Jossed, since this would mean Alice would also have to change Kate entire skin tone along with a face swap in order to make Kate look like Ryan! Plus...there's no way they'd make it so that a black woman is playing a white woman who is turned into a black woman. That's just strange.
  • Also, Ryan's her own character.
  • Confirmed, Alice does end up helping Kate get a new face although Kate's brainwashed to think she's Black Mask's own daughter and Alice just offered up her services so that she wouldn't get killed by the Face False Society. She does eventually end up realizing that the woman she's helping is Kate after looking her in the eyes.

The second Batwoman's costume won't be a total copy of Kate's

This shall be done in order to emphasize the differences between Kate and "Ryan", or whoever she ends up being. They might as well make a whole new costume for the part, since the new actress is unlikely to have the exact same proportions as Ruby Rose (It'd be kind of creepy if that was a requirement, no?). As for said differences they could swap out the red elements of the costume (like the wig, the bat symbol, the belt, etc) another another color, like yellow, blue, or violet. The wig could have a different style, such as being shorter or spikier. Her boots and/or gloves could also be changed from black to whatever color replaces the red, in order to show break up the costume a bit, and could have visible folds or buttons. The cowl can have a pointier "nose" that cover the wearer's nose more than the first costume.

• Ryan got her own official Batwoman costume after wearing Kate's outfit in the first three Season 2 episodes.

Ryan will read the journals/notes Kate wrote to Bruce.

• Confirmed.

The Crows will lose their prominence

Since Ryan Wilder is unlikely to have a real reason to regularly go to their building and talk to Jacob there, the Crows as an organization will have less focus; Jacob's new plots will revolve around looking for Kate rather than menacing the new Batwoman, and Sophie will gain another role somewhere in Gotham.

• Jossed, as it's unlikely since The Crows have their role in Ryan's story about why she went to jail. Plus, Sophie and Kate's father are using Crows resources to find an MIA Kate.
• Actually confirmed, Jacob disbands the Crows after they profile and nearly kill Luke, then try to kill him to cover it up. Jacob helps Alice try to restore Kate's memories before being arrested. Sophie joins the team in season 3.

Kate will be revealed to have gone missing while trying to track down Bruce

Perhaps Hush's masquerade convinced Kate to follow a lead between Season 1 and 2.

• Jossed, as she never met him masquerading as her cousin due to Kate immediately going to National City after the Season 1 finale.

Beth won't be the main villain in Season 2

Let's be honest here; even though Rachel Skarsten will remain in the main cast, Alice being the Big Bad won't work as well if Kate isn't there to be Batwoman. Beth/Alice can't just have her hate for her sister transplanted onto Ryan just because she takes up the mantle. That'd be lazy. The character of Beth will still have focus, but it can be in a new context that'll take her out of the main villain role. Think of it as her being Demoted to Extra in the lightest way possible, from Big Bad to a recurring villain/focus character for subplots set in Gotham's underworld or Arkham.

• Alternatively, because Ryan doesn't have a personal connection to Beth, she'll feel like she was demoted to extra in-universe and start lashing out more in order to make her pay attention, or at least draw Kate back to Gotham.
• Confirmed, Beth is focused on reuniting with Ocean and later, restoring Kate's memories. However, Ryan has a vendetta against Alice because her gang killed Ryan's adoptive mother.

The Kate Kane iteration of Batwoman may appear briefly in season 2, played by a stuntwoman

While Ruby Rose is no longer part of the show and thus neither is Kate Kane, if the character does need to be referenced or even show up in some way, she can still appear dressed as Batwoman with the voice changer, but it will be a stunt actress in the suit instead to still make it appear that it's Ruby Rose in there, as a manner of Fake Shemp.

• Confirmed in a flashback.

Beth will seek out Ryan's Batwoman for protection

It's been confirmed that Safiyah, who Beth has some sort of connection to, has been cast for season 2. Since Beth's been pretty much flying by the seat of her pants for the second half of season 1, whatever goals Safiyah wanted her to accomplish were probably ignored and now she's on her bad side. Since Ryan doesn't have an inherent feeling of betrayal against Beth, she might be more willing to help her.

• Jossed. Ryan does have a personal hatred for Alice and was once willing to let her be killed.

Luke will begin to develop his Batwing gear in Season 2

He won't complete or utilize it during the season, and it'll be hidden for a while by suggesting he's actually making something for Ryan's use.

• Jossed: His father made the suit and gear, but hid in his workshop until Luke was ready to use it.

Jacob will despise Ryan as both Batwoman and her unmasked self

• Jossed: He never met Ryan out of the suit. They actually end up working together a couple times.

The Bat mantle will become considered a curse by some

Word will begin to spread that anyone who takes it on will vanish like Batman and the first Batwoman.

Alice's Evil Plan is to set up Jacob to kill his own daughter as Batwoman

Given that Alice already knows who Batwoman is, it makes no sense that she'd go to such trouble to get a bullet that could penetrate the Batsuit when she could just attack Kate when she's not wearing it. So she plans to have Hush as Bruce Wayne get hold of the kryptonite and have Wayne Tech fashion it into a bullet. Unfortunately there's only enough material for one kryptonite bullet, and given that it's so valuable, and members of the Crows have been shown to be in league with Batwoman, 'Bruce' would insist that only a trustworthy person be allowed to use it, so naturally Jacob will take on the task himself.

• Maybe, but this is ignoring that Alice specifically wanted to kill Kate as Batwoman.
  • But this way Alice could bring about Kate's death while simultaneously torturing her father with the revelation that he killed his own daughter. This would be a Fate Worse than Death for Jacob.
    • Confirmed as of the season two premiere.

One of Bruce's minor love interests will be reimagined as a love interest for Ryan

Just a random idea I had that I then realized is something they'd might do. Emphasis on minor though. Like, I'm talking Natalya Trusevich or Charlotte Rivers level here. I doubt anyone would really object to such a change, outside of those hacks on Youtube who'll insult a show for anything.

• Jossed. Ryan's love interests have nothing do to with Bruce. She ultimately ends up with Sophie, Kate's former love interest.

The real Bruce Wayne will appear at the end of the season and reveal why he left Gotham

After that, he'll vow to find out where Kate has gone, effectively giving him another reason to leave. They have Warren Christie set to be a recurring cast member now, so it'd be easy to pull it off. He could basically give Ryan his seal of approval as Gotham's new hero.

• Jossed: Kate leaves to go find him after getting her memory back.

The cast of We Are Robin will appear

They'll be formed as a result of Ryan becoming Batwoman. After it becomes clear to the public that there's a new woman operating as Batwoman, a group of teens and young adults will decide that if "anyone" can be the new Batwoman, anyone can be the new Robin too. This'll set up Duke Thomas to later become the Signal in a future season.

Ryan's biological father is alive

...and is a Batman villain who'll be the Big Bad (or at least a prominent antagonist) of a future season of the show.

• Still unknown about her dad, but it's confirmed that her birth mother is still alive and heavily implied by Alice to be a criminal.

The quick end to the "Tommy posing as Bruce" plot is a result of the changes made to the season to accommodate Ryan's introduction

The Joker was the one who shot down Kate's plane.

Despite what Luke claimed otherwise, Joker really isn't dead. He's been in hiding all this time, watching the chaos unfold as Gotham struggles without the Dark Knight protecting it. Since Safiyah claims she wasn't responsible for shooting down the plane, and since it was his painting that Kate was investigating, he tried to take her out so no one would figure out he's still around.

• This theory holds creditability as he was involved in Beth's disappearance since he was the one who ram Gabi's car off the edge of the bridge. Since the Kane women getting kidnapped was implied an planned event in Kate and Beth's origin stories in the comic however in both instances Kate was the only one to have escaped unharmed while Gabi was killed instantly and Beth was taken by the bad guys who made the good guys thought that she was also killed. Not to hard make an Adaption Change to Arrowverse's Beth and Kate's origin stories by making the Joker be It Was with You All Along culprit especially if he knew Batman's real identity and who his local relatives were. However he didn't planned on it going wrong with only Kate escaping and Beth being held capture by August Catwright assuming he wasn't The Joker's secret partner in crime (Given that Season 1 revealed August was an associate of Jonathan Crane aka Scarecrow). Although there's one unanswered question since that painting was revealed to be a map of Coryana before he ruined it by by painting Human Blood all over it which then got established as piece of his 'artwork' when in actually the painter is implied to be Safiyah. So if he even has a direct connection to the villains the show has showcased remains ambiguous because nothing has been confirmed as of yet, but one is for certain he has been Connected All Along to the story.
• Jossed. It was Roman Sionis who shot down the plane, thanks to a tip from Safiyah.

Alternatively, if it wasn't Joker who shot down Kate's plane, it was Harley Quinn who did the deed.

If Luke is correct and Joker is truly dead, Harley would be the only other possible candidate who wouldn't want Kate snooping around her Puddin's "masterpiece", or wouldn't be all that pleased that Kate is effectively undoing all the hard work Joker had put into turning Gotham upside down by killing the Kanes' and goading Batman into finally killing him. She does exist in the Arrowverse thanks to a brief cameo in Arrow, but got no further appearances due to the Suicide Squad film. Besides, seeing as she also had a big role on the Birds of Prey show, which Batwoman draws similarities from, it would make sense that she appears.

• That's a good alternate theory to the Joker one, but Harley's plans to be included more in the Arrowverse were squashed due to the Bat-embargo that limit or ban the use of Batman-related characters from any media source outside DC Extended Universe media franchise Willa Holland (Thea Queen) back in 2015 stated that Arrow had big plans for Harley. something came down from DC execs that told us to shut it down however they had already had that tease with the pigtails and the ARGUS outfit but, the Arrowverse fans would never see Quinn used to her full potential. On the DCEU universe side Margot Robbie casting for the ionic character was getting finalized. Sure Kaley Cuoco has Harley Quinn (2019), but that had all higher up's blessings while the Arrowverse is limited on what they can use.
  • Maybe it could've been Punchline then? Quinn has been pushed away from the role of "Joker's Crazy Girlfriend Underling" for years now.
  • Jossed. Black Mask shot down the plane.

Black Mask is linked to whoever actually caused Kate's alleged death

Finally dealing with him in person will be what leads to the discovery of what really happened.

• Confirmed as of the Season 2 mid-finale as it's revealed he's the one holding Kate hostage.
• It's confirmed he actually shot down the plane.

Angelique was given the Desert Rose she gave Ryan by a former resident of Coryana

• Word of God confirmed Ocean gave the plant to Angelique who then gave it to Ryan.

Scarecrow will appear in Season 2

Snakebite is partially made from his fear toxin, and since Scarecrow isn't one to like how its true purpose (showing people their worst fears rather than having them be able to relive better scenarios involving their worst regrets) has been changed, he'll bust out of Arkham so he can either force Black Mask to use it as intended, or, alternatively, kill him (or kidnap and replace him Arkham Origins style) and take over his operations so he can used the already hooked drug addicts to keep spreading it throughout Gotham, leading him into conflict with Ryan.

• Jossed. Scarecrow doesn't appear this season.

Like with the comics, Enigma will be revealed to be Riddler's daughter

She already has the cane, his trademark pose, wears his familiar shade of green, and understands the mind in a deep enough of a way that could have easily stemmed from having to visit her father behind bars as she watched the doctors treat him for his condition. Plus, her alias is "Rhyme", and some riddles are known to rhyme...

• If so, that would mean a significant Age Lift for Riddler in this continuity, given the actresses', and presumably, the character's age.
• Confirmed. Riddler is indeed Enigma's father. It's just she's dead.

Luke's near-death experience

will cause him to begin becoming Batwing.

• Confirmed. Official photos and set leaks have revealed he will indeed take up the identity.

If Kate is un-brainwashed, she will work in tandem with Ryan and adopt the superhero identity Flamebird.

• Jossed for now. Kate is leaving Gotham to find Bruce.

Whether Kate stays for Season 3 or not

They may come up with an In-Universe reason why Alice can't put Kate's face back to how it originally was, since Ruby Rose probably won't return. Otherwise, they'll have to reduce Kate's role for the third season.

• Jossed: Beside from Alice being locked up again, it's really unnecessary to put Kate through traumatizing plastic surgery to get her original face back.

Ryan's birth mother is Poison Ivy

There will be a twist. Robin Givens will not only play Ryan's birth mother, but the super villain as well.

• But isn't Bridget Regan playing Ivy?
• Jossed. Robin Givens portrays Jada Jet, who is Ryan's birth mother, while Bridget Regan is Ivy.

Bruce Wayne will be Ryan's father

That offhand comment about how Bruce would comment on her biological mother's looks is foreshadowing they had a relationship and they will have it that Ryan is the legitimate heir to the Wayne company.

Alternatively...

Ryan's father is Lucius Fox

Jada mentions how Bruce once poached an employee from her. Could this former employee possibly be Lucius Fox, who once worked for Jeturian Industries, and with whom she once had an affair, resulting in Ryan?Age-wise, it makes more sense for Ryan to be Lucius' daughter than Bruce's. Moreover, it would lead to some significant drama between Luke and Ryan, whose whole relationship would be redefined by them being half-siblings. It would also impact Luke's memory of his father who would now be revealed to have cheated on his mother.The fact that a Lucius Fox AI is now part of the show hints at Lucius Fox posthumously playing a significant role this season. Moreover, Ryan being Lucius' daughter would make her the show's version of Jace Fox, who's the second Batman in the comics.