Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 1 - What Happened To Kate Kane?

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Kate Kane is missing after her plane experienced a technical failure while landing. As Kate's friends and family begin searching for her, Alice and Hush have a falling out over their respective plans. Meanwhile, the Batsuit finds its way into the hands of an unlikely hero; a woman named Ryan Wilder, who may become the hero Gotham City needs in its time of need.

Influences

Joker (the scene with Ryan meeting her parole officer resembles Arthur meeting his social worker.) Also, while not directly based on any particular comic, there are a number of stories based around the idea of an unlikely pupil taking over Batman's role. These include Batman: Prodigal, Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin, Batman: Knightfall and the series Batman Beyond

Goofs

Why would Kate Kane fly out to visit Kara Danvers? Couldn't she just call her? If not, wouldn't it be faster for Kara to fly to her? (Kate's the sort of person to do business face-to-face and it's far easier for her to get away from her day job unnoticed than Kara.)

Wayne Manor seems remarkably well kept for having been abandoned for four years. (Perhaps Luke has been paying for maid service since Alfred left?)

Performances

Javica Leslie doesn't get much time to introduce Ryan Wilder in this episode, but she makes the most of what little time she has and the fact that she's having to play against herself for most of the episode. Still, she immediately manages to establish Ryan as a much different person than Kate, both in and out of costume. 

Rachel Skarsten is entertaining as always, but she outdoes herself with the scene where a drunken Alice shows up at Wayne Manor in mourning clothes and starts reading Hush the riot act for not following her plan, even while acknowledging how utterly pointless it is with Kate Kane now dead.

Dougray Scott gets a great moment of silent acting in the final moments of the episode, as he turns on the Bat Signal and starts to cry silently, his face still stoic but his eyes showing his pain.

Artistry

The opening sequence in which the plane crashes over Gotham is thrilling and the pacing is a fantastic display of Ryan's skills, showing us who she is without having to tell us that she's brave enough to go into a dangerous situation and kind enough to try and help others, though still not use to tense situations. 

The closing montage of all the cast reacting to the news that Kate is likely dead is a powerful moment, well-shot and well-acted.

Bat Trivia

The gang members Ryan questions for information in her first outing as Batwoman are members of the False Face Society. This is a gang with a rather notable history in the comics, though it is unaffiliated with the Golden Age Batman villain False Face, who was a master of disguise. 

The first False Face Society was formed by the Joker as part of a tournament to determine the greatest criminal in Gotham City, with each of the participants committing their crimes while masked. Batman thwarted the plot and revealed the Joker's plot to steal all the tournament winnings before the winner could be declared. This False Face Society continued to operate without the Joker and without much success.

The second False Face Society was founded by the crimeboss Roman "Black Mask" Sionis.. His gang was alternatively known as both the False Face Society and the False Facers. In the most recent wave of Batman comics, the False Face Society was founded by Richard "The Mask" Sionis and eventually broke into three factions; the loyalists led by The Mask, the rebels led by Roman "Black Mask" Sionis, and a splinter group led by David "White Mask" Franco. Black Mask eventually won the battle.

At one point, Hush sings the "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" parody that has existed for many years in the real world.

Technobabble

Luke says that The Crows have unplugged the Bat-Signal so there's no way to turn it on remotely. 

Luke says that the nanotech of the cape of the Bat-Suit is more advanced than a NASA parachute and Kate could easily have survived a 10,000 foot freefall while wearing it. 

The Crows determined that Kate's plane was flying with a recalled engine part.

The Bat-Suit ha a GPS which only Luke Fox can track. He uses this to locate Ryan Wilder while she's in the costume.

The Batmobile has missiles.

Luke is capable of hacking the Batombile and shutting down its systems remotely. 

Dialogue Triumphs

Social Worker: You have the power to turn this around.

Ryan: You want to know why I haven't paid my fines? Because I can't find a job. Because I don't have a home. Because no landlord wants to rent to an ex-con on post-release. You see how this works? (frustrated) No one cares that the dope wasn't mine or that The Crows were dirty or that I'm a actually decent human! I am a file in your cabinet. That is not having power. That is the very definition of powerless. 

Hush:(holding up the Kryptonite) Only thing stronger than the Bat-Suit. Which Mini-Fix is in the process of retrieveing. And very soon the world will call me Batman.

Alice: (sarcastically impressed) Ooooh! Do you want a parade? Because I'm pretty sure my sister is in the large intestine of a Great White! 

Hush: Oh, is that what this is? (gestures to Alice's black garb) Are you mourning? You wanted her dead! 
Alice: I wanted to kill her myself!
Hush: (shushing Alice, trying to keep his own voice down) Not to say I told you so to a... belligerent psychopath. You could have shot her months ago, when she was out of the suit! 
Alice:(slowly, as if speaking to a child or an idiot) When did I say I was going to shoot her? I said I wanted her dead! (gritting her teeth, clearly trying to remain calm)  You, "cousin Bruce", procured the Kryptonite. I was going to ensure Commander Kane found it. The scene would bring them together. Batty would get caught in his crosshairs. Then BANG! As she went down, he would pull off her cowl to discover, in sinking horror, that he had killed his own daughter!

(Hush regards her calmly, clearly thinking that Alice is completely nuts, as if he could throw stones.)

Alice: (sighing) Alas... mechanical failure. 

(One of Hush's conquests from the night comes halfway down the stairs.)

Model Hey Bruce? There's no steam coming out of the steam shower.

(Clearly annoyed, Alice throws a knife into the model's throat, killing her instantly.)

Hush: What the hell did you do that for?!
Alice: (bored) No reason at all. Reason doesn't matter.

Hush: She has a friend upstairs!. Do you want her to call the cops?!

Alice: (ignoring him) I tried being reasonable once. I was tethered to reason. I was calculated. Precise. Planned. (giggles madly) And look where that got me?! Sharing a room with Bruce Lame! 

Hush: On what planet do I agree to live with a woman who just told me her plan to have her father kill her twin, like some kind of April Fool's Day joke?

Alice: On my planet. Because on my planet, you are still Tommy Elliot! And if I so much as breathe a word, "Bruce Wayne' goes from being the meat in a Top Model sandwich to the guy with a stick for a face! 

(Jacob Kane enters his office to find Bruce Wayne there, drink in hand. He does not bother to hide his disgust.)

Jacob Kane: Oh. Bruce Wayne. I take it they're out of cocaine in Belize?

Hush: Missed you too, Uncle Jake.

Ryan: (looking at a picture of her mother) You're right, Mama. What am I doing wearing the suit of a hero when I couldn't even save you?

Alice: (angry) Kate Kane is Batwoman!

(Jacob is stunned for a moment. Doubt creeps over his face for a moment but he steels himself and smiles mockingly.)
Jacob: And I'm The Joker. Arkham's waiting.
Alice: (sarcastic) Use your brain, Commander. A lesbian superhero who could have killed me a dozen times but didn't? Hmm. - wonder who that could be?

Jacob: (doubt seeping into his voice and face) That's preposterous. Kate would have told me!

Alice: You rejected her. Over and over. To the world. To her face? (giggles) You wanted her dead!

Jacob: You're wrong.

Alice: Am I? Or did you spend your last precious moments together firing a gun at her? (mockingly sweet) You got your wish, Daddy.(harsher) Batwoman is dead! And she died knowing that her father hated her.

(Alice takes Jacob's gun from him. He doesn't resist. She walks away, leaving Jacob stunned.).

Alice: If you don't believe me, turn on the Bat-Signal. See if she comes.

Dialogue Disasters

((Ryan having put on the Bat-Suit for the first time, looking at herself in the mirror.)

Ryan: Time to be powerful.

Ryan: Trust me. I know I'm not a symbol. Or a name. Or a legacy.

Mary: Exactly! So why do you think you're worthy of wearing it?

Ryan: Because I'm a number. I'm the 327th baby of a black woman who died in childbirth that year. I'm a $20 a day check to a group home. I'm Inmate 40757. 18 months for a crime I didn't commit. But I can work with all those numbers, because the mom who adopted me? I was her Number One. But it turns out she's just one of a quarter million murders in this country who have not seen justice. And that is a number I can't live with. So you can have this damn suit back when her killer is dead.

Continuity

Ryan Wilder is introduced as a homeless woman living out of a van on a pier in Gotham City. She appears to be recently homeless, as her van contains some furniture and houseplants.

In a dream flashback, we learn that Ryan was going to share an apartment with her mother and that she is a lesbian.

As the episode opens, Luke notes that he hasn't heard from Kate since her plane landed in National City the day before.

Ryan is brave enough to run into a crash site to look for survivors.

Ryan is trained in CPR, using it to save a homeless man who was hit by falling debris while on the riverside beach. 

Ryan also seems to suffer from PTSD, having flashbacks to the violent deaths of her mother and landlord when she sees he injured homeless man lying on the ground.

The stress of saving the homeless man leads Ryan to vomit, showing that for all her training she is not used to high-pressure situations. 

Ryan Wilder finds the Bat-Suit among the wreckage on the beach, apparently having fallen out of Kate Kane's luggage.

Luke notes that it has been four years since he's seen Bruce Wayne when Hush shows up at Wayne Enterprises pretending to be Bruce.

Hush bluffs his way past not knowing where the trigger to open the Batcave is by telling Luke he's been the man of the house for so long the honor should be his.

Ryan Wilder is an ex-convict who reports to a parole officer. She still owes money on her court fees.

Ryan taught martial arts for several years, but can't find any dojo willing to hire her due to her criminal record. She also can't find housing, because nobody wants to rent to an unemployed ex-con.

Ryan was framed on drug possession with intent to sell  by The Crows. She served 18 months but insisted that the drugs did not belong to her.

Sophie suggests to Julia that Safiyah, who revealed that she was spying on them, might have gone after Kate to get to Julia.

After the head of the plane's pilot is found washed up on shore, the search for Kate Kane officially goes from a rescue mission to a recovery mission and she is presumed dead after being missing for less than a day.

Hush takes the one piece of Kryptonite from Luke.

The weather the night Kate's plane went down was clear and the pilot had a clean record. There's no clear reason why the plane went down and no evidence yet of a bomb disabling the plane. 

Alice's grand plan was to get the Kryptonite to her father and trick him into killing Batwoman with it, finding out as he unmasked her that he had just killed his own daughter. 

Before leaving Gotham City, Kate told Julia Pennyworth to take care of the documents in her safe if anything happened to her. She also asked her to keep the location of her safe a secret.

When Luke and Mary confront Ryan, she unmasks and gives them her real name.

Ryan's birth mother died in childbirth. She was later adopted by a single mother. 

Ryan says she'll return the Bat-Suit to them after she uses it to take care of some personal business.

Hush goes to Crows HQ, posing as Bruce Wayne, and tells Jacob Kane that Alice is hiding out in Wayne Manor. 

Hush runs into Julia Pennyworth on the way out of Jacob Kane's office. He met her, as Hush, in 119.

Julia becomes suspicious when Hush doesn't respond when she asked if he had thought to "ring the Eagle" since his return. It is later revealed this was the codename Bruce gave Alfred Pennyworth when he was running comms for him.

It is revealed that Alfred is alive and well, living in a flat in London. Julia tests Hush by saying that the Eagle is still living in Glasgow in a cottage in the woods. 

Julia first became suspicious when she smelled alcohol on Hush's breath when she hugged him. The real Bruce Wayne does not drink booze.

Ryan is tech-savvy enough t disable the GPS on the Bat-Suit.

The Kane family home is in a 56th floor penthouse.

Ryan's father died before she was born.

Ryan ran away from home as a teenager and spent her youth moving in and out of group homes.

Ryan was a high-school dropout, but eventually earned her GED after reconciling with her adopted mother.

Ryan's mother and her landlord were killed by squatters who had been living in what was meant to be their new apartment. They also nearly beat Ryan to death.

The squatters were members of the Wonderland Gang.

Ryan reads about the sort of person Kate was in a newspaper article profiling her. She concludes that Kate was a hero, in and out of costume, based on her funding several housing programs, including (apparently) the one that should have given her and her mother a new home.

Ryan reactivates the GPS after realizing Kate wasn't just some bored billionaire playing at being a hero.

Luke says he blames himself for Kate's apparent death, since it was his insistence on destroying the Kryptonite that led to her flying to National City. 

Julia reveals that she ran the fingerprints on the glass Hush left behind in Jacob's office and matched them to Tommy Elliot.

Hush's birthday is given as May 14, 1972.

Hush is able to find the hidden Batombile bay iinside the Batcave using the sticky bombs in the Bat-Arsenal. He takes it to go find the Bat-Suit.

Alice tells Jacob Kane that Kate Kane was Batwoman.

Hush shoots Ryan in the shoulder with the kryptonite shard. It is revealed at the end of the episode that Ryan has a wound that will not heal as a result.

Ryan beats Hush in the face so badly that it damages his Bruce Wayne flesh mask, revealing his real face.

At the end of the episode, the divers searching the river still have not found any trace of Kate Kane.

Mary and Luke were barely able to hide the Batmobile before The Crows found it.

Hush is back in Arkham. 

Ryan returns the Bat-Suit to Luke and Mary along with the Kryptonite shard.

Julia gives Sophie a letter that Kate left for her in her safe. In it, Kate says that she never stopped loving Sophie, reveals that she is Batwoman and says that lying to her about being Batwoman was the hardest thing she'd ever done, but she did it to protect her.

As Alice is returning to her lair in the sewer, a paper airplane made from a newspaper page lands in her path. It is the latest issue of the Gotham Gazette and their front page profile of Kate Kane. On the other side of the page, written in red ink or blood, are the words CONSIDER US EVEN - SAFIYAH. This seems to confirm that Kate's disappearance is connected to Safiyah Sohail.

This news overjoys Alice, who now has a new purpose: revenge on Safiyah Sohail.

Alice is revealed to still have Mouse's corpse in her hideout and she falls aslseep next to him, looking up through a sewer grate at the Bat-Signal.

Untelevised Adventures

Kate Kane flew to National City to speak to Supergirl directly about destroying the last piece of Kyrptonite that she had, sometime after the events of 120.

The Killing Jokes

The usually paranoid Luke Fox is dumbed down a bit so that Hush can successfully con him into believing that he's Bruce Wayne. (The episode explains this somewhat by revealing that Luke is distracted by his guilt over being the one to suggest Kate go to National City in the first place and not thinking clearly.)

The Bottom Line

A bit disjointed, but pretty good considering all it has to accomplish with removing Kate, introducing Ryan and allowing the ensemble a chance to respond to Kate's apparent death and Ryan's taking over the Bat-Suit. Of these three tasks, Ryan gets the least amount of screen time, but Javicia Leslie does a decent job with the material she's given. It just feels like she should have been given more or someone to talk to besides a plant.

Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 20 - O, Mouse!

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.


Plot

Jacob Kane forms an uneasy alliance with Batwoman to catch an Arkham Asylum escapee on a rampage. Meanwhile, things come to a head between Alice, Mouse and Hush, as Alice attempts to put her house in order while plotting how to best bring Batwoman down. 

Influences

Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka & J.H. Williams and the Heart of Hush storyline.

Goofs

It beggars belief that a big guy like Tim "The Titan" Teslow can walk around Gotham City in an orange jumpsuit wielding twin machetes and go unnoticed, particularly since he's making no attempt to stay hidden.

Perhaps the most ludicrous conceit of the episode is that he manages to get into Gotham University's stadium undetected, despite it being surrounded by The Crows, and that he shuts down the power before taking down several men in body armor.

Why don't The Crows shoot at Teslow while he is charging Batwoman on the field? Why do they wait until after Batwoman spends a minute talking him down, apart from it making it clear just how evil The Crows are? Most annoyingly, why don't they try shooting her uncovered face rather than her well-armored chest?

Performances

Rachel Skarsten absolutely nails Alice's monologue as Mouse dies.

Artistry

The opening action sequence on the train is one of the best in the show's history.

Bat Trivia

It is confirmed in this episode that Batman was given a piece of Kryptonite by Superman in case it was ever necessary to end his life. Superman also did this in the comics.

The episode ends with Alice having given Hush the face of Bruce Wayne. The same thing happened in the comics, in the storyline Heart of Hush.

Technobabble

The Crows release an app to the general public that can be used to summon them in the event of an emergency relating to Alice or the other Arkham escapees. 

Kryptonite is described as a mineral with a natural green luminescence and strong covalent bonds.

Kryptonite is nonreactive to acetic, hydrochloric and sulfuric acid. 

Mary says that Tim Teslow's Dorsal Posterior Insular (the part of the brain that regulates pain) shriveled down to next to nothing after years of traumatic head injuries. This explains why he felt nothing when he fought Kate.

A trauma-bond exercise is a psychological event where you destroy something that connects you to your pain as a way of moving on. In this case, Alice suggests destroying her copy of Alice in Wonderland with Mouse so they can move on to a new life.

Luke was finally able to destroy the Kryptonite using a hydraulic press generating 40,000 pounds of compressive force.

Dialogue Triumphs

Mary: You told me that The Crows wanted to make over their image. Why not start by allying yourself with someone the city actually roots for?

Jacob: You did this?
Mary: I knew I'm one of the only people who could get through to you! (sighs) I believe in her Dad!

Jacob: Mary - I said anyone affiliated with her will be brought to justice.
Mary: Then arrest me! Arrest me for believing in someone who saves lives and who stops criminals and who inspires hope without charging a penny for it! I'm your daughter and if I don't believe in what you're doing , how can you expect a city of strangers to?!

(Alice and Mouse are burning their copy of Alice In Wonderland.)

Mouse: What happened to us should never happen to anyone. But there's no one in the world I would rather have gone through it with than you.
Alice: (sniffling) Nor I without you. And I mean this - with all of my heart. (pauses) I still want to join you in the beautiful garden, and smell the seasons in bright flower beds, and make a wish in cool fountains. I want to meet a man with many hats and smile back at the Cheshire Cat. And run... with you forever.... through our Wonderland.

(Mouse reaches up to his nose. Blood has begun to run from it.)

Mouse: Alice? 

(Alice shakes her head, holding back the sobs and trying to avoid Mouse's gaze.)

Mouse: What did you do?!
Alice: (suddenly bitter, intense) You made me choose. 

Mouse: You poisoned me?!  Why did you do that?!
Alice: (softly, stammering) Be-Because I couldn't let you leave me! Not you too!

Mouse: This...this wasn't even real?

(Mouse moans and pitches forward. Alice takes his head into her lap and begins stroking his hair. She begins crying freely.)
Alice: If only pain could turn to ash, with the strike of a match. (intensely, hissing the words) But my pain is a part of me, the way my family is a part of me.And you could never understand why I need to enact my revenge. Because you have never experienced true betrayal. (sadly) At least not until now.

(Alice bursts out crying again.)

Alice: Goodbye, my sweet Mouse. My brother. My everything.  I'll see you again in Wonderland.

Continuity

Kate saves Jacob from a psychotic man on the subway, in her civilian identity. The man beheads another man before making his escape.

Vesper Fairchild identifies the psychotic man as former college football star Tim "The Titan" Teslow.

Tim Teslow was a Tight-End for the Gotham Goliaths before he was committed. He was the best in the team's history, scoring at least one touchdown in every game he played, making 100 catches and rushing 1000 yards each season.

Mouse wants to leave Gotham and start a new life with Alice somewhere else.

Alice is insistent she needs to kill Kate before she can leave Gotham, which means finding the Kryptonite mentioned in Lucius Fox's journal.

Hush insists that Alice keep up her end of the bargain and get him a new face, which she promised in exchange for Lucius Fox's journal and help translating it.

Luke says that the shard of Kryptonite Superman left in Bruce Wayne's possession is the only Kryptonite left on Earth. We know this isn't true, however, as Kate acquired a piece of it from the Bruce Wayne of Earth-99 during 109.

.

Luke sets about trying to figure out how to destroy the Kryptonite.

Kate does not follow sports at all.

Mary knows a shocking amount about football and the career of Tim Teslow, largely because Tim Teslow's brother Apollo was dating her friend Selu Corova.

Apollo Teslow is the Goliaths' Running Back. 

Tim Teslow used to be the kind of man who would walk the neighborhood kids to school to make sure they felt save.

Tim Teslow was committed after he killed a referee on the field after a referee made a call against him. After that, it came out that he was abusing steroids.

Mary warns Kate against getting involved as Batwoman, but Kate insists she knows how to work around her father.  

Mary recalls that Kate, as a teenager, stole a Crow's SUV and was arrested for joy-riding in it.

Mary also recalls that Kate threw a party in Jacob's penthouse without asking and Jacob let the police land a helicopter on the roof to arrest Kate.

Kate wants to come clean to her father about being Batwoman.

Alice approaches Professor Darby, the head of the geology department at Gotham University, regarding Kryptonite, as his name was mentioned in Lucius Fox's journal.

Alice kills Professor Darby after learning that he sent the Kryptonite sample he was given to analyze back to Wayne Enterprises.

Apollo Teslow testified against his brother at his trial.

Apollo blames years of untreated head injuries coupled with steroid abuse for turning his brother into a psychotic maniac. 

Tim Teslow shows up at the stadium where Apollo is training and gets past Batwoman to stab him in the back, paralyzing him permanently. 

Kate suffers a couple of cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder during her fight with Tim Teslow.

Luke determines that the man Tim Teslow killed on the subway was an administrator at Gotham University, who was fired from the college's neuro clinic for falsifying the brains scans of student athletes. This caused the players to keep playing even when it wasn't safe and likely aggravated Tim Teslow's condition. 

Wayne Tower is 45 stories high.

Mouse asks why Alice is making Hush a face whens he promised him they would kill him, before he threatens to leave Gotham without Alice. 

Mouse is still bitter that Alice didn't visit him for the 5 years he was trapped in Arkham Asylum.

Alice finally agrees to leave Gotham City with Mouse, but says they have to throw a party first.

Coach Kurt Donahue of GU's football team took early retirement just before the scandal with the college manipulating the players' brain scan records broke. While nothing could be proven legally, there was no way he could be ignorant of what was being done to keep his players on the field.

Mary lights the Bat-Signal and is taken into custody by The Crows. This leads her to approach Jacob with an offer to work with Batwoman to bring in Tim Teslow. 

Jacob agrees to the truce.

Coach Donahue gives a press conference, asking to meet Tim Teslow on the field at Gotham University's stadium so he can apologize to him in person for putting the game before his health.

Alice poisons Mouse to prevent him from leaving her.

Sophie and Julia are not informed about the partnership between The Crows and Batwoman. This leads them to conclude that Jacob is setting a trap for Batwoman, since Jacob knew they had contact with her before.

The Crows gun down Tim Teslow after Batwoman has talked him down.

Batwoman escapes after The Crows try to shoot her.

Sophie criticizes Jacob for putting her in charge of managing the Crows App, suggesting he did so to keep her out of the way while he went after Batwoman. 

Julia confesses to Sophie that she was involved with a woman named Safiyah who put a price on her head. She shows Sophie pictures of them together, which were left at her hotel room - a sign that the are being watched and that Sophie is now a target as well.

Kate admits that Mary was right about her not being able to come out as Batwoman to Jacob.

Luke successfully destroys the Kryptonite Bruce had.

Kate reveals the existence of the Kryptonite she got during Crisis on Infinite Earths to Luke and Mary.

Kate declares there should be no more secrets between the three of them. 

The Crows recover some of the expended bullets that failed to penetrate the Bat-Suit. This leads Jacob to declare they need to find something stronger than a Desert Eagle.

Alice is revealed to have given Hush the face of Bruce Wayne. He asks him to walk into Wayne Enterprises and get the Kryptonite from Kate.

The Killing Jokes

The Crows and Batwoman look horribly incompetent in this episode, given they have trouble taking down a single psychotic ex-athlete with brain damage. 

The Bottom Line

Had this been a regular episode, it might have been okay. As a season finale, it's a bitter disappointment, due to a villain who has to be made into something far bigger than he should be to justify the conflict with The Crows and Batwoman. As per usual, the best bits of the episode involve Alice and even with her killing Mouse its increasingly difficult not to see her as the least of all evils out of all the characters in this show. Still, the cliffhanger is an awesome one and a great lead into Season 2.

Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 19 - A Secret Kept From All the Rest

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.


Plot

With Lucius Fox's journal recovered, yet utterly unreadable thanks to a unique code, Alice and Tommy Elliot (dubbed Hush by Gotham's media) begin kidnapping code-breakers from all around Gotham City, eventually grabbing Luke Fox and Julia Pennyworth. Yet as Kate goes into a battle to save half of her allies, she finds herself wondering who she can really trust in the faet of a stunning revelation..

Influences

Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb & Jim Lee and Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka & J.H. Williams.

Artistry

The chase scene where Batwoman moves to save Parker Torres from Hush is amazing.

The fight scene with Kate taking on the inmates in Arkham is a good one.

Bat Trivia

This episode gives the Arrowverse version of Tommy Elliot his supervillain codename; Hush. In the episode, this is because of the one word he is heard to say while abducting a professor from a library. In the original comics, Hush's codename was a reference to the nursery rhyme, "Hush, Little Baby" about a baby that is promised various gifts if it will stop crying but is never satisfied.

Batwoman saves Parker Torres near the Williams Viaduct. This is likely a nod to artist J.H. Williams, who co-created the modern version of Kate Kane.

The translated page of Lucius Fox's journal we briefly see when Alice is viewing it through the translator glasses contains a number of references to the 2007-2008 "Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" storyline. Apart from confirming that Batman had dealings with Ra's Al Ghul and Talia Al Ghul in the Post-Crisis Arrowverse timeline, the blurb also makes mention of the vigilante Azrael and the Order of St. Dumas and Order of the Pure that created him.

The journal also makes reference to the Suit of Sorrows - an armored costume which was created for Azrael and apparently briefly worn by Batman before he fell victim to a curse on the suit that caused whoever wore it who was impure of heart to go berserk.

Technobabble

Hush uses two .45 caliber pistols.

The code Lucius Fox used to write his journal is a poly-alphabetic cipher, using hundreds of characters in multiple languages and alphabets. 

A corresponds with Heth, which is the first letter of the Aramaic alphabet, which is the first alphabet alphabetically out of all the languages Luke recognizes in his father's journal.

B corresponds with the Babylonian alphabet, but it isn't the second letter. 

There's an interval variance each time the code changes alphabets. Luke eventually figures out that it is based on his social security number.

Parker asks if Mary can bypass the data throttle on the Bat Computer.

Mary discovers a pair of Lucius Fox's old glasses in a drawer in the Batcave. These turn out to be a pair of smart glasses that are programmed to auto-translate Lucius Fox's journals when the person wearing the glasses looks at his code.

The Bat-Suit is equipped with a sonic scanner that, in addition to picking up radio signals like the police band, allows Kate to find the distinctive sound of an electrical current running in a large building.

Dialogue Triumphs

(Kate grills Julia on why she secretly went after Reagan without telling her.)
Kate: Why didn't you just use your name? Tell her you're with The Crows?

Julia: I see. Reagan can't be trusted and now no one can be trusted.
Kate: Not no one. Just people who have lied to me in the past and last time I checked that included you. 

(Luke says he doesn't think Julia is hiding anything from them, despite Kate's suspicions.)

Kate: Do you believe her over me?
Luke: Am I not allowed to disagree with you now?
Kate: Not when we're both being lied to.

Luke: I trust her, Kate!
Kate: Then I can't trust your judgement.

Luke: Says the girl who went home with the bartender and left the key to destroying Gotham on the nightstand.
Mary: Damn!
Kate: If you don't like how I do things, no one is forcing you to be here. 
Luke: You know what? You are absolutely right. 

(As Alice kills the second code-breaker in as many days.)

Hush: They need more than 90 minutes to figure it out! Alice, you keep killing them!

Alice: Well, they keep disappointing me!

(Kate and Mary have just hit on the idea of trying to track Hush by using Professor Carr's pacemaker.)

Mary: So we trace it back to where it transmitted its last signal. And then we'll know where he died and then we'll find Hush. That's genius!
Kate: Mmm-hmm.
Mary: Right.

Kate:  Let's do it.
Mary: Ok. 

Kate: Yeah.
Mary: Yeah.
Kate: Right.
(There is a long pause as they both look at each other expectantly.)
Mary: Sooo.... trace it!
Kate: Uh... How?
Mary: You don't know?!

Kate: (quietly) Kind of a Luke thing.

(Kate and Parker exit the elevator down to the Batcave.)
Parker: OMG! Full disclosure; I thought Batcave was a metaphor. Are there, like- AAH!
(Parker screams as a swarm of bats fly past her on the walkway. Kate doesn't even blink.)
Kate: Yep. Not a metaphor. 

Continuity

Tommy Elliot, his face still bandaged, kills 3 people with silenced pistols before abducting a professor from Gotham University Library. He is dubbed "Hush" after the one word he was heard to say by any witnesses.

Kate tracks down Reagan and learns of her relationship to Magpie.

Reagan tells Kate that Magpie's real name is Margot.

Reagan tells Kate that she told all this to a blonde woman with a British accent who knew Kate. Kate realizes immediately this is a reference to Julia Pennyworth. 

The professor Hush abducted is identified as Professor Carr.

Carr identifies characters in Lucius Fox's journal that are Aramaic, Babylonian and Mayan.

Mouse asks why Alice doesn't simply kill Kate when she's not in her bat costume. Alice insists there must be a reckoning and Kate must know it was her who arranged her death, which is also why she doesn't just have Hush kill her.

Professor Carr's area of expertise is numerical analysis rather than linguistics. 

Alice electrocutes Professor Carr to death.

Alice wants to abduct Luke Fox. Mouse is against this, as that will surely get Batwoman's attention.

Alice agrees to let Mouse and Hush try and kidnap two more experts before she goes after Luke Fox.

Kate confronts Julia over her going after Reagan in secret.

Tony Kim, a Crow's client, was abducted. He is 45, works undercover for the NSA as a code-breaker. 

Professor Carr's body was dumped in the same vicinity as where Tony Kim was abducted.

Luke has know Julia since they were kids and he considers her trustworthy.

Mary knows who Professor Carr was, saying he taught Cryptography I and II at Gotham University. This, coupled with the news Hush just kidnapped an NSA agent, leads her and Kate to conclude that Hush must have the journal and is trying to get someone to translate it.

Alice kills Tony Kim; again by electrocution using a shock therapy device.

Alice sends Hush to kidnap Parker "Terrier" Torres from 110.

Mary remembers that Professor Carr had heart troubles. This leads Kate to wonder if he has a pacemaker that can be tracked. Unfortunately, neither she nor Mary have any idea how to track a pacemaker on-line.

Parker has a girlfriend named Gina now.

Gina calls Kate's landline for Gotham Pride Real Estate and tells her the last place Parker was on FindMyFriends.com was in Somerset and that someone grabbed her while they were chatting on FaceTime.

Batwoman is able to save Parker from Hush, though he is able to escape.

After failing to catch Parker, Alice insists that now they go after Luke Fox, like she wanted to in the first place.

Luke did some digging on Julia and confirmed that the SRR let her go for freelancing. He confronts her on this fact at Crow's Headquarters.

Crow's HQ is based in Wilson Plaza.

Kate brings Parker to the Batcave.

Julia says there are things about Kate Luke doesn't know and can't know, which relate to who she is freelancing for.

Mouse mimics Kate's voice in a phone call to find out where Luke is so they can kidnap him. 

Alice threatens to kill Julia if Luke can't crack the code on his father's journal. 

Luke says that his father was a Mensa member with a 163 IQ.

Sophie shows up at Kate's office to ask her if she had seen Julia.

Sophie offers to break things off with Julia if that's a problem for Kate. Kate says she can do whatever makes her happy.

Sophie tells Kate that Luke was with Julia before she went radio silent.

Alice plans to kill Hush once he stops being useful and tells Mouse this in private.

Luke is able to crack the sequence his father created for his journal. 

Luke's social security number starts with 535.

Parker is able to use the Bat Computer to track Professor Car's pacemaker. This leads her to discover he died in Arkham Asylum. Kate then makes the leap, based on the burn marks on Carr's body, that Alice is electrocuting her victims.

Mary discovers a power of Lucius Fox's old glasses is a pair of smart-glasses coded to auto-translate his journals. 

Luke translates part of his father's journal, but refuses to tell Alice what it says, saying his father died for this secret and so will he.

The journal Alice has doesn't contain weapon designs: it describes how to break the Bat-Suit.

Kate offers to trade the glasses for Luke and Julia's lives. Alice agrees.

Alice arranges a mass jail-break at Arkham Asylum to cover her escape and distract the Crows, who show up to arrest Batwoman.

Jacob Kane blames Batwoman for the break-out after the fact.

Luke tells Kate that she screwed up trying to trade his life for information that could hurt her.

Kate tells Luke that there is no Batwoman without him.

Parker tells Kate she should fight harder for Sophie.

Julia is confirmed to have nerve damage in her arm and a numbness in her left hand.

Sophie and Julia kiss after Julia is looked over by the medic.

Julia tells Kate that she tracked down The Rifle after he tried to kill her in 107 and she made a deal with his boss to save her life. Julia was going to exchange the journal for Batwoman's life. Julia made the deal before she knew the journal explained how to kill Batwoman and, knowing that, the deal is now off.

Julia says the woman she was working for is Safiyah Sohail - the woman who was first mentioned in 107 as having a grudge against Alice.

Kate claims to have never heard of Safiyah Sohail.

Jacob Kane lights the Bat-Signal to tell Batwoman that if he sees her again it will mean war.

Alice finishes reading the journal and determines that the element needed to destroy the Bat-Suit is Kryptonite.

The Bottom Line

A solid episode which does more to make Hush seem threatening than 90% of his comic book stories, even as an underling of Alice, even as it lays the groundwork for Season 2 and Safiyah Sohail's arrival in Gotham. This episode doesn't really feel like the penultimate episode of the season, however, so it will be interesting to see how everything is tied up in a week.

Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 18 - If You Believe in Me, I'll Believe in You

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 




Plot

Kate recruits Luke and Julia for an undercover mission to recover one of the most important items in her cousin's arsenal, but Mary also wants to prove herself to her step-sister. Kate also reunites with an old flame, as Jacob visits Alice in Arkham to ask for a favor, not knowing that Alice has begun taking steps to turn Arkham into her own personal Wonderland. 

Influences

Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka & J.H. Williams.

Performances

As Mary proves her worth to the Bat-Team, so too does Nicole Kang dominate this episode and prove her place as the ensemble's VIP this week.

Artistry

The opening action sequence in which Batwoman rescues seven human trafficking victims is fantastic.

The Magpie Vs. Batwoman fight is pretty awesome too.

Bat Trivia

Mary suggests that Kate consider something in her cowl that electrocute anyone who touches her hair. While she dismisses the idea, it should be noted that both the Batmobile and Utility Belt have had similar defenses in the Batman comics.

Mention is made of a comic book heroine called Kitty Delgado, who is apparently some kind of master cat-burglar. Based on her white hair, low-cut costume and impossible figure, she seems to be a parody of Marvel Comics' Black Cat, who was a fairly shameless rip-off of DC Comics' Catwoman.

Technobabble

Mary suggests they could solve Kate's problems with her wig by running an electrical charge through her cowl so anyone who touches her hair gets electrocuted. Kate dismisses the idea, but Luke seems to consider it.

Dialogue Triumphs

(Kate and Luke enter Kate's office. Mary is there, holding two champagne flutes.)
Mary: Congratulations! On behalf of the medical profession both licensed and unlicensed, I'd like to offer my sincerest whatup on shutting down that chop shop.
(Mary winces and looks to where the bottle of champagne is on ice.)

Mary: (apologetic)  I wasn't sure how you guys celebrated. 

Kate: Usually by icing my knuckles. 
(Kate walks past Mary to the table, removes the bottle and plants her fist into the ice.)

(Mary is trying to talk Kate into letting her come on the mission.)
Kate: You're not going, Mary. 

Mary: What? 

Kate: I'm sorry. It's too dangerous. 

Mary: Dangerous? I have been poisoned, stabbed, and nearly exsanguinated, and the fact that I have lived to use that word as a verb is proof that I can look out for myself.

(Johnny Sabatino just told Tommy Elliot he's keeping Lucius Fox's journal over the phone.)

Tommy: That son of a bitch was like a brother to me! 

Alice: Clearly, you are an only child. Otherwise, you would know that our dear siblings are the ones most predisposed to betray us. 

Tommy: Why aren't you more upset, considering you won't be getting the journal you so desperately want? 

Alice: You should be more careful who you trust. 

Tommy: If you can't trust your money launderer, who can you trust? 

Alice: Hmm. No one. I only trust in the fact that people can't be trusted. 

Tommy: So you knew that Johnny was gonna betray me? 

Alice: No. I just didn't trust him not to.

Jacob: Tommy Elliot just hanged himself, or that's what it was meant to look like. Do you know anything about that? 

Alice: (sighs) What do I know? I know I don't give two hoots about Tommy Elliot! I know I don't have any motivation to help you! And I know it is impossible for one to heal from the trauma of being locked in a cage when one is still locked in a cage! 

Jacob: How many times did you tell me that Beth was never coming back? This is me admitting that you were right. 

Alice: (softer) Do you know what they do to patients in here? They put electrodes on our heads and blast us with so much electricity that we seize. And I don't know the exact science, but... after about 10 jolts, let me tell you, you start convincing everyone around you that it worked. 

Jacob: I'm sorry that it ended up this way. 

Alice: (sobbing)If you mean that, then get me out of here.

Jacob: I can't. I have to protect the daughters that I have left. 

Alice: (coldly) The thing they don't tell you about ECT is that once it's over all that's left is clarity. Ha! I see everything now. How this came to be. How it will end. And I promise you, Daddy, what I have in store for you is so much worse than a cage or electrodes or insanity. I guess you could say it's... worse than being me. But you'll see.

(Magpie is walking across the roof of The Lookout. Suddenly, Batwoman grapples up before her and lands on the roof ledge.)
Batwoman: Seriously? 

Magpie: Early bird gets the worm. 

Batwoman: You're a long way from Arkham. 

Magpie: I told you I wasn't a jailbird.

(Magpie reveals her talons and the fight begins in earnest.) 

Kate: Okay. So which one do you want to hear first -"Thanks for saving my ass" or "Sorry for always shutting you out"? 

Mary: Uh... you pick. 

Kate: I'm sorry for always keeping you at arm's length, but it's not because I don't trust you or think that you can't handle yourself, which obviously you can. It's because I've already lost one sister, and the thought of losing you, too, I... I can't, Mary. But thank you for not listening to me and risking your life to save mine. I guess I just have to get used to the fact that you are... a total badass. 

Mary: Badass enough to be one of your real estate assistants? 

Kate: I believe they prefer to be called associates. 

Continuity

Kate saves seven people from a human trafficker who is selling them to a man for their organs. Unfortunately, the trafficker escapes.

Kate has issues with her wig during the fight. Luke suggests she try braiding her wig in the future, but Kate dismisses the idea.

Julia and Sophie search a warehouse full of property seized from Tommy Elliot looking for Lucius Fox's journal.

Tommy Elliot was a comic book collector and had a nude oil painting of himself. 

According to Luke, Tommy Elliot owned 40 buildings in Gotham City alone.

Kate visits Tommy Elliot in Arkham Asylum to try and provoke him into telling her where the diary of Lucius Fox is.

According to Kate, Wayne R&D is the world leader in defense technology.

Dr. Butler (i.e. Mouse) had Tommy Elliot declared competent to stand trial for Lucius Fox's murder.

Tommy Elliot tells Mouse and Alice that Bruce Wayne is Batman. He also tells them that he wanted Lucius Fox's journal because it held the secret on how to destroy the Batsuit, in case it ever fell into the wrong hands.

Alice offers to make Tommy Elliot look like a new man in exchange for the diary. 

Luke determines that after Kate visited Tommy in Arkham, he made a call to a night-club called The Lookout, considered by some to be the hottest night spot in Gotham City.

The Lookout is run by a man named Johnny Sabatino, who has been rumored to be laundering money for Tommy Elliot for years, as Tommy Elliot owned the building The Lookout was located in.

Kate suggests they sneak into the club as patrons.

Mary helps Kate find a stylish outfit that can conceal her Batwoman costume and again signals her desire to do something more to help her.

Kate finds out that Sophie outed herself to her mother and that Julia and Sophie now have a thing together.

Julia uses the call-sign Tuxedo One.

Kate uses the call-sign Red One.

Reagan, the bartender last seen in 104 whom Kate briefly dated, works at The Lookout.

According to Reagan, Kate has been buying up a lot of property around Bennett Park and lowering the rent. 

Julia is captured after she cuts the power to the club.

Batwoman is knocked out by a booby-trap in Johnny Sabatino's office.

Tommy Elliot is reported as dead when Sophie goes to take him into custody, apparently having hung himself in his cell. In truth he's alive, but Alice removed his face and put it onto another body.

Mary offers to go into The Lookout to try and rescue Julia and Batwoman. She says that she knows Johnny Sabatino's cousin, Aria, having pumped her stomach after she overdosed. 

Johnny Sabatino betrays Tommy Elliot, deciding to auction off Lucius Fox's journal himself along with Batwoman. 

Alice sends Magpie to steal the journal from Johnny Sabatino.

The bidding on Batwoman starts at 2 million.

Mary forces her way into the auction and bids 10 million, claiming she wants the secrets of Batwoman's armor for Hamilton Dynamics.

Sabatino's men contact the SRR after Julia claims to be an agent in their employ. It is revealed that she was actually fired from the SRR six months earlier, after betraying them. 

Jacob Kane visits Alice in Arkham and asks her for information on Tommy Elliot's death. She refuses to help him and says her revenge on him will be worse than he can imagine.

Mary only has 2.5 million in cash, but Johnny Sabatino agrees to sell her the Bat-Suit for that much... once it is pealed off of Batwoman's body.

The trafficker from earlier in the episode wins the auction. 

Mary's briefcase contains a flash-bang. In the confusion, she uses another Bat-gadget to cut the chains holding Batwoman down.

Magpie steals the journal from Johnny Sabatino's office as the auction is going on.

Julia frees herself after an alarm goes off when Batwoman escapes.

Batwoman recovers the journal but Magpie escapes.

Kate and Reagan hook-up again and go to Kate's place.

Mary sees the Batcave for the first time and takes a selfie. Luke immediately erases the photo.

Luke accidentally tells Mary that Bruce Wayne is Batman.

When Kate wakes up, Reagan has gone... and the journal is missing.

Reagan is revealed to be Magpie's sister and to have worked for her as an advance scout, but she swears she is done helping her since this cost her a great girlfriend.

Julia takes a phone call from her real employer, promising them the journal of Lucius Fox. 

Alice removes the tracking chip from Magpie.

Mouse discovers that Lucius Fox's journal was written in code.

The Bottom Line

A solid episode that expands Mary's role on the team and throws in some wicked 11th-hour twists. It's also clear they're starting to set Tommy Elliot up to become Hush (who I can take or leave) but the entire ensemble is firing on all six cylinders this week.

Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 17 - A Narrow Escape

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 




Plot

Kate encounters a new challenge when an old villain - a mad bombber called The Detonator - seems to come out of retirement. Meanwhile, Alice, now locked in Arkham Asylum, faces her own trial by fire and her own set of challenges.


Influences

Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka & J.H. Williams.

Performances

Nicole Kang once again steals the show as Mary, showing the steel the character is capable of throughout the episode.

Artistry

The opening scene and how it fades from Alice's dream to her nightmarish reality is well-executed.

It has to be said that the show does a brilliant job portraying Kate's PTSD and it's nice that a superhero show isn't shying away from showing the consequences of a person dealing with the trauma of taking a life. It's a little touch that does much to establish Batwoman as Arrow's spiritual predecessor. 

Bat Trivia

There are two previous DC Comics villains who used the codename The Detonator. The first was a Green Arrow villain who armed himself with a special explosion-causing super-suit and attempted to blackmail his employer. The second was a master assassin and explosives expert who was part of the Seven Men of Death; a squad that was itself part of the League of Assassins. The Seven Men of Death fought Batman during Grant Morrison's run on the main Batman title.

The Arrowverse Detonator is an entirely original creation, who uses a gimmick similar to The Joker's final plan in The Dark Knight, where he tested a ferry full of criminals and a ferry full of civilians to see which one would blow up the other one first. In this case, the Detonator abducted local heroes and put them in explosive vests primed to cause buildings full of innocent people to explode if they chose to save themselves.

Mention is made of Rucka Avenue. This is a nod to writer Greg Rucka, who co-created the modern Batwoman character. 

Technobabble

Kate identifies DD-214.as the code used in military paperwork for dishonorable discharge from a military academy. 

The Bat-Suit's nano-tech is designed to withstand detonation over-pressures of 10 PSI. This effectively makes Kate bomb-proof in her costume. Luke warns her that it's not effective against radiation, so if she sees any bombs with a nuclear component she should get away from them.

Lucius Fox designed a fail-safe into Wayne Tower which allowed it to be sealed-up to protect against internal and external bomb threats. Every window in the building is fitted with a bomb-proof shutter to prevent an internal explosion from going outside. Every exit in the building has a similar shutter which will contain any bomb blast to within one room and one room only.  This will contain the bomb in the parking garage so that it does not destroy the whole building.

Dialogue Triumphs

Mary: So, insider tip? My scissors should not be able to cut through your super-suit. Why are you pretending to be Batwoman?

Batwoman Impersonator: Because the real one is MIA and the city still has PTSD from when Batman left. I thought that maybe if people saw me and believed that she was still around that-
(The Impersonator gasps as Mary pushes on her lower torso.)

Batwoman Impersonator: I know. I'm an idiot.

Mary: Your heart is in the right place. Your ribs, however, are not.

(Kate decides to confront George Adler as herself rather than Batwoman.)

Luke: Ok, uh, look. The Bat-Team doesn't have an HR Department, so as your co-worker and partner and pretty much only person you see on a regular basis, shouldn't I know what the hell is going on with you?
Kate: If I told you the truth, you would not want me to suit up either. 

(Kate helps Mary pull the rubble off of the Batwoman Impersonator. She blinks as she sees the costume.)
Kate: Who is this?
Mary: (pointedly) Isn't it obvious? She's Batwoman.

Mary: Do you want to know why people like her exist? And why they keep on showing up to spread hope? It's because you inspired them and now they feel abandoned! 

Kate: What - what are you talking about?

Mary: Please. I know you're Batwoman.

(Kate looks up at Mary, stunned, but she doesn't try to deny it.)

Mary: I just can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner...  But of course. Batwoman's the same girl who hunted down Derrick Peters and locked him in a urinal after he ditched me at Homecoming. And of course the maniac on the Batbike is the same maniac who taught me how to drive without actually having her licence, and totally charmed her way out of a ticket after my ass got us pulled over. It couldn't be more obvious. Batwoman is the same person I've looked up to my whole life. And now this city needs you as much as I do! 

Kate: It's not that simple.
Mary: (scoffs) It never is. But Batwoman doesn't get a sick day.

Kate: I'm not a hero, Mary!

Mary: I'm not asking you to be a hero. I'm just asking you to keep going. 

Continuity

The episode opens with a scene where Alice dreams that she and Kate are normal sisters, hanging out, drinking wine and playing video games. This gives way to the reality that she's trying to escape into a happy place while being tortured with electric shock "therapy" by Dr. Butler in Arkham Asylum.

Kate stops a jewel thief but agrees to let him go with a warning after he drops the loot. The thief tries to attack her only for Kate to accidentally knock him down a staircase fighting back. This triggers a PTSD flashback of Cartwright's death from 115.

Kate barely escapes before the Crows show up.

Luke notes that Kate's heart-rate is through the roof following her anxiety attack.

Officer Wilcox is a respected hero cop and the first apparent target of the returned Detonator, who tests him with a bomb vest that will either kill him or blow up a building full of innocents nearby.

The building in question turns out to be Gotham International Bank, which is blown up after Officer Wilcox chooses to save himself rather than die to save others. 

According to Vesper Fairchild, The Detonator hasn't been heard from in seven years. His gimmick was proving that there are no heroes by kidnapping acclaimed heroes (usually police officers, doctors and fire-fighters)  and outfitting them with bomb vests, offering them a choice between dying to save others or saving themselves while triggering an explosion elsewhere. 

One of the people brought into Mry's clinic is a Batwoman cosplayer, who was caught in the collapsing rubble of the bank trying to help dig people out.

According to Mary, she's the second woman dressed like Batwoman who has come to her in the past week after being injured trying to help people.

It's been one week since Batwoman was last seen publicly.

Julia created a foul-tasting hangover cure, which she calls The Chimney Sweep.

Julia knows that Kate killed Cartwright.

One dozen people were killed in the bombing of Gotham International Bank.

Mouse and Alice are in group therapy along with Tommy Elliot (last seen in 103) and Magpie (last seen in 105).

According to Tommy Elliot, Bruce Wayne could speak 40 languages. 

Therapy has turned Tommy Elliot's disdain for Bruce Wayne into an obsessive admiration.

The assassin killed by Jacob Kane in 116 is identified as Michael Fisher, though that's likely an alias.

Julia and Sophie determine that Fisher was wired $100,000 from an account at Gotham International Bank.  With the bank having been blown up, there's no way to access the servers and trace who made the payment.

Julia likes her hamburgers with extra pickles.

Luke has taken up boxing using the gym in the Batcave, to work off his anger at someone killing Reggie Harris after he was granted a new trial.

Kate still hasn't told Luke the truth about Cartwright and has been ignoring his texts.

Bruce Wayne was never able to figure out who The Detonator was. 

All of The Detonator's bombs had the number 214 stamped into the ground plate. This information was never released to the public, suggesting that the new bomb (which had the same number) was also made by The Detonator. 

The Detonator set off 15 bombs over the course of his career. 

Kate identifies 214 as part of the code used in military paperwork for dishonorable discharge from a military academy. The full code is DD-214.

George Adler was a private black-ops contractor, fired for taking selfies with enemy corpses. He was also dishonorably discharged from military school.

Kate is now having PTSD attacks whenever she looks at the Bat-Suit.  Because of this, she decides to confront George Adler as herself.

Alice is stabbed by Tommy Elliot in the hallway in Arkham.

George Adler confesses that his father, George Adler Sr., was The Detonator.

George Adler Sr. died seven years earlier so he can't be the person using The Detonator's gimmicks this time.

Bobby Reeves, the defender who got Reggie Harris a new trial, becomes The Detonator's next target.

Tommy Elliot is said to be in solitary confinement after his attack on Alice.

Alice reveals to Mouse that she planned the attack with Tommy Elliot so that she could get her hands on an improvised shiv and surgical thread, from when the staff nurse treated her wound. 

The Crows clear the area one mile around Bobby Reeves' car. 

Jacob Kane refuses to call in a bomb squad to try and save Reeves, saying it's pointless given how The Detonator wires his victims and that they need to focus on evacuating people and trying to find the secondary bomb.

The closest intersection to where Bobby Reeves is parked is Wiget and Brighton. This is close to Mary's clinic.

The Batwoman impersonator stays behind to help Mary protect the patients she can't move.

The secondary bomb is ultimately revealed to be in the same building as Mary's clinic. 

Both Kate and Mary are inside the building when the secondary bomb is triggered. 

Kate has another panic attack when she sees the Batwoman costume of the Impersonator. 

Mary reveals to Kate that she figured out her secret identity.

Mouse kills Dr. Butler with the shiv Alice gave him, during one of his EST sessions.

"Michael Fisher" lived at 2420 Maple Street. This is the address of the second bombing attack by the new Detonator.

Julia and Sophie guess that The Detonator hired "Fisher" to kill Reggie Harris and cover his tracks.  Luke says that's not possible because The Detonator is dead.

Julia determines that Miguel Robles was one of the police officers investigating The Detonator seven years ago.

Miguel Robles is currently the head of the Crows Security Homicide Division. 

Robles was the Crows agent who convinced Jacob Kane it wasn't worth investigating 

Robles was also the first officer on the scene of the crime of Lucius Fox's murder.

Jacob Kane is jumped and taken captive by Miguel Robles, who is confirmed to the Detonator copycat.

Kate suits up and goes chasing after Robles, who is trying to escape Gotham via the bridge near the 1200 block of Rucka Avenue.

Kate has another PTDS attack chasing Robles, but powers through it to catch him. 

Robles confesses that the secondary bomb for the one attached to Jacob Kane is in a parking garage under Wayne Tower. He planted the bomb there to kill Luke Fox, because he knew Luke was looking into the truth behind his father's murder.

Kate takes Robles to the parking garage to force him to tell her how to disarm the bomb. 

Julia and Sophie try to help Jacob disarm his bomb, but he tells them to evacuate Wayne Tower first.

Sophie finds out that Julia knows Batwoman as well.

Luke threatens Robles with a gun and demands to know why he killed Lucius Fox.  

Robles says that Lucius' death was an accident and that his gun discharged after Lucius charged him, after Robles threatened to go after his family. 

Robles confesses he was originally hired by Tommy Elliot to acquire Lucius Fox's journal by roughing him up. He was paid $10,000 to do this.

Everything Robles did, from framing Reggie Harris to hiring the sniper and impersonating The Detonator was done to cover-up his original crime.

Kate stops Luke from killing an unconscious Robles.

Kate confesses to Luke that she killed Cartwright and that's why she stopped searching for him.

Sophie is reinstated to The Crows and made co-head of a new strike-force.

Julia Pennyworth reveals she was just hired to be the other co-head of the strike-force.

Luke says that his father's journal contained all of his designs for everything he ever built for Wayne Enterprises and Batman.

Luke tells Kate that even Bruce couldn't live up to his "No killing" rule and implies that Batman killed The Joker, saying that The Joker is not in Arkham (which the public apparently believes) and there's a reason he hasn't been seen in five years.

Mary reveals that she knows Kate's secret identity to Luke.

Alice is revealed to have made a flesh mask of Dr. Butler, whom Mouse is now impersonating. 

Alice has come to agree with Mouse that they are safer in Arkham, which they can now use as a base of operations as they gather their forces and strength.

The Bottom Line

A solid episode, though it drags a bit since Alice doesn't have much to do. Still, at least they finally ended the "how long will Mary hide what she knows?" subplot and the storyline involving why Lucius Fox died. Not that these subplots were dull, really, but because they paled in comparison to the much bigger questions around Alice and what shes' planning to do next. It's the classic problem - the Bat-heroes are never as interesting as their villains and that's especially true here.  Still, the episode promises big things are coming now that the inmates are running the asylum.

Dallas Comic Con 2014 - ALL THE PICTURES! - Part Three

Hush and Poison Ivy


The Tenth Doctor & Rose Tyler


Poison Ivy and her dream/nightmare come-true - Two Harleys!


X-23


Ghost Rider


Nightwing


Huntress and Black Canary


Hawkgirl


Jawas!


The Powerpuff Girls


Captain America and Elsa from Frozen


Gwen Stacy

Looking To The Stars: Keeping It Hush-Hush.

The following thoughts spun out of a conversation on our message boards. It was suggested that those of you who don’t read the boards might want to read this as well, so here it is.

I should mention here at the start that if you haven’t read Batman #617 and do not know of the much ballyhooed revelation within…well, you can skip my column just this once because this will either a) spoil a good story for you or b) bore you to tears. Just pass forward the note from your parents and go sit in the hall until I come to get you.

I make no claims to any inside information or any precognitive abilities. So if it turns out that my deductions are correct, please do not ask me for any advice regarding relationships, money, stock tips or sporting events. I have no special powers, over than a keen detective insight forged by years of reading Batman comics.

I would like to point out something that many people discussing this issue have forgotten and put forth my own theory about it. See, I'm not quite sure that Jason Todd is quite so resurrected as we'd like to think. To quote the good Batbook, issue 617, page 28.

Scarecrow: I don't understand. My fear gas should have affected you. Unless... your mind was already infected by another--

The obvious suggestion here is that someone is influencing Batman to see something besides what is there. The fact that "Jason" is holding Robin by the throat seems to suggest they are trying to keep him from saying something.

This leads to two possible suspects.

1. The Mad Hatter

A Loeb favorite, frequently partnered with Scarecrow in his works, he's about the only one of the classic villains we haven't seen yet. And it would be a trick getting it on him, but one of his mind control devices would definitely alter Batman past the point of fear gas working on him.

2. Spellbinder

Villainess with the power to create illusions, but from what I remember she could only work on one person at a time. Mostly slumming around in Green Lantern and other titles of late, she got her start as a Bat-villain and has appeared in Birds of Prey numerous times.

There. Now that my peace is said, let's assume that IS Jason. How then, do we explain, who Hush REALLY is. I mean, obviously it can't be Jason completely. He would have needed help from someone to come back from the dead.

Well, I have my own theories about this. I'm not going to make any claims as to knowing exactly WHO Hush is, but let's review the facts thus far and I'll explain my guess.

1. Evidence Hush is Harvey or Two Face: Flipped coin with scared head. Costume is dead ringer for Harvey's outfit from "Dark Knight Returns".

Problems: Hush knows more than Harvey Dent should now about Batman. Of course, back in the early days, Batman trusted Harvey enough to consider revealing his secret ID to him. Harvey and his gang made it into the Batcave in Dark Victory. It is not unimpossible that Harvey may have figured out that Bruce Wayne is Batman.

2. Evidence Hush is Jason Todd- foreshadowing in various points of early issues (Hush stands next to Robin sign, for example). Jason Todd would have all the knowledge of Batman Hush does.

Problems: As I said, Jason would have needed help coming back from the dead. As such, he is not the ultimate mastermind behind the plan. Also, judging from his appearance in the book he is quite a bit older than at the time of his death, meaning he has been alive for quite a while.

3. I think it possible, and even likely, that the two could be working together. After all...

Jason was the second Robin.

Two working together under one identity would certainly appeal to Two Face.

Problem: Jason's resurrection would require knowledge that Harvey Dent didn't have.

The obvious solution, given the dust Bruce found: Lazarus Pit. But Ra's denies involvement... and so few others know about the Lazarus pits. Except for those closest to Ra’s... such as a very devoted daughter. A devoted daughter who just got hired away to run a certain corporation...

And there we hit it. Who has a major grudge against Batman and Bruce Wayne? Who would have the resources and connections to monitor Batman. Who used those same resources to discover Superman's secret identity? Who made a totally unmotivated appearance in the book to say "No, not yet." and nothing more?

Answer: Lex Luthor.

Obviously Lex is involved in this somehow. Lord knows he's tried to get to Bruce and Batman before and something this convoluted or complicated wouldn't be beyond his means. Of course some (like our Dark Overlord) doubt Loeb would go through all this examination of Batman and his enemies only to make the ultimate villain be Superman’s greatest enemy.

Well, ignoring the connections it appears that Loeb is trying to draw between a Superman villain and Batman’s past in Superman/Batman #1… lets consider the fact that in the last few years, Lex has been just as big a Batman villain as he has been a Superman baddie.

Lex was the mastermind behind framing Bruce Wayne for Murder, thanks to Bruce's stopping Lex's buy-out of Gotham after No Man's Land. And he's had something of a vendeta against Batman due to...

1. Batman clearing Superman on a murder charge (JLA 80 Page Giant)

2. Batman's head for tactics derailing his Injustice League (JLA: Rock of Ages)

And lets not forget that we have seen Luthor in Hush once and that his company gave Ivy the chemicals she needed for her plants. And we never DID get an explanation as to who gave Ivy that Kryptonite-tainted lipstick. Who better (or more likely) than Luthor?

Of course it could just be Dr. Hugo Strange (Stephen’s crazy uncle) again, but all the Smart Money is on the bald one.

Tune in next week. Same Matt Time. Same Matt Website.

Batman #614 - A Review

Written by: Jeph Loeb
Penciled by: Jim Lee
Inked by: Scott Williams
Colored by: Alex Sinclair
Lettered by: Richard Starkings
Editor: Bob Schreck
Publisher: DC Comics

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Batman verses the Joker, mano-a-mano in a good old fashioned “smackdown ‘da clown” fight. Been there. Done that. Bought the T-shirt. Right? Perhaps. But at no time in recent memory has the classic battle between good and chaos been portrayed with such vivid imagery, nor such skillfully crafted words.

Much has been written about how Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee have revitalized this book and a character who has suffered more poorly-conceived mini-series and gimmick-driven crossovers in the last decade than any other superhero. And they have done this through the remarkably simple means of giving the fans what they want: Beautiful artwork and good writing that doesn’t require a bachelor’s degree in Batology to understand what is going on along and exposition that doesn’t read like it came out of a history textbook.

That’s the first thing I noticed in this story. The exposition flows forth in the action, as Batman remembers all the pain The Joker has caused him and his friends during the fight. At these moments, Lee’s art echoes that of scenes from famous Batman stories of the past, capturing the same scenes but in Lee’s distinctive style. This gives those unfamiliar with the exact instances of Bat-history a chance to understand just WHY Batman pushes himself so much harder when he is facing The Joker. The plot thus far is also explained quickly and simply, with Batman looking at the now dead body of the friend who saved his life… and the Joker standing over him with a gun.

Those who have been following the story of Hush thus far may wish to know that the identity of the mysterious “Hush” who has been orchestrating a number of attacks on Batman is revealed in this issue. But I’ll keep quiet as to whom they are here… no pun intended. I will say that Loeb’s tendency for foreshadowing as well as Lee’s gift for visual references and tributes to classic Batman stories should give the sharp-eyed all the evidence they need to play detective, even before the final page is unmasked.

Even without the mystery, Batman is a worthy addition to your collection. And those of you late in joining us might wish to look for the new Batman: Hush Hard Cover Trade Paperback, also released this week. The $25 dollar price tag may leave you screaming at first but the quality of the story inside (along with some new pages of original Jim Lee art) will leave you stunned silent.