WHO COUNTS IN COUNTDOWN? – Episode #38 By Bruce MacIntosh Countdown is DC’s weekly title that features long-running stories about characters with whom the average fan may be unfamiliar. If Countdown drives you batty because you don’t know everything about these characters, fear not! The Pulse is here to explore the belfries and flush out the stories of these creatures of the night. This week we go spelunking with the new Batwoman, whose debut last year in 52 caused quite a stir, and who plays a prominent role in Countdown #38.
One thing’s for sure, this is not your grandfather’s Batwoman, who first appeared in Detective Comics #233 (Jul 1956). That Batwoman was the costumed identity of one Kathy Kane, who may have been inserted in the Batman Family to inject a female presence in the wake of the witch hunt against comics in the 50s, and the perception by some that Batman and Robin had some kind of questionable relationship. To that end, DC even introduced a Bat-Girl, so that the foursome could go out on crime-fighting double-dates.
The Kathy Kane Batwoman faded away after 1964, making only a few appearances before Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) effectively erased her from our collective consciousnesses. But the idea of a distaff counterpart to the Dark Knight was simply too hard for DC to resist, and another two decades after Crisis, she sprang forth with much fanfare in the pages of last year’s weekly series, 52.
As a possible nod to longtime readers, this Batwoman is named Katherine "Kate" Kane, and she first appeared – in sultry evening attire – in 52, Week Seven. Kate is the “drop dead gorgeous” heiress to one of the wealthiest families in Gotham City, one that apparently owns everything the Wayne family does not. She is also Renee Montoya’s former lover, who dumped the fledgling detective ten years previously.
It is Kate’s unabashed portrayal as a lesbian that caused a brief controversy in the media, and garnered DC more publicity than it might have expected.
Unlike the Silver Age Kathy Kane, who was romantically involved with Bruce Wayne, this new version of Kane is portrayed as a "lipstick lesbian". (Slang for a feminine homosexual woman who is attracted to other feminine homosexual women.) DC announced Batwoman in the Spring of 2006, at the same time as introducing other characters of diverse backgrounds and ethnicity, but Kate Kane’s homosexuality attracted all the attention, as stories appeared on CNN, in USA Today, and many other news outlets.
Executive Editor of DC Comics, Dan DiDio deflected any criticism that Batwoman’s homosexuality was intended merely for publicity: “[Kathy Kane is] a very successful woman, very self-assured,” He added, “What we wanted to do was build from that core and create a new character that was much more attuned with today’s society. The fact that Batwoman is gay is not a key factor—it’s [just] who she is.”
Nevertheless, through Renee Montoya’s narration boxes, DC made clear Kate Kane’s preferences, before the character even appeared in Issue Seven of 52. In an uncomfortable scene at the Kane mansion, Renee approaches Kate to help make a connection between the Kane family holdings and the address “520 Kane Street”. Kate agrees to help Renee, then decks her and asks here to leave when Renee tries to “press her buttons” regarding their prior relationship.
A month later, in 52 Week Eleven, Renee and Charlie (the first Question) meet with Kate in a park. Kate informs the inquisitive duo that the warehouse was indeed owned by the Kane family, and had been leased until six weeks earlier by a Company called Ridge-Ferrick Holding. Charlie does some digging (in file boxes in the back of his van) and determines that the company is one of Intergang’s “legit fronts they establish to move into new territory.” All this is monitored by a shadowy figure who looks like the same Batman who has been missing in action since the conclusion of Infinite Crisis (2006) several months earlier.
However, it is the new Batwoman who later springs forth to save Renee and the Question’s hides when they break into Ridge-Ferrick’s offices and encounter the serpentine Whisper A’Daire and a pack of giant man-beasts. The Batwoman cuts a striking figure in her black and red costume, as she swings off into the night with her red hair flowing behind her from an open-backed cowl.
She is not seen again until summoned again by Renee in 52 Week Twenty-Eight. Renee and the Question reveal to her that they have found something called the “Book of Crime” – literally Intergang’s Crime Bible, where the original copy is bound by the stone with which Cain killed Abel. Within that book is contained a prophecy foretelling the brutal murder of the "twice named daughter of Kane," (Cain) and an ancient woodcut picture of Kate being devoured by a demon.
Batwoman hits an Intergang mansion and is disabled by Bruno "Ugly" Mannheim, who is obsessed by the Book of Crime’s prophesies regarding Kane’s demise. This time it is Renee and Charlie’s turn to save Kate, but Bruno escapes – prophetically raving that “the Questions have not yet been answered!”
Kate continues investigating the case and is later joined by Nightwing, who has recently returned to Gotham. Not absorbing the fact that Kate doesn’t swing from his side of the plate, Dick Grayson becomes infatuated with her. (Kate keeps her sexuality as secret as her costumed identity, and only Renee and the Question knew her background.) He also gave her an 'official' Batarang for Christmas., although she is revealed to be Jewish, in the Infinite Christmas Special (Dec 2006).
Mannheim and Intergang later realize that the image of Kate Kane in the Crime Bible and the "twice-named daughter of Cain" were one and the same. They ransacked Kate's apartment, kidnapped her and set out to sacrifice her to fulfill the Book of Crime’s prophesies. As 52 built to its climactic finish, Renee found Batwoman with a knife in her chest. Miraculously, Kate pulls out the knife, stabs Bruno Mannheim, and collapses in Renee's arms.
Renee stopped the bleeding in time, and Kate survived her wounds. Later, as Kate recuperated, Renee (as the new Question) shone the Batsignal into Kate’s penthouse apartment and asked, "Are you ready?"… foretelling the return of Batwoman in Countdown #39, following Renee Montoya’s confrontation with Trickster and Pied Piper, having trailed them from Penguin's Iceburg Lounge nightclub.
NEXT WEEK IN WHO COUNTS IN COUNTDOWN?
We’ve covered dozens of DC characters over the last 14 weeks since the Countdown commenced. Have we left anyone out? Is there a character who has or will be appearing soon, who you’d like to know more about? Let us know, and we’ll cover them next week, or in an upcoming episode of WCIC?
As always, tune in next week: Same Bat-Time, Bat-Channel!
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