Batwoman's cast addresses its complicated villain, future at NYCC 2019

After getting to see some of the first to see Batwoman's pilot episode back at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, SYFY WIRE was back with The CW show for New York Comic Con 2019. This time, the premiere's screening wasn't in a vacuum: Instead it was followed up by a Q&A panel where those behind the creation of the show discussed what makes Ruby Rose's Kate Kane such a perfect fit for the Arrowverse.

The out-and-proud lesbian superhero has returned to Gotham, and criminals better be on their best behavior, lest Bruce Wayne's cousin give them a whooping. A queer, action-packed, and slick drama, Batwoman sees Rose's heroine joined by sidekicks like Camrus Johnson's Luke Fox and Nicole Kang's Mary Hamilton -- all as a mysterious villain from her past draws ever closer. Speaking after the screening, Rachel Skarsten and Meagan Tandy spoke on what's to come for the series.

Over the season, Tandy said, Kane will try to explain to the rest of the group that "Alice" (Skarsten), Kate's villainous rival, is actually her long-lost sister, Beth. Alice is jealous of Kate's affections, Skarsten said, and wants her all to herself. "Alice loves dramatics," Skarsten said, "Which is what makes it so delicious." Kate's former military school flame Sophie (Tandy), well, she's going to take some convincing after her kidnapping during the pilot.

Tandy teased that her character's marriage to Tyler is certainly real, but that the buried relationship with Kate may cause Sophie to consider whether her marriage is what she thought it was. Tandy said that Sophie's backstory and more flashbacks to military school are coming, and that they recently filmed some of this in a recent episode. The actress also highlighted that black women in particular would relate to her character's arc. "I really do hope people look at Sophie and have more empathy for people in the LGBTQ community," she said.

But it's not all fun romance and much-needed representation. "There's going to be some bumping of heads" between Batwoman and the private security force of the Crows that's run by Kate's dad, Tandy said. Skarsten teased that Hush, aka Thomas Elliot (Gabriel Mann) shows up thinking that Batman is back ... only to find that it's actually Batwoman.

Hush and Magpie (Rachel Matthews) will start populating Gotham's new Rogues Gallery when Batwoman premieres on Oct. 6. The show will be joining the rest of the Arrowverse in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event this winter.

Click here for SYFY WIRE’s full coverage of New York Comic Con 2019, including up-to-the-minute news, exclusive interviews, and videos.