Batwoman aired its midseason finale this week, marking the occasion by introducing us to two brand-new takes on members of Batman’s rogue’s gallery in Nicole Kang’s Poison Ivy and Nick Creegan’s Joker. It’s notable that (like Ryan Wilder) these are legacy versions of the characters, each of them influenced by the original villains.
But while describing the new Ivy’s abilities, an offhand comment was made that could prove very illuminating. Apparently, they haven’t seen plant-based powers like this “since Swamp Thing”.
Could this be a reference to the awesome DC Universe show of the same name? This premiered on the streaming service in 2019 to decent reviews, though any sense of momentum the show had was squashed when it was canceled immediately after the first episode aired. This killer blow came after the series had already had its thirteen-episode run cut to just ten, with WarnerMedia citing “creative differences” as the reason.
The CW subsequently purchased and aired Swamp Thing, with the character even making a brief cameo appearance in the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event, with the voice-over subtly referencing the show’s problems by saying “civilizations rose…and fell”.
So, does this Batwoman line mean Swamp Thing is now Arrowverse canon? Perhaps, though “Crisis on Infinite Earths” also pointed out that these stories took place on Earth-19. My bet is that there’s an Arrowverse version of the character we’re yet to meet, though it’d be a shame if he was too dissimilar to the comics’ accurate one we already got.
Whether this is a throwaway remark or a hint at things to come, it’s always nice to see the character get a nod. Let’s hope it’s not the last we hear of him.
Batwoman returns on The CW Wednesday, January 12 at 9/8c.
