Elseworlds Crossover Was Forced To Cut A Batman Joke

Batwoman will make her Arrowverse debut in the upcoming “Elseworlds” crossover, which kicks off later this month. Among other things, it’ll see Green Arrow, the Flash and Supergirl making their way to Gotham City, which is where they encounter Ruby Rose’s dark heroine. As we’ve already been told, however, Batman won’t be showing up on The CW anytime soon, which leaves the question of what’s happened to Gotham’s most famous protector?

Caroline Dries – who’s exec producing next year’s Batwoman solo series – explained a while back that Bats hasn’t been seen in three years, with Gotham becoming even more crime-ridden and corrupt in his absence. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be any references or nods at all to one of DC’s most iconic heroes.

Given what we’ve seen so far from the event, we already know that Batman’s presence will be felt, but it seems that at least one line wasn’t allowed to remain in the crossover. While speaking at Heroes and Villains Fan Fest in San Jose this weekend, Stephen Amell revealed that they tried to sneak in a rather funny jab at the Dark Knight but unfortunately, it had to be cut.

“There was a line that was cut, I think it was because I made fun of the Bat Signal,” the actor said. “Grant points to the Bat Signal and he goes, ‘Huh?’ and I go, ‘So what? It’s a stupid signal.'”

It’s too bad this particular joke wasn’t able to remain in “Elseworlds,” but hopefully we’ll still get a lot of nods towards the Caped Crusader. After all, his absence is sure to raise a lot of questions. If you’ll recall, Oliver referenced Bruce Wayne being in Gotham back in season 6, so it’s not like Bruce has been missing for three years. For some reason, he’s just stopped being Batman.

With any luck, we’ll get some answers on how exactly the Dark Knight factors into the Arrowverse when “Elseworlds” kicks off and airs for three nights beginning December 9th. But even if we don’t, there’s still a ton to look forward to.