Everybody loves a good crossover, especially comic book fans. The CW’s batch of DC shows is certainly no stranger to them either. Now it seemsBatwomanis handling the idea a bit differently than one might expect, particularly evidenced by the fact that this isn’t actually a crossover. But when an actor from one show joins another show playing the same character they played in the first show, what else would that be called? Well, in this case, it turns out that’s just called “a new cast member.”
Fans of the dearly departedFox prequel seriesGothamare about to see a familiar little glimmer when The CW’sBatwomanlaunches into its 3rd season in October. Victoria Cartagena, who played Gotham City Police Department detective Renee Montoya in the Fox series, will get to have another crack at the character when she joinsBatwomanas a series regular in its upcoming season. But it’s important to note thatBatwoman’s Montoya will not be the same character asGotham’s Montoya. That might have sounded confusing because it is.
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To put it plainly, Deadline reports Cartagena played Montoya onGotham, and now she’ll be playing Montoya onBatwoman. While they are both based on the same character from the comics and are both played by the same actress, they will technically be different characters since the two shows aren’t connected. So there, it’s a crossover that isn’t actually a crossover. Is that still confusing? Good. Confusion is best when shared.
Renee Montoya is a fan-favorite character fromtheBatmancomics, not only as a sympathetic character who opposes corruption but also for her LGBTQ+ representation as a gay woman (a revelation that even got her disowned by her own family). Jumping between being a police detective and the masked vigilante known as The Question in various iterations, it’s not really a surprise that such a nuanced character has been included in so many DC properties. Aside from showing up semi-regularly onBatman: The Animated Series(where the showrunners even managed to have her sneak some positive LGBTQ+ representation past the censors), she also featured prominently in thetragically underrated filmBirds of Prey, played by Rosie Perez.
Batwomanwill see Montoya having already quit the GCPD out of disgust at its blatant corruption. Now running a group called the “freaks division,” it’s her aim to help keep the streets of Gotham safe, even if she can no longer do so under the authority she once had. Based on howBatwomanintegrates familyand the LGBTQ+ community as part of its own identity, it’s pretty much a certainty that Montoya’s own experience as a lesbian will come into play.
Renee Montoya has always been an enjoyable character and seeing as she’s a lesbian woman of color who’s sick of police corruption, it almost feels like she should have been onBatwomanfrom the start. This is a show that wears its opinions on its sleeve, shoulders, back, and fists as it beats its righteous fury into the baddies of the city, and here’s hoping it never changes.
Batwomanseason 3 will premiere on October 13 at 9 p.m. ET on the CW.
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