Will we see Batman show up in Batwoman? That's the big question heading into the fall season on The CW. As everyone knows by now, the latest iteration of a live-action Batman that viewers get to watch is not going to be Robert Pattinson's The Batman, or a diminutive Bruce Wayne in Joaquin Phoenix's Joker movie. It will be the gender-swapped version of Batman starring in The CW's latest show, Batwoman, with Ruby Rose taking on the mantle of the Bat and her alter ego, Kate Kane, Bruce Wayne's cousin from another reality.

Naturally, the one question on fan's minds at this point is if we will ever get to see the Batman show up in an episode of the series. Executive producer Caroline Dries was cautious of committing herself to any definite answer, but left fans with something to chew on during the show's panel at San Diego's Comic Con.

"Anything is possible. Everyone in the room knows how strict Warner Bros. is with the Batman property. I think there's so much fun to have without him, not that I'm not a big fan."

So it seems that the chances of Bruce showing up to hang out with his cousin are quite slight, but the show does not intend to rely on his presence to make the episodes interesting. It is an amusing trend to note that every time the CW makes a show about DC's most iconic heroes, Superman and Batman, they always run into trouble managing fan expectations of how much screen time the heroes would get.

The CW's original DC show, Smallville, spent more than a decade teasing the moment when Clark Kent would finally become Superman and put on the cape, only to give a glimpse of Superman in the final few minutes of the series finale. Similarly, Gotham had fans asking with each new season whether this was the year Bruce would finally become Batman, only to have the Bat appear in the final few seconds of the series finale.

This kind of trick satisfies neither the fans nor the show's narrative, which is why Batwoman would do better to either not have Batman in it at all, or to actually give him enough space to shine if they do bring him onto the show. A good example to follow would be Supergirl, and how the show allows Superman to frequently visit his young cousin without upstaging her.

With Batwoman, the show runners have plenty of challenges apart from the non appearance of Batman to contend with. The show has an openly gay superhero for the first time leading the cast. For it's first season, the show is rumored to have Kate Kane taking on the enemies of the original Batman while trying to get out from under the shadow of her cousin and stand apart on her own.

The most exciting Batman villain to be announced for the show so far is Tommy Elliot, Bruce's childhood friend who becomes the unhinged maniac Hush, obsessed with exposing Bruce's secret identity and ruining his life. It seems, for the purpose of the show, his obsession will now also extend to Bruce's cousin.

Whether or not Batwoman will be able to carve out its own identity remains to be seen. The CW has a mixed record of adapting DC's superhero pantheon in a satisfactory manner. But so great is the love that fans have for Batman, that Batwoman has an assured audience that will be tuning in to watch the first season of the show when it airs on Sunday, the sixth of October later this year. ComicBook.com reported this news first from the Batwoman panel at Comic-Con.