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James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU may be a couple of years old now, but we still have yet to meet this universe’s version of what is undoubtedly DC’s biggest superhero. Where is the DCU version of Batman? Apart from a quick cameo silhouette seen in the animated series Creature Commandos, we’ve seen neither hide nor hair of the Caped Crusader in the DCU. And it doesn’t appear that’s going to change even with the release of the Clayface movie in October.
While it appears that we’ll have to wait until the long-gestating Batman: The Brave and the Bold comes to fruition to actually meet the DCU’s Batman, there is an interesting Batman universe Easter egg to be found in the HBO series Lanterns. Let’s break down this tease and why it could prove very significant for the DCU as a whole.
The Secret of Kelly Macdonald’s Sheriff Kerry
The show’s unexpected Batman connection centers around Kelly Macdonald’s character, Sheriff Kerry Kane. Kerry is introduced as a foil to Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan, a no-nonsense cop who butts heads with the veteran Green Lantern as he investigates an alien conspiracy in the midst of small-town America. However, it quickly becomes apparent that Sheriff Kane knows a lot more about said conspiracy than she initially lets on. She’s nothing if not a woman with secrets of her own.
One of those secrets seems to involve her previous life as a Gotham City native. Hal brings up the fact that she used to live in Gotham in Episode 2, but Kerry is clearly reluctant to talk about that period of her life. What transpired there and why she decided to relocate to a tiny town in rural Nebraska is something we assume the series will explore before the end of Season 1.
However, it’s not the mere fact that Kerry is a former Gothamite that creates a clear link to Batman; it’s her surname. We eventually learn that her full name is Kerry Kane. Not only is it an alliterative name in the way all superhero love interests seem to be, but the Kane family is one with deep significance in Gotham lore.
Along with the Waynes, the Cobblepots, the Elliots, the Arkhams, and a few others, the Kanes are one of the so-called “First Families of Gotham.” These wealthy families have helped shape Gotham over the centuries, and many retain their power, wealth, and influence even today. In the traditional DC Comics universe, Martha Wayne was originally Martha Kane, and her marriage to Thomas Wayne created a blood link between the Kanes and the Waynes.
Other significant Kane family members include Kathy Kane, who was the original Batwoman in DC’s Silver Age comics and founded the clandestine organization Spyral in the modern comics, and Kate Kane, the current holder of the Batwoman mantle. Kate is actually Bruce Wayne’s cousin, a plot point that factored heavily into The CW’s Batwoman series.
Mind you, Lanterns hasn’t directly confirmed that Kerry Kane is a member of that Kane family, but we find it hard to believe that the writers would just happen to choose that surname and birth city for her without intending it to tie back to the larger Kane family tree. Whatever skeletons Kerry is hiding in her closet, it must be somehow connected to the Kane family’s larger role within the borders of Gotham City. However indirectly, she’s a character with links to Bruce Wayne/Batman himself.
Does Batman Exist in the 2016 DCU?
At least until Tom Rhys Harries’ Matt Hagen debuts in Clayface, this makes Sheriff Kerry Kane the character with the closest tangible link to Batman in the DCU. It does highlight one important question, however. So far, apart from the 2026 flash-forward in the pilot and the flashback storyline in Episode 3, the majority of Lanterns has taken place in the year 2016. Does Batman exist at this point in the DCU timeline? Is he a contemporary of Hal Jordan, or a relatively newer phenomenon like David Corenswet’s Superman (who, don’t forget, went public as a superhero just three years before the events of his first solo film)?
Right now, there’s no way of knowing for sure. Lanterns may reference the existence of Gotham City, but the characters conveniently refrain from acknowledging the Dark Knight himself. It’s entirely possible that Batman hadn’t come onto the scene by the time Kerry made the move from Gotham to Rushville. Even if he had, it may be a case of him being more urban legend than proven reality at that point. Even in 2016, Batman could be a rookie hero just establishing his reputation, if he exists at all.
Both his age and tolerance for brightly clad sidekicks should help set the DCU’s Batman apart from the younger, grittier Dark Knight of Matt Reeves’ films.
That said, there’s one piece of evidence to suggest that the DCU may already have a Batman in 2016. We know that Batman: The Brave and the Bold is intended to focus on a relatively older and well-established version of Bruce Wayne. The film is drawing from Grant Morrison’s Batman run, which introduced Damian Wayne (the preteen son of Bruce and Talia al Ghul) as the new Robin. We imagine that means Batman must have been active in the DCU for at least a good 10-15 years by the time The Brave and the Bold rolls around. Both his age and tolerance for brightly clad sidekicks should help set the DCU’s Batman apart from the younger, grittier Dark Knight of Matt Reeves’ films.
Based on that logic, the DCU probably has a Batman by the 2016 setting of Lanterns. Again, he may not be well-established yet, but he’s probably there in some form. Does that mean he’s teamed up with Hal Jordan? Would Chandler’s Hal even tolerate working with a guy dressed like a bat? We have no idea, but that sounds like a story worth exploring.
Do you think Sheriff Kerry Kane is part of Gotham City’s Kane dynasty? Is Batman active in the 2016-era DCU? Let us know your theories in the comments below.
For more on Lanterns, see why Episode 1’s big twist was “big and scary” to commit to, and read Green Lantern star Ryan Reynolds’ thoughts on that infamous movie.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
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