Gotham City has an vacancy when it comes to masked vigilantes who fight crime in the DC Comic universe.  In a recent storyline, Bruce Wayne was ejected from a speeding aircraft without his cape and cowl and is presumed dead.

Now, DC has announced who will fill the void left by the death of the Batman.

It will be Batman’s female counterpart, Batwoman. The alter ego of Kathy Kane, Batwoman is described by the British Indepedent as “a lesbian socialite by night and a crime-fighter by later in the night.” 

Batwoman wears knee-high red stiletto boots and a figure-hugging black outfit. Two years ago, she made headlines when it emerged that she was the ex-lover of Renee Montoya, a Gotham City police detective. The character was created by Batman writer, Greg Rucka.

“We have been waiting to unlock her. It’s long overdue,” he said in an interview with the Comic Book Resources website. “Yes, she’s a lesbian. She’s also a redhead. It is an element of her character. It is not her character. If people are going to have problems with it, that’s their issue. That’s certainly not mine.”

Rucka hopes that the new titles, which are due to be released in June, will not be overshadowed by controversy about Kane’s sexuality.

“I think there is going to be some media,” he said. “I can’t control it. You’ve got to remember, Wonder Woman got a haircut and that became news. So it will be what it is.”

“My job is to write the best book I can, about a character that I think is exceptionally cool, that J.H. Williams [his co-writer and artist] thinks is exceptionally cool, that DC Comics thinks is exceptionally cool and worthy of being the lead player in Detective Comics,” he added. “Frankly, she should be judged on her merits.”