Warning: the article contains spoilers for “Wildcard”, Batman: Urban Legends #5 by Marguerite Bennett, Sweeney Boo, Marissa Louise, and Becca Carey, on sale now.
Ryan Wilder has been seen playing the role of new Batwoman on The CW’s series “Batwoman” countless times, but DC has given its fans a surprise by adding her to the mix of comic books as well.
Who Is Ryan Wilder
Ryan Wilder ( played by Javicia Leslie) took up the role of Batwoman in Tv series after the departure of Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) from the Arrowverse series, as the previous Batwoman. In the Cw’s tv series Ryan Wilder is said to have temporarily taken up the mantle of Batwoman, after finding the Batsuit in a plane crash, where the original Kate Kane went missing. Kate Kane leaves the role of Batwoman to have her revenge against Alice, the leader of the gang that killed her adoptive mother. And we see Ryan Wilder stepping up to the responsibility of Batwoman in her absence.
That is how Ryan Wilder came to be Gotham City’s new Scarlet Knight with her television debut in 2021.
Hence Ryan Wilder was created by DC Universe only as a member of the Tv series but now The Infinite Frontier has taken the initiative of introducing her to DC Comics as well. Her first appearance was teased in Batgirl #50, but with Batman: Urban Legends #5 we get a closer look at Ryan Wilder.
Ryan Wilder in The DC Comics
The major question that was going around in fan’s minds after the first appearance of Ryan Wilder in Batgirl #50 was, is Ryan Wilder going to be introduced as the new Batwoman in Dc Comics as well?’
Well, this question has been answered by the new issue. The answer is NO. In the “Wildcard” story from Batman: Urban Legends #5 we see Ryan Wilder as a force of good with a little bit of mayhem. The story starts with Casandra Cain and Stephanie Brown ( our current Batgirls), having leisure time at Wayne Manor, playing video games. Which is interrupted by the Oracle, who asks them to investigate a new lead on the case of mysteriously combustible red cards (An old case).
The girls are not so enthusiastic about the case, considering they have followed the case three times already without any successful results. But this time it’s different as they find out that the person behind Red Cards is none other than Ryan Wilder.
While initially, they assume her to be the murderer, it is later revealed that she was finding enough evidence to find the killer of a software engineer. A case that the police were not willing to touch. It is later realized by Barbara, that red cards were not left by the killer but rather were placed there to help them. Barabara then instructs the Batgirls to let Ryan Wilder go, not realizing that she is the same woman, whom she had met in the previous issue Batgirl #50.
In the last scene after Ryan leaves, we see Barabara, Stephanie, and Casandra pondering on who the girl is. Barabara calls her “Wildcard” a play on her surname and forming the story’s title.
What’s Next for Ryan Wilder?
In Batgirl #50 we found out that Wilder was someone known to Barbara when she was working in the Gotham City Library. And with her appearance in the new issue, we can see Barabara and Ryan working on the same sides, but like frenemies, as they both have their different set of morals and ways to get things done.
Also seeing the badass portrayal of Ryan Wilder in the comics, one can only hope that she would join the Oracle as its newest recruit and add a little bit of zing to the dynamics of Batgirls.
Javicia Leslie
Javicia Leslie (@JaviciaLeslie) who plays Ryan Wilder on the CW show had something to say about Ryan wilder appearance in comics as well. She shared few snippets of the comic and praised the creative panel behind it as well.
With the new apprentice of Wilder in the Comics, some new plotlines are bound to be explored. Are you excited to see some more of Ryan Wilder in the upcoming comics as well? Let us know in the comments below!
