Warning: SPOILERS for Batman Beyond #40

The mystery surrounding the unknown Batwoman in the future of Batman Beyond has finally been solved! In the process, adding a new generation to the Batman Family legacy… now that Dick Grayson’s daughter Elainna is the future Batwoman.

The question has plagued comic book fans since the unidentified woman made her debut in Batman Beyond #36, appearing in the empty Batcave to claim the Batsuit for herself. With Terry McGinnis framed for murder and wiped of his memories, the unseen woman was happy to cover for him. Since then she has fought back the tide of criminality, using the Batsuit with surprising skill, and giving Bruce Wayne an impossible riddle. But as has now been confirmed, Batman shouldn’t have spent his time wondering which former member or ally of the Bat-Family was keeping secrets… but which heir to the cowl had never gotten the chance to claim it.

To those fans wondering how they could have missed Dick Grayson’s daughter, it isn’t as egregious an oversight as it may seem. Elainna made her first appearance just over one year ago, in Batman Beyond #25. With Dick Grayson, the Mayor of Blüdhaven arriving in Neo-Gotham after years away, Elainna was introduced as his right-hand woman. And when revisiting his past as Robin, then Nightwing, Dick was more sure than ever that he made the right call keeping Elainna out of the ‘family business.’ Or so he thought.

Despite the impression that Elainna had more or less accepted her father’s wishes, their trip to the city turned out to be a catalyst, of sorts. What should have been a photo opportunity, and a chance for Dick and Bruce to reconnect, was turned into a terrorist crisis by Joker. Bombings, kidnappings, and the threat of another dead Robin later, and Dick was forced to leap back into combat. And the same went for his daughter, when Joker waltzed into the Batcave with Robin (Terry’s younger brother, Matt McGinnis) at gunpoint.

Having watched the carnage develop, and wishing she was able to do more, Elainna saw her opening to attack, and didn’t hesitate. She took a bullet to the arm, but the crisis was ultimately averted. And while Dick and his daughter left the city unscathed… the allure of superheroics was clearly enough to take hold of Elainna. In the newest Batman Beyond #40 the secret is revealed when the new Batwoman crosses paths with Dick Grayson, and flees in a panic. Leaving Dick to tell Bruce that he’s come in search of his missing daughter – and leaving Elainna to unmask herself as the mystery Batwoman.

The reveal, like all good mysteries, will seem somewhat obvious in hindsight. Bruce and Matt McGinnis leapt to the same conclusions as many readers when they called out the most prominent suspects… only to be met with laughter from the women in question. And her skills and combat training check out as well. Dick may have kept Elainna from donning a superhero costume, but her debut appearance also revealed that she had directed that energy along a different path. Now “out of the service,” it seems Elainna may have been training for the mantle of Batwoman all along.

The next issues of Batman Beyond are sure to offer more context to this revelation. For starters, was this transformation a matter of coincidence and timing? Or was a life in the Batman Family something Elainna always planned to pursue, merely going about it in ways to not arouse suspicion from her father? To find those answers, and capture this piece of Batman history for themselves, fans can pick up their own issue today.

Batman Beyond #40 is available now from your local comic book shop.

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