Ruby Rose may have had to miss San Diego Comic-Con, but Batwoman’s presence was still very much felt. The CW’s newest addition to the Arrowverse made a grand debut with a screening of the premiere episode followed by a panel with executive producers Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries — and as fans have come to expect from SDCC, there was a lot to learn about the show.

Without spoiling any details of the first episode, which officially premieres on the CW Sunday, October 6, Batwoman is set three years after Batman has vanished from Gotham City. The show will offer a good chunk of Kate Kane’s origin story from the very beginning. Two major life events from deep in her past (pulled straight from the comics) will form the basis of her character, and those will be seen in flashback-form right in the pilot. The episode will also feature the first time Kate Kane dons the Batwoman suit and saves the day behind the mask — a moment which, might I add, garnered a solid round of cheers from the Ballroom 20 audience.

The episode also introduces the main villain of the first season, who has a twist I will not name here, and Dries noted during the panel that a lot of Kate’s journey over the course of the season will be “trying to redeem the humanity that she knows is still inside this monster.” (For major, major spoilers, Dries noted that they incorporated many details from the Elegy series.)

Later, Dries added that Tommy Elliot’s Hush will also appear as one of this season’s villains, as well as many other unnamed, classic Batman foes, who come back into the fold when they think that the man himself is back in business. “Because you’ve seen so many different versions of them, we’re trying to find a different angle into these villains so it’s not a character that you’ve seen a million times, or it is a character you’ve seen a million times, but we’re doing it in a different way,” Dries said.

“The first season will give you a lot of fun surprises and adventures,” Schechter slyly added. But, Dries later added, what will really shock people is when we find out what happened to the villain that made her so bad.

Another fun tidbit: Batwoman won’t be totally alone in the superhero world! Through the Arrowverse crossovers, we’ll get to see a lovely friendship blossom between her and Kara Danvers, which we got a glimpse of in the last inter-series event. As for whether Batman will join his cousin in the flesh, Schechter teased that “anything is possible,” but the EPs noted that they really want to establish Batwoman in her own right before bringing in Bruce Wayne.

As for the aspect of the show that’s been generating a ton of excitement — that Kate Kane is the first out lesbian superhero to lead her own show — Schechter made it known that Kate is so much more than who she loves. “We love this character,” she said. “We love her sexuality, and we love her beyond her sexuality.”

Dries also made sure to give credit where credit was due, shouting out the Arrowverse shows from Greg Berlanti for "laying the groundwork for a show like this to exist" by frequently spotlighting LGBTQ+ characters alongside the other heroes that we love. Toward the end of the panel, she added, “What’s important to us is that Kate being gay is just another one of her traits and we’re not really going to make it that huge of a story apart from the fact that when she falls in love, it’s going to be with a woman.”

Schechter concluded the sentiment, adding that like in all of the Arrowverse shows, "these characters all have really rich, complicated lives involving family and friends and work and love, and it’s that same kind of balance here."

Regardless, both noted that they are most excited to see Kate’s love story play out on screen.