The Arrowverse is one of the most innovative and interesting creations to grace the television screens in the canon of comic book adaptations. But since its advent, there has been one piece crucially absent from the center of the narrative – Batman. And of all the potential candidates, Tom Welling pitches himself as the most enthusiastic and willing actor to bring the vigilante to life.
Primarily recognized as Superman from Smallville, Tom Welling’s eagerness to play the Caped Crusader brings with it a few sighs of relief and a few confused fans complaining about the disorienting nature of the timeline that allows a Batman who has potentially existed since the 90s (in-universe) to look like Superman from the mid-Aughts.
Tom Welling Wants To Play Batman in the Arrowverse
The skepticism surrounding Batman’s presence in the Arrowverse hinges entirely on hearsay and anecdotal references that people have made about the vigilante’s dark, shadowy, and murky history as a moody and aggressive superhero. And although the Dark Knight does exist in Arrowverse, the audience is yet to see him in a tangible, physical form and not just a silhouette. The references and quips regarding his deeds across the Arrowverse point to a rich history that places this Batman as far back as the 90s.
However, a Batman who hardly has an actual existence in the Arrowverse was not something that most fans preferred. And Tom Welling wanted to change the status quo of an Arrowverse that only teases a Batman but without an actual purpose. During a conversation with Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, Welling claimed that if given the chance to play any character in Arrowverse, he’d like to play the Caped Crusader:
“Yeah, I do like Batman and I think there is some room to grow there. And, yeah, it would be different.”
Tom Welling’s modest admission about there being room to grow as Arrowverse‘s Batman is partially true. The already rich history of the vigilante that exists in the background narrative of this television universe makes it impossible to rediscover Batman in an entirely new light. However, the number of defining events and references made regarding his exploits in Batwoman (among others) can make up for seasons of a series dedicated solely to the gothic superhero.
The Fate of the Larger DC Universe
The DC universe has been a sloppy mess of timelines and worlds clashing against one another only to crash and burn at the first opportunity it got at being something potentially better. The Arrowverse, however, stands apart from the rest – primarily because it is the only wholesome entity in the interconnected superhero genre at DC, and also due to its effectiveness in pandering to the profit-oriented showrunners in the entertainment business.
With so many chess pieces at play here, the DC universe is getting extremely hands-on with its story moving forward. The DCEU for one presents a very different iteration of the superhero characters that we have become so familiar with and their origin stories. With Zack Snyder’s ambitious, cataclysmic, and flawed take on these iconic superheroes populating his world, perhaps his unique eye for storytelling will surpass what any DC filmmaker had ever attempted before and set a record of its own.
Arrowverse is available for streaming on Netflix and MAX.
Source: Inside of You
