- For other uses of "Batwoman", see Batwoman (disambiguation).
Julia Pennyworth is a spy of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, known under the codename Tuxedo One. She is the daughter of Alfred Pennyworth, the goddaughter of the late Lucius Fox, an old friend of Bruce Wayne and Luke Fox, and the ex-girlfriend/close friend of Kate Kane. Julia briefly posed as Batwoman to fool Sophie Moore and the other members of Crows Security to divert their attention away from Kate.
Biography
Original multiverse
Early life
Julia Pennyworth was born to Alfred Pennyworth and an unknown mother. Her father made his good friend, Lucius Fox, Julia's godfather.[1] Growing up, she was very close to Lucious' son, Luke.[2]
As an adult, Julia became a spy for the Special Reconnaissance Regiment. Due to her father being the closest confidant of Bruce Wayne, she found out at some point in her life that Bruce was Batman and became an associate of him.[2]
Meeting Kate Kane
In 2013, right after Kate Kane was expelled from Point Rock Academy and sent to travel around the world, Bruce asked Julia to watch over his cousin when she was in London. Using a false name and pretending to be a Krav Maga instructor, Julia befriended Kate, became her teacher and had a brief romance with her. However, Julia's cover got blown when she was attacked by someone who called her by her real name. After Julia explained the deception, Kate parted ways with her.[2]
Tracking Rifle
Years later, Julia was assigned to track an international assassin named the "Rifle". She followed him to Jakarta and Metropolis, eventually tracking him to Gotham in 2019.[2]
Working with Batwoman
Luke, Kate and Julia at the Wayne Tower.
Back in Gotham, after a failed attempt to capture the Rifle, she briefly fought Batwoman before being defeated and figure out that she was in fact Kate. At the Batcave, she revealed her mission to track the Rifle and greeted her old friend Luke. Later, while they were about to enter the Batcave to execute a plan that would make Crows Security believe that Kate is not Batwoman, they were interrupted by Mary Hamilton, who believed the Batcave's entrance to be a panic room.
Julia as "Batwoman".
After dealing with the girl, Julia posed as Batwoman during a Crows operation to retrieve a coil gun. With Kate in the same room with "Batwoman", Sophie assumed that she is not Batwoman, however, Julia was then shot by the Rifle with the coil gun and fell to the street. The Crows arrested her and tried to transport her to their headquarters but, on the way, she was rescued by Kate.
Kate patches up Julia.
Back in the Batcave, Julia apologized to Kate for lying to her in the past. Luke announced that a knife the police recovered from one of the murdered engineers of Hamilton Dynamics was a butterfly knife, likely the same belonging to Alice, and Kate realized that she hired the Rifle to kill anyone who was connected to the gun and mistakenly believed she hired the Rifle to kill her (unaware Alice actually saved hers and Julia's life by sabotaging the gun and tricked the Rifle into killing the scientists so they couldn't fix it). Julia informed them that her agency had tracked the Rifle to the Mediterranean, and she would be following him. Julia then said her goodbyes, advising Kate to allow people to get close to her before leaving.[2]
Anti-Monitor Crisis
During the Anti-Monitor Crisis, Julia as well as everyone in the multiverse except for the seven Paragons, was killed in an antimatter wave by the Anti-Monitor on December 10, 2019,[3] only to be restored a month later, after the Paragons and the Spectre created a new universe.[4]
New multiverse
Saving Sophie Moore
Julia saves Sophie.
A few months later, intercepted a statement offering a ransom for Sophie Moore's head, Julia went back to Gotham and saved her from a sniper in the apartment of Alia Nazari, she introduced herself as "Kate's ex just like her". Then she asked Sophie to help her with the wound she made while shielding her from the sniper's bullet.
Sophie tends to Julia's wound.
After exiting the building, the two women went to Mary Hamilton's secret clinic and Sophie started to tend Julia's arm, thanking her for saving her life until Mary entered the room and began assisting her, while Sophie informed Julia regarding the case on which she was investigating, guessing that that was the reason someone wanted her dead.
Julia and Sophie in hiding.
Later that night, while hiding at a motel with Sophie, she watched a TV service about Reggie Harris' death, discovering from Sophie that said murder and Nazari's were connected as they were all involved in Lucius Fox's death. Realizing it was all about her godfather, Julia decided to went checking on Luke however, as she arrived at the Wayne Tower she instead found Kate intent on drowning her sorrows in alcohol and.
Kate kisses Julia.
Despite Kate's initial intention to be left alone, Julia managed to convince her to open up with her about her trouble, causing Kate to admit she questioned her recent choices on locking Beth in Arkham, killing August Cartwright and burying him, saying she didn't know who she was anymore but she was sure she didn't want to be like Alice. Julia took her hand and console her saying she wasn't, then they kissed.[1]
Abilities
- Peak of human physical condition As an international spy, Julia in top physical condition with remarkable strength, speed, stamina and durability. She is fast enough to move someone from a bullet's trajectory.[1] Her conditioning also lets her recover from most injuries very quickly, though not superhumanly.[2]
- Acrobatics/Free-running: Julia is very maneuverable and graceful, having great free-running skills. She was able to fall from a height of several feet without hurting herself and run from rooftop to rooftop with ease.[2]
- Honed senses: Julia has sharp hearing and sight, as well as keen skills of perception.[2]
- High-level intellect/Master tactician/Leader: As a member of an intelligence agency, Julia is a capable tactician and leader, being able to organize her missions and track down criminals all over the world, all while remaining off-charts and covering up her tracks during her investigations.
- Expert of deception/Manipulator: Julia was able to deceive other individuals with extreme ease; for example, she posed as Kate Kane's Krav Maga instructor under a fake identity and fooled all the Crows Security agents into believing that she was Batwoman.[2]
- Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Julia is proven to be a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist. During Kate's global travels and training, Julia was the one who taught her Krav Maga, and was subsequently able to identify her as Batwoman by recognizing various moves when they battled.[2]
- Indomitable will/High tolerance for pain: Julia is a driven and determined individual, she also displayed remarkable resilience to pain, showing she can take a bullet in her arm without even flinching.[1]
- Stealth/Infiltration: Julia can quickly vanish from sight and disappear whenever she wants to.[2]
- Network: As an international spy, Julia has a wide array of contacts.[2]
Equipment
- SRR suit: Julia wears an all-black suit with a hood to protect her identity.
Former equipment
- Batwoman suit: Julia wore a protective suit while posing as Batwoman.
- Red wig: Julia wore a fake red wig while posing as Batwoman.
- Bat-Belt: Julia had a utility belt while posing as Batwoman.
Appearances
Batwoman
Season 1
- "Tell Me the Truth"
- "A Mad Tea-Party" (mentioned)
- "Through the Looking-Glass"
Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, Julia Pennyworth is the daughter of Alfred Pennyworth.
- In Pre-Crisis comics, Julia Remarque is an investigative reporter. Her mother was Mademoiselle Marie, who had an affair with Alfred during World War II, while he was operating in France as a British officer. In The New 52 reboot, Julia Pennyworth was reinvented as a former Special Reconnaissance Regiment operative. She joined the Bat-Family as mission control with the codename "Penny-Two".
- In the New 52 continuity, Julia was also depicted as bi-racial. With that being the most recent and well-known iteration of the character, her portrayal on the show led to some backlash in regards to the casting.[5]
- Julia's codename, "Tuxedo One", is the same she went by in the Batwoman: Rebirth storyline.