- For other uses of "Batwoman", see Batwoman (disambiguation).
Julia Pennyworth is a disavowed 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, a longtime friend of Bruce Wayne and Luke Fox, and the ex-girlfriend/close friend of Kate Kane. Julia briefly posed as Batwoman to fool the agents of Crows Security and divert their attention away from Kate. Later after helping them uncover the corruption among their ranks, she joined the Crows and was charged to lead their new strike team together with Sophie Moore, with whom she began a relationship.
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 Lucius' son, Luke.
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 known as 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 Wayne Tower.
Back in Gotham, after a failed attempt to capture the Rifle, Julia briefly fought Batwoman before being defeated and figure out that she was in fact Kate. At the Batcave, Julia revealed her mission to track the Rifle and greeted her old friend, Luke. Later while the group was about to enter the Batcave to execute a plan to convince Crows Security 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 Mary, Julia posed as Batwoman during a Crows operation to retrieve a coil gun. With Kate in the same room as "Batwoman", Sophie deduced that she isn't Batwoman as planned. Just then, Julia was shot by the Rifle with the coil gun and fell onto the streets. The Crows arrested her and planned to transport Julia to their headquarters. On the way however, 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 revealed that a knife the police recovered from one of the murdered engineers of Hamilton Dynamics was a butterfly knife, likely the same one belonging to Alice. Kate realized that Alice hired the Rifle to kill anyone who was connected to the gun and believed she hired the Rifle to kill the former (when Alice actually saved her and Julia's lives by sabotaging the gun and tricked the Rifle into killing the scientists so they couldn't fix it). Julia informed them that the SRR had tracked the Rifle to the Mediterranean, where she would be following him. Julia then said her goodbyes to Kate and Luke before leaving, also advising Kate to not make the same mistakes as Bruce and allow people to get close to her.[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
Going rogue
Some time after this, Julia traveled to Coryana and approached the Rifle's boss, Safiyah Sohail. She promised to give Safiyah Lucius Fox's journal if the latter stopped Rifle from pursuing Batwoman, a condition which the criminal agreed to.[5] As a result of this deal, Julia disobeyed her superior's orders and was subsequently disavowed by the SRR. However, Julia kept this a secret from everyone as she went rogue.[6]
Saving Sophie Moore
Julia saves Sophie.
A few months later, having intercepted a statement offering a ransom for Sophie's head, Julia returned to Gotham and saved her from a sniper in Alia Nazari's apartment. She introduced herself as "Kate's ex, just like her". Julia then asked Sophie to help her with the wound she sustained while shielding the latter from the sniper's bullet.
Sophie tends to Julia's wound.
After exiting the apartment building, the two women went to Mary Hamilton's secret clinic. Sophie started tending to Julia's injured arm, thanking her for saving her life, until Mary entered the room and began assisting her. Sophie told Julia about the case she was currently investigating, guessing that was the reason someone wanted her dead.
Julia and Sophie in hiding.
Later that night, while hiding in a motel with Sophie, Julia watched a news report about Reggie Harris' death, discovering from Sophie that said murder and Nazari's were connected as both victims were involved in the murder of Lucius Fox. Upon realizing it was all about her godfather, Julia decided to check on Luke. As she arrived at Wayne Tower however, Julia instead found Kate intent on drowning her sorrows in alcohol.
Kate kisses Julia.
Despite Kate's initial desire to be left alone, Julia managed to convince her to confide in the latter about her trouble. Kate admitted she was questioning her recent choices to lock up Beth in Arkham Asylum, kill August Cartwright, and then cover up the murder. Kate expressed didn't know who she was anymore but didn't want to be like Alice. Julia took her hand and consoled Kate, assuring her that she wasn't. The two then kissed.[1]
Co-leading a Crows strike team
Julia tells Kate to get back to work.
After a week, Julia visited Kate in her penthouse, criticizing her decision to hide and taking a break from being Batwoman. Julia offered Kate a special herbal preparation which she called "Chimney sweep" to fully heal her. Julia and Kate agreed that their kiss was just a moment of weakness, but Julia promised Kate that she would always be there for her. Kate opened up about her feelings regarding breaking Batman's code. Julia replied there was no time for Kate to doubt herself like this, since the Detonator destroyed the Gotham International Bank the previous night.
Julia and Sophie investigate in the motel.
After leaving Kate's penthouse, Julia went to pick some burgers and brought them to Sophie in the motel where she was hiding. Together, they started to investigate "Michael Fisher", the hitman who targeted them and Jacob, and discovered that his bank account was on the same very same one that the Detonator destroyed.
Julia and Sophie discuss their investigation with Luke.
Following some more investigating, the two women discovered the hitman's real name and address at 2420 Maple Street, a building that was destroyed in the Detonator's last attack on Bennett Ave.. Julia and Sophie went to Luke, explaining their suspicions that the Detonator was actually a copycat of the original, who was erasing every track to identify the hitman as part of the conspiracy behind Lucius' murder. They eventually discovered that the agent truly responsible was Miguel Robles, the head of Crows Security Homicide Division.
Julia and Sophie are appointed co-leaders of a new Crows strike team.
Sophie and Julia went to the Crows Headquarters, where they saved Jacob Kane from a bomb planted by Robles. Batwoman called Julia and informed her they have secured the other bomb in Wayne Tower's garage, causing Sophie to discover that Julia knew Batwoman and worked with her. The following morning, the SRR instructed Julia to lead a special Crows strike team alongside Sophie, with Jacob's approval. After their promotion, Julia and Sophie decided to celebrate together with some hamburgers.[7]
Infiltrating The Lookout
Julia and Kate infiltrate Lookout.
A week later, in order to find Lucius Fox's journal, Julia helped Kate infiltrate Tommy Elliot's nightclub, Lookout, which was a secret meeting place for mobsters and managed by the infamous Johnny Sabatino. After they entered, the two former lovers briefly bickered about Julia's relationship with Sophie. Julia implied their relationship was purely platonic since Sophie just needed to someone to talk to after coming out to her mother ended in disaster, something Kate didn't even know Sophie had done.
Julia tortured by Sabatino's men.
Successfully infiltrating Lookout, Kate and Julia separated and tried to reach Sabatino's office, taking advantage of a blackout Luke caused. However, it turned out to be an ambush and Julia was captured, tied up, and interrogated by two of Sabatino's mobsters, who wanted to know who she was working for. Julia refused to divulge her intentions and endured the repeated tortures and beatings, stating she was an SRR agent. However, the mobsters found out Julia had actually gone rogue six months prior and the SRR now considered her a traitor. They demanded to know who she was really working for.
Julia kills her captors.
After Mary arrived and caused a second power outrage, Julia's interrogators were briefly distracted, which she took advantage of that to free herself from her confinements. Julia brutally killed both of the mobsters guarding her, despite one of them pleading for her life, promising to keep the former's rogue status secret. Julia then met Kate, who had been rescued by Mary, and escorted the latter to safety while Batwoman retrieved the journal from Magpie.
Julia invites Sophie for dinner.
Later at the Crows headquarters, Julia asked Sophie out to dinner in order to cheer her up over Tommy apparently committing suicide in order to avoid due process. She then received a call from Safiyah, who asked her about her progress on the mission. Julia reaffirmed that she would retrieve the journal and give it to her as promised.[6]
Leverage
Kate approaches Julia about Reagan's interrogation.
After Reagan stole the journal from Kate, Julia ambushed her in a parking lot, holding Reagan at knifepoint and threatening her for the location of the journal. Reagan confessed that she gave it to Magpie, her sister, but didn't know anything about the journal's current location. After Kate tracked Reagan as well, she approached Julia at the Crows headquarters, asking why she wanted the journal. Julia claimed that she interrogated Reagan to spare Kate from dealing with her ex, but Kate didn't believe nor trust her. As Sophie arrived, Julia took advantage of this to end their conversation and went to a briefing with the rest of the team about the kidnapping of N.S.A. agent Tony Kim.
Julia reveals to Luke why she was disavowed.
Later that night, Sophie informed Julia that they had a lead on Hush as he was seen on Williams Viaduct. Before she could investigate it, Julia was stopped by Luke, who asked her why she wanted his father's journal, explaining he had discovered she was disavowed by the SRR. Julia revealed the deal she made with one of her targets, but omitted the reasons for which she did so and the target's identity, insisting that it was imperative for Luke's safety that he didn't know
Julia and Luke kidnapped by Hush.
While they were conversing, Hush suddenly snuck behind them both, pointing his handguns at Julia and Luke's heads before capturing them. They were taken to Arkham, where Julia was used as leverage to get Luke to comply with Alice's wishes. She was tortured with electrocution to motivate Luke into decoding his father's journal
Julia tortured by Hush.
Julia refused to make a sound as she was tortured, only taunting Alice and Hush that they needed to do better. Later, Luke convinced the criminals to allow him some space so he could concentrate on decoding, giving Julia a reprieve. While alone with him, Julia acted as Luke's sounding board to help him solve the code. After he succeeded, Luke revealed to Julia that the journal contained dangerous secrets they couldn't let a psychotic criminal know.
Julia and Luke are released from Alice's captivity and escape Arkham.
When Alice and Hush returned, demanding the translated journal, both Julia and Luke decided that they would not yield the code, even with their lives threatened. Right at that moment, Batwoman entered the room and offered Alice a pair of eyeglasses that could translate the journal in exchange for Luke and Julia's life, despite Luke urging her not to since the journal contains the secret to kill her. The trade was accepted, allowing Julia and Luke to be released and escape Arkham before Alice started its mass prison break.
Julia and Sophie kiss.
Due to her torture, Julia sustained minor nerve damage in her left arm which was treated in the Crows medical wing. After being discharged, she found Sophie waiting for her in worry. Julia reassured Sophie she was alright and they shared a kiss. Just then, Kate arrived, wanting to talk to Julia in private. Kate asked again why Julia wanted the journal, prompting her to finally reveal that she made a deal to bring the journal to Safiyah Sohail in exchange for Kate's safety from her men, such as the Rifle. However, since discovering the truth about the journal's contents, Julia backed out of the arrangement, making herself a target just like Kate.[5]
Threatening photographs
The following day, after hearing that Arkham escapee Tim "The Titan" Teslow had attacked Jacob and Kate, Julia contacted Luke and told him to inform Batwoman that it would be safer for her to allow the Crows to capture The Titan.
Julia and Sophie find the Crows headquarters empty.
Later, Julia and Sophie went to the Crows headquarters and found that it was practically empty; they realized that Commander Kane had sent the entire force to help Batwoman to capture The Titan at Gotham City Arena.
Julia and Sophie arrive at Gotham City Arena.
Julia and Sophie immediately realized this assignment was in fact a trap for both Batwoman and The Titan. They rushed to the arena and arrived as the Crows had just gunned down The Titan and turned their fire onto Batwoman, but she managed to escape.
Julia opens up about Safiyah to Sophie.
Afterwards, Sophie questioned Julia about why she didn't directly warn the Lady Crusader of the trap, to which Julia admitted she had. Julia confessed to Sophie about having double-crossed Safiyah and now, someone had stalked them during a date since she found photographs of herself and Sophie in her mails. This was something only a spy from Coryana could have done, meaning they were both in danger.[8]
Personality
Julia appears as a charming and confident woman. She is proven to be a loyal friend to Kate Kane, whom she affectionately calls "luv" - something later she started to do with Sophie Moore as well.[8] Julia helped Kate protect her secret identity, even risking her life in the process.[2] When she learned that Sophie was in danger, Julia immediately took the bullet while tackling her out of the line of fire, despite not knowing Sophie.[1] She also has a good sense of humor and is extremely sarcastic,[5] loving to tease Kate and often engages in friendly bickering with her.[7][6] Although she has a tendency to keep vital information to herself in order to protect her loved ones, often seeming to act shady, Julia always has the best of intentions and carries no qualms in being truthful and completely open when really needed.[6][8]
Julia is quite friendly and easygoing, having no problem discussing her intimate relationships with others and harbors no hard feelings towards her exes.[2][6] However, she was visibly offended when Kate questioned her loyalty and stated that she didn't trust her.[5]
Julia has a treacherous side to her if she believes necessary, as Julia deceived Kate during their first meeting, hiding that Bruce Wayne had sent her to keep an eye on his cousin. Julia also seems keen to hide more darker secrets about herself, such as that she was no longer working for the SRR since operating for Safiyah Sohail. When Johnny Sabatino's men discovered this after kidnapping her, Julia ruthlessly killed both her captors to keep it hidden.[6] Julia only revealed that she agreed to work with Safiyah to protect Kate from the Rifle when having no choice.[5]
Abilities
- Peak of human physical condition As a former international spy turned Crows Security agent, Julia is in top physical condition with remarkable strength, speed, stamina, and durability. She is strong enough to swiftly incapacitate, hurl through the air, or even break the neck of a grown human with ease[6] and can move fast enough to save someone from a sniper bullet's trajectory.[1] Julia's durability left her unfazed after being shot in the chest with the rail gun, albeit the weapon was sabotaged by Alice and had lost most of his disruptive power.[2] Her conditioning also lets her recover from most injuries very quickly, though not superhumanly.[2][1]
- 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 former member of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, Julia is a highly intelligent individual, as well as a capable tactician and leader; she is able to organize various missions and track down criminals all over the world, even members of Safiyah Sohail's expansive criminal organization,[5] all while remaining off-charts and covering up her tracks during her investigations. Julia's experience in espionage granted her the approval of Commander Jacob Kane and the SRR to co-lead a new Crows strike team with Sophie Moore.[7]
- Expert of deception/Manipulator: Julia is able to deceive other individuals relatively easily; 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] Julia also managed to convince anyone of interest that she was still working for SRR despite being disavowed.[6]
- Expert Investigator: Julia is an excellent investigator, as she follows every lead and rumor to discover the truth. For example, Julia worked with Sophie and Luke Fox to find the true murderer of Lucius Fox.[7]
- Medical knowledge: Julia is an expert in using herbs as alternative medicine.[7]
- Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist: Julia is proven to be an extremely seasoned hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist; during Kate's global travels and training, Julia was the one who taught her Krav Maga and subsequently able to identify Kate as Batwoman by recognizing her various moves when they battled.[2] Julia's style is extremely unpredictable, proven flexible and precise in her maneuvers; she is able to change her battle tactics and attack patterns to suit the situation and the battle ground extremely fast.[6]
- Expert marksman: Julia is highly skilled in the use of firearms.[6]
- Skilled knife wielder: Julia is skilled at using knives, as she threatened Reagan with one.[5]
- Indomitable will/High tolerance for pain: Julia is a driven and determined individual, displaying a remarkable resilience to pain; she can take a bullet to her arm without even flinching[1] and withstand hours of torture, as well as nine punches from a largely-built man.[6] Julia remained unfazed and even defiant while being subjected to repeated electrocution.[5]
- Stealth/Infiltration/Escape artist: Julia can quickly vanish from sight and disappear whenever she wants to.[2] She is also a master escape artist, able to free herself from various confinements, such as handcuffs.[6]
- Network: As a former international spy, Julia has a wide array of contacts.[2]
Equipment
Julia donning her SRR suit.
- 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"
- "A Narrow Escape"
- "If You Believe In Me, I'll Believe In You"
- "A Secret Kept From All the Rest"
- "O, Mouse!"
Trivia
- Julia has a fondness for pickles, especially in hamburgers.[7]
- Her favorite seasoning is kimchi.[6]
- Julia's morning routine involves having a cappuccino.[5]
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 biracial. With that being the most recent and well-known iteration of the character, her portrayal by Christina Wolfe in the show led to some backlash in regards to the casting.[9]
- Julia's codename, "Tuxedo One", is the same she went by in the Batwoman: Rebirth storyline.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Through the Looking-Glass"
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 "Tell Me the Truth"
- ↑ "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three"
- ↑ "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Four"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 "A Secret Kept From All the Rest"
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 "If You Believe In Me, I'll Believe In You"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 "A Narrow Escape"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "O, Mouse!"
- ↑ Um, This Julia Pennyworth Casting Choice in Batwoman Is … Wrong