Batwoman

• TV Show

• The CW

• Superhero

"Time to be powerful."

That's what Javicia Leslie declares in the exclusive Batwoman season 2 teaser above. Clocking in at just 10 seconds, the CW superhero drama's new TV spot reveals the moment Leslie's Ryan Wilder decides to put on the Batsuit for the first time — and what it means to her.

The God Friended Me alum picks up the Crimson Knight mantle following the departure of Ruby Rose, who played original Batwoman Kate Kane, at the end of season 1. When we meet Leslie's character Ryan in the season 2 premiere, she's living out of her van and haunted by her difficult past. However, hope arrives when she finds Kate's Batsuit in the most unexpected way. (What happened to Kate is one of the season's big mysteries.)

After years of feeling like a victim, Ryan views the cape and cowl as the key to never feeling like that again. So, she makes the life-changing decision to suit up in a grimy gas station bathroom (as depicted in the teaser) and heads out to, well, do what Batwoman does: fight crime.

Of course, the suit she puts on in the teaser isn't the one she'll wear for the rest of the series. While Ryan starts out the season in Kate's old costume, she makes the suit her own and debuts her objectively dope new look in episode 3, as revealed in new first look images last month.

The differences between Kate's Batwoman and Ryan's Batwoman aren't just aesthetic, though. What they hope to do with the suit also differs due to their contrasting socioeconomic backgrounds — Kate's privileged upbringing versus Ryan's firsthand experience with Gotham City's failings.

"[Becoming Batwoman is] going to be a struggle because when you’re part of a community that has been neglected by the system, that’s the initial community that you feel responsible for helping," said Leslie during the show's DC FanDome panel. "And that’s what you’re going to see. You’re going to see that community of Gotham that got overlooked. It’s funny because a lot of Mary’s [Nicole Kang] patients can be examples of that community — that community that gets overlooked by the hospital, by the Crows. It’s a very personal thing, but that will be a huge battle. When Caroline and I were talking about it — just the battle of, they’re not the only ones that need help, but those are the ones that Ryan is attached to that she really wants to be able to help."

Also joining Leslie and the rest of the cast in season 2 are recurring guest-stars Shivani Ghai (Dominion) as Safiyah, the oft-referenced intimidating figure from Alice's (Rachel Skarsten) past, and Leah Gibson (Jessica Jones) as the Whisper, Safiyah's loyal henchwoman. Alex Morf (Gotham) will guest-star as DC Comics villain Victor Zsasz.

Watch the teaser above.

Batwoman returns Sunday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. on The CW.

(Video provided courtesy of The CW)

This post has been updated.

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Author:Chancellor Agard - Source: EW