Batwoman is an American superhero television series developed by Caroline Dries based on the DC Comics character Batwoman, a costumed crime-fighter created by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, and Keith Giffen. It is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the universe.

The following is a list of characters who have appeared in the television series. Many are named after (or based on) DC Comics characters.

Kate Kane (portrayed by Ruby Rose; main: season 1 and Wallis Day; recurring: season 2), Gracyn Shinyei as a child) is an out lesbian and the cousin of Bruce Wayne who, armed with a fierce passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, dedicates herself to defending Gotham in Batman's absence as Batwoman.

In season two, the airplane that Kate is coming in from National City crashes. While an ex-con named Ryan Wilder finds the Batsuit, Kate's body is nowhere to be found which affects everyone that knows her in a different way. In a newspaper article talking about Kate's disappearance, Safiyah Sohail sent a message to Alice quoting "Consider us even". When Alice was brought to Coryana, Safiyah denied any knowledge of blowing up Kate's airplane and has proof that she is still alive in the form of Kate's necklace. Upon obtaining Kate's salvaged cellphone, Jacob has the tech guys work to unlock it. By the time Sophie returns, Jacob finds a portrait that has Safiyah's name defacing it and the fact that the portrait was made by Jack Napier. It is then discovered that Kate is still alive and in the sewers where she has a bandaged face. This is because the False Face Society ambushed her on her plane where her face received burns when trying to abduct her and her larynx was damaged enough to alter her voice. Making her loved ones believe she is dead, Black Mask has Enigma work on Kate as Enigma takes her necklace. Enigma makes Kate think she is Roman Sionis' daughter Circe while placing a mask on her burnt face. "Circe" confronts Batwoman and Alice at a boat following Ocean and Angelique's escape and overpowers them, though Batwoman leaves Alice for "Circe". She brings Alice to Black Mask who decides not to kill her. He then orders "Circe" to take Alice downstairs to be tortured. Alice manages to save herself only by offering to craft a new face for "Circe" while noting that she was there when Circe was killed during the Arkham breakout. However, this causes her to realize that "Circe" has the same eyes as her sister as the real Circe had brown eyes.

After telling Jacob about Kate's current state, he and Alice break into the Sionis residence and take "Circe" to the abandoned Crow's headquarters where they confirm she is Kate Kane. Upon obtaining "Circe" and getting DNA printing, Jacob and Alice use some items to cause Kate to remember some things prior to Tatiana and some False Face Society members attacking. Ryan finds her and brings her to Wayne Tower. Mary had to sedate her when Kate experiences a mental battle between her younger self and "Circe". Upon pulling off a trick with Sophie, "Circe" confronts Black Mask where she stabs him in the hand wanting to know why she has Kate's memories. "Circe" fools Luke, Sophie, and Mary by having them think that Kate is in control so that she can access the other parts of the Batcave. After a fight with Ryan, "Circe" makes off with the villain items and gives them to Black Mask while "Circe" rips apart the Batwoman suit. During a showdown at a bridge, Ryan and Alice use the vapors of the Snakebite on "Circe" where she and Alice fall into the river. The vapors and being resuscitated by Ryan purge the "Circe" persona from Kate. After giving Ryan her blessing to continue as Batwoman, Kate leaves Gotham City stating to Sophie that she is going to visit her father and Supergirl before going on a quest to find Bruce.

Ryan Wilder (portrayed by Javicia Leslie; seasons 2–3; Ava Augustin as a child) is Kate Kane's successor as Batwoman, who was nicknamed "Batwoman 2.0" by Vesper Fairchild. She is a highly skilled yet undisciplined fighter who spent 18 months in prison after two Crows operatives caught her with the drugs that Angelique Martin had in her possession. While her parole officer Susan Stevens expects her to maintain the conditions of her parole, Ryan was living out of her van with her plant and becomes the new Batwoman after finding the Batsuit in the wreckage of an airplane that Kate was coming in from National City. One of her plans to use the Batsuit is to go after Alice who had connections with the squatters that killed her adoptive mom Cora Lewis and the building's landlord. In a scuffle with Tommy Elliot, Ryan gets shot with the Kryptonite meant for Kate. This gives her a wound that is getting worse over time as noted by Mary. Despite Alice burning the Desert Rose crops, it turned out that Julia managed to find a Desert Rose to use on Ryan where it turns out to be Ryan's plant that just bloomed. After being cured and the news about Kate's "death" being confirmed, Ryan starts to work on getting Angelique out of the False Face Society leading to an encounter with Black Mask. Ryan later had a final duel with "Circe" with Alice's help which led to Ryan using the vapors from the Snakebite to purge the "Circe" persona from Kate and even resuscitating her after Alice pulled Kate from the river. Thanks to Susan, the parole board releases Ryan from parole as Ryan receives Kate's blessing to continue as Batwoman. Then Ryan pitches to Luke and Mary to open a community center over Mary's clinic to make it official.

In season three, Ryan is blackmailed by former GCPD detective Renee Montoya to find the missing Batman villain items that fell into the river, while also learning that her birth mother is successful businesswoman Jada Jet, who initially rejects her in favor of her son, Marquis, though Marquis shows an interest in working with Ryan to bring the family closer. As Ryan recovers Batman's trophies, she later discovers that Marquis is suffering from psychopathic tendencies due to brain damage inflicted on him by the Joker as a child with his joy buzzer, shown when he brutally beats and kills an assassin sent to murder Jada. Jada later confides to Ryan that Marquis killed his own father as a joke, which she covered up, and actually had Ryan given away to protect her from Marquis, only learning later that the midwife she had paid to cover it up actually abandoned Ryan beside a shop and kept the two million dollars meant to fund her education for himself. Ryan later finds out that the joy buzzer is the only thing that can restore Marquis's sanity, and that Montoya is actually holding it in her possession in exchange for Ryan freeing Poison Ivy from underneath Gotham, where Batman had previously buried her to stop her from exterminating Gotham's population. As Marquis takes over Wayne Enterprises, Ryan reluctantly helps free Ivy and acquires the joy buzzer, attracting the attention of Alice, who wants to use it to restore her own sanity as well. Ryan manages to defeat Ivy and strip her of her powers with help from Mary and Montoya when she decides to continue her plans to destroy Gotham, and the mayor orders both Montoya and Ivy to leave Gotham forever. As Marquis loses more of his sanity, he eventually plans to unleash bombs of Joker's toxic gas all over Gotham, but he is foiled when Ryan defeats him and uses the joy buzzer on him with help from Alice, who decides to leave Gotham to seek rehabilitation elsewhere. Ryan later starts a relationship with Sophie Moore and mends her relationships with both Jada and Marquis, unaware that the chemicals released from the Joker gas canisters during the blimp crash have created and unleashed a radioactive creature.

Elizabeth "Beth" Kane / Alice (portrayed by Rachel Skarsten; seasons 1–3; Ava Sleeth as a child) is Kate's presumed-dead twin sister and the leader of the Wonderland Gang whose personality goes from maniacal to charming and back again as she sets out to erode Gotham's sense of security.