The CW is doing an almighty hype job gearing up for its universe-hopping, costume-swapping DC Comics crossover "Elseworlds", but the question of how the Arrowverse would introduce Gotham City and Ruby Rose's Batwoman without the presence of The Dark Knight himself has gone unanswered...until now. The Gotham that the stars of Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl find themselves in is reportedly one that has gone without the help of Batman for three years, leaving the city a messy no-mans-land of crime and corruption.

Speaking to EW, "Elseworlds" consulting producer Caroline Dries—who will also executive-produce the Batwoman standalone series—explained the crossover's Caped Crusader-less Gotham:

“Our approach is: What does Gotham look like after the Batman has been gone for three years? So if you have the law and order, protector, and hope gone, what happens as a result? Some people are thriving in his absence because now they can start to do their own thing without the oversight. A lot of other people are suffering and they’re losing hope, and the city itself and infrastructure is falling apart. So it’s not a happy place. Our guys walk into a grimy, scary Gotham.”

Arrowverse producer Marc Guggenheim describes the CW's Gotham as a "dead city."

“The way I sort of described it to Stephen [Amell] is, it’s there but for the grace of God goes Star City," he said. "It’s the worst case scenario. The reason no one talks about Gotham is the city might as well be dead. It’s practically a ghost town.”

In a landscape of countless Joker movies and Bat reboots, a world where nobody talks about Gotham sounds like a dream. According to Flash star Grant Gustin, though, the CW's Batman is more of a myth, one that Oliver Queen—who already fills the eternally mopey vigilante role, thank you very much—would like to believe isn't real.

“Oliver is like, ‘He’s not real! They’ve made him up! It’s a hoax just to scare the citizens,'" Gustin said. "Barry is flabbergasted by that and all he wants to do in Gotham is meet Batman. It’s a pretty funny scene."

For more on "Elseworlds"—which runs for three nights on The CW starting Sunday, December 9—check out the links below:

elseworlds-poster
Image via The CW