The Many Loves of Batman .

[SUPERECWFAN1]

With Bruce Wayne getting set soon to walk down the aisle with Selina Kyle in comics after years of the two being an on/off couple , this thread will look at the many short term loves of Batman. With over 80 years of history its almost like every decade writers would introduce a love interest in the comics and they'd fade from view. So decade by decade , gonna run down the MANY LOVES OF BATMAN.




Vicky Vale : 1st appearance : Batman #49

Perhaps the 1st romantic interest of Bruce Wayne , the character was a newspaper reporter who debuted way back in 1948. The idea of the character was basically another Lois Lane type. Who for a number of years was out to prove that Bruce Wayne was Batman. And each story would end with Bruce fooling her. Anyhow for the next decade she'd keep that status.

However by 1964 Julius Schwartz became editor of Batman titles and decided to drop a bunch of golden age characters like Vale , Batwoman and others. Of course by 1964 Vale had been eclipsed by the character below this as Batman's potential love interest for awhile.

Vale of course wouldn't disappear for good as she'd return to the Batman books for good by 1980's (they ignored a story where she had married in 1970's). New editors decided to reinstate that relationship with Bruce Wayne and then the Crisis on Infinite Earths arrived which changed some things. Then once the Batman film in 1989 was released DC seemed ready to maximize on that big screen couple by having the two back in a relationship. Of course by Batman #475 however they pulled the plug on it as they had Bruce refuse to reveal his secret identity and Vale would disappear again for a number of years til the 2000's. Since then she's been a minor supporting character and the 2 haven't had a relationship since.


MY TAKE : Vale was more or less a Lois Lane rip off and numerous attempts to change her character (she hosted a radio show , she hosted a TV show etc) hasn't really changed that. Also as a reader Vale always came across as demanding even by the 1980's standards and wanting more from Bruce Wayne than what he was capable of doing. Her being phased out off and on makes sense.





BATWOMAN (Kathy Kane) - 1st Apparance : Detective Comics #233

Kathy Kane was introduced in the wake of the 1950's hearings on comics and the editors ideas to create a Batman family of characters to appeal to a wider audience. Kane was nearly like Batman and compared to him as a fighter then. She also had her own version of the utility belt in her purse with female objects that she used (lipstick , mirror etc). Kane became a favorite for the writers at the time and even married Batman in a story above. Replacing the Vicky Vale relationship pretty much awhile.

But like above mentioned Schwartz decided to make her character disappear as he felt she didn't fit in the comics he wanted to do. Her character would be eclipsed soon enough by Batgirl in popularity and Batwoman for over a decade never appeared again until Batman Family. Then in Detective Comics #485 , editor Denny O'Neil allowed the character to be killed off. Saying that they had Batgirl and really didn't need a Batwoman in the comics.

For over 30+ years the character was gone from comics and it wasn't til Grant Morrison reintroduced Kathy Kane into the Post Crisis DCU. In fact Morrison revealed that Kathy and Bruce were a couple for a short while and she was his aunt by marriage (Ok , we really didn't need that) . But then in his last issue of Batman Inc. , he revealed she had faked her death and was working for a spy agency called Spyral. The character would appear in Grayson as a spy for awhile. But her relationship is written as having ended early in Batman's career.


MY TAKE : I don't really have that many issues of Batman where Batwoman appeared. So I can't judge this. But I can see where Schwartz wanted to do his Batman and why characters were dropped.




Talia al Ghul : 1st Appearance : Detective Comics #411

Talia would debut in May 1971 and reintroduce a more deadly threat as a love interest than Bruce Wayne ever had. As the great Denny O'Neil/Neal Adams run did they introduced a more serious darker Batman after so many years of the 1966 TV series plus a bigger new threat in Ra's al Ghul. The daughter of the demon was a skilled assassin who her father wanted her to have a skilled warrior and fighter as his heir to run the League of Assassin's.

While for years Talia and Bruce did have feelings for each other , Bruce would resist them since he did not believe in Ra's mission to wipe out half of humanity and become its ruler. Talia would appear on and off for years , with even Dick Grayson questioning why Bruce would continue to associate with her in one issue. Knowing the answer all too well.

By the late 1980's an imaginary story called "Son of the Demon" would have Talia and Bruce finally marry and her get pregnant with his child. Talia however is attacked by rival assassins and Bruce fights them off. She decides she can't rely on Bruce to protect her forever and fakes a miscarriage. This has the marriage end and Talia later gives the baby up for birth. In this continuity the baby would go onto being in The Kingdom and "Son of the Bat" one shot.

Talia would appear in cartoons , movies and video games as the relationship was played up there. In the 2000's , the character would get a big change as the "Son of the Demon" was placed in continuity as Grant Morrison revealed that Talia and Bruce did have a relationship and had a child (unknown to him). Using part of Son of the Demon , Morrison had Talia keep the child and made him a skilled warrior at a young age. Allowing Bruce to take him and let him have his destiny next to his father.

Since then Talia still has feelings (among the fighting she's done against Batman at times lol) for him and had Catwoman fight her to prove she deserved him. At the end she gave her blessing for it.


MY TAKE : I always enjoyed the Talia issues and how she'd make Batman really question what he really wanted and why he couldn't. Her character personally for me is better than Ra's as she has a more bigger connection to Bruce. As their child connects them and the fact they have clashed a couple times over what she has planned.



END OF PART #1 ..... PART #2 is coming . So hold off replies til then ok....I wanna do both parts and have it done ok.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Silver St. Cloud : 1st Appearance Detective Comics #470

Silver would appear in the late 1970's and be introduced by writer Steve Englehart & Walt Simonson. The character was an event planner that Bruce ran into and during that story-line that ran from #469 to #479 of Detective Comics ; she would start a relationship with Bruce Wayne. She would muse that she knew Bruce was keeping a secret and by the end she learned he was Batman. The relationship ended as she told him she could not stay home worrying about him at nights he was Batman and she would disappear from the comics til the 1990's/2000's.

Englehart would have Silver return and the two debated having a relationship. But she grew angry at Bruce for him wanting her to stay with the senator as she was his fiancee and he had been hurt badly by Joker. In the 2000's Kevin Smith would do a miniseries (Widening Gyre) where Bruce would propose to her. This was a nice moment til she was murdered by Onomatopoeia.


MY TAKE : I don't have the sequel arc and no way would I read Widening Gyre to see her character killed off. But the character really never returned much in comics. She was a small footnote in Batman history. Beyond a couple stories she hasn't appeared much and I can see why writers never used her much.





Julia Pennyworth : 1st appearance : Detective Comics #501

By the 1980's the editors decided to introduce a love triangle type angle into the comics . While Bruce was with Vicky Vale again , Julia Pennyworth meanwhile wanted Batman. Julia was the daughter of Alfred and the French freedom fighter Mademoiselle Marie. It was said Marie during the 2nd World War had her daughter raised by her friend Jacques Remarque. She never informed Alfred of this.

Julia was about trying to be with Batman and really didn't do much beyond showing up to surprise her father by revealing herself. After 5 years the character would disappear due to Crisis on Infinite Earths and never be seen for the next near 30 years. In 2013 she would return in the new 52 era as Alfred's daughter. The connection to Mademoiselle Marie was dropped as was the World War II angle. The character works for the Special Air Service and has assisted Bruce Wayne and Batwoman. Nothing romantic has been shown.


MY TAKE : Julia being removed after Crisis was a wise move then. The concept of tying Alfred to World War II while not a bad idea on paper (it tied him into Sgt. Rock's supporting cast in a way) but it would become problematic as more time passed from the 1940's to current. So they decided to remove that link wisely. It shocks me it too nearly 30 years to reintroduce Julia Pennyworth.





NOCTURNA (Natalia Knight) : 1st appearance - Detective Comics #529


Natalia Knight was adopted by a mobster at age 12 and raised in a wealthy lifestyle. It was her plan to rob Bruce Wayne with a groups help when she encountered him at a party. Bruce was entranced by her but Natalia wanted his wealth to maintain her lifestyle. She of course liked the Batman and would show up through the 1980's. Her main focus was to force Bruce Wayne to marry her and by that she used Jason Todd by adopting him (she used corrupt mayor Hamilton Hill to get that done). This scheme didn't seem to work and right when Crisis was happening was seemingly killed in a hot air balloon and floated into the red skies.

It wasn't til 20+ years later that Nocturna would return and be part of Salvation Run miniseries. Since then she's appeared a couple times and doesn't seem to be interested in Batman or Robin.


MY TAKE : Nocturna seems more like DC's attempt at doing a goth version of Felicia Hardy in a way. During this time if we remember Hardy as Blackcat was involved with Spider-Man. She of course did not really want the man behind the mask (Peter Parker) and was a known thief. Here Nocturna did not like Bruce Wayne and instead was more interested in Batman. All while leading a criminal group and wanting Bruce to marry her in a scheme for his money. Its weird it took DC 20+ years to reintroduce her .



Shondra Kinsolving : 1st appearance : Batman #481

Kinsolving was a doctor who was introduced to treat Bruce for the after effects of coming off "venom" which had his physical and mental abilities slip. Kinsolving started to develop feelings for Bruce and even took part in saving his life after the brutal beating from Bane . She was told he had been in a bad auto accident but she knew it was something else.

It was during this she was kidnapped and while in a wheelchair , Bruce would start the search for her. After finally finding her , Kinsolving was revealed to be a meta-human and restored Bruce to full health (he had a broken back). The effect on Shondra was she suffered brain damage and became child like. Bruce would buy her a residence to live the rest of her life. She has not appeared since.


MY TAKE : This one had promise as a doctor who grew to love Bruce , plus being an interracial romance it would have been interesting. But her character was introduced before Knightfall and was used as the magical solution to get Bruce Wayne back as Batman. DC hasn't had the character appear since this.



Vesper Fairchild : 1st appearance : Batman #540

In the late 1990's , Doug Moench would introduce a new female love interest in the bat books and it was Vesper Fairchild. A radio host who was nicknamed "Siren of the Night" she would start a relationship with Bruce Wayne. Of course her character would have a brief run and sadly would die right before No Man's Land began. Killed by David Cain.


MY TAKE : Vesper rarely would appear due to the big crossovers going on in the Bat-books and the relationship really had no big effect on Bruce beyond framing him for murder. Maybe if she had a bigger role in the books and had appeared constantly it would have meant more. Also Bruce seemed more interested in the next one below....


Sasha Bordeaux : 1st Appearance - Detective Comics #751

Bordeaux was hired to be Bruce's personal security by Lucius Fox (much to his dismay). She was constantly doing her job and would later learn that Bruce Wayne is Batman. After training her awhile the two start working together. Its there Sasha develops feelings for Batman as Bruce acts to date other women along the way. After the entire No Man's Land and being framed for murder , Bruce would learn that Sasha was killed.

Not believing it , he learns CHECKMATE is responsible and disrupts their entire operations in Gotham. They eventually allow him to meet with Bordeaux where he confesses his love for her. She tells him he has to let her go and they part. The characters never really met up again as Sasha became part of Checkmate. Also her last appearance was in the fall of 2010 and she has not appeared in the post Flashpoint era.


MY TAKE : This one really like Vesper never went far due to the crossovers in Batman books . DC seemed to be giving this new character quite a push early but soon forgot about her after she took over Checkmate in 2006. By 2010 they pretty much allowed the character to go into limbo.



Jezebell Jett : 1st appearance : Batman #656

Created by Grant Morrison , Jezebell was the ruler of an African country called Mtamba and had started seeing Bruce Wayne. It was during this time that the Black Glove would start to appear and Bruce was handling it and this relationship. Soon enough Jezebel would question Bruce's disappearances and his change of attitude. Finally he revealed to her he was Batman and even took her on a tour of the batcave.

Of course much like her name hints , Jett would be an undercover agent of the Black Glove and lure Bruce into a trap for Dr. Hurt and the Black Glove. Due to his strong conditioning mentally , Bruce overcomes it and his "death" during Final Crisis happens. Jett who thought she would get away is killed by Talia and its said Talia showed Bruce her severed head later.


My Take : Morrison tried to make the romance happen very quick with Jezebel and Bruce , but given that she was only around 2 years ...and not enough lead time made me care about her. Now her being a secret agent meant to destroy Bruce Wayne was a great touch here.



In all that is the ones I know about in comics the last 80 years. Sure there is Black Canary but it wasn't that long (an issue in Justice League of America) and barely seen beyond All-Star Batman & Robin and we really can't judge it. Happy reading folks.

[Vinsanity]

Forgetting a couple

- Julie Madison - The first girl
- Charlotte Rivers - the first one in New 52.

I really miss they keep Silver. I mean she literally figured out who Batman was.

[oasis1313]

I think Silver was my all-time favorite. She was classy.

[tommyd5555]

Linda Page was a recurring love interest of Bruce Wayne in the 1940's!

[signalman112]

Here is a Bat-Blog that list the bloggers Top 5 Love Interest.

5) Vicki Vale
4) Silver Saint Cloud.
3) Wonder Woman.
2) Talia
1) Catwoman

https://shanemcgreevy.wordpress.com/...ove-interests/

[Arnoldoaad]

BATWOMAN (Kathy Kane) - 1st Apparance : Detective Comics #233[/B]


For over 30+ years the character was gone from comics and it wasn't til Grant Morrison reintroduced Kathy Kane into the Post Crisis DCU. In fact Morrison revealed that Kathy and Bruce were a couple for a short while and she was his aunt by marriage (Ok , we really didn't need that) . But then in his last issue of Batman Inc. , he revealed she had faked her death and was working for a spy agency called Spyral. The character would appear in Grayson as a spy for awhile. But her relationship is written as having ended early in Batman's career.

yeah, she is a Kane like her mother so the alternative would had been made her a blood relative, a cousin or something else

[Darkspellmaster]

Julie Madison could make an interesting character if they had followed up on her job as a Lawyer and let her be the DA. And she and Sliver would be my two choices. Also straight up, she was designed to be the Lois to his Clark. Honestly, I'd like to see her come back and be a reoccurring character that Brice can have help out.

[K7P5V]

Julie Madison could make an interesting character if they had followed up on her job as a Lawyer and let her be the DA. And she and Sliver would be my two choices. Also straight up, she was designed to be the Lois to his Clark. Honestly, I'd like to see her come back and be a reoccurring character that Brice can have help out.

Your idea for Julie Madison sounds interesting. She could maybe take over for Harvey Dent, which then gives Two-Face a new adversary to contend with.

[Darkspellmaster]

Your idea for Julie Madison sounds interesting. She could maybe take over for Harvey Dent, which then gives Two-Face a new adversary to contend with.

Exactly! I always figured she could act as someone who helps in the law side and has an interesting relationship with the extended family. We have yet to see how lawyers, save BTAS, in the DA's office deal with Batman. As you said Harvey would be really interesting as would Hush since Tommy would have known her too, so there's that
And her own father's death due to the evil in Gotham and Bruce failing her.

[John Venus]

Main preference: Catwoman/Selina Kyle.

After that; Talia Al Ghul, Andrea Beaumont and Zatanna Zatara.

[mikelmcknight72]

I like Selina, Zatanna, and Talia, and in that order of preference. Here's why I only consider the three of them as viable long term love interests.

First, none of the three are civilians. They are all capable of being his partners in and out of costume. He doesn't have to be overly worried about their safety, and they don't have to be overly worried about his. Best of all, there should be zero chance of even a semi-competent writer depicting her as the wife at home being all angsty about her man's caped adventures.

Talia is too immoral and therefore too opposite for it to work long-term. If her original characterization was still the case, that'd be different. She once sat somewhere between her father and Bruce when it came to morality, and often seemed to be involved in her father's less bloody schemes due to loyalty rather than complete agreement. Nowadays, she's often written as borderline insane. She works as a long-term "what could have been" rather than a "what could be" kind of interest.

Zatanna could potentially work long-term. The difference between their power/skill sets could render them too opposite, though. She generally operates purely in mystic stories these days. However, I could see her working long term. It'd be interesting.

Selina is, in my opinion, the one. She generally has the same no-killing code, but is a bit more morally flexible when it comes to how ownership of valuables changes hands. Just enough different to be permanently interesting, but not so different that it would pose any obstacle that could not be overcome by love and commitment. I also have fond memories involving the original Earth 2 relationship, marriage, and daughter they had together. Earth 2 Helena Wayne is the one true Huntress in my eyes. I like the post-Crisis Huntress a lot, but she is a very different character in any way that matters. Like many I was ticked rather than relieved when the recent marriage story didn't result in marriage. I've high hopes that we'll see it happen for real in main continuity. I believe it would ultimately enrich both characters if it came to pass and was not-retconnect or rebooted away. I would say, however, that main continuity should only go there on Helena coming to be if they go the Spider-Man "Renew Your Vows" path.

My picks for favorite civilian love interest would be either Silver or Vicki. I just don't think a civilian love interest suits Batman the way it does some other heroes.

[AmiMizuno]

The Issue with Talia is she did rape, Bruce to have Daimen. Even those that is now retcon it makes me look at her differently. Well Bruce can have immortality also if he were to stay with Talia.

[gregpersons]

Bruce/Batman and Selina/Catwoman are an OTP, to my mind. I'm quite happy to see their relationship solidify, I feel it strongly benefits both characters, and adds some emotional depth and nuance to the tale.

I like that the upcoming "Batman/Catwoman" will incorporate Andrea Beaumont into Bruce's backstory. I'd also like to see Rachel Dawes (from the Nolan-verse) someday retconned into being part of Bruce's history (and Harvey's too, for that matter). Selina is "The One" for Bruce, and vice versa, but it makes sense that both have had serious relationships before they met and came together.

Not only does Rachel (and Andrea) help fill in some key gaps to that pre-Year One era, I think her presence in Bruce's past enriches Bruce's character to have had some meaningful romantic relationships from before he became the present day Bruce Wayne.

Again, it adds some nuance, imo — Bruce was seeking to fill the hole in his soul by focusing his anger into becoming Batman, but he also was looking earnestly at filling it with love. After Andrea/Rachel both ended in tragedy, Bruce walled that part of himself off to be "forever alone" ... and then Catwoman came along, and completes the puzzle.

[Jim Kelly]

Not exactly a love interest, but probably the first potential match for Bruce Wayne when the "New Look" began was Pat Powell. She only had a few appearances, but she could have been a great supporting character and I always wanted to see her come back to fill out the cast of characters in the GCPD. She was a young police woman and the daughter of an old cop, Bulldog Powell. Her problem was that she froze whenever she'd see Bruce in the flesh--some unrequited feelings for the millionaire playboy, I guess.

Another is Kaye Daye. Not exactly a love interest, but Batman clearly admired her and worked on several cases with her, along with the Mystery Analysts of Gotham City. She was a famous mystery novelist (also the aunt of Steve Lombard).

There were hints of Batman/Bruce being attracted to Batgirl/Barbara, before his young partner started to make time with the Dominoed Daredoll.

Julie Madison aka Portia Storme later married into royalty and became Princess Portia, when she tried to rekindle her romance with Bruce.

There was Ginny Jenkins--"The Girl Most Likely to Marry Batman."

Over in the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, Bob Kanigher tried to get something going between Batman and Black Canary in a love triangle with Green Arrow. That didn't stick, but Batman has had many team-ups with BC over the years and they seem to get along.

Diana Prince/Wonder Woman and Bruce Wayne/Batman have also sometimes seemed to catch a spark, both in the comics and in the movies.

Bruce has dated many hot numbers, especially in the 1960s. Most of them were simply arm candy. But there was that one time with Mona, the winner of the Miss USA beauty contest, when Bruce and Dick both dated her at the same time only to face heart-break, as the airplane she was on board crashed. Batman and Robin struggled to save the survivors of the downed plane--but they were too late to save Mona. They were her last date! Damn you Birdmaster of Bedlam!