The Many Loves of Batman .

[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!

[John Venus]

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.

What bugs me about Talia is that she grew up with her borderline megalomaniac father who believes in the genocide for 90% of the planet. She shares this view and saving Bruce or telling him about Ras plans was more about her 'beloved' than for actual altruistic reasons. Like imagine talking to an attractive woman and you find out she's part of some neo-nazi group. Her being border line insane didn't really seem that far fetched given what we already know of the character. I don't think earlier stories got inside her head, she was always object of affection caught between her father and Batman. Though I think there is room for a nuanced take on the character. Somebody who is not outright evil but grew up believing everything her father and teachers told her without really questioning any of it but unlike them has a greater possibility of redemption.

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.

I like Zatanna but more in the way how Dini used it. Bruce trained with the Zatara's and maybe had a thing with Zatanna during that period. It's mutually beneficial since it shows how that the Zatara's are more than just sorcerers and they have real world skills like sleight-of-hand and escape artistry that even a normal human like Bruce Wayne can learn and apply.

In the present time line, pairing Zee with either Bruce or Dick Grayson for that matter runs into the problem that the threat has to be big enough for someone of her level to get involved while at the same time has to be small enough that Batman or Nightwing can still contribute. Which then runs into the problem of writers having to figure out a way to de power her or take her out of the story for a while. Sadly, the same thing happened in early JLD where Zee was often the front line red shirt 'Oh no! they are too powerful for me' and Constantine frequently saved the day.

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.

I'm in agreement. Selina is the best. Bruce lives in a very black and white world and Selina complements by adding a bit of gray to it. Bruce was born with a silver spoon in his mouth whereas Selina came from the poor down trodden neighborhood. She challenges his view of the world and her playful personality contrasts well with Bruce's serious demeanor.

[scary harpy]

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.

My take:

When the morality of the day wouldn't let a reformed Catwoman work with Batman...Batwoman was introduced. (I would have preferred the reforming Selina.)

Kathy was written abysmally. Being dropped in 1964 was the best thing for her. Some time away should have been good for her character.

I disagree with the decision to allow her death. Batwoman should have been treated better.

[Gotham citizen]

If I'm not wrong the first Batwoman (but also other characters like Bathound, the first Batgirl and Batmite) was created to better contrast the accusation of excessive violence and paedophylia made by the Psychiatrist Frederic Wertham in is book "Seduction of the innocent" to Batman.
That book created a real climate of witch hunt against the all the comic book industry and forced the publishers to create the Comic Code Authority, which in fact was a real self-censorship organ. So in my opinion the Batman authors thought it was too dangerous use a character like Catwoman (who will became the Batman companion later) and decided to create a totally new character (Batwoman) only to save the title; character that eventually was dropped when the witch hunt climate ended.

[Jim Kelly]

I think Kathy Kane was dropped from the Schwartz edited Batman because Julie wanted to do his own thing with Batman and he wanted to clear the decks--he even got rid of Alfred and replaced him with Aunt Harriet for the same concern that people would think Wayne Manor was a gay hang-out.

Yet Mort Weisinger did use Kathy Kane a bit in his WORLD'S FINEST, even as Schwartz was housecleaning. She was the mother of Batman Jr., in the original Supersons stories--just as she had been prior the mother of Bruce Wayne, Jr. in the Jack Schiff edited tales of a possible future (which Alfred had written, in story).

I have no disgust with the stories of the original Batwoman or all those Batman family stories from the Schiff era. I love them for what they are. You just have to get in the groove of what they're selling. It might not be everyone's taste, but they have their own merits.

I think Sheldon Moldoff, as the Bob Kane ghost, did a great job on those tales. He had a way of drawing Batman, with just a few lines, that conveyed Batman's absolute terror at women and anything to do with sex. Or that's the subtext I see. But I can just envision Batman squirming every time he gets near a woman--as if this kind of feeling is not something he can handle. Since these stories were made for little kids--it was probably something little boys related to. This absolute panic when getting near a girl and all that mush.

[Tzigone]

also Selina has reformed and became a crimefighter in the past
she can still be a strong character without being a thief and criminal
out of all the Batman rogues, she's the one that is most likely would reform and be a hero

I think Catwoman was set up from the get-go as "not that bad." Relevant plot-point at several times. And she didn't kill - also a big deal. Of course that went down the drain later.

I do think Selina has potential. I like the idea of BatCat, but only after Selina is reformed. And she can't reform just so Batman will date her, because that makes her actions all about him, and that's a no-go for me (also really hate him saving her early and motivating change to Catwomanness - much prefer golden age meeting after Robin is around where he had no part in making her). But the flip-flopping is absolutely a problem. Irritating, frustrating, and ultimately meaningless because it has no longevity. IMO, she should have reformed and stayed reformed.

I've always found it fascinating that arguable Batman's two biggest love interests, Selina and Talia, are both criminals (or ex-criminals as the case may be). I suppose it really says something about him...

Is there an older comic (bronze age) where Selina calls him out on his interest in Nocturna and how he has a thing for bad girls and when she (Selina) is reformed he's less interested except when the villainess he's interested in does something too bad? I absolutely have not read this, and only read someone commenting on it, so may have the details all wrong. I definitely think Batman has a thing for bad girls (part of it just being that love interests are often only included if they are going to "do" something and villain and victim are the two major roles in a superhero comic for the non-hero). Not sure I think it has anything to do with his own suppressed traits or criminal potential.

Never like Talia. Vicki is fine, but not a character I'd care about seeing in a major role as a love interest (someone else's supporting character in a non-LI capacity could work). Julie's forgettable and pretty unimportant, despite being a fiancee. Kathy makes no impression on me (and just because she has the same last name later given to Bruce's mother does not mean that they needed to in any way be connected - it's a pretty common name). Silver, I liked, but I liked her in the way that I liked that she was both smart enough to figure it out, but didn't want to stay or be involved. I liked the dynamic for being something different. For the idea that she could date him, know him, and choose not to be with him and go on to a (likely) happy life without him. Of course, then they brought her back and destroyed all that. I hate good characters being brought back only to be miserable, evil, or murdered.

[Restingvoice]

Morrison used that trope. Batman guessed that Jezebel Jet is evil because he's so attracted to her.