INTERVIEW: King & Jones On Batman & Catwoman’s Wedding and Beyond

[Miles To Go]

CBR: The aspect of the wedding issue that really stands out to me is the tension in the story of whether Bruce and Selina can make their relationships work. Can you talk to the idea of a happy ending for these characters? Is it possible for them to find love and have a satisfying dramatic story?

King: The unique thing about Batman/Bruce Wayne is that happiness is not a happy ending for him. Bruce thrives on pain. That’s what motivates him. That’s what writers have always emphasized with him. If we give him more pain, he becomes a more motivated character. So when you give him happiness, you’re giving him conflict. Most characters, when you give them happiness, you’re boring them. But happiness is conflict to Bruce. It’s something you haven’t seen before, and I think it’s possible to maintain that.

That said… I also think it’s possible to go in the other direction. You can make him utterly happy and then take it all away from him. So whatever happens, it’s going to be something crazy and something you’ve never seen before. The stakes are going to be super high. And whatever happens in #50, I think #51 is going to be even crazier.

https://www.cbr.com/batman-catwoman-...ew-king-jones/

[nonsense man]

Well if that is the case they picked the right character to pair him off with and guarantee that state

[millernumber1]

https://www.cbr.com/batman-catwoman-...ew-king-jones/

I still have hope that in some way, we're going out of #50 with them married. Because honestly, if you say "we've never seen Batman sad after a breakup before", that doesn't seem true. See also: Hush. I really want to see Batman working with the conflict of being married.

[Frontier]

I still have hope that in some way, we're going out of #50 with them married. Because honestly, if you say "we've never seen Batman sad after a breakup before", that doesn't seem true. See also: Hush. I really want to see Batman working with the conflict of being married.

Or when Silver dumped him.

Or when Sasha left him. And Julie.

Or when that one girl went off to a convent.

Bruce has been dumped a lot.

[millernumber1]

Or when Silver dumped him.

Or when Sasha left him. And Julie.

Or when that one girl went off to a convent.

Bruce has been dumped a lot.

Exactly! I just think hope that King knows that Batman being dumped isn't something we haven't seen before.

[Miles To Go]

I still have hope that in some way, we're going out of #50 with them married. Because honestly, if you say "we've never seen Batman sad after a breakup before", that doesn't seem true. See also: Hush. I really want to see Batman working with the conflict of being married.

Exactly. Loads of women (including Selina) have dumped him several times in a variety of eras.

They're only ever teaching a new generation the same thing if they do it again and frustrating the rest of us.

[dietrich]

I always feel sorry for Comic Book Shippers. It's a fool's errand.

[Sacred Knight]

At this point its not even about shipping anymore. Its just about not f'ing around with your audience to this degree. Hyping something up like this for this long, via story and advertising combined, then pulling the rug out, is not good twist storytelling. Its storytelling equivalent of being malicious. Its wasting readers' time and in this case, money as I'm sure there are those who have hopped on specifically because of this happening. This has been going on for just over a year, if you count the actual proposal. 8 months if you start at her answer. With "wedding-themed lead-up issues and extra special Wedding themed variants. They went all-in from an advertising and marketing standpoint in this regard, and they've gone all-in via the story in regards to the length of time its been drawn out. To not do it I'd consider a suicide move for this run.

[Jackalope89]

Keep them married, and keep it hush-hush. Because the two being in a long term marriage IS something new for them, at least on Earth Prime. It adds a new dynamic for them both. And maybe one day, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle could get married, and not just Batman and Catwoman.

[Sacred Knight]

Hell if anything I think if there's a twist it could be that Bruce Wayne DOES marry Selina Kyle. Make the "Bat" "Cat" thing that people have complained was so overused come full circle. Joker says Batman can't get married? Maybe they say know what, he's right. So Batman won't get married. Catwoman won't get married. Bruce and Selina will. And its symbolized by them actually dropping the pet names for (maybe?) the first time in this run.

[gregpersons]

The only thing that prevents Bruce Wayne from marrying Selina Kyle publicly is that she's still wrongfully accused of the murders Holly committed.

Otherwise, I see no reason why eccentric billionaire playboy marries Catwoman without exposing his secret ID any more than he already has. After all, Wayne has funded Batman Inc, Victims Inc, the Justice League, and tons of other philanthropist/superhero causes. Wayne has been accused and cleared of murder himself; it's just something that happens in Gotham.

Moreover, Selina is part of high society circles. She was Bruce's date to the opera in Hush. In both Batman Returns and Dark Knight Rises, we see scenes with Selina & Bruce at masquerade balls. It's part of the character's DNA.

But, now that I really think about the secret ID, especially after marrying Catwoman, at this point, everyone in Bruce's life is a superhero, basically. He could totally do the Iron Man thing and be public. Draw the criminals attention to heavily guarded (by Batman Inc Bat-bots) Wayne Enterprises, the public Bat Cave / merch shop, and Wayne Manor.

Criminals need to fear the Bat, because he is everywhere, and always watching. He has tons of allies, technology, and now that he's a public community asset, people can make their voices heard. If the Batmobile crashes into your house, this is where you get retributions. Or if you think your roommate is getting abused by their boyfriend, and the GCPD won't listen, try the Bat Hot-line.

Alfred Pennyworth and Tim Drake, then, can run the Batman Inc side of Wayne Enterprises, answering the red phone, in tandem with Lucius and Luke Fox running the corporate side. What does a truly good-hearted multinational billion dollar company look like in the world of superheroes? Funding the Sanctuary, maybe?

It'd be an interesting twist!

[dietrich]

The only thing that prevents Bruce Wayne from marrying Selina Kyle publicly is that she's still wrongfully accused of the murders Holly committed.

Otherwise, I see no reason why eccentric billionaire playboy marries Catwoman without exposing his secret ID any more than he already has. After all, Wayne has funded Batman Inc, Victims Inc, the Justice League, and tons of other philanthropist/superhero causes. Wayne has been accused and cleared of murder himself; it's just something that happens in Gotham.

Moreover, Selina is part of high society circles. She was Bruce's date to the opera in Hush. In both Batman Returns and Dark Knight Rises, we see scenes with Selina & Bruce at masquerade balls. It's part of the character's DNA.

But, now that I really think about the secret ID, especially after marrying Catwoman, at this point, everyone in Bruce's life is a superhero, basically. He could totally do the Iron Man thing and be public. Draw the criminals attention to heavily guarded (by Batman Inc Bat-bots) Wayne Enterprises, the public Bat Cave / merch shop, and Wayne Manor.

Criminals need to fear the Bat, because he is everywhere, and always watching. He has tons of allies, technology, and now that he's a public community asset, people can make their voices heard. If the Batmobile crashes into your house, this is where you get retributions. Or if you think your roommate is getting abused by their boyfriend, and the GCPD won't listen, try the Bat Hot-line.

Alfred Pennyworth and Tim Drake, then, can run the Batman Inc side of Wayne Enterprises, answering the red phone, in tandem with Lucius and Luke Fox running the corporate side. What does a truly good-hearted multinational billion dollar company look like in the world of superheroes? Funding the Sanctuary, maybe?

It'd be an interesting twist!

Is there such a thing?

[nonsense man]

Could be possible if they wish to do that. I knew this was a bad publicity stunt from the start or an excuse to degrade batmans character

[Baggie_Saiyan]

At this point its not even about shipping anymore. Its just about not f'ing around with your audience to this degree. Hyping something up like this for this long, via story and advertising combined, then pulling the rug out, is not good twist storytelling. Its storytelling equivalent of being malicious. Its wasting readers' time and in this case, money as I'm sure there are those who have hopped on specifically because of this happening. This has been going on for just over a year, if you count the actual proposal. 8 months if you start at her answer. With "wedding-themed lead-up issues and extra special Wedding themed variants. They went all-in from an advertising and marketing standpoint in this regard, and they've gone all-in via the story in regards to the length of time its been drawn out. To not do it I'd consider a suicide move for this run.

I'm sure that people who jumped on were wary about the potential of it not happening. It is comic books after all.

[Miles To Go]

I'm sure that people who jumped on were wary about the potential of it not happening. It is comic books after all.

DC probably did too...which is why we got that annual last year depicting the bittersweet happy ending, if the marriage doesn't happen, that story is the ideal jumping-off point for those readers.