Final Bets - Batman #50: Will Batman and Catwoman get married?

[nightw1ng]

It's almost here. The marriage between Batman and Catwoman is supposed to happen in Batman #50, which will be released next week. Taking into account preceding and prelude issues, future solicitations, or even just your gut feeling, do you believe the marriage will happen?

[Sacred Knight]

Yes, not just because I'd like to to happen, but because it has to happen at this point for the integrity of the run.

[Nite-Wing]

Its not a real marriage anyway so its not like Bruce Wayne is losing his playboy moniker and marrying a convicted criminal

[Sacred Knight]

It would very much be real. Just hidden. Bruce still being a swinging single would just be another aspect to the mask.

[Miles To Go]

Very tough to call.

We've had the happy ending already in that annual, but that could have been an out-of-continuity tale.

The solicitations see Selina on the run with "noone to turn to" (would Bruce really let Selina down like that right after marrying? I can only see that being possible if Selina urges him not to interfere in a personal mission for her)

Bruce is alone in Doomsday Clock

I'm with Sacred in that the decision to wed or not wed the two will make or break King's run for many readers, but it won't surprise me if it goes the opposite way.

[millernumber1]

I think yes. Because it's something we haven't seen before.

[Restingvoice]

There's like 50 variants, 5 Preludes, a wedding album and a year of prep on this. The closest thing is the 75th anniversary with variants in all titles, an anniversary volume, Batman Day and 52 issues Eternal series.

Yes.

How is No higher??

[Carabas]

Its not a real marriage anyway so its not like Bruce Wayne is losing his playboy moniker and marrying a convicted criminal

I'm unsure why they're calling it a marriage. I suppose it'll sell better than "Batman and Catwoman shack up".

[HandofPrometheus]

My heart says yes but my mind is telling me no. I'll go with yes.

[MajorHoy]

I think yes. Because it's something we haven't seen before.

Well, not on this Earth.

[MajorHoy]

Another later view (from a different book):

[millernumber1]

Well, not on this Earth.

Well, yes. But you could also pull up JLA: The Nail for that.

I don't think a Batmarriage has ever been seen explored in an in-continuity book where Batman, not the next generation, is the focus? But I have a very fuzzy knowledge of Earth Two/pre-Year One stuff.

[godisawesome]

I'm voting yes, based off the supposition that Batman, of all DC's characters, has the longest history of writers pulling off ballsy, status quo shaking storylines, and that even when those storylines are undone. They take the long road back and add it to the character's lore. I'm alos going to wait and see if the marriage is confirmed before I buy it; I haven't been buying the run up to this point because I figure it it's good, the trade will be what I want, and King's style doesn't work for me in elongated release form.

To my first point for why they should do this, think on how many times they've pulled off stuff of the same enormity and it's worked out:

-They killed Jason Todd, kept him dead for decades and actually got a major storyline and character shift with bringing him back only after he'd become a major part of the mythos fro his death first.
-They had Bane break Bruce's back, replaced him with Azrael, and got an epic story not just about Az taking on Bane, but then going crazy and getting defeated by the returning Bruce.
-They turned Gotham into a Mad Max-style No Man's Land, and it was an epic story from beginning to end and even impacted the DCU as a whole thanks to clever use of Lex Luthor.
-They retired Commisioner Gordon for a while by having him shot in the back, and got Gotham Central out of it.
-Grant Morrison got to do the entire insanity of Batman RIP and Batman and Robin with DickBats, and its a legendary run for it.
-Scott Snyder got to go nuts with Joker in two separate storylines, replace Bruce with Gordon for a while, and made them bank.

About the only two outright bad gambles they took were War Games, which got undone when people realized that Dan Didio-mandated deaths of cult favorite characters was a bad idea, and the decision to incorporate TKJ into continuity, but even that's arguably only been made bad because after decades-worth of solid work with Babs as Oracle that managed to pull a diamond from the rough, they tried to change it with a cosmic retcon and just made the situation worse.

Heck, at one point they even reversed course on an "out of continuity" idea to let Morrison bring in Damian.

Batman is a property that does great with stuff like this. And they've even soft-balled it by making it "Catwoman" marrying "Batman" instead of Selina Kyle marring Bruce Wayne. I mean, Bruce was already written as one of the few heroes who could totally go through a divorce or break up if necessary and come out fine on the other end without needing to damage his signifance other, but keeping it strictly in the costumes? You've basically got a giant "reset" button that requires no cosmic retcons, and maybe not even any epic storyline to break them up if you're desperate too.

Honestly, King's run may need something like this to mark it out in the same way Morrison had RIP and Snyder has DOTF, Endgame, and Batmech. If it's just an empty publicity stunt, then big whoop, who cares?

[nonsense man]

If they marry the bat cat aspects it will be undone easily during or after kings run. Yes it is a an easy reset button I agree with that. So if that is the case why do it in the first place just for sales. I guess that is the reason. I apposed it because their goals in life are totally different which makes divorce inevitable maybe that is why dc makes sure bruce never dates a heroine because that would be impossible to undue

[SiegePerilous02]

Yes, not just because I'd like to to happen, but because it has to happen at this point for the integrity of the run.

Pretty much this.