Who is Bruce's best love interest?

[John Venus]

Talia is like that chick who seems so sweet and nice at first, you go on a few dates with her, meet her father but then as you get to know her, she starts to unravel and then you realize that she is into some weird QAnon type **** which completely evaporates your interest in her but not her interest in you and you find yourself running for your life and leaping out of a three storey window and making a break for it as fast as you can.

[SiegePerilous02]

Talia is like that chick who seems so sweet and nice at first, you go on a few dates with her, meet her father but then as you get to know her, she starts to unravel and then you realize that she is into some weird QAnon type **** which completely evaporates your interest in her but not her interest in you and you find yourself running for your life and leaping out of a three storey window and making a break for it as fast as you can.

Pretty much. Beyond the obvious (they're both hot and "forbidden" to each other), I don't see the main long term appear for Bruce

[spatterdasher]

I think Bruce's #1 needs to be a rogue or ex-rogue. It really fits best. He can't separate himself from his purpose as Batman, and the rogues ARE his purpose.

So for me that leaves Catwoman, Andrea, Talia, or Harley. I've never really liked Talia much personally, though.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I picked "other" and was thinking of Zatanna. But honestly I can't see Bruce longterm with anyone.

Catwoman is probably his best option in terms of supervillianness.

Never really cared for his civilian love interest or haven't read most of their material.

I have a soft spot for Diana/Bruce but I don't see it lasting all that long.

[Sacred Knight]

Catwoman being the clear #1 and Talia the clear #2 is about what I would expect from this question. I wouldn't be surprised though if before the Morrison saga the gap might have been smaller.

[MajorHoy]

Catwoman being the clear #1 and Talia the clear #2 is about what I would expect from this question. I wouldn't be surprised though if before the Morrison saga the gap might have been smaller.

Well, remember, back in the 1970s, Bruce had married Selina on Earth-2. So it seems like a "thing" that easily pre-dates Morrison's run.

[TheBatman]

Why doesn't he need a "THE" love interest? If it protects us from nonsense like Bruce/WW or Bruce/Barbara, it can only be a good thing.

If you think it's a bad thing...sorry, but too bad. It's pretty much already happened loooooong before any of the current stuff in the comics. She won on the biggest stage (other media) a long time ago, so even the comics are secondary. She's already had two big movie releases as a love interest, and looks to be getting a third (and maybe more). The reason the other love interests don't make it in is because they really aren't that compelling or offering anything unique that other superhero love interests offer. For the comics, Silver and Sasha are ok but have a limited shelf life.

She's the default because she doesn't have that much compelling competition.

Yeah, there's a lot here that I find disputable, and we're not going to change each others minds on this, so I'll just agree to disagree.

[Starrius]

I picked "other" and was thinking of Zatanna. But honestly I can't see Bruce longterm with anyone.

Catwoman is probably his best option in terms of supervillianness.

Never really cared for his civilian love interest or haven't read most of their material.

I have a soft spot for Diana/Bruce but I don't see it lasting all that long.

Catwoman has been an anti-heroine for decades

[Captain Nostalgia]

While Catwoman is the classic choice, I went with Talia.

I always felt that it added an extra dimension of intrigue between Bruce and Ra's al Ghul.

[Jackalope89]

You know, given time to really think about it; its himself.

[Restingvoice]

Nah it's Gotham. Batman is Gothamsexual.

[MajorHoy]

Nah it's Gotham. Batman is Gothamsexual.

Or, another thought . . .

[TheBatman]

Or, another thought . . .

This is the best answer to the question.

Everyone on the poll is just battling for the title of "Bruce's best temporary distraction from his obsession with justice".

[PurpleGlovez]

After reading Gerry Conway and Doug Moench's pre-Crisis runs (some of the best Batman ever) I became enamored with the idea of Vicki Vale. Basically in those runs they start dating and get to a point where they both actually love each other, but the timing is always screwed up and one of them is always distant for some reason or another, eventually Vicki says screw it and cuts Bruce off and this guy from work goes after her but she hooks up with this buff-ass dude from her gym. Bruce is also grappling with his Batman identity at the time and Nocturna and Catwoman are vying for his affections also. One night, as Batman, he peeks in on Vicki and her boyfriend hanging out and he supposedly feels nothing, and comes to the conclusion that, as Batman, he must not really love Vicki.

However... I like to think there's a part of him that still wants her, and vice versa. When they brought back Vicki post-Crisis, originally she was a liberal anti-Batman crusader who admired Bruce for his charitable work, but then later on she becomes more generic and once again cucks Bruce for her cameraman. Finally, after a nice cameo in Morrison's run where she is clearly resentful of Bruce and Jezebel's releationship, we get the whole saga in the Batman Reborn era where she deduces Batman's identity. Personally I think that should have been a way bigger deal and they should have played with it more. She's had some okay showings in the New 52 but nothing like her halcyon days.

She's also pretty good in Batman '89 and The Batman vs. Dracula. There's just a tenderness and something unspoken between them that reminds me of my real-life relationships with women. Talia might be my second pick. Julie Madison has potential (see: Wagner, Morrison) but Snyder totally squandered it in his run. Sasha Bordeaux gets an honorable mention for...

spoilers:

That full-page scene where Bruce just says "I love you". Rucka actually makes you believe it, which is astonishing.

end of spoilers

King ruined Catwoman forever which is sad.

[SiegePerilous02]

King ruined Catwoman forever which is sad.

I don't think he has. It's not like any one writer has the power to permanently ruin an iconic relationship, especially since we're dealing with Batman here who isn't bound to one continuity even in the mainstream comics.

She's showing up in a movie and she's clearly going to be significant, and more people will see that movie than ever read a Tom King comic.