It seems like a lifetime ago now that the comics internet exploded because the much-hyped wedding between Batman and Catwoman yielded no actual marriage and instead a betrayal. Catwoman was working with Bane to mentally and emotionally break Batman, and it more or less worked for a while. Turns out that Bane was, in turn, working for the Batman of the Flashpoint universe and…well, it’s a whole, long story. 85 issues long, in fact, as writer Tom King wrapped his run with this week’s issue. And, as most fans expected, he had to revisit the events of Batman #50 again, 35 issues later, to try and reconcile the biggest dangling question of his run.
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And fans DID get an answer. It’s one that will probably be expanded upon in King’s upcoming Batman/Catwoman series with Clay Mann, but it also might not be the answer a lot of fans were hoping for.
Spoilers ahead for Batman #85. Click away if you’re squeamish about that sort of thing.
Lying in bed together, the pair seemingly take a formal wedding and marriage off the table, opting instead to commit to one another in a way that will not require a ring and a church — things that can be sabotaged.
“After what we’ve been through, after the years, the deaths…I don’t need a judge,” Selina tells Bruce. “Or a dress, or an audience to know…that you…you and I…The Bat and the Cat, we are forever.”
Bruce responds simply, “I…I love you, Cat. I always will.”
This feels like an official relationship, but one that avoids labels. That obviously has its pluses and minuses in the real world, although some fans will likely note that this has been more or less that Bat/Cat norm since they started having sex on rooftops with their costumes on during the New 52 relaunch.
It’s likely that their new relationship status quo will be explored in Batman/Catwoman, and the combination of that knowledge with the fact that we know this is not the real “ending” to King’s long-planned run but instead a stop along the way so that he can move to Bat/Cat and DC can inject some new blood into Batman makes the whole conversation a little more of a tease for the future rather than an “ending,” per se.
Batman #85 is available in comic shops and digitally now. King and Mann’s Batman/Catwoman #1 will be in stores this March.
