It's finally here, after fifty issues, multiple tie-ins, over three dozen variant covers, and even it's own Spotify playlist, the long-awaited wedding between Batman and Catwoman is finally here. While a wedding, solidifying the relationship between bat and cat was something I had always secretly wanted it was never anything I'd ever dreamed of seeing in comics. After all according to Dan Didio; "People in Gotham can never be happy." So when it was announced that the iconic couple would finally be tieing the knot, I was skeptical but keenly excited.
Tom King has been masterfully crafting this from issue one of his Rebirth run. From the beginning, I've stood by the opinion that Tom King is one of the best, if not the best writer for Batman. Each arc has been engaging, bringing something unique to both the main character and it's supporting cast. At the end of it all, every single issue was pinnacle leading up to this very moment.
Tom King, Mikel Janin, and the rest of the guest artists on issue fifty pulled off a feat like no other. As usual, King is poetic with his words, as love letters to both characters are quite literally spanned across the forty-four-page issue. It's one of the most romantic stories I've read in a long time and is one that I'll find myself reading over and over again. It's one of those issues you'll discover new details with each read. We're treated to multiple splash images, from several guest artists including Greg Capullo, Amanda Conner, Becky Cloonan and many more. These splashes feature the iconic couple spanning across, costumes, timelines and decades. In fact the splash pages are the only gripe I had about this issue. Personally, I felt like they should have been arranged better, chronicling the years these two have spent together, rather than having these pages haphazardly sprinkled throughout the issue. That's a minuscule detail compared to the rest of the issue, and it doesn't even come close to hurting how the story is presented.
*****Spoilers ahead so make sure to pick up a copy of Batman #50 before continuing any further!
Despite it's ending, the love both for and between these characters cannot be denied.
As for the ending and how I feel about it, I'm shocked, astounded, floored, you name it and that's how I feel. I fully expected for an interruption in some sort of way, either from the majority of Batman's iconic rogue gallery or just the Joker himself (as most of the variants would speculate). But to discover this was planned almost from the beginning from Bane himself, I'm pleasently pleased. I almost immediately found myself going back to Batman volume 2 with Tom King's "I Am Suicide" arc in an attempt to catch any details I might have missed. We're still foggy on some details, so there's no clear consenus on what exactly went down, but I'm sure that will be explained in a future arc and is something I look forward to. Bane is one of my favorites, and other then Hush, he's the one I feel and know could truly bring Batman down forever if he wanted to.
Just because there was no wedding does not mean that the love between these characters is over. In both my opinion and theory I was banking on the failure of this union. In fact, I even went as far as to wanting to see Selina, "betray" Bruce, her love for him being merely a ruse in midst of something much greater. Now while that may be just what happened we don't know for sure yet and only time will tell. While I like the idea of Catwoman and Batman being in love, I don't like the idea of them being together, at least not from a marriage standpoint. It's great to the see the two happy together in the occasional Elseworld story, and I loved the buildup between them from Tom King in previous issues, but in the long run, seeing these two married would more then likely end up stale, even with a powerful force like Tom King behind them. The great thing about Bruce and Selina's dynamic, is in their relationship, and in it's evolution and adaption to the events going on around them. From a Catwoman stand point, her driving factor in what makes her a good character is that grey morality which acts as a perfect foil to Batman's own "white knight" purpose.
If you've been on the internet the past few days, you'll see that consenus is generally split down the middle.
It's frusterating to see people so upset over something as trivial as a wedding ceremony (or lack thereof) I've seen fans attack the creators, and even go so far as to cancel their own issues or variants because of it. I've even seen some people hope for the downfall of the new Catwoman series because of the outcome of the wedding. (Which is stupid because Catwoman #1 was amazing, is on sale now and is something you should be reading) We've been through fifty issues thus far, fifty issues celebrating the love between the Bat and the Cat, and according to Tom King, we're in for at least another fifty more. I've even seen rumors about a child between Bruce and Selina that will be revealed possibly by issue seventy-five in an attempt to bring Helena Wayne into the canon universe (which I'm totally for!). So again their relationship is far from over.
There's so much more involved here then just the title of husband and wife, and unfortunately, people aren't seeing that. As I said before this isn't the end of the relationship between Selina, and Bruce but rather just another obstacle they'll learn and adapt from. I guaruntee the payoff at the end of this all will be well worth its outcome. Besides, if you're really that upset over not being able to see an all-out wedding, that's exactly why the internet created fanfiction.
Now there are some that are calling this a bait and switch, with an elaborate wedding teased for months only to have the rug pulled out from under it's readers and fans. While I'll admit DC went full guns blazing with this event, it's what to be expected with a company like this. Some call it corporate greed, but it's what to be expected when trying to generate sales and hype for something like this Besides Marvel did almost the same thing (even if on a smaller scale) with X-Men Gold and the wedding (or lack thereof, SPOILER) between Kitty Pride and Colossus. Yet the backlash for that wasn't nearly as severe.
So no, I'm not upset or even angry that the wedding didn't happen. I don't feel played, or "baited" because, in its own way, this is exactly what I expected, and what I even wanted. I'm still happy with my variants, and the build-up towards this iconic issue, and with how it happened as a whole. It's okay if you didn't like it, and okay if you did, but I feel like a lot of people are hasty with their emotions and their thoughts on the issue. If you didn't like it I'd seriously consider giving it a second chance. Most importantly give the future of Batman and Catwoman, both in their individual series and their characters. a chance to thrive as well.
If you haven't checked out Batman #50 it's on sale now at your local comic shop or digitally at Comixology. If you have read it let me know what you think!
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