“Batman” readers have eagerly anticipated this comic book event for over a year, and once again, Tom King (with the help of an all-star roster of artists) mines Batman and Catwoman’s shared history to craft a narrative that celebrates what brought the two Gotham City icons together and what has kept them apart.
Written by Tom KingCover by Mikel Janin
Illustrated by Mikel Janin and others
Colored by June Chung
Lettered by Clayton CowlesIt’s the wedding you never thought you’d see! The Batrimony is real as Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are set to tie the knot in a can’t-miss, extra-length milestone issue that will reshape Gotham City. All their friends (and a few enemies?) will be party to a comic book coupling for the ages. Superstar scribe Tom King officiates the sure-to-be-offbeat nuptials, joined by an all-star lineup of guest classic Bat-artists doffing their hats to the lucky couple in a series of pre-wedding flashback scenes sure to set the romantic mood.
Initially, “Batman” #50 feels like ground that has been tread already in issue 44. Like issue 44, the principal narrative serves as a framing device for a meditation on the nature of Batman and Catwoman’s relationship, and, let’s be honest, an excuse to have a talented array of artists provide pin-up style splash pages that evoke Bruce and Selina’s decades-spanning history. Luckily, the issue quickly moves beyond the comparison by giving us a character study that sheds a light on these two just when we suspected that there was nothing else to know.
Like the Sam and Diane of Gotham’s rooftops, there has always been an attraction between the two, but their fundamental outlooks on life have kept them apart. Like relationship role-playing that’s all fun and games until somebody gets thrown in jail, their high stakes flirtations coupled with Batman’s willingness to bend the rules and Selina’s penchant for committing largely victimless crimes made it seem like the two could eventually find a way to be together. After all, they both like nighttime and long falls from tall buildings.
For much of Tom King’s Rebirth run, Selina has been Bruce’s partner, and the two have worked well together and confided in each other more than Batman would ever do with a sidekick. The two have been equals in every way, and they have shared more than either one probably ever thought possible. Two intimate and independently-produced letters serve as the framing device for issue 50, and they acknowledge both characters’ similarities and differences, their yin and yang, their devotion to one another. In King’s trademark fashion, there is a focal point throughout these declarations, and it’s fitting that it’s in each character’s eyes and what they say about themselves. It’s in this that King uncovers a novel truth (as he often does) about characters approaching 80-years-old. Batman covers his eyes, thereby hiding who he really is. Catwoman’s eyes have always been visible. She has nothing to hide. If the old proverb is true, that the eyes are the windows of the soul, then the irony is that the opaque lenses in Batman’s cowl don’t really hide anything. He is steadfast and unyielding, an avenging angel whose motivation has always been simple and clear. Selina’s eyes betray a mercurial nature which she uses to her advantage, and her eyes are as much a declaration of her willingness to be seen as they are a defense mechanism and weapon.
The central theme of “Batman” 50 is twofold: Can Bruce be happy and still be Batman. Marrying Selina would make him happy, but would he then lose the tragic motivation he would need to be the dark knight. Conversely, can Selina truly be a hero, which she would have to be if sharing a bed with Gotham City’s caped crusader? One could argue that the two wouldn’t need to worry about carrying on their respective mantles as Batman and Catwoman, but by the end of the issue, it’s clear that neither is ready to give up their alter egos just yet. In the past, it might have been sufficient grist for the mill to wonder how a hero and a sometimes villain could ever make a go of it, but King is unsatisfied with that dynamic here. Here, he’s focusing on what’s underneath the dynamic. It’s not just that old chestnut of a hero and villain being two sides of the same coin. What makes these characters unique? What would each be giving up to be together? Suffice it to say that it’s not just having the bat cave all to oneself.
Continued belowAt this point in King’s series run, what else can be said of Mikel Janin’s draftsmanship that hasn’t already been said? His linework and June Chung’s color choices, running from warm to cool as the wedding day gives way to wedding night then predawn, serves as a thematic link to the proceedings. The two artists tie the book together and give it a cohesive feel when it could have easily devolved into a cavalcade of competing art styles just begging readers to pick a favorite page. It’s one of the greatest strengths of the issue that it transcends the publishing event presentation to be a satisfying narrative, and Janin and Chung are largely responsible for making sure King’s script doesn’t play second fiddle to the hype. It’s solid and emotionally stirring superhero artwork without the super heroics.
Much has been made of DC’s decision to allow a story to be run in The New York Times that effectively spoiled the conclusion of “Batman” #50. Frankly, the resulting ire rings false because what happens in this issue is less important than why it happens. In that case, this is a review that is laden with spoilers. If there is a weakness to the issue, it’s in the seemingly sudden and offhand way that these two characters arrive at the eventuality of the final pages after so much time together. Perhaps it’s because each is finally disarmed, vulnerable, and, for the first time in a long time, confiding to someone else or taking another’s counsel. In the end, the issue soars by saying something new about the characters without forgetting their legacies. It even bothers to effectively dovetail into a menace for future issues. Those who dare to trifle with these two after this issue should be pitied.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Tom King and Company have delivered an event-style “Batman” issue that transcends the hype by counterintuitively focusing on tiny kernels of monumental truth.
