After 77 years, Selina’s supposed to answer this week…
The War of Jokes and Riddles wraps this week and Selina Kyle is supposed to answer Bruce Wayne’s proposal from Batman #24:
Pencils by David Finch
I’m gonna try to avoid spoilers until Wednesday when Issue #32 — by Tom King, Mikel Janin and June Chung — comes out, but I do have 13 REASONS I think Selina should say yes. (And I think she will, actually).
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UPDATED 10/4/17: The issue is out now. For 13 QUICK THOUGHTS on Batman #32, click here. And yes there are SPOILERS there.
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Here goes:
1. We’ve never seen Main Batman Get Married For Real. We’ve seen Batman married in non-canonical/alternate-dimension timelines. That’s fine, but those stories will always carry an asterisk, no matter how well done they are.
Jim Aparo
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2. There’s all sorts of fresh storytelling potential with all sorts of new perspectives and obstacles. Batman-as-father has been fertile ground — just ask Peter Tomasi, who’s done some of his best work with Bruce and Damian. Batman-as-husband opens new avenues, as well.
Art by Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray
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3. I love the idea of a Catwoman and Robin partnership. Both are complex characters with independent, antiheroic tendencies. They could drive each other crazy or be a great team — most likely both. All I know is I would love a 6-issue Catwoman and Robin series.
4. I mean, just imagine those awkward custody drop-offs with Talia.
Art by Jim Lee and Scott Williams.
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5. More covers like this:
Darwyn Cooke
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6. Alfred and Catwoman would be fantastic together. Just imagine the two of them driving Bruce crazy in the Batcave with their repartee.
7. I disagree with the idea that marrying two characters off can be the undoing of a hero. Superman and Lois are the perfect example of how well it can work.
John Byrne
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8. Speaking of, this does put DC in a jackpot. When they broke up Lois and Clark for the New 52 — and when Marvel split Parker and Mary Jane in Spider-Man’s One More Day — fans lost their minds. So it’s not like you can easily undo this.
Art by Joe Quesada and Danny Miki
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9. Then again, if Married Batman and Catwoman has potential — Divorced Batman and Catwoman has even more potential.
10. Come to think of it, just because Selina says yes, it doesn’t mean they’ll go through with it. Jilted Batman and Catwoman would be interesting too. (Though we’ve seen that before.)
Dick Giordano
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11. More covers like this:
Javier Pulido
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12. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten a good old-fashioned superhero wedding. Maybe Bruce and Selina and Modern Arthur and Mera should make it a two-fer.
Nick Cardy. The first Aquawedding.
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13. And maybe it’ll inspire Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon to finally follow suit.
Aparo
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UPDATED 10/4/17: The issue is out now. For 13 QUICK THOUGHTS on Batman #32, click here. And yes there are SPOILERS there.
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October 1, 2017
Tom King’s Batman run has been about engagement; the introduction of Gotham Girl, the origin of Ace, the return of Kite Man; and he writes a great Catwoman. After Ed Brubaker’s classic run on her title, she’s too complex a character to restrict her to lifting diamonds from safes. It took Green Arrow 35 years to marry Black Canary even though they didn’t last; Aquaman married Mera in a year but their marriage keeps getting ret-conned – the only way to give Batman an inner life is to put him on the marriage track… where that track goes is why we call it comic books and not real life 😀
October 3, 2017
I have to (again) strongly disagree with point # 1. Earth-2 WAS canonical for 47 years, until “Crisis on Infinite Earths” which destroyed the DC Multiverse, ended the Bronze Age, and (for me) ruined DC comics. Earth-2 was the home of the DC Golden Age characters. The Earth-2 Batman is the exact same Batman that my Dad grew up reading in the 1940s. The Earth-2 Batman is the Jerry Robinson Batman and the Dick Sprang Batman. That Batman married Selina Kyle and they had a daughter named Helena Wayne who became The Huntress. The Huntress has been part of the DC universe for 40 years. The original Sandman, Dr. Fate, and Power Girl all came from Earth-2. So did the Justice Society of America. Editorial decisions to retrocon characters to support the ill-advised decision to kill Earth-2 does not diminish the significance of the original stories. They carry no asterisk in my book.
October 3, 2017
OK, except by the time the ’70s rolled around, Earth-2 was the “other” Earth. Not the main Earth. We’ve never seen anything like this.
October 3, 2017
I loved seeing that cover for “Batman: Gotham Adventures” #50 again.
Then I was reminded who illustrated it. What a loss but what a legacy.
October 3, 2017
Beautifully put.