Batman/Catwoman bring Bruce Wayne’s first true love into comic canon but instead of feeling jealous of Batman’s ex, Selina may have found a kindred spirit.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman/Catwoman #1 by Tom King, Clay Mann, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles on sale now.
Batman and Catwoman’s relationship has gone through many changes over the years. As the hero Batman and the villain Catwoman — known out of their costumes as Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle — their romance seemed highly doubtful before it ever got going. Yet there was something between the two characters, a flirtation that eventually grew into an engagement. Although the pair ultimately decided it was best for them not to get married, they still share a strong bond of love and physical affection for each other.
In the new series Batman/Catwoman, the couple finally shares a title in the DC comic universe. However, the story does not set up the characters for a happily ever after. An old flame of Bruce’s comes back to Gotham asking for a favor. When Batman tells Catwoman that Andrea Beaumont visited him, she knows that Andrea was Bruce’s first true love.
The 1993 animated film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, introduced Andrea as the daughter of a wealthy businessman who understood Bruce’s pain as she too had lost a parent. Andrea was smart, witty, and kept Bruce on his toes. They were in love and wanted to get married. That was the plan until Andrea was made aware of her father’s underground dealings when he was murdered.
From then on she could no longer be the same woman. Instead, she fled Gotham to return many years later as a vigilante called the Phantasm, seeking revenge on all of those who betrayed her father. At the end of the movie, Andrea was thought to have died in a fiery explosion. The Joker, who she was fighting at the time, survived the blast and it seemed Andrea did too. Andrea would have had a profound effect on Bruce’s life but it wasn’t until Batman & Catwoman that their relationship was put into the comic universe. In an offhand way, Selina brings up the fact that the two used to be together like it was old news, a bit more focused on Andrea’s resurrection.