Batman #50: The Wedding

First, a huge shoutout to @cryplectibles and his "Batman #50" contest! I was lucky enough to win a copy of this issue, signed by its cover artist Alé Garza (AKA Garza the Great!)

The Negative Reviews

As a newcomer to this Batman series, I was surprised to see so many negative reviews of this issue! (Spoilers inbound.) One YouTuber called it a "slap in the face" to fans, and, another said that DC intentionally misled fans to the conclusion that this important event - the wedding - would actually happen.

While I have not been reading this new series for a long time, I certainly understand the feeling of disappointment when we continue to create our own expectations of art over a long period of time and our predictions are not met in the way we suspected. Anyone who is a fan of Star Wars knows this to one degree or another.

However, I'd like to offer a different point of view.

Here's Why Batman #50 Got it Right

Cultivating, maintaining, and expressing any relationship is an art form. Relationships require talent and honesty that parallels writing a book (maybe an example of a work of art that's exhausted itself over time.) A book that is poorly written and does not arrive from a honest perspective is not creativity. It is a poorly produced, fraudulent, and possibly plagiarized artifact. And when we're discussing romantic relationships, things get a little more tricky.

In Erich Fromm's book The Art of Loving, he speaks to the concept of love as a paradox: "that two beings become one and yet remain two."

While love is indeed a union that alleviates the anxiety created from the experience of being separate from others, it also permits each individual to retain their integrity and express their independent selves.

It's Not Just Good Writing, it's Psychology

Batman/Bruce Wayne & Catwoman/Selina Kyle are both complex characters with a strong sense of individuality and very different motivations for living. While it's clearly demonstrated that Bruce & Selina hold romantic feelings for each other, their values and personas/psychological clothing (represented by Batman and Catwoman, "persona" literally derives from a word meaning "mask") aren't capable of union.

This is hinted at in the proceeding issue, Batman #49: The Best Man, in a dialogue between Catwoman and The Joker.

Catwoman: "I... got a dress. At least. I stole it."
Joker: "You criminal. Does he know?"
Catwoman: "No. He'd be mad."

Joker: "If you do this wedding, if he found some joy... he'd lose the frown and the costume... He can't be happy. And also be Batman."

Bruce & Selina Still Have a Relationship, it's just not Mature & Healthy Love

To understand more about what an unhealthy relationship is like in the Batman universe (although in the upcoming example, it's not a romantic one,) I turn to some dialogue from The Dark Knight film. Again, we have The Joker speaking, this time to Batman.

Joker: "This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object... You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and i are destined to do this forever.

And therefore, through mutual understanding, The Wedding didn't happen

What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Am I missing something? LET ME KNOW! The last time I read a Batman comic book was the Knightfall series as a kid, so I certainly don't have the houseful of knowledge here that others have. Also pinging @blewitt to keep my analysis honest. And thanks again @cryplectibles for the care package!

johnny-quad