Heartless Doll posted grades on all of Batman’s women:
Catwoman (comics): A
Chase Meridian (Batman Forever): D
Talia Al’Ghul: C-
Vicki Vale (Batman 1989): B
Silver St. Cloud (comics): B+
Andrea Beaumont (Mask of the Phantasm): A
Julie Madison (Batman & Robin): F
Rachel Dawes (Batman Begins): A-
I think that’s mostly right. I’d give Catwoman from the comics a slightly lower grade (B- maybe). Objectively I can’t disagree with the grade for Chase Meridian, but Nicole Kidman was nail-polish remover away from visual perfection in that movie and I think that there’s got to be a curve in there somewhere. For a Batman fan, I am astonishingly unversed on Silver St. Cloud except for knowing who she is. Andrea Beaumont was perhaps the best Batgirlfriend ever in a movie that would have been the best Batman movie ever if it weren’t for Jokerworld (as it is, it’s tied for first). If Rachel Dawes had been played by Maggie Gyllenhaal in the first movie she might have earned that grade, but it was not to be.
There’s always been the question of who Batman would end up with in the end (if anybody). Clark Kent had Lois Lane, Barry Allen had Iris West, Hal Jordan had Carol Ferris, but Bruce Wayne by virtue of his character had nobody. This made things both more and less interesting. The original Batman settled down with Catwoman eventually and together they spawned the original Huntress. Catwoman probably is it in the end. It’s a shame that Andrea Beaumont never made it into the comics because she by far had the most possibilities. Except maybe Silver St. Cloud.
Of course, given the goings-on at DC, the answer to the question is (at least for now) that he ends up with nobody. I will be posting on that atrocity once I calm down.
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3 Responses to Batman’s Coterie
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Doesn’t the nature of the, ahem, relationship between Batman and Robin make the issue of women sort of irrelevant?
Was there ever any incarnation of the story where Batman and Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) had a fling? Or Barbara and Dick Grayson? Can’t remember all their relative ages – Barbara always seemed to be older than Dick but younger than Bruce.
Rachel Dawes totally left me cold, and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s uncanny resemblance to Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman’s squeeze) just left me confused and feeling like she was cheating on Peter Parker.
I can’t imagine, remaining true to character, Bruce would ever end up with anyone. If he ended up with Selena Kyle in the comics, well, so be it, but I don’t see why he should actually have to end up with anyone.
As for the Batman/Robin stuff… yeah, whatever…
Barbara was romantically involved with Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne in the Animated Series (though not at the same time). Dick and Barbara were always romantic interests on the show, though it became more apparent towards the end. In Batman Beyond, it is strongly implied (or stated outright) that Barbara ended up with Bruce Wayne for a while. in between the two shows.
Bruce couldn’t end up with anyone and still be Batman, though I think that the assumption is among many of the fans that the true and proper ending of the Batman story is that he retires, gets married, and has a family. Replacing what he lost that drove him to be Batman.