Following their emotionally draining battle with Bane it was time for Batman and Catwoman to spend some time together. That time together ended up with both characters doing what the other wanted in more ways than one. Now with Batman and Catwoman’s time being limited by Catwoman’s prison sentence will they continue to make the most of their time together? Or will something happen that will completely break their relationship in way neither one of them can turn back? Let’s find out with Batman #15
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Mitch Gerads
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: After a night of having sex together Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are sleeping on a rooftop with only the Batman cape covering them.
As they sleep Bruce and Selina dream about different meetings they had with one another, dating back to their first clash. They each remember their first meeting in different locations, Bruce when she dressed as old lady to steal a diamond and Selina seeing Bruce in disguise saving Holly Robinson.
They both wake up and tell each other they love them.
As the sun is rising they both put their costumes back on. Catwoman is the first to putting on her costume and jumps off the roof while telling Batman “Hey pretty boy….catch me.”
Batman jumps after Catwoman but quickly loses sight of her. Batman contacts Alfred about information on Holly Robinson, a name Catwoman was using to lease an apartment. Alfred asks if that means Catwoman ran. Batman confirms that as he swings through the city while the sun shines over Gotham City.
Jim Gordon wakes up and as he is getting ready and going through his morning routine Batman appears out of the shadows. Batman tells Jim that he needs information on Holly Robinson to be unsealed by the GCPD so he can catch Catwoman, who is on the run.
Jim wonders why Batman didn’t bring Catwoman into Blackgate the night before. Batman quickly shuts Jim down. Jim gets on the phone and tells the GCPD to unseal documents on Holly Robinson for him. Batman leaves without saying a word.
Later that day Holly Robinson is annoyed by how loud people in Gotham City are. As she closes her window Batman appears out of nowhere. He quickly asks Holly about Selina’s location.
Holly is hesitant to answer Batman’s question. Batman reveals he knows Holly and Selina grew up in the same orphanage and that they are friends. Batman asks Holly to help her find her but she nervously says her name is Catherine.
Batman tells Holly that he knows what Selina means to her. He reveals that Selina has done a lot for him as he has not only accepted but loves who he is.
Holly finally gives in and goes to get a phone she uses to communicate with Selina from her dresser drawer. As Batman let’s his guard down Holly turns around, slices Batman’s neck with a knife and leaves him to bleed out on the floor.
Batman regains consciousness and leaves the empty apartment still heavily bleeding. Alfred contacts Batman to let him know that Holly has booked a flight as Catherine to Kahdaq that leaves in thirty minutes.
Batman tries to swing to the airport but immediately collapses from the blood lose. Before he hits the ground Catwoman catches him.
Sometime later Selina has bandaged Bruce up and is talking to him while he sleeps at Wayne Manor. Selina reveals that when they were younger she tried to train Holly to control her anger. Unfortunately when the orphanage burned down Holly took her anger and training to kill 237 people before Selina caught her. She goes on to say she knew Holly would’ve been killed if the police caught her so she took responsibility to help her.
Before she leaves Selina tells Alfred to tell that it was the street where they first met. Alfred wonders if she wants to leave Bruce a way to respond. Selina says he can find her on one of Gotham City’s rooftops.
As that goes on Holly gets in an airplane from Gotham City taking off to Kahdaq.
Sometime later Bruce is putting on his Batman costume in the Batcave. He tells Alfred that Selina stole what she wanted. Alfred wonders what Bruce means by that since she didn’t take anything from Wayne Manor. Bruce puts on his Batman cowl and says Selina stole the night. End of issue.
The Good: When creators are clearly passionate for the work they do it is very ease to recognize it. That is exactly what we see from Tom King’s writing in Batman #15. Not only does he have a passion for the world that Batman exists in but also the characters inside it. That is never clearer than with how he develops Batman and Catwoman’s relationship to go beyond their attraction to one another.
What makes how King portrays Batman and Catwoman’s relationship so great is that he knows that they are each other’s endgame in terms of romantic interest. We have seen various forms of how they end up being married with at least one kid in the past. Using that knowledge King is able to show us how that may be the endgame for their relationship but they are both not ready personally to settle down.
While they aren’t ready to settle down King adds depth to the relationship by having Batman and Catwoman admit their love for one another at various points. And for both characters that love comes down to how they understand each other on a personal level. This becomes clear with Batman’s discussion with Holly Robinson when he admits why he wants to find Selina.
Holly Robinson’s integration helped to add further depth to the story, especially on Catwoman’s side. Learning that Catwoman was actually protecting Holly from facing the death sentence for killing hundreds of people cleared up why it Catwoman acted so hard to convince Batman she was responsible. Holly is also a minor character enough that the change in her history with Catwoman creates an interesting potential for whenever she returns. It also helps show us that at her core Catwoman is a good person that is willing to sacrifice herself to protect those she loves.
At the same time, Holly’s inclusion to the story also further showed us how much Batman let’s his guard down when it comes to Catwoman. Seeing Holly be able to almost kill Batman was a good example as to how personal finding Catwoman was to Batman and that she has become a kryptonite-like weakness for him. Understanding this makes this seamlessly uncharacteristic lack of preparation from Batman’s standpoint make much more sense.
Helping the story become even stronger was Mitch Gerads artwork, which was much stronger this time around. Gerads does a great job capturing the somber tone of the romance between Batman and Catwoman took. He effectively showed us how much they love each other with how they look at each other. At the same time it was clear that they were both keeping the other at arm’s length. Gerads replicating the artwork of classic Batman artists to depict the past between the two was an impressive showing that added depth to the flashback scenes at the beginning of the issue.
The Bad: Nothing
Overall: Batman #15, like the issue preceding it, is an excellent love letter for fans of the romance between Batman and Catwoman. The addition of Holly Robinson to the story also helped clear up the mystery of if Catwoman really did kill 237 people. With how things didn’t end on a happy note Mitch Gerads is able to capture the tone of Tom King’s script well, while showing his ability chameleon-like ability to replicate classic Batman artwork. This all comes together for a heartbreaking conclusion that King and Gerads use to further strengthen the relationship between Batman and Catwoman.
