Batman and Catwoman clash in Gotham War after years of an on-again-off-again unofficial relationship. As many Batman comics have explored, there's several ongoing trends in Bruce Wayne and Batman's dating life. Given the Dark Knight is "married to the job," it's extremely difficult for him to maintain long-term relationships.

Throughout DC Comics, Batman has dealt with forced love interests like 1956's Bat-Woman and short-lived romances from the New 52 like Batman: The Dark Knight's Jaina Hudson/White Rabbit. There was even the ill-fated romance with concert pianist Natalya Trusevich. Based on all his love interests, Bruce Wayne has proven that his billionaire playboy lifestyle isn't quite the act he makes it out to be in the comics.

Updated on October 9th, 2023 by David Harth: Batman is a comic book institution. Batman is the most popular superhero in the world, trading that spot with Spider-Man, and has over eighty years of adventures. During that period, Batman has had many, many girlfriends. Romance subplots are a huge part of the comic industry and Batman's position as a billionaire playboy has seem him playing the field like few other heroes.

1 Julie Madison

Detective Comics #31 (1939), by Gardner Fox, Bob Kane, and Sheldon Moldoff

The first woman that Bruce Wayne ever dated was Julie Madison, who first appeared in 1939's Detective Comics #31 as Bruce Wayne's fiance. However, the character has reappeared a few times over the various DC reboots.

While Julie Madison was originally an actress who left Bruce because of his playboy lifestyle, she would return in the New 52 as an artist whose father was a gun runner involved with the death of Bruce's parents. Elle MacPherson later brought the character to the big screen in 1997's Batman & Robin.

2 Catwoman

Batman #1 (1940), by Bill Finger and Bob Kane

Selina Kyle first appeared as The Cat in 1940's Batman #1. The attraction between her and the Dark Knight was immediately apparent when Batman let her escape, beginning their decades of courtship across the rooftops of Gotham City.

The original Earth-2 Batman ended up marrying his Catwoman and fathering Helena Wayne/Huntress. However, it took a while for the modern Bruce Wayne to accept his feelings for Selina, and the two officially revealed their identities in 2002's Batman: Hush before later getting engaged in the Rebirth era.

3 Linda Page

Batman #5 (1941), by Bill Finger and Bob Kane

While Linda Page isn't one of Bruce Wayne's most memorable romances, she was one of his first after his engagement to Julie Madison fell apart. Linda debuted in 1941's Batman #5 as a rich socialite turned nurse who was kidnapped by a gangster.

Bruce and Linda's relationship was complicated. She seemed to have more of an attraction to Batman, though Bruce never revealed his secret identity to her. Linda Page was even adapted for the 1943 Batman serial as Bruce Wayne's first on-screen love interest.

4 Vicki Vale

Batman #49 (1948), by Bill Finger and Jim Mooney

As Superman found his love in Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane, writers attempted to capture the same magic by introducing intrepid reporter Vicki Vale to Gotham City in 1948's Batman #49. Interestingly, Vicki frequently tried to prove that Bruce Wayne was Batman.

However, it wasn't until years later, when Vicki Vale returned in 1982's Batman #344, that she and Bruce first became romantically interested in each other. Vale would reappear a few times over the years, though their relationship never developed due to her suspicions of him. Kim Basinger played Vale in 1989's hit Batman adaptation.

5 Kathy Kane/Batwoman I

Detective Comics #233 (1956), by Edmond Hamilton and Sheldon Moldoff

The 1950s were a bad time for superheroes. The Golden Age successes had petered out and Fredric Wertham's Seduction Of The Innocent basically blamed comic books for every problem children in the US had. Batman was especially targeted, mainly because Wertham intimated that Batman and Robin were queer coded and tempting children into a life of homosexuality. That's where Kathy Kane came in.

DC created Kathy and her sister Bette Kane to act as girlfriends for Batman and Robin. While it was definitely a forced relationship, it is important to the Batman mythos. Batwoman and Bat-Girl wouldn't stick around for very long. Kathy returned in the '70s, but was killed by the League of Assassins. An Earth-2 version debuted but would go the way of the dodo in Crisis On Infinite Earths. Writer Grant Morrison brought Kathy back into continuity in Batman Inc. as part of their mission to canonize every Batman story ever, but she ended up dead as well.

6 Talia al Ghul

Detective Comics #411 (1971), by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams

After writers were forced to include Bat-Woman as a romantic interest and villains like Poison Ivy caught Bruce's attention in the 60s, Batman got his first new real love interest. His latest love turned out to be his enemy's daughter, Talia al Ghul, in Detective Comics #411.

Unfortunately, Talia's work for the League of Assassins and her father Ra's al Ghul ended any chance of a relationship despite her and Batman's feelings for each other. It would be later revealed that their brief union produced young Damian Wayne, who would join his father as Robin.

7 Silver St. Cloud

Detective Comics #469 (1978), by Steve Englehart and Walt Simonson

The 70s ended with the arrival of wealthy socialite Silver St. Cloud into Bruce's life. The two began a passionate romance that has become a favorite among fans over the years, despite its short-lived nature.

Silver St. Cloud first appeared in Detective Comics #469, and after dating Bruce for a short time, she deduced his greatest secret and revealed she knew he was Batman. While she still loved Bruce, Silver was forced to break up with him due to Batman's life. Natalie Alyn Lind brought a younger version of the character to Fox's Gotham TV series.

8 Julia Remarque/Julia Pennyworth

Detective Comics #501 (1981), by Gerry Conway and Don Newton

Alfred Pennyworth's daughter Julia Remarque first appeared in 1981's Detective Comics #501. However, she and Bruce didn't develop feelings for each other until after moving into Wayne Manor to spend time with her recently discovered father.

Bruce Wayne and Julia Pennyworth were officially dating around 1985, which caused problems with Batman's other relationships, though the Crisis then erased Julia. A new version of Julia Pennyworth appeared in the New 52 and began working as support for the Bat-Family, though her relationship with Bruce mostly remained professional.

9 Natalia Knight/Nocturna

Detective Comics #529 (1983), by Doug Moench and Gene Colan

Batman had dealt with an attraction to villains before when Poison Ivy entered his life in the 60s with her lust-inducing pheromones. However, it wasn't until Batman met and fell in love with the villain Nocturna that he officially began to date a criminal.

Natalia Knight debuted in 1983's Detective Comics #529 as the leader of a criminal organization. However, she soon became a part of both Bruce Wayne and Batman's life when she became the adopted mother of Jason Todd. Nocturna was later killed by her former lover Night-Slayer before returning in later continuities.

10 Dr. Shondra Kinsolving

Batman #481 (1992), by Doug Moench and Jim Aparo

Bruce Wayne first met Dr. Shondra Kinsolving when she began working with Tim Drake's paralyzed father. After Bruce himself was severely injured in a battle with Bane during Knightfall, he called on her services to rehabilitate his body.

Dr. Kinsolving helped bring Bruce Wayne out of the despair he felt after his loss to Bane, and they realized their feelings for each other. Unfortunately, Kinsolving's evil brother Benedict Asp kidnapped her for her untapped healing abilities. Batman saved her, and she healed him, but she was left with brain damage.

11 Vesper Fairchild & Sasha Bordeaux

(Vesper Fairchild) - Batman #540 (1997), by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones

(Sasha Bordeaux) - Detective Comics #751 (2000), by Greg Rucka and Shawn Martinbrough

Bruce Wayne began dating radio talk show host Vesper Fairchild after they shared a flirtatious interview in 1997's Batman #540, though she left Gotham City during the No Man's Land event. When she returned to resume their relationship, there was a new complication.

After WayneCorp forced Sasha Bordeaux to become Bruce Wayne's bodyguard in 2000's Detective Comics #751, she quickly discovered his secret identity, and he began to train her. Bruce was dating Vesper while falling in love with Sasha. Later, Vesper's murder was pinned on Bruce Wayne, and Sasha joined Checkmate. Their relationship disappeared shortly afterwards.

12 Wonder Woman

JLA (2003), by Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke

Batman and Wonder Woman worked closely together on the Justice League as part of DC's powerful Trinity alongside Superman. While the two friends had developed a mutual respect, it almost led to something more in the pages of JLA.

Batman and Wonder Woman's attraction towards each other and impending doom during "The Obsidian Age" led to a passionate kiss between them, though their relationship went unexplored because of their work. When Bruce and Dian were trapped fighting an endless war in an alternate reality, their feelings resurfaced though they stayed true to their prior romantic commitments.

13 Rachel Dawes

Batman Begins (2005), written by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan, directed by Christopher Nolan

Batman Begins brought Batman back into the minds of moviegoers after the failure of Batman And Robin in the late '90s. This more gritty take on Batman combined part of Batman: Year One with original concepts, one of which was an original love interest. Rachel Dawes, played by Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhall, had grown up with Bruce Wayne. Upon his return to Gotham City, they hit it off.

At some point between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, the two broke up because Bruce wouldn't give up being Batman, and Rachel started dating Harvey Dent. Bruce Wayne's love for Rachel never went away though, and her death at the hands of the Joker was a blow to Batman and Harvey Dent. Rachel never debuted in the comics, but her importance to The Dark Knight Trilogy Batman — the most popular conception of the Dark Knight since the Tim Burton Batman movies — make her an important part of Batman history.

14 Jezebel Jet

Batman #656 (2006), by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert

Bruce Wayne first met Jezebel Jet at an art gallery fundraiser in 2006's Batman #656. While she was hesitant to date him due to his playboy reputation, they soon became one of Gotham's most talked about celebrity couples. Jet would eventually discover his secret identity as Batman after confronting him about his many disappearances and suspicious bruises.

While Batman and Jezebel Jet appeared to grow closer after the discovery, Jet soon revealed she was lying to him and working with the villainous Black Glove organization. This tainted their relationship and practically destroyed Batman's dating life until the New 52 and Catwoman.

15 Martha Wayne/The Joker

Batman: Knight Of Vengeance (2011), by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso

Flashpoint introduced readers to a whole new Batman. Instead of Thomas and Martha Wayne being killed by the mugger in Crime Alley, Bruce died in this world. The Waynes each went in entirely different directions after losing their son. Thomas took revenge against the criminals of Gotham City and became Batman. Martha embraced the chaos and became the Joker of Flashpoint's Earth.

This threw a damper on Thomas and Martha Wanye's relationship. After an attack on Harvey Dent's twin children, Batman and the Joker had a confrontation where Thomas told Martha about the other Earth that he and Barry Allen were trying to save. Martha seemingly ended her life, but it was revealed she had survived. Batman returned to his Earth after a multiversal jaunt and convinced his wife to come back to him, in a way, putting her in a cell in the Batcave and forming a new Batman Family with Harvey Dent's son as Robin.

16 Alexis Luthor

The Multiversity: The Just #1 (2014), by Grant Morrison and Ben Oliver

Writer Grant Morrison's place in Batman canon is extremely important to the modern conception of the character in the comics. Morrison's run on Batman lasted from 2007 to 2012, and they created Damian Wayne, the newest Robin. Morrison revealed young Damian would become Batman in the future with Batman #666 and gave readers a closer look at Damian as Batman in The Multiversity: The Just.

Set on an Earth where the children of the superheroes were media darlings and grew up to take their parents' places, all the hard work of superheroing was taken care of by robots built by Superman before he died. In this timeline, Damian Wayne was in a secret relationship with Alexis Luthor, the daughter of Lex Luthor. It's one of the few relationships that readers have ever seen Damian in.

17 Barbara Gordon/Batgirl II

Batman: The Killing Joke (2016 Animated Movie), written by Brian Azzarello, directed by Sam Liu

Batgirl is a DC legend, having been a part of the Bat-Family since the 1960s. Barbara Gordon has mostly been paired off with Dick Grayson, which makes a lot of sense. They are of a similar age and grew up as sidekicks to Batman. Batman's place as a father figure in her life has kept them from getting together in the comics, but 2016's animated adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke put them together.

Fans everywhere decried this move. The reasoning was to make Batgirl more important in Batman's life, so that her paralysis at Joker's hands would be more meaningful, but most just considered it icky. While calling Barbara a major girlfriend of Batman's is a little bit of a stretch, the amount of attention the situation got from everyone makes it a well-known, albeit infamous, relationship.