WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman #101, by James Tynion IV, Guillem March, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
In 2019, Batman and Catwoman finally became an official couple. After a road filled with ups and downs (and a canceled wedding), the two Gotham City vigilantes unofficially tied the knot. And yet, despite their relationship, Selina Kyle has been largely absent from Bruce's life ever since the prelude to the Joker War event. Catwoman did fight for Batman, helping him however she could, but it was a battle that the Dark Knight had to fight, mostly, on his own, and it looks like this will keep going for the foreseeable future.
In Batman #101, Bruce and Selina reunite in the aftermath of the Joker's war, but it isn't for very long. With Batman intent on making some big changes to his crusade, the couple essentially agrees to take a one-year break.
Batman #101 works as an epilogue of sorts to the "Joker War." Now that a semblance of tranquility has once again fallen on Gotham, Batman picks up the pieces, takes note of his failures, and sets out to make some drastic changes. Indeed, with Lucius Fox now the owner of the Wayne family fortune and levels of scrutiny on Bruce Wayne extremely high, Batman decides to move out of his manor and set up shop in a brownstone in the middle of the city.
Plus, without his money, his war on crime is now set to change drastically. In the aftermath of the war, Gotham is on the cusp of change, and Batman doesn't yet know what will emerge on the other side. He needs to establish a whole new process of operations and to do that, he needs to focus all of his time on this new beginning. Therefore, he asks Selina to give him time to figure all of this out. As for Selina, after robbing the Underbroker, she's got problems of her own, and she can't really stick around to help.
As a result, Batman and Catwoman agree to take a one-year break. This will give Bruce a full year to settle in Gotham and develop a new crime-fighting process, and it will allow Selina to take care of everyone who is currently after her. Only then will they reunite, and figure the next phase of their relationship out. It's not a break-up, per se, since the issue ends with the two still very much in love with one another. But their work is important to the both of them, and now they are back to where they once were: on opposite sides of the law, in an uncertain, will they/won't they relationship. In a certain way, it's a bit of a back-to-square-one situation for the couple.
This does put the upcoming Batman/Catwoman series in a questionable light. Will the series now be out-of-continuity, or perhaps taking place at a different time in the recent past or a year into the future? That is unclear for the moment because, right now, Batman #101 has just set up a whole year where Bruce and Selina won't be together.
It's meant to give the two time to deal with their respective situations before they get back together, but a year is a long time and there's no telling what will happen between then and now. Who's to say things won't change drastically for either one of them? One year from now, Batman and Selina may not be in the same place anymore. When all is said and done, things could drastically change -- for better, or for worse.
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