Why Did Batman and Catwoman's Wedding Get [SPOILERS]?

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Batman #50 by Tom King, Mikel Janín, June Chung and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.

The big day is here for Batman and Catwoman. Readers, too, have been anxiously waiting for the payoff of Bruce and Selina's bond of holy matrimony, or "Batrimony" as it's been called. Superhero weddings, though, are known to come with some surprises, and Tom King and Mikel Janin's Batman #50 is no exception.

Some surprises, though, are less expected than others.

Do You, Cat, Take This Bat?

After finalizing the essential details, Bruce and Selina arrange for a rooftop ceremony at dawn. As the moment draws near, though, Selina decides she should not marry Bruce, and doesn't even show up at the figurative altar, leaving a dejected Bruce to go home as a bachelor. But why did Selina change her mind, and what exactly led to her heartbreaking decision?

The answer to that question is more complicated than Selina simply losing her nerve to commit. Through her narrative spanning the issue, Selina reveals her feelings that echo a recurring theme throughout King's run. That theme is the notion that a Bruce Wayne who is happy cannot coexist with the emotionally driven Batman that the world needs.

Why Selina Doesn’t Marry Bruce

The deciding moment comes after Catwoman springs her longtime friend Holly Robinson from Arkham Asylum with the intent to have Holly stand as her witness for the ceremony. Selina, seeking last-minute relief from her doubts as they drive to the wedding, asks Holly if she is a hero. Holly's response – "Don't you have to be?" – is what cements Selina's decision to not go through with the wedding. In her narrative, citing that heroes make sacrifices, Selina decides that her sacrifice needs to be her love for Bruce, because that love is what would rob the world of its Batman.

This was essentially the same argument used by The Joker last issue, albeit from a more selfish perspective. Joker's motivation for killing Catwoman was to prevent Batman from living in a state of marital bliss – a scenario that Selina has now brought upon herself. Ironically, The Joker now gets his wish, although the lost-in-love Batman he will face next will probably be darker than he dared imagine.

Selina cites her encounter with The Joker in her narrative, as well as the preceding "Batpoint" arc inadvertently initiated by the well-meaning but blundering Booster Gold. In "Batpoint," a happy and content Bruce Wayne – albeit not one married to Selina – led to the creation of a dark and dangerous alternate reality thanks to the absence of the true Batman. And in the Batman/Flash crossover "The Button," Bruce's father from another alternate reality had urged him to give up his Batman career. Thomas Wayne's intent, of course, was for his son to be happy – an early indicator that Bruce would never live a happy life if Batman were a part of it.

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Why Bruce Needed to Marry Selina

Concurrent with Selina's narration are Bruce's own thoughts, which examine a rarely seen perspective on the possibility of a world without a Batman: Bruce Wayne's. Throughout King's run, Bruce's colleagues, enemies, and own family have offered up their opinions on whether Bruce should forever be Batman.

Just as Selina needed to figure out what course her life had to take, Bruce likewise needs to do the same for himself. And it's a realization that makes Selina's decision all the more heart-wrenching.

After a self-examination of what has driven Bruce to be The Bat, he comes to the self-realization that being with Selina has the capability to change him, for the better. Throughout Batman's career, there has been little, if anything, that has made him seriously consider hanging up the cape and cowl. On the eve of his wedding, he has come to understand that the death of his parents no longer needs to define him – his love for Selina can do that going forward. This shift would have been poised to be a huge, fundamental change for the character of Bruce Wayne – that from this point on, love could be a stronger driving force than death.

But just as Bruce realizes his deeper need for Selina's love, her presumed needs for him take that love away, standing to drastically alter the nature of Bruce Wayne – and Batman – for the foreseeable future.

What Could Have Been

Adding to the heartbreak is the now-moot revelation that Bruce and Selina did in fact intend to hold a legit, legally-binding ceremony. Previous storylines indicated that the pending Bat/Cat wedding would not necessarily mean a more conventional Bruce/Selina union. That idea implied only a kind of pseudo-commitment – one that was more between the masks than the couple wearing them.

Only on the cusp of that now-broken relationship are the ultimate feelings of both sides known – and yes, had their wedding gone through, their marriage would have been as loving and legitimate as any other. Not that it wouldn't have presented its own unique problems – even arranging the ceremony was fraught with challenges only a super-couple would ever face.

Only a supervillain would have to break her acting maid-of-honor out of an insane asylum to stand up at her wedding. Bruce takes a more conventional approach, with Alfred to essentially serve in the role of best man. And it's Batman who finds the perfect individual to perform the ceremony – an alcoholic judge who can make the marriage legal, but while too drunk to remember ever doing so.

And What Might Still Be

None of that matters now, though – the Bat/Cat relationship lies broken. "Broken" being the most appropriate way to describe their aborted wedding, as the final panel of the issue contains the biggest surprise of all. As Holly returns to Arkham, she kneels before none other than Bane – the villain who has seemingly found a new way to break The Bat.

Alongside Bane are several of Batman's foes who were key to events leading up to this momentous issue – and one other influential character thought gone. But was Bane in fact behind these machinations leading to Selina breaking up with Bruce, or are he and Batman's other enemies merely all too happy to learn Batman's heart is now broken?

Readers will get a possible look at just how a jilted Bruce acts out in Batman #51, on sale July 18.