WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Batman #88, by James Tynion IV, Guillem March, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Under Tom King, Batman and Catwoman's romance repeatedly made headlines, mostly because their marriage didn't happen. But despite leaving Bruce Wayne at the altar, Selina Kyle admitted he's the love of her life and one true soul mate. It's why they're still together, fighting crime and trying to carve out a life together.
However, in Batman #88, as James Tynion IV stamps his authority on the title, he introduces the newest Bat-rogue in Gotham, and unfortunately, this villain appears to be the architect of a crime that's poised to damage the BatCat relationship forever.
It's a tough bond to break and with Bruce finally believing in Selina, not to mention her turning away from a life of theft, they do seem to be as perfect as they'll ever be. They don't need rings, priests or nuptials, it's all about being moving forward, especially after Alfred's death. But with the unknown Designer triggering a war in Gotham, Catwoman gets roped in to pay for her sins.
The Designer has assassins going after the likes of Penguin and the Riddler, cleaning up what readers are now discovering is the "perfect crime." The upgraded Riddler keeps communications open with Catwoman and it's revealed both of them, alongside Penguin, orchestrated a mysterious scheme. The fourth party's revealed to be Joker, which is why Catwoman's at a grave containing the dead Clown Prince of Crime. It's unclear if this is the real Joker, though, but as she and Riddler chat, his words cut deep as Selina realizes she needs to come clean.
Riddler confesses this secret will kill them all as the Designer is already after him and Penguin. It's implied this dead Joker is part of Designer's collateral damage and just as Selina tries to contact the Dark Knight to confess, the Designer's goons and the Joker's corpse attack her. At this point, it's hard to tell what's a hallucination and what's real, but Selina is frightened for her life.
It's interesting to see the Designer inflicting such fear in these villains, but it's not surprising because a mercenary squad led by Deathstroke just went after the Penguin, leading to Oswald Cobblepot getting his throat slit. As he bleeds out, with the assassins on the run, Penguin admits to Batman the secret is something that could damage the city for good. Whatever it is, though, the fact they did it without getting caught says a lot. Not everyone can fly under the radar of the Caped Crusader so this is something really historic. The fact Harley Quinn is now coming to Selina's aid says a lot as well because she also appears to know the depths of what the Cat did with these thugs.
Whatever it is, it'll be the doom of these fiends as the Designer seems to be capable of tying up loose ends up and removing them off the face of the Earth. One also has to wonder if the Bat will trust the Cat once she's saved. Bruce made it clear they'll keep nothing in the dark from each other but it seems Selina was lying about being open. It's a shame because he trusted her and gave her his heart. If she hasn't been genuine about the skeletons in her closet, at a time when she basically acts as his wife, the relationship could be shattered beyond repair.