The following contains spoilers for Nightwing #95, on sale now from DC Comics.
Batwoman opens up about her failed engagement to police detective Maggie Sawyer in Nightwing #95, revealing that, sadly, the partnership didn't work out due to "a mixture of stubbornness, stupidity, and fear."
Kate Kane's explanation comes after Nightwing enlists her to help him speak with Maggie, the new commissioner of Blüdhaven as of the previous issue. Nightwing wants to convince Maggie to help him in his mission to take down the crimelord Blockbuster, and the recent top cop transplant from Metropolis agrees, but she also gives Batwoman a frosty glare and murmurs that Kate has broken her trust in the past. When Nightwing asks for an explanation, Kate explains that the two were once in love, but she broke it off. "I told myself I was doing it for her, but it's the biggest mistake I've ever made," Kate tells Dick Grayson.
What History Do Batwoman and Maggie Sawyer Have?
Kate Kane and Maggie Sawyer had chemistry ever since Batwoman returned to mainstream DC continuity with "Elegy," a three-part story arc that concluded in Detective Comics #856, which was published in 2009. That issue saw Kate and Maggie begin their courtship, and the pair continued dating during Kate's Batwoman solo series, which launched in 2011 as part of DC's New 52.
Kate, who revealed all of her secrets to Maggie over the course of their relationship, proposed to her at the end of "Mercy," which ran in 2013's Batwoman #17. Unfortunately, Kate ended the relationship by letter one year later in Batwoman #34. In the aftermath of the breakup, creators J.H. Williams III and Haden Blackman -- who both headlined Batwoman's New 52 series -- cited editorial interference as the main reason behind the marriage dissolution. DC co-publisher at the time, Dan Didio, defended the decision amidst fan outcry, arguing that for the sake of telling compelling, conflict-driven stories, happy marriages were not in the cards for any major DC characters.
Maggie Sawyer first debuted in 1987's Superman #4 as a Metropolis detective, and she bounced back and forth between Metropolis and Gotham multiple times over the years. Aside from her engagement with Batwoman, she also became known to Batman readers for her role in the fan-favorite Gotham Central police procedural comic of the 2000s.
Nightwing #95 comes from writer Tom Taylor, artist Bruno Redondo, inkers Caio Filipe, colorist Adriano Lucas and letterer Wes Abbott. The issue, now on sale from DC, features a cover by Redondo and variant covers by Jamal Campbell, David Talaski, Nicola Scott and Annette Kwok. Artwork used in this article comes from 2011's Batwoman #17 by Williams III and Blackman.
Source: DC