While you may not think of Batman as the most romantic of characters, the caped crusader has in fact had more than his fair share of flings over the years.
From good gals to sultry supervillains, Bruce Wayne has proven himself as a bit of a ladies’ man.
That’s right, when it comes to dating, the Dark Knight is more of a dark horse than you may have realized! Let’s run through this list of Batman’s girlfriends and lovers in chronological order…
Batman’s List of Girlfriends Over the Years
Julie Madison
Appeared in: Detective Comics #31 (1939), Batman & Robin (movie)
Julie Madison was the first woman to appear as Bruce Wayne’s missus, and she remains one of his most popular love interests from the Golden Age. Things were going so well for Batman and this actress-turned-royal that they even got engaged. Unfortunately, Julie Madison got fed up of Bruce in the end, leaving him for the King of Moldacia – of all people. Unlucky, Batman!
Catwoman
Appeared in: Batman #1 (1940), Batman Returns (movie), Batman: The Animated Series, The Dark Knight Rises (movie), The Batman (movie)
Luckily, Bruce Wayne didn’t have to wait long until the next object of his affection showed up: Catwoman is probably Batman’s most famous girlfriend of all. He has dated the Selina Kyle character on and off endlessly over the years, even marrying her and producing a daughter, Helena. Although their relationship may have soured since the Golden Age, fans believe that Catwoman still holds a special place in Bruce’s heart.
Linda Page
Appeared in: Batman #5 (1941), Batman serial (1943)
Doting nurse and kidnapee Linda Page is one of Batman’s lesser known girlfriends, despite being the first love interest to appear on screen. Page is remembered by fans for her caring, good-hearted nature and wealthy background. While it seems that this character could well have been ‘the one’ for Brucie, things didn’t work out and she would soon make an exit from the Batman universe, never to be seen again.
Vicki Vale
Appeared in: Batman #49 (1948), Batman (movie)
As a roving reporter, photographer and occasional love interest for Batman, Vicki Vale was developed as a kind of counterpart to Lois Lane in the Superman franchise. While the Vale character started life as a journalist looking to expose Bruce’s true identity, she ended up dating the man himself. In the modern era, Vale is most prominent in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman movie, as played by Kim Basinger.
Batwoman (Kathy Kane)
Appeared in: Detective Comics #233 (1956)
The caped vigilante Kathy Kane is a staple Silver Age character who had a major crush on Batman back in the day. Although Batwoman’s romantic affections were not returned by Bruce Wayne, she still earns a place on our list as a potential partner that got away. In recent times, this iconic character has got a reboot in the form of Kate Kane.
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Poison Ivy (Pamela Isley)
Appeared in: Batman #181 (1966), Batman & Robin (movie)
While many Batman fans may best remember Uma Thurman’s portrayal of Poison Ivy in the 1997 turkey Batman & Robin, the character has been around for decades. This pheromone-slinging female villain has had an extremely mixed relationship with Batman over the years, including more than a couple romantic entanglements.
Batgirl (Barbara Gordon)
Appeared in: Detective Comics #359 (1967), Batman Beyond (series)
Although Police Commissioner’s daughter Barbara (Batgirl) has been a part of the Batman universe since 1967, it wasn’t until the Batman Beyond TV series (which first aired in 1999) that her romantic relationship with the caped crusader was unveiled. It was later revealed that Batgirl and Batman had been so close that the former became pregnant with Bruce’s baby – what would the Commissioner say?
Talia al Ghul
Appeared in: Detective Comics #411 (1971), Batman: The Animated Series, The Dark Knight Rises (movie)
As a generally evil character who’s also the daughter of a famed supervillain, Talia al Ghul does not seem like the most obvious choice of romantic partner for the caped crusader. However, Talia and Batman have hit it off big time over the years, even producing a son – Damien Wayne. Given Talia’s questionable morals and background, it’s no surprise that things didn’t work out in the end!
Silver St. Cloud
Appeared in: Detective Comics #469 (1978), Gotham (series)
Silver St. Cloud could have been the one for Bruce. This charming and sensible socialite was even smart enough to figure out his real identity, before ditching him due to safety concerns. After briefly returning to Brucie in the mid-2000s, poor Silver was eventually kidnapped by the Joker and then murdered – she was obviously right to be concerned!
Julia Pennyworth
Appeared in: Detective Comics #501 (1981)
As the daughter of Bruce’s beloved butler Alfred, Julia Pennyworth was a viable romantic prospect who was first introduced into Batman lore in the early 1980s. Unfortunately for Julia, the landscape was a little too competitive for her and Bruce’s relationship to work out – Vicki Vale and the next entry in our list were already vying for Batman’s attention.
Nocturna (Natalia Knight)
Appeared in: Detective Comics #529 (1983)
Batman was intrigued by Natalia Knight (Nocturna), a jewel thief who used a special narcotic scent to attract potential suitors. Given the potency of Nocturna’s magic potion, it’s no surprise that she and Bruce became entangled – perhaps fortunately for Bruce, the character would largely disappear from the Batman universe in the mid-1980s, during the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
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Bekka
Appeared in: The Hunger Dogs (1985)
This minor love interest was married to the powerful New God Orion, but that didn’t stop her from briefly dating Bruce Wayne. Bekka was capable of conjuring up feelings of desire in others, a trick which certainly would have come in handy when bagging Batman. However, like far too many of Bruce’s babes, Bekka would end up being murdered – dating can be a risky business!
Rachel Caspian
Appeared in: Detective Comics #575 (1987)
Rachel Caspian would become a romantic conquest of Bruce’s in the Batman: Year Two cycle. As the daughter of a ‘bad guy’ vigilante, Rachel’s relationship with Batman was cursed from the start. After her brief fling with the caped crusader, Rachel Caspian was compelled to become a nun, citing grief and guilt for her father’s crimes – at least it’s better than being murdered!
Shondra Kinsolving
Appeared in: Batman #481 (1992)
The caped crusader would fall for beguiling psychic Shondra Kinsolving when she nursed him back to health following a particularly brutal encounter with the famous Batman villain, Bane. Unfortunately, Kinsolving was kidnapped by her half-sibling Benedict Asp before regressing into a childlike state and being hospitalized. This character has one of the most tragic arcs of all Batman’s conquests, and remains a favorite squeeze of long-term fans of the franchise.
Harley Quinn
Appeared in: Batman: The Animated Series (1992)
Here’s one of Batman’s girlfriends you might’ve never saw coming. Although Harley Quinn has blossomed into a full fledged leading character in recent years, she was first introduced as the romantic partner of The Joker in the early 1990s. Although her and Bruce never became an official item, they have had numerous entanglements over the years, most notably sharing a kiss in the acclaimed BTAS episode Harley’s Holiday.
Zatanna Zatara
Appeared in: Batman: The Animated Series (1992)
Bruce Wayne would become romantically attached to the ‘mindwiper’ Zatanna Zatara in his early years. The two met as kids, before Bruce decided to ditch Zatanna in order to focus more on his fledgling career as a superhero. Despite the failure of their initial bond, everything worked out in the end and the pair remain close allies within the Batman / DC universe.
Jillian Maxwell
Appeared in: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (1993)
Jillian Maxwell was a crafty femme fatale character who was first introduced to Bruce at a fancy-dress party. While Batman was enamored with Maxwell, she would later be revealed as a murderous grifter who attracted wealthy men before setting them up to claim their wills. All in all, we’d say that the caped crusader had a lucky escape from this one!
Andrea Beaumont
Appeared in: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
This interesting character served as both the main love interest and primary antagonist of the acclaimed spinoff chiller Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Bruce Wayne proposed to Andrea in his pre-Batman days, but the marriage never happened – once her identity as the Phantasm was revealed, all bets were off and the relationship was over once and for all.
Vesper Fairchild
Appeared in: Batman #540 (1997)
Another notable object of Batman’s attention from the 1990s was Vesper Fairchild, a radio host in Gotham City. As is all to often the case with Batman’s relationships, Bruce and Fairchild’s romance was not to be – their partnership had only just got off the ground when Vesper was ordered to be killed, courtesy of Superman’s archnemesis Lex Luthor.
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Lois Lane
Appeared in: The New Batman / Superman Adventures (1997)
The worlds of Superman and Batman would collide once again in 1997, when the Daily Planet’s most famous reporter (and the apple of Clark Kent’s eye) Lois Lane would fall for Bruce Wayne in a dramatic twist of fate. Despite promising beginnings, once Lois became aware of Bruce’s secret identity as Batman, she dumped Bruce and returned to the Man of Steel.
Sasha Bordeaux
Appeared in: Detective Comics #751 (2000)
Another character who has locked lips with Bruce Wayne is Sasha Bordeaux, one of the most unusual entries in this list. Bordeaux started out life as one of Bruce’s bodyguards, going on to become his minor love interest and then, a cyborg! Once her cyborg status was revoked and she was turned into a human again, Sasha and Batman would share one final kiss before seemingly calling it quits.
Wonder Woman
Appeared in: JLA (2003)
Batman and America’s favorite female superhero have a longstanding romantic relationship that’s been on and off for over 20 years. It all started when Wonder Woman feigned interest in Batman in order to trick an elusive villain – what began as a fake infatuation turned into full-blown love, with the two characters sharing a smooch on Paradise Island. A powerful ‘power couple’, if ever we saw one!
Rachel Dawes
Appeared in: Batman Begins (2005)
While this love interest may have been previously unknown to comic book fans, she has become perhaps Batman’s most famous girlfriend of all, mainly because of the popularity of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. First appearing in 2005, Rachel Dawes would be the main love interest for the full three-film run. She and Bruce met as kids, when they forged a strong childhood friendship before developing a romantic relationship.
Black Canary
Appeared in: All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #7 (2007)
The apparent trend of Bruce Wayne stealing the wives and girlfriends of other superheroes continued in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, where bad boy Brucie would make a beeline for the Green Arrow’s main squeeze, Black Canary. Although the two never cemented a serious relationship, Batman and the Black Canary have shared numerous smooches over the years. Scandalous!
Amina Franklin
Appeared in: Batman #659 (2007)
Amina Franklin is the second nurse in our list to have been wooed by the caped crusader. After striking up conversation at a party, Amina and Bruce developed a quick and intense relationship that looked like it could have been going places. As usual, things went pear-shaped for the happy couple, with Amina dying at the hands of her supervillain brother, Grotesk.
Lorna Shore
Appeared in: Lovers & Madmen (2007)
This potential partner of Batman’s stirred up some serious ‘love at first sight’ vibes when he first met her in his early superhero days. A museum curator by trade, Lorna was a cultured and sophisticated gal who could have made a great pair with our Bruce. Unfortunately, he would kick her to the curb in to protect her from The Joker – Lorna Shore would later leave Gotham City for good.
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April Clarkson (Midnight)
Appeared in: Batman: Gotham After Midnight (2008)
April Clarkson was a seemingly charming acquaintance of the caped crusader who first appeared in 2008, when she assisted him with his hunt for the killer Midnight. Batman was besotted with April Clarkson, but of course, he was in for a nasty surprise. Eventually, it was revealed that she herself was Midnight, the villain Batman was tracking all along. Typical, eh Bruce?
Jezebel Jet
Appeared in: Batman #681 (2008)
Bruce Wayne was similarly enamored with Jezebel Jet, an attractive model and wealthy emblem of African high society. Despite having the hots for Jet, Batman eventually realized that Jezebel did not have his best interests at heart – she played on his affections for her in order to have him killed! Luckily, Jezebel Jet’s plan did not come into fruition.
Dawn Golden
Appeared in: Batman: The Dark Knight #1 (2010)
Yet another one of Batman’s girlfriends who ended up paying for his affections with her life is Dawn Golden, who became Bruce’s partner in his college days. As you may have come to expect, Dawn and Bruce’s relationship did not last long – she would go on to be murdered by her father, the cult leader Aleister Golden.
Charlotte Rivers
Appeared in: Detective Comics #2 (2011)
Charlotte Rivers was a fairly minor love interest for Bruce who may have gone unnoticed by many Batman fans. Despite going under the radar, Charlotte had plenty in common with some of Bruce’s more well-known crushes – for instance, she was a Gotham City news reporter! Eventually, she would dump poor old Bruce and hop over the pond to Paris, the City of Lights. Au revoir, Charlotte Rivers!
White Rabbit (Jaina Hudson)
Appeared in: Batman: The Dark Knight #1 (2011)
Bruce met this attractive Gotham socialite at a fundraiser party (noticed any trends with Batman’s girlfriends?) before going on to forge an intense romantic relationship. It wasn’t until he discovered her superpower (self-duplication) and ulterior motives (handing him over to fellow villains like the Joker) that Bruce saw sense and got rid!
Natalya Trusevich
Appeared in: Batman: The Dark Knight #2 (2012)
Natalya Trusevich is another tragic character in our list, having essentially sacrificed herself to save Bruce’s identity. After being kidnapped by the Mad Hatter, the Ukrainian pianist Natalya refused to give up Bruce, which unfortunately ended in her demise. She could have been a keeper!
The caped crusader clearly has a long and turbulent history of looking for love. From the earliest comic book appearances to later outings in TV, film, video games and beyond, there have always been potential girlfriends in Batman’s sights.
Although Bruce Wayne never really succeeded as a suitor suitable to settle down with (mainly due to his night job), he has certainly proven that he knows how to play the dating game, at least temporarily. Hopefully, good old Batman will find a more permanent lover in the years to come….we believe in you, Bruce!
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