- June 29, 2022
Batman/Catwoman #12 Review
Written by: Tom King
Art by: Clay Mann
Coloring by: Tomeu Morey
Lettering by: Clayton Cowles
Editing by: Brittany Holsherr, Jillian Grant, Chris Conroy
The finale to Batman/Catwoman has been long in the making. It was over a year ago that this series first started, aiming to serve as the true finale to Tom King’s run on Batman. This series has been a rocky road of ups and downs as it tries to wrap up the character arcs King has been building since 2016, and explore new ones. In some ways, Batman/Catwoman #12 succeeds, and in others, not so much.
Big spoiler warning… there’s no huge twist. There’s a twist, but it is so small and doesn’t weave into the themes of the story. This ultimately makes the ending feel anti-climatic. My literacy comprehension could be low after a long work day. Speaking only for me, if there was something, I didn’t get it. To me, Batman/Catwoman #12 doesn’t seem to connect the different timelines into a satisfying conclusion. There doesn’t seem to be a complete character arc for most of the characters involved with the story.
The only character who feels well-rounded and well-represented is Catwoman, which is nice for a change. Usually, the story resolves an unhealthy amount around Batman, rather than the conflict he faces. This book treats Catwoman with that same reverence, and it works more often than not in that regard. This story says a lot about the life of a woman who has to change for the man in her life and how that is pretty… well… shitty. It shows how much she has to give up, despite not wanting to or planning to, but does. She’s filled with regrets over why she has done things rather than that she did them. You can’t leave this book without having a large understanding of her character.
If you were hoping for the introduction of the Phantasm or a new Helena Wayne to be as satisfying… it’s not. They are both plot devices for Selina’s character. While it’s not as insulting as it would be if the story were about Bruce, the fact that Bruce still gets to be cool as Batman, while the Phantasm and Helena are little more than plot devices is going to upset people and leave them scratching their heads. It’s hard to say if the story should have been longer to incorporate them and build them up, or if the story is fundamentally flawed.
This mini-series truly is a big long deep dive into the character of Selina Kyle. It dissects her life and how she would feel after marrying Bruce Wayne. The art style, for the most part, presents this dissection beautifully in many cases. While the issue is not as obvious in Batman/Catwoman #12, the series as a whole just objectifies Selina far too often. I don’t feel like this was some grand ending, or a particularly emotional issue to end on. Even reading it all at once, the series doesn’t make much sense. I’ll look at parts of it fondly, but I don’t think I need to think that hard about the series ever again.