Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman: Urban Legends #11
In the latest issue of Batman: Urban Legends in DC Comics, the Dark Knight reveals that dating a magician like Zatanna can create all kinds of unique problems and complications, especially when a seemingly harmless and flirtatious spell has disastrous results for years to come. While Bruce Wayne and Zatanna Zatara may no longer be together, they're very much still connected thanks to dark and mysterious forces. Unfortunately, it seems as though those same forces may be to blame for the wall that's been between them ever since.
Featured in the Batman: Urban Legends anthology series, the first chapter of a six-part story featuring Batman and Zatanna is entitled "Bound To Our Will." Coming from writer Vita Ayala and artist Nikola Čižmešija, the story begins with Superman coming to Batman, having noticed that every few years or so Bruce and Zatanna go off together on some secret rendezvous that inevitably leads to them keeping their distance from one another for months afterward. Reassuring Superman that everything is fine, Batman and Zatanna travel to a site of growing devastation revealed to have once been a romantic getaway when they were both young and in love.
As revealed in flashbacks, Bruce and Zatanna once cast a spell that was meant to simply join them together, allowing them to hear each other's thoughts with one mind. However, the spell had the unintended consequence of unleashing a mysterious and destructive storm of the supernatural variety. While Batman and Zatanna managed to contain the danger, it's revealed that they've had to return to the site every few years or so to make sure it stays contained, having damaged and transformed the area's magical ley line. As a result, Batman is still very much bound to his magical ex-girlfriend, hence the awkwardness between the two of them that follows each incursion.
Because Batman and Zatanna's most recent attempt to contain the danger for good has failed yet again (and might have made it worse), it wouldn't be much of a leap to assume that the Dark Knight might wish he and Zatanna had never cast that spell in the first place. However, magic is a core piece of who Zatanna is. Going beyond Batman's natural tendency to mistrust and push people away due to his own darkness and self-loathing, it seems as though these magical consequences were likely a large factor for why he and Zatanna broke up (which is truly quite sad).
Both Batman and Zatanna looked to be quite happy in the new flashbacks, so it's truly disappointing that their relationship fell apart. However, perhaps their friendship can be salvaged if they find a way to stop the incursions from happening, seeing as how it's likely a constant reminder of what they once had, refusing to let them move forward. "Bound To Our Will" will continue in future issues of Batman: Urban Legends.