Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman #122
In the midst of DC's Shadow War, Batman has seemingly reignited a past romance that will no doubt complicate things with Catwoman. While the Bat and the Cat have been on a break since the events of the Joker War, the intention was for Bruce Wayne to reinvent himself and create new systems for being the Dark Knight. However, the most recent issue of Batman is teasing that Bruce might be getting back together with his old flame Talia al Ghul, the new leader of the League of Assassins and the mother of his son, Damian.
In the first chapter of Shadow War, Ra's al Ghul was murdered by someone wearing Deathstroke armor, intending to frame Slade Wilson presumedly before he can get his new army of supervillains up and running as seen in Deathstroke Inc. Hell-bent on avenging her father's death, Talia al Ghul has demanded Deathstroke's head, an act which will no doubt lead to the League of Assassins and Slade's Secret Society engaging in a major battle. While Damian Wayne's Robin also intends to avenge his grandfather, he's chosen to work apart from both his mother and father. Now, Batman #122 from Joshua Williamson and Howard Porter sees Batman investigating the scene of the crime in Gotham before confronting his former lover in Nepal.
While the Dark Knight's working theory was that Talia had her father killed in order to take his empire without raising suspicions, the Daughter of the Demon debunks that idea rather quickly, revealing her intentions to kill Slade for what he's allegedly done. Furthermore, the wounds she sustained from the false Deathstroke are very much real. Realizing the truth about Talia, the World's Greatest Detective and the new Demon's Head seemingly reignite their past romance (an act which could complicate Batman's relationship with Catwoman).
At the moment, it's unclear how far Batman and Talia will take their renewed romance. They certainly have their history, as Damian is living proof of that fact. However, this issue is happening during Batman's one-year break with Catwoman. With Bruce's new status quo and the wave of new enemies Selina made for herself following Joker War, they both decided to take some time to work on each other apart before making a new attempt at being together. As such, what will the consequences be from this new arc with Talia? Will Batman decide to move on from Catwoman as Talia's beloved once more?
It wasn't that long ago when the Bat and the Cat were going to get married. While it seems unlikely that Batman and Talia will be as longterm, it certainly has the potential to complicate matters in the interim. Talia al Ghul is as dangerous a woman as Catwoman used to be in Batman's life prior to her becoming a member of the Bat-Family. However it all goes down, Batman's love life stands to become incredibly messy as his ongoing series continues from DC Comics.