Batman's Wedding is Turning Into a Huge Villain Showdown

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Batman: Prelude to the Wedding #1

Batman and Catwoman are finally getting married - but the wedding is shaping up to be a huge, supervillainous beatdown. After literal decades of build-up and sexual tension, the wedding of Batman and Catwoman is still a little ways off. The wedding won't occur until Batman #50 in Tom King's comic series, set to release on July 4th. Yet ahead of the big event DC has launched a miniseries putting the Batman family through a gauntlet of their own in Prelude to the Wedding.

Written by Tim Seeley with art from Otto Schmidt and Brad Walker, each issue of Prelude to the Wedding will focus on a different member of the Bat-Family. Prelude to the Wedding #1 kicks things off with Robin facing off against his grandfather, Ra's al Ghul.

But this is only the beginning of a much more violent event to come.

In current continuity, the exact parentage of Damian Wayne is in flux. Damian might be the biological son of Deathstroke. However, the current Robin views himself as the son and heir of Batman. All of which is explored the Prelude to the Wedding #1 as Damian worries that Batman and Catwoman having their own son will replace him. Damian's always been a rather prickly character, by design, yet Prelude to the Wedding #1 is a exploration of the softer side of his character, especially as it relates to his new (adorable) relationship with Catwoman.

But the real kicker of the issue comes in its closing pages. It's clear throughout Prelude to the Wedding #1 that the location of Batman's wedding is a very closely-guarded secret (for obvious reasons). Certain villains are more desperate for an invitation than other, including Ra's al Ghul - and most distressingly, The Joker. In DC Nation #0 it was already revealed that Joker is looking to be invited to Batman's wedding and he'll kill anyone to make that happen. At the end of Prelude to the Wedding #1, the list of Joker's victims even grows to include the assassins led by Ra's al Ghul.

After facing off with his grandson, Ra's al Ghul has a rendezvous with one of his operatives, who informs him that the clown prince came calling. As seen before, he once again demanded to know where Batman's wedding was being held... and burned his eyes out when he denied him an answer. Joker launched into a frenzy from there, leaving more dead assassins in his wake along with his signature "Ha Ha Ha" left as a calling card.

Readers alreaday witnessed how badly Joker wants an invitation to the wedding, but things have escalated now that he's made an even deadlier enemy because of it. Ra's al Ghul isn't someone freely crossed, Joker or not. And anyone who knows anything about the leader of DC's League of Assassins should know he's not going to let this insult go unanswered (even though Ra's doesn't really want the Cat and Bat to be married, either).

With future Prelude to the Wedding issues involving headline appearances from Hush, The Riddler, Anarky and The Joker, it isn't looking good for Bat and Cat's nuptials. The impression is that all (or most) of these villains will collide immediately before or at the actual events, resulting in one huge brawl. Odds aren't high of deaths at the event, since every major member of the Bat Family is headlining their own comic, Catwoman is getting her own comic, and Batman's most recent "death" happened just a few years ago. However, fans might want to prepare for the very real possibility that the wedding be called off or even annulled.

It would be a very Batman response to have the potential for happiness with Catwoman snatched away at the last second, and getting married has already placed a target on their backs. If The Joker is willing to take out a crowd of Assassins for an invitation, what will he do to prevent Catwoman from making his archnemesis truly happy?

Let's just say the couple should be sure to pack super-suits under their wedding attire.