When Batman Returns starts one
question is on everyone’s mind: What happened to his seemingly perfect girl,
Vicky Vale? We all know from viewing and discussing Batman that he is not your
average hero, but has more than one side to him. So my theory here is that
maybe Vicky was just too one dimensional for Bruce Wayne/Batman. A complex hero
like that needs a complex girl. Selina Kyle/Catwomen may be the perfect girl
for the job.
The movie begins with Selina Kyle
as your average single workingwoman. She is the secretary to Max Shreck, a
rich, power hungry man with some not so respectable hidden agendas. After a
long hard day or working for Shreck with no appreciation Selina returns home to
no one but her cat and nagging voicemails from her mother. Her character
portrays the lonely life style of the modern workingwoman with ambition. She
corrects people who call her a secretary, telling them she is a “personal
assistant”. The only person she can’t seem to stand up to and correct is
Shreck. One day she puts her intelligence to use and hacks into protected files
regarding Shreck’s meeting with Bruce Wayne. She casually brings this up to
Shreck as she is prepping him for his meeting, informing him of all her
knowledge of his secret plans to steal Gotham’s energy. She finally stands up
to him only for him to attempt to kill her. This leads her to discover her
other side: Catwoman.
Bruce’s first encounter with her is
right as she discovered her powers and is filled with newfound confidence.
Bruce is immediately interested in her. He notices the good and innocence of
her Selina Kyle side and wonders why she is working for a man like Shreck.
Interestingly enough they meet later as their masked sides. Catwoman doesn’t
like the idea that women wait around for their hero (Batman) to save them. This
probably comes from her background of being pushed around by men in her job.
She wants to prove herself as a strong woman that can defend herself and duels
with Batman proving a challenge to him but ultimately losing.
The two later meet again for dinner
as their unmasked selves. At first I was expecting this to be almost exactly
the same as the scene in Batman where Bruce seduces Vicky for the first time.
But the romance between Bruce and Selina develops in a very different more complex
way. Selina challenges his and doesn’t give in to spending that night with him,
partially because she fears him noticing her wound from her earlier fight with
Batman.
Perhaps the most complex part of
their relationship is when the two finally discover each other’s second side.
Yes it is cute and romantic when Bruce and Selina are attracted to one another
as themselves then enemies as Batman and Catwoman but the cosmic significance
of their attraction is truly revealed with their identities. Bruce is still
interested in Selina and thinks they can work together. He believes he can talk
her out of her vendetta with Shreck by taking his mask off for her. But in the
end I believe he failed at doing this because no one could have talked him out
of his own vendetta with the Joker. The Joker could have been taken to jail
rather than killed just like Batman suggested they do with Shreck. But because
of Batman’s undeniable past with the Joker and his ability to cope with murdering
him because it was for the good of Gotham, no one could stop him. Catwoman felt
the same towards Shreck. Killing him could benefit Gotham as well as end her Vendetta
towards him. In the end I think those two events in the duel sided characters
lives is what brought about the strong connection between the two.
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