If there's one superhero that has done well when it comes to on-screen adaptation, it's certainly Batman. From cartoons to film, to TV, The Caped Crusader has flourished on the screen, but his movies have managed to fall flat in one key area of storytelling every time.

For decades, Batman was the only superhero DC seemed comfortable to make films about. The Tim Burton films, Christopher Nolan's trilogy, the modern appearances in Snyder's works, each era of Batman define the era of superhero cinema at large. Even when they're bad, at the very least, they're influential.

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Almost every superhero story, and indeed most stories in general, features a love interest or romance plotline. Every hero has a love interest, many superhero teams have members that begin romantic relationships on the job, some are even introduced as a couple whose pairing is key to their character. A superhero's romantic partner can aid them in their quests, provide an emotional heart to the narrative or add a complication that the hero must hide their second life from. Or, as is so often the case, they could be treated like props whose main activity is being held hostage by villains. Genre cinema has a long-standing problem with one-dimensional love interests. Often the partners of heroes come across like incomplete characters who fill space rather than elevating the work. The many currently released Batman films fall prey to these problems and more, time and time again.

Michael Keaton Batman Walked Away

Very few Batman love interests last longer than a single film, the original four films released in the eighties and nineties each feature a new romantic partner, none of which make it to the next one. Vikki Vale, a reporter for the Gotham Globe is adapted from the comics into 1989's Batman, where she holds a strained relationship with Bruce Wayne. Batman Returns introduced Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman, probably the best love interest in the franchise to date. Forever didn't bring her back, instead of introducing Dr. Chase Meridian, an original character created for the film who tries to get to the bottom of Wayne's psyche.

Batman & Robin adapts minor character Julie Madison, who appears in only a couple of bracingly brief scenes. Catwoman is easily the most developed of the group, but the only one that doesn't get kidnaped is Madison. These characters serve their roles fine, but aside from Catwoman, none of them have anything dynamic going on. The actors in these roles are all solid, the performances aren't the problem. Their entire character boils down to their attraction to Bruce or the Bat, they typically get held hostage, then Bruce ditches them for their safety. Trope-heavy, dull, but above all else, underdeveloped. The Nolan films weren't much better in this regard.

The first love interest to last two films, though portrayed by different actors, is Rachel Dawes. Dawes was created for the film Batman Begins, where she was introduced as a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. After Bruce's parents died, and he left the country, Dawes became a tenacious Assistant District Attorney, dedicating her life to rooting out corruption in Gotham. She's intelligent, strong-willed, and idealistic, often challenging criminals in court and outwitting very dangerous people. When Bruce returns, their relationship develops awkwardly. Her main feeling towards him seems to be concern. By the end of the first film, she has of course been kidnaped and rescued, but she also discovers Batman's secret identity. In an interesting twist, she leaves him for his safety.

Throughout the sequel, 2008's The Dark Knight, she remains engaged with Harvey Dent while Wayne pines after her from afar. Her personality is largely unchanged from the previous film, she continues to fight crime through the system, and the second time she's kidnaped, she doesn't make it out. Infuriatingly, Dawes's character has more impact on the storyline after her gruesome murder. This is a pretty disgusting use of the "fridging" trope, wherein a female character is slain exclusively to motivate a man's quest for vengeance. The Dark Knight takes a relatively complex character, a huge step up for Batman's love interests, and reduces her to dust to motivate Batman's ongoing battle with The Joker. The sequel introduces Anne Hathaway as a weaker take on Catwoman and a frustratingly generic yet convoluted femme fatale.

Anne Hathaway Catwoman safe in The Dark Knight Rises

Rachel Dawes was probably the most well-rounded take on Batman's romantic partner, but her fate completely undoes all the work put into her character. Batman V. Superman sees Wayne briefly flirt with Diana Prince, but that has yet to lead anywhere in particular. The problem is in the writing, Batman is necessarily a loner in the way modern creators present his story. Batman stories introduce love interests as an obligation, then rarely come up with anything interesting to do with them. The solution is obvious, when it comes to Batman's girlfriends, make them full-fledged characters, not just another victim for the hero to save.

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