The Cat and The Bat: A simple case of memory lapse?
Something has been bothering me since Batman #15 (2016). And its something that we should all be bothered about. Shout out to Choi Petrache for pointing it out. I wouldn't have spotted it with just one reading. For those who've read Batman #1 (1940) and Batman #404 (1940), you guys already know what we're talking about.
Yes, Batman and Catwoman trying to recall their very first meeting. Batman recalls meeting Catwoman for the first time in a yacht named Dolphin (Batman #1) but Catwoman, on the other hand, remembers their first meeting in the East End of Gotham City.
Batman #15 (2016) was the first incident where they tried to recall their first meeting. At first, I thought Selina forgot about the yacht [This is probably wrong since "Batman Year One" happened first before "The Cat". I was probably thinking that "The Cat" was published first before "Year One"]. But after giving it some thought, it is more logical to think that Batman forgot about the East End meeting--or the events in Year One.
I came to accept that the disconnect between the two was caused by memory lapses on Batman's part. That is until Batman #24 (2016) came along. There, Batman was reminiscing when he first met Catwoman. And yes, he was so convinced that he met her for the first time in the yacht.
It bothered me yet again. I mean, there must be a reason why both of them cant remembers the same event. I was so eager to know that answer that I even messaged Tom King, himself. I asked him the reason behind it and said:
"Good question. What do you think?" Well, now, I got more questions than answers. My first answer to him was quite stupid and rash. I told Tom that there might be two Catwomen in the DC Universe--same concept as that of the three Jokers. I knew I was wrong and I felt stupid for saying that.
But then it hit me. I remember reading about Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's use of the Watchmen's 9-panel layout for DC Universe Rebirth #1 [and yes, thats why I read the tpbs and hardcovers. They provide annotations and insights regarding the story].
We all know that the Watchmen are coming. But to the extent of their involvement, that, we actually don't know. But going back to the 9-panel layout, I remember seeing the same layout in Batman #14--part one of Rooftops, the issue before they started talking about their first meeting.
And it doesn't end there. It should be noted that in DC Universe Rebirth #1, Wally knows that there's a higher being who's responsible for everything--to be particular, the loss of memory of some of our heroes.
If you look at the two pages carefully, you'd see Wally realizing that there's someone out there responsible for "stealing years of memory" from them. Then the panels shift to the batcave where Wally continues to talk by saying that these beings took years from them to make them weak. I don't know, but its too convenient for Johns to suddenly shift to the batcave and say that some beings took time from them to make them weak.
Now, is this the same reason why Batman cant remember the events in Year One? To be more specific, are these beings responsible for Batman's loss of memory of the East End meeting with Selina?
Well, Tom King hasn't given me the answer yet. But this is the first time that he hasn't replied to my messages. haha. Either way, it makes sense as to why Batman cant remember the East End meeting. Some one is out there stealing time and memory to hurt these heroes. What better way to hurt someone by stealing the most precious thing that a person can't live without. And for Batman, the most precious thing for him is...
Paolo Ollero, 27, working law student, a comicbook enthusiast who recently expanded his collection to action figures, memorabilia, movie posters, and statues. He is one of the admins for The Dark Knight Philippines -- the premier Batman group in the country. He also contributes reviews and write-ups in Geekend Gladiator.
