Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1.
Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon have shacked up in two Batman adaptations – will Batman: Caped Crusader make it three? Or are the Dark Knight and the future Batgirl destined to stay “just friends” in the Prime Video show’s universe?
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Do Bruce and Barbara Get Together in Batman: Caped Crusader?
The answer is no, Bruce and Barbara do not get together in Batman: Caped Crusader, and likely won’t in the future.
In DC’s Batman comics and most associated media, Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon share a close bond, however, they’re never an item. That’s not true of the DC Animated Universe, though. Here, Bruce and Babs dated off-screen at some point during their superhero careers (as revealed in Batman Beyond). This has never sat well with some fans, given the pair’s age gap and initial mentor/protégé dynamic. Batman and Batgirl knocking boots in 2016 animated film Batman: The Killing Joke – set outside the DCAU, but produced by one of its co-architects, Bruce Timm – also spawned similar objections.
Yet Batman: Caped Crusader could arguably get away with a Bruce/Barbara fling. After all, Bruce and Barbara are around the same age in Caped Crusader canon, and the former isn’t currently the latter’s crime-fighting tutor. So, is Timm – who co-developed Batman: Caped Crusader and serves as its showrunner – about to run back Bruce and Barbara’s DCAU romance? Nope. Timm has publicly confirmed that Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon won’t become a couple in Batman: Caped Crusader. Heck, he shut down speculation via a message board post before Season 1 even launched!
“The Batman/Barbara relationship in Caped Crusader is purely platonic. Honest,” Timm wrote. That said, the acclaimed animator also revealed that the idea of putting Bruce and Babs together did come up during production. “Funny story: early in our development process, one of our execs enthusiastically asked, ‘Hey, what if Batman and Barbara became romantically involved?’, apparently unaware of the uncomfortable history of that particular topic,” Timm recalled. “I said we weren’t going to be doing that, and explained why. I’m not stepping on that third rail again.”
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Do Bruce and Barbara Date Anyone Else in Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1?
Yes – well, Bruce does, at least. We see Master Wayne out on the town with more than one young lady, including movie star Yvonne Frances. The cashed-up playboy also flirts with Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and the pair share a similar spark as their costumed alter-egos. So, Bruce arguably doesn’t have room in his life to hook up with Barbara!
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By contrast, Barbara’s love life is virtually non-existent in Batman: Caped Crusader. Presumably, that’s because Babs is married to her job as a public defender. Whatever the reason, it seems clear that Timm has stayed true to his word and Batman: Caped Crusader‘s Bruce Wayne and Barbara Gordon aren’t getting together anytime soon.
Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1 is currently streaming on Prime Video.
Published: Aug 8, 2024 05:55 am