A recent sequel to 1989’s Batman reintroduced the first Batman love interest to the movie universe after 27 years. John Jackson Miller’s 2024 novel Batman: Resurrection takes place between the events of the original 1989 live-action Batman movie and its 1992 sequel, Batman Returns. Resurrection not only sees characters once exclusive to the two movies interact with each other, but it also introduces new Batman characters to the Burton Batman movie universe (via retcons in some cases), with one such character being a classic Batman supporting character with a fascinating and tragic history in the comics.

Although Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale’s romance is one of the many high points of 1989’s Batman, the two tragically broke up by the events of Batman Returns. Resurrection – which takes place only six months after the events of the 1989 film – reveals that the two have already broken up, though Vicki Vale does play an important role in the novel. Instead, Bruce Wayne is shown to be in another romantic relationship with a character from the Batman comic mythos.

Julie Madison’s Batman Film History Explained

During the events of Batman: Resurrection, Bruce Wayne is in a relationship with Julie Madison, who was his first love interest in the original Golden Age Batman comics. Notably, Resurrection’s version of Julie Madison is not the first to be connected to the Burton films, yet she is nevertheless a different character from the one introduced 27 years ago. Julie Madison is a minor character in 1997’s Batman & Robin, which is part of one of the 4 Michael Keaton Batman timelines that branch off from the events of 1989’s Batman and Batman Returns.

Resurrection, the forthcoming Batman: Revolution, and the Batman ’89 comics also spin off from the two Burton films, but they are part of a separate branching timeline than the Joel Schumacher movies, making Resurrection’s Julie Madison a different iteration from the one seen in Batman & Robin. In a potential minor continuity error, Bruce Wayne mentions Vicki Vale as his sole previous love interest when speaking to Selina Kyle in Batman Returns.

Julie Madison Was An Important Character In Batman Comics

Julie Madison has a fascinating history in the Batman comic mythos. Not only was Julie Madison Bruce Wayne’s first love interest, the two were engaged for a time, with her Golden Age debut introducing her as Bruce Wayne’s fiancé, though the engagement was eventually called off. Later iterations of Julie Madison – namely the post-Crisis and post-Flashpoint versions – had even sadder roles in the Batman comics. In both Modern Age versions, Julie Madison discovered that Bruce Wayne was Batman, with Bruce’s double life tragically ending their relationship.

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