A recent sequel to 1989’sBatmanreintroduced the firstBatmanlove interest to the movie universe after 27 years. John Jackson Miller’s 2024 novelBatman: Resurrectiontakes place between the events of the original 1989live-action Batman movieand its 1992 sequel,Batman Returns.Resurrectionnot only sees characters once exclusive to the two movies interact with each other, but it also introduces newBatmancharacters to the Burton Batman movie universe (via retcons in some cases), with one such character being a classicBatmansupporting 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’sBatman, the two tragically broke up by the events ofBatman 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 theBatmancomic mythos.
Julie Madison’s Batman Film History Explained
During the events ofBatman: Resurrection,Bruce Wayne is in a relationship with Julie Madison, who was his first love interest in the original Golden AgeBatmancomics. Notably,Resurrection’sversion 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’sBatman & Robin, which is part of one of the4 Michael Keaton Batman timelinesthat branch off from the events of 1989’sBatmanandBatman Returns.
Resurrectionincludes characters from theBatman ’89comics, confirming that they are part of the same branching timeline.
Resurrection, the forthcomingBatman: Revolution, and theBatman ’89comics also spin off from the two Burton films, but they are part of a separate branching timeline than the Joel Schumacher movies,makingResurrection’sJulie Madison a different iteration from the one seen inBatman & Robin. In a potential minor continuity error, Bruce Wayne mentions Vicki Vale as his sole previous love interest when speaking to Selina Kyle inBatman Returns.
Julie Madison Was An Important Character In Batman Comics
Julie Madison has a fascinating history in theBatmancomic 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-Crisisand post-Flashpointversions – 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.
