Julie Madison
Julie Madison was Bruce Wayne’s fiancé when he first started his career as Batman in 1939 and was the one who broke ground on his internal abyss. She was depicted as a posh socialite that was unfilled by their relationship because she, ironically, felt that Bruce was a humdrum billionaire playboy that would never amount to anything besides having money.
Madison never knew about Wayne’s nighttime endeavors and grew frustrated by his constant absence which led her to break off the relationship in a 1941 issue of Detective Comics. This marked the first time Bruce Wayne took a hit because of Batman.
Silver St. Cloud
If Julie had made him fearful of the toll Batman would take on his life, Silver confirmed it. She was another debutante that became romantically entangled with the Dark Knight in the late 1970’s and like Madison, quickly took exception to Wayne’s seeming inability to participate in their courtship. Silver, however, correlated Bruce’s disappearances with Batman’s appearances and famously called him out during a tussle with the Joker. Before Bats could respond, she admitted she loved him but couldn’t be a part of his life as Batman.
Bruce now had a concrete example of how his life may wither under the shadow of the Bat. He found himself redoubling his efforts as Batman by spending more time on the streets, investigated cases more intensely and even became more aggressive during the immediate period after their break-up.
Plunging into work is an effective way of seeking shelter from the emotional fallout of a break-up but for Bruce, this was much more. This marked one of the first times the cowl was used as a refuge from his civilian life and helped Batman realize how effective he could be without the albatross of Bruce Wayne.
