Vicki Vale

Vicki Vale
Vicki Vale, as she appears in All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #1 (Sept. 2005). Art by Jim Lee
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Batman #49 (October/November 1948)
Created by	Bob Kane Bill Finger
In-story information
Full name	Victoria "Vicki" Vale
Supporting character of	Batman

Victoria "Vicki" Vale is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character was ranked 93rd in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

Vicki Vale first appears in Batman #49 (October/November 1948), and was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger.

Vicki Vale first appeared in Batman #49 (Oct/Nov 1948) in a 12-page story entitled, "Scoop of the Century!" written by Bill Finger with art by Bob Kane and Lew Schwartz. Her role in the story consisted largely of reporting on Batman's activities for the Gotham Gazette newspaper. She was romantically attracted to Batman (and Bruce Wayne on occasion), repeatedly suspecting they were the same person.

Often the plot of a story featuring Vicki Vale revolved around her suspicions regarding Batman's identity. Batman would usually manage to fool her by the end of each story into concluding that he was not really Bruce Wayne, but her suspicions would re-emerge in a later story.

Vicki Vale remained a prominent character in Batman stories from Batman #49, in 1948, until Detective #320 in October 1963. In 1964, Julius Schwartz became the editor of the Batman-related comics. Schwartz dropped a number of Batman's Silver Age backing characters, including Vicki Vale, Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Bat-Mite, and Ace the Bat-Hound.

Vicki Vale surfaced 13 years later, in Batman Family #11 (June 1977). She was now married and known as Vicki Vale Powers. She was also mentioned in Batman Family #16. After that, she vanished for another five years.

She returned in February 1982 in Batman #344. The editor and writer were apparently unaware of her 1970s appearances, so there was no mention of her marriage, and it was stated in a footnote that she had not appeared since Detective #320. She had supposedly been in Europe for years, but now had returned to Gotham City. She became Bruce Wayne's romantic interest again, earning the wrath of Catwoman in Batman #355 (January 1983). She also had a rivalry for Bruce's affections with Julia Remarque, the daughter of Alfred Pennyworth and Mademoiselle Marie. (Julia Remarque was wiped from continuity after Crisis on Infinite Earths.)