If there was ever a comic that exemplified the over saturation of variant covers, it's Batman #50. To the best of my knowledge, there were 49 variants for the Batwedding (or Batrimony, if you prefer). It almost felt like a round of Pokemon - "gotta catch 'em all." Anyone that bought the super-rare, foil cover, convention edition signed by the creative team is sure to be rich now, right? BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD.

I warned you about spoilers, so here they are.

In the pages of Batman #50, Tom King gives a touching ode to the curious relationship between Batman and Catwoman. The issue is broken into two separate narratives, one from Batman's perspective and the other from Catwoman's, as they prepare for their secret, rooftop wedding. As the story progresses, it becomes more about what makes Bruce Wayne Batman. What Selina deduces, with the help of her maid-of-honor, Holly, is marrying Catwoman would make him happy, and Batman can't be happy and still be Batman. It's that internal torment that defines his character. In the end, Catwoman leaves our hero at the altar, giving him one more reason to be angry and brooding. It's hard not to feel sorry for him.

In other words, the famed Batwedding issue that we'd all been waiting for didn't feature a wedding at all. And with that, those 49 variants are worth very little.

Don't misunderstand me; I enjoyed the issue. Tom King has proven himself to be one of (if not the) best writers in the business with his Batman run. I'm actually enjoying it more than Scott Snyder's take on the Caped Crusader. From a fan perspective, I liked the twist. Okay, maybe twist isn't the best word; months ago, I predicted that DC wouldn't let Batman get married.

This story is setting up for bigger things to come, and I'm excited to see where it leads. As far as investment potential, however, no wedding in a wedding issue simply crushes its value. While this is a great comic, there's nothing here that makes it a key. The big moment didn't pan out, and now all 49 variants are no more important than any other issue in King's Batman run.

From a collector's standpoint, there's going to be fallout that will affect the value on another minor key, Batman #24. For those of you who have forgotten, this was the popular proposal issue. After decades of teasing, Batman finally asked Catwoman to marry him. Since then, the Batwedding took hold of all things Bat, and everything leading up to the marriage was selling quite well. I'm sure the sales will continue because King has set up an intriguing story, but he killed the value of that proposal issue because now it doesn't really mean anything. Batman isn't married, so the proposal is no longer a key issue, even if it was minor. Consider this: a CGC 9.8 convention edition has averaged $175 in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the standard cover at the same grade was selling for $70-$75 from April 29 to July 1. Unless there is a sudden turn of events that results in a wedding, why would anyone pay those prices for this issue? Sales for Batman #24 are going to plummet in the coming weeks.

I guess in the end, Batman #50 is a lesson in the pitfalls of comic investing. It's just like that box of chocolate Forrest Gump has annoyed us about for all these years: you never know what you're going to get.