However, I have gay family members, gay friends, and I love them all dearly. So going forward and reading the following comments/arguments, if I have offended you, please let me know. All comments are welcome, and I encourage you to comment on facebook.com/asvengersassemble with your perspective, or to privately message me with any concerns or comments. I am doing my best to be respectful of everyone in this article. Other times, unfortunately, I feel I may be realistic, which may contradict some views. This may oppose your view, but my intent isn't to offend anyone. That said [deep breath], here we go....
In September 2011, DC Comics made a bold move: to "soft-boot" the DC Universe, and start from scratch under the moniker The New 52, reflecting the new 52 titles published.
The idea of retroactive continuity, or "retcon," isn't new. Both Marvel and DC have done this move many times, with many characters, usually updating an origin story or changing some aspect of a character's life (ie did Batman catch Joe Chill, the criminal that killed his parents, or did he even solve who the murderer was?). While these aspects changed, the core elements (Bruce Wayne's parents are murdered) remains the same, yet new plot points can be derived from either scenario.
But last September, DC decided to start from scratch, and take away years and years of continuity.
This move was considered both good and bad. For lifelong fans (and fanboys) of the characters, it became a little more critical. Elements and past storylines no longer existed, so what you read six months back may no longer carry any bearing in the character you enjoy reading. Imagine reading the last Harry Potter book, and by then the first five books of Harry's time at Hogwarts were completely irrelevant and didn't happen.
For many fans, including those that are casual readers or those that are completely new, it was an opportunity to buy comics and get on board. Who are these guys? Why do they hate each other? Without having to know about some epic battle that took place in 1987 between Superman and Lex Luthor, things were fresh. And for the fanboy that was strict on continuity, if a new story contradicted said epic battle from 1987, fanboys would go to the Internet and freak out.
With new beginnings and still in the early stages, DC made a new announcement this week: One of their prominent heroes will be gay.
Initially, DC announced that it was going to feature a gay character in comics. This idea isn't new. There have been numerous gay & lesbian characters in comics. Obsidian (Todd Rice), son of the original Green Lantern (Alan Scott), came out in the early-2000s. In 2006, DC introduced the new Batwoman, Kate Kane, as a lesbian, and her and the new Question, Renee Montoya, were described as having a past relationship. Maggie Sawyer of the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) is currently dating Kate Kane, unaware of her secret identity. And currently in the DC Universe, heroes Apollo and Midnighter, themselves obvious parallels of Superman and Batman (Apollo derives his power from the sun, Midnighter a street-fighter of sorts), are openly gay heroes and eventually got married (though I believe the marriage was retconned in The New 52).
To see a more detailed list of gay & lesbian characters published by DC Comics, follow this link.
Follow the link and you will see, well, not many characters you recognize. In fact, even I, your window into the comic book world, have a tough time recognizing many characters after the first page.
Perhaps that is the point of this move - to take an already well-established character and have him/her represent gay people, as opposed to introducing a new character and hoping the character gains popularity.
Can This Work?
Gay & lesbian characters in comics haven't really yet ascended into the "A-List" characters, in either DC or Marvel comics. I'm not saying they can't, or shouldn't, they just haven't yet. But discussing why a gay character can't become an A-list hero is like discussing why Blue Beetle or Tempest aren't A-List heroes; it is a manner of public opinion, personal likability, and comic book sales that will ultimately determine a book's introduction or cancellation, or whether or not they make a movie about the character.
So maybe it is just easier to take an already established character and make them gay instead of, as mentioned, begin with a new character and hope the character takes off, in order to have a high-profile gay hero in your franchise.
Also, is there a distinct list? Here are some of the major names a non- to mild-comic book reader may recognize:
- Batman
- Robin
- Superman
- Wonder Woman
- Aquaman
- Flash
- Green Lantern
- Catwoman
But how much bigger can the list be? There are other major characters in comics, but outside of the average reader, do many people know Nightwing? Martian Manhunter? Cyborg? Speedy? Even Green Arrow?
Will This Work?
It's a bold move, to say the least. I read an argument already (this news was just announced Monday) that said that making someone like Wonder Woman a lesbian will be less of a point in the right direction, but more readily establish fanboy male fantasies. I may have to agree on that one. That being said, maybe a lesbian woman would see the most prominent female superheroine of them all, and be proud to have Diana, princess of Themyscira, represent lesbian women everywhere.
Also, but believe it or not, there are homophobic people out there. Will making Superman gay empower the gay community, or will it cause a fallout? God forbid somebody does something stupid if this is the case, but I'm willing to bet there's some sort of online protest or even picketing. At the very least, a drop in sales may not be surprising depending on the readers' level of acceptance.
Is This Necessary?
I understand that gay people and the gay community are underrepresented in comic books. In 2010, Archie Comics introduced gay character Kevin Keller to Riverdale, to much praise. He got married in an "adult" version of the comic in 2012 (not adult as in R-rating, but adult as in future version).
However, as I stated above, I can't readily think of any A-List superheroes in comic books.
Unfortunately, some see this as a publicity stunt - and more unfortunate, they're likely right. DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan Didio stated his opinion has evolved, much like Barack Obama's on gay marriage.
More so, Marvel Comics character Northstar of Alpha Flight (the Canadian super-team Wolverine is sometimes associated with), who came out as a gay superhero back in 1992, will be getting married in Astonishing X-Men #51 this June - coincidentally, the same month DC will "out" their hero.
Who Will It Be?
Whether or not you agree with the notion of DC Comics changing one of their hero's sexual orientation, it's going to happen. So who will it be?
- Wonder Woman? An icon, arguably the biggest superheroine of them all, coming from an island populated only by women.... But no, it's not her. In fact, not any woman. In an interview with ABC News, Courtney Simmons, DC Entertainment's senior vice president of publicity, said, "One of the major iconic DC characters will reveal that he is gay in a storyline in June." Emphasis on "he." At this point, no further reason to speculate any of the other female leads in the DC Universe.
- Superman? The New 52 rebooted Superman as well, and dissolved his relationship with Lois Lane (they aren't divorced - they haven't started dating yet). Will Clark be interested in Jimmy Olsen instead? This is possible, but with Apollo (mentioned above) also in the DC Universe, it may be redundant.
- Flash (Barry Allen) married Iris West Allen. DC just brought Barry back from the dead, so did he come back gay? It seems unlikely here, as Barry is the grandfather of Bart Allen, aka Impulse/Kid Flash II/Flash IV, and unless they did some clever maneuvering, making Barry gay would eliminate Bart from continuity altogether. Bart is Kid Flash in the new continuity.
Flash III/Kid Flash I (Wally West) was shown to get married and have twin children - both with superpowers - before the retcon. Wally's current status? He's been benched for now, and not part of The New 52. Will he reappear gay? - Green Lantern (Hal Jordan - Ryan Reynold's character from the Green Lantern movie) has a longtime relationship with Carol Ferris (Blake Lively's character). When not with Carol, Hal Jordan has been shown many times over finding girlfriends and alien girlfriends - think of him like DC's Captain James Tiberius Kirk. There's no particular reason why he couldn't be gay, but I doubt Warner Bros will allow it considering there's already an established movie, and having a gay Green Lantern in comics and a straight one in the movies will, in their likely opinion, cause fan's minds to explode. To read my rant on Warner Bros and their media divisions and why I dislike them, read my earlier article.
However, besides Hal Jordan, Earth has three other Green Lanterns protecting the space sector, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and Guy Gardner, and any of these three could be depicted as gay in the comics and featured in the upcoming movie(s). - Aquaman was reintroduced in The New 52 with his wife, Mera, so it seems unlikely here. He did, however, give up his throne to be a superhero, only to find the world finds him irrelevant and thinks his powers are useless. But they're not, and you can read about how awesome Aquaman is here.
- Batman? Well, this one actually has a lot of possibility. Despite his previous girlfriends and flirtations like Catwoman or Vicki Vale, Batman never settles down with a woman. His reasoning for this, however, has always been believable and sound: If a criminal were to discover his secret identity, than the love of his life will be the first target. Sure, Superman worried of the same thing and married Lois Lane, but he's invulnerable and faster than a speeding bullet, so she doesn't have much to worry about. Also, like I mentioned regarding Superman/Apollo, having Batman/Midnighter as gay superheroes with similar abilities may be redundant.
The only real problem I have with a gay Batman is it will affirm Fredric Wertham's ideas in Seduction of the Innocent, that Batman & Robin are gay.
Wertham being right about this aspect isn't problematic on its own, but Seduction of the Innocent really put comic books on the decline, and the Comics Code Authority was created to restrict what was printed, limiting creative expression.
Wertham also suggested comic books also made kids aggressive and violent (much like how TV and video games are the culprits of today), Wonder Woman was a lesbian because of her strength and independence, and that Superman was un-American and a fascist. There are plenty of things I disagree with that Wertham posited, so if he ends up being right about this, it's personally a loss for me. - Robin - which one? Dick Grayson (yes, Dick, grow-up) was the original Robin, who has grown up to be a hero on his own, Nightwing. Jason Todd was Robin II, who died at the hands of the Joker. He has returned from the grave (of course, it's comics), but is now an anti-hero. Robin III, Tim Drake, now acts independently as Batman's ally, Red Robin. Robin V, the current Robin, is Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne's biological son with Talia al Ghul.
Nightwing/Dick Grayson - Possible, but making Dick gay.... Well, how can I finish that without snickering myself? But seriously, making Dick Grayson gay puts another win in the Wertham column in my opinion, as he was the Robin in question during Wertham's publication of Seduction of the Innocent.
Red Hood/Jason Todd - This one seems unlikely, as in The New 52 it has been established that Jason has had relations with Starfire, one of DC's primary eye-candy characters (Starfire was also at one point almost the wife of Dick Grayson). Making Jason Todd gay at this point makes him either one who experiments, or bisexual.
Red Robin/Tim Drake - Again, possible. Tim had a few girlfriends, notably Stephanie Brown, aka Robin IV/Spoiler/Batgirl, but a list can be seen here. In Tim's case, however, I don't think it has yet been established if he's gay or straight in this new universe.
Robin IV/Damian Wayne - The current Robin, this one is also possible. Damian, however, is only 10 years old, so perhaps it's too early to designate his orientation. For that reason, Damian has not really been designated any sexual orientation in previous stories (at least none I'm aware of at this moment). - It has to be said, but what if it's not a superhero? Well, this will make this whole article and most of its points moot, but it's possible. Even the statement above Courtney Simmons said, "...major iconic DC character....", so this could include Alfred Pennyworth, Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon, or other supportive cast.
Final Thoughts
I will agree that GLBT people are under-represented in comic books.
However, what makes these characters superheroes isn't their sexual orientation. In fact, I read a comment somewhere that a particular reader always viewed heroes as asexual; the superhero fights evil, and isn't on patrol for men/women.
Eliminating factors like this will make storytelling one-dimensional, I'll concede that, and a romantic interest here and there helps to keep storytelling interesting. But you shouldn't be picking up the newest issue of Action Comics and be looking for a comic primarily focused on the character's love life, straight or gay.
For this reason, I do not believe that taking a long-established character and making them suddenly gay is necessarily the best tactic to insert gay people into the comic book community. In fact, taking somebody popular and making them now gay seems like a gimmick, in my opinion. If they weren't going for gimmick, let me ask you this: If DC Comics is so interested in inserting minority characters, why would they take Barbara Gordon, one of the few disabled superheroes as Oracle, and retcon her to be able to walk again as Batgirl in The New 52?
If you design a character and make them interesting enough on their own accord, and they happen to be gay, I would read the comic book. But by taking an established character and now having them come out runs the risk of what happened to the Ellen TV show - not just indicating the lead character is gay, but beating you over the head with it every week thereafter (the view that Chastity Bono, GLAAD media director, carried). Eventually what elements that made the comic (or show) enjoyable begin to disappear altogether, and the focus is completely shifted.
Would it be any more relevant to make James Bond gay in the next few movies, just to bring a prominent gay character to the big screen (James Bond in... Cock of the Walk)? Or what about a gay Tarzan movie? Gay Sherlock Holmes? I don't see how sexual orientation necessarily improves on any of these story aspects, it just changes them. If I were gay, I think I'd be more inherently proud of a gay character, like Marvel's Northstar (mentioned above), instead of DC's new version of a character, which for all we know will be retconned again next year as straight.
Whatever hero decides to come out, just know this: I'm here for you, buddy, and I love you all the same.
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