Major DC character to come out of the closet

[Fausto]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2147928/Is-Batman-gay-Major-DC-Comics-character-come-closet.html

[The Gravekeeper]

Good for them. I look forward to the day when a character coming out of the closet isn't considered to be provocative enough to warrant press releases, though.

As for who it'll be, I seriously doubt it'll be Superman or Batman. They've more or less learned not to mess around too much with their cash cows.

[indianasmith]

Goodness knows everything HAS to be about sex . . .

[Leah]

Goodness knows everything HAS to be about sex . . .

ehhh?

[RCMerchant]

I'm guessing....hmmm....Robin.
Mebbe Wonder Woman.

[Fausto]

Goodness knows everything HAS to be about sex . . .

Yeah, really, it's not like gay people have committed relationships that would have an impact on story arcs the way straight superheroes have...  

[AndyC]

As for who it'll be, I seriously doubt it'll be Superman or Batman. They've more or less learned not to mess around too much with their cash cows.

True, both are too iconic and lucrative to take chances with. Besides that, Superman's ongoing thing with Lois is too integral to his story to mess up by making him openly gay.

As for Batman, fans already make jokes about his young, tight-wearing male wards. Nobody is going to do anything that would invite more speculation of that nature.

Of course, if they go too far down the pecking order, this won't mean a whole lot.

[RCMerchant]

Marvel and Archie comics did it first....

Marvel had the RAWHIDE KID gay in 2003....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rawhide_Kid

Archie comics had a gay charecter in 2010....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Keller

So this is not something groundbreaking.

[Mofo Rising]

C'mon, DC, who cares?

For those who don't read comics, DC recently rebooted their entire timeline. 70 years of comic history is now gone for their new lineup.

At any rate, it won't be Superman. He's Superman. Batman is basically asexual, but you couldn't make him gay because the Robin thing would be a little bit too awful. Wonder Woman? Too easy.

Seems like another gimmick to me. Openly gay superheroes have not been news for a while. Northstar from Alpha Flight came out in the late '90s, and that would have been news if anybody cared about Alpha Flight. Grant Morrison, during his incredibly popular run on the X-Men in the early 2000s wrote the Beast as gay. (A Marvel comic, of course.)

In fact, the Wildstorm Universe has had two characters, Apollo and the Midnighter, who are carbon copies of Superman and Batman and have been in a committed gay relationship for years.

I'd actually find it more interesting if they actually presented a character as gay as a natural part of the story instead of crowing about it. We're at that point, right?

[Psycho Circus]

Goodness knows everything HAS to be about sex . . .

ehhh?

Oh for pete's sake!  

After decades of story writing based in and out of real life, were you so naive to think something like this wouldn't come up?? Get a grip Indy, gay people are everywhere and they aren't hurting anybody, especially you (it isn't just about "sex"). If you don't like the fact that a comic book has a gay character then don't bloody well read it!

[AndyC]

I suppose the difference here is that it's DC and they're planning to do it with (I assume) one of their well-established heroes and not some second-stringer from a title only committed fans are even familiar with. That's something new.

I do see the contradiction in saying on the one hand that gay people are normal enough to include in this way, then tooting their horns for being so progressive. I think it's a good idea, but making it out to be a gutsy move on DC's part kind of undermines the rationale behind it. It's like that Seinfeld episode where Jerry and George were freaking out because people thought they were gay, then adding "Not that there's anything wrong with that." Saying something is no big deal, but making a big deal of it.

[Leah]

I really don't see a problem with this, esp. if Batman specifically choose Robin's out fit, which really screams campy and gay at the same time. Basically, it's nothing new, and really, nobody should get bent out of shape for this.

[lester1/2jr]

I don't see a reason for it. They shuold just create a new gay character. Pink Lightening

[JoeTheDestroyer]

This also isn't new for DC, technically.  They've had lesbian versions of Bat Girl.

[JoeTheDestroyer]

Scratch that, Batwoman.