DC Comics’ Superman John Kent Comes out as Bisexual
The big coming out has happened! Son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane came out as bisexual! John Kent dates a photojournalist in the new comic series.
The upcoming fifth issue of the comic book Superman: Son of Kal-El sees Jon enter into a relationship with reporter Jay Nakamura. In a recent interview with IGN, writer Tom Taylor says, “Over the years in this industry, it probably won’t surprise you to hear I’ve had queer characters and storylines rejected. I felt like I was letting down people I loved every time this happened.”
He comments on how the present time is “very different” than what the environment for comics has been a decade ago stating, “When I was asked if I wanted to write a new Superman with a new #1 for the DC Universe, I knew replacing Clark with another straight white savior could be a real opportunity missed. I’ve always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes. Today, Superman, the strongest superhero on the planet, is coming out.”
The comic book artist John Timms said, “It is a pretty big deal doing it with Jon Kent as Superman… On the other hand, I hope this kind of thing will not be seen as a big deal in the future. You could visualize how it could pan in the future when the most powerful man in the world is part of the LGBT community. So many things are on the horizon and beyond.”
It is important to note that the new Superman is not the first queer comic book hero even in the DC Universe, but he is certainly the most famous. Among the DC characters, Batman‘s sidekick Tim Drake, the third holder of the Robin moniker, and one of the X-Men, Northstar, have all been gay before.
For a long time in the 20th century, queer people were portrayed negatively in comics, or not at all. In fact, in the 1950s, DC was accused of promoting homosexuality by having Batman and Robin together, and even passed a law about what and how to portray in comics. To comply with the law, DC introduced a character called Batwoman, who was intended to be Batman‘s partner, emphasizing that Batman is heterosexual.
The fifth issue of Superman: Son of Kal-El comes out on November 9.
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