Posted: 21 May 2012 at 6:24pm | IP Logged | 3
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Interesting, Chad. I'm not sure, but I think I even agree with you... With the marraige, DC has shown that they're not interested in keeping any of the themes or tropes that got the character this far. Why not go in entirely different direction altogether? Hm... Something to think about... DC has experimented with this sort of reveal before, with little real success. Batwoman is obviously their most prominent gay "transformation," taking a character left largely unused since her heyday in the 1950's and making her a headline grabber for all of a week or so. Renee Montoya, originally a character from the Animated continuity, with some hints of romantic ties to her male partner, was imported into mainstream continuity as a lesbian, following in the footsteps of JB's Maggie Sawyer who showed us that a good cop can be shown as gay in comics without raising the ire of the conservative set. When DC decided to try the reliable "guy character is now a gal" trick with the Question, they had Renee take up the mantle and thereby made that character a would-be icon to the LGBT community. But it's been awhile since then so it's time to give it another go... JB mentions this idea being "so 1986," and I agree. 1986 was when the Mindy Newell 2 issue (originally scheduled to be 4) Lois Lane mini-series came out. That mini dealt with the difficult social issue of missing children and was successful enough that DC was willing to entertain the idea of another such mini, one dealing with the then highly controversial topic of AIDS. Newell turned in a proposal for a series that would "out" Jimmy Olsen and put him in danger of having contracted the virus. The Superman office reportedly nixed the idea, but DC Editorial was still keen to do something hard-hitting on the subject of AIDS and reveal one of their own characters as closeted. After much debate, the choice was finally made... Ralph Dibny! Married, so clearly in denial or hiding, but think of the drama that would entail. Yes, Ralph Dibny was the perfect choice... It apparently took some doing to explain to those in charge why it might not be the best idea to lead the charge into publishing mainstream gay comics with a character known as "the Elongated Man." The AIDS awareness comic concept foundered and faded. Legion fandom has a long history of slash fiction and speculation as to which characters might be gay. Element Lad was long thought to be a candidate, but the title's creators decided to "twist" the story and have his girlfriend instead be someone born male who uses a drug to become female. When she loses access to the drug and reverts to her original form, Element Lad stays with her. Speculation runs heavy on a romance having taken place between Invisible Kid and Chemical King (oddly characters who were both "destined" to die.) A lesbian relationship was established between the flighty Light Lass and Shrinking Violet, who became a surly, gun-toting, battle-scarred soldier during the "Five Years Later" storyline. Wonder Woman herself side-stepped the question directly but stated clearly that the Amazons of Paradise Island fall in love. When asked with whom, she replies, "Why, with one another of course..." in one of the Perez/ Marrinan issues if memory serves. I believe it was implied that she herself has never enjoyed such a relationship as the Amazons all perceive her as being a comparative child and the Queen's little girl. After Miller's Dark Knight in which the Joker is obsessed with the Batman on a number of levels, romantically being one of them, (It's implied that he may have raped Selina Kyle, so I don't believe the idea was that he was strictly homosexual) the ever-flamboyent and theatrical Joker went wildly over the top most prominently in a Bill Willingham Justice League Annual in which he was very fey and wore a strand of pearls. It was soon decided by the Powers That Be that this course should be reversed and the Joker was given a female romantic lead in the Mime. That character went nowhere, but the Animated Series' Harley Quinn successfully turned the character around on the point, or at least altered the general perception of him enough that the question hasn't been raised much since. Who else is gay in the DCU? The Pied Piper reformed and became a friend of Wally West's, soon revealing that he was gay. Again, not the best choice given the polka dots, pointy shoes, and the name's association with leading small children astray, but I'm sure everyone involved meant well. Ozymandias is strongly implied to be gay in the film at least, given that one of the folders on his office computer is marked "Boys." Stormwatch's Apollo and Midnighter, imported over from the Wildstorm universe, already represent the "rough trade" segment of the community, so I doubt the Martian Manhunter will be looking to satisfy his "Love J'onzz" in that title, but who knows? As for who DC intends to "out" in the near future, I suspect it will once again be Jimmy Olsen. The new version with the bowl cut is visually different enough from his predecessor that DC can easily back-pedal and insist that Jimmy wasn't ALWAYS gay. Just this new guy is! A bold, brave, easily retracted and distanced move only 25 years or so in the making... The New DC. There's No Stopping Us Now!
Edited by Brian Hague on 21 May 2012 at 6:26pm
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