In an upcoming comic book issue, Superman will be coming out of the closet. DC Comics on Monday announced that its latest Superman, Jon Kent, will be bisexual.
The new Superman, Jonathan Kent — the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane — will soon begin a romantic relationship with a male friend.
Jonathan Kent took on the mantle of Superman alongside his father this year. The Clark Kent version of Superman was introduced in 1938. He married Lois Lane in 1996. Jonathan was introduced in 2015 and fast forward, he spent some time as Superboy before being encouraged by his father to become the new Superman.
While the details of the upcoming plot have yet to be revealed, images shared by DC Comics show Jon and Jay sharing a kiss. Series writer Tom Taylor told the BBC that, when he was first offered the job, he pondered “what Superman should be today”.
“It struck me that it would be a real missed opportunity if we replaced Clark Kent with another straight white savior,” said Taylor. To his surprise, before he could pitch the idea of Jon being bisexual, he was told that DC Comics was already mulling the idea.
“There’s been a real shift over the last few years — ten years ago, five years ago this would have been more difficult, but I think things have shifted in a really welcome way,” added Taylor.
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Interestingly, the reaction to the storyline has been mostly positive despite the backlash from trolls on social media. “We have people saying they read this news today and burst into tears — people saying they never thought in their life that they would be able to see themselves in Superman… literally the most powerful superhero in comics,” recalled the writer.
“You’ll always have people who’ll use the old line of ‘don’t put politics into comics’ — forgetting that every single [comic book] story ever has been political in some way,” he said. “People who don’t realize that the [Marvel comic series] X-Men were an analogy for the civil rights movement.”
“We try to bring those people with us, but we are writing for the people who will hopefully see this Superman… and say ‘This Superman is like me. This Superman is fighting for things that concern me’,” he added.
The announcement came on the National Coming Out Day i.e. observed on Oct 11 to support lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people. The comics industry has not exactly been known for its representation of male characters who are not straight. But looks like it is off to a good start!
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