Tag Archives: Batman

DC Comics Celebrate Their LGBT Comic Book Character for Pride Month (Video)

DC has continued to move the needle forward for LGBT visibility in comics, with characters such as John Constantine, Batwoman, Cat Women, and Ice Maiden coming out.

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And to mark the start of Pride month and the debut of new gay superhero Midnighter, DC Comics have created video that documents their LGBT character history in their comics.

The video is hosted by The Advocate’s Jase Peeples, who says

Comic books now mirror the world around us, so it’s natural that they represent our culture’s diversity in race, gender and sexual orientation.

LGBT characters have long been a part of the DC Universe, but their depiction wasn’t always accepted.”

Also read: Catwoman Comes Out As Bisexual In New DC Comic

The video explains that the Comics Code Authority established in 1954 banned all references to homosexuality – leaving early comics devoid of all mention of LGBT people.

However, as the gay rights movement came to prominence during the 1980s, early queer characters began to appear. Batwoman is one of the comic franchises major contenders for lesbian visibility. As well as being led by an out lesbian character, the series also introduced the first trans character in 2013.

Catwoman Comes Out As Bisexual In New DC Comic

In the comic world, Selina Kyle has relinquished the role of Catwoman, and is now the mob boss of Gotham’s Calabrese family. However, the thing about making it to the top of the criminal food chain in Gotham City is that you have to fight very hard to stay there.

In her place as Catwomen, Eiko Hasigawa – daughter of rival mob boss – has taken her role in the suit, much to Selina’s disdain.

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However, reading the latest edition of comic – Catwoman#39 – we discover there may have been another reason for that emotion.

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Despite some speculation about a scene in The Dark Knight Rises, Selina Kyle’s Catwoman has generally been portrayed as a heterosexual character.

Valentine, who’s been working on Catwoman since October with artist Garry Brown, confirmed to Newsarama that Selina’s “sexually open” with both men and women — something she doesn’t see as a leap for the character, who started her tenure in DC’s “New 52” by bedding Batman.

Selina’s bisexuality is the latest twist in a run by Valentine that’s leaned more toward crime noir and political intrigue than the sexy superhero comic is had been in the past.

Catwoman’s coming out is seen by many as an effort by comic book company to diversify their characters. DC’s Batwoman has identified as a lesbian since 2006, and one Green Lantern, Alan Scott, is gay. In 2013, a trans woman of color was introduced as a character in Batgirl. Marvel’s Northstar, a member of the X-Men, married his partner in 2012.

Catwoman has been around for 75 years (her first appearance was inBatman #1 in 1940), and her relationship to the Caped Crusader is complicated. Despite being enemies, they often work together and are involved in an intense, ongoing romantic relationship.

Batman’s Lesbian Detective Renee Montoya Set to Shine in New Comic-inspired TV series, Gotham

Great news – Fox’s new series, Gotham, will keep lesbian detective Renee Montoya from Batman comics.

The new series is set in the Batman universe. The series, which focuses on James Gordon in his days as a rookie with the Gotham City Police Department, will feature lesbian detective Renee Montoya, who came out in the comics in 2003.

“Gotham is beautiful, dark, dangerous, and romantic. It’s the kind of cityscape you should look at and believe anything can happen, and that means everybody should exist there.”

Dannon Cannon, co-executive producer

Victoria Cartagena will portray Detective Montoya is more than aware of the impact her character could have:

“If watching me means that I can help someone else feel included, then that makes me very happy.” 

Victoria Cartagena

Debuting in Batman No. 475, Detective Montoya became a favorite among LGBT comic readers when she was outed as lesbian in the 2003 comic book series ‘Gotham Central’.

Her appearance in the TV series Gotham will mark not only the first time a lesbian character has appeared in a live-action adaptation of Batman’s world but also the first time a lesbian of color will be a recurring character on any prime-time superhero series.

The series also plays host to a number of other strong female characters – Sarah Essen played by Zabryna Guevara, is the captain of the GCPD Homicide Squad and Gordon’s boss. Then there is new mob boss Fish Mooney played by Jada Pinkett Smith – a cunning and sadistic villain who is more than a match for the show’s heroes.

“It’s a new day when we can have a show on television that is not afraid to explore various sexual orientations of women,” says Pinkett Smith. “Let us hope that this is a path toward even more change in regard to the perceptions of female sexuality, as well as our bodies in relation to sex.”

Jada Pinkett Smith