Tag Archives: Maggie Sawyer

Supergirl’s Sister Comes Out As Lesbian

Spoilers for Supergirl follow.

In the latest instalment Supergirl, Alex Danvers, played by Chyler Leigh, revealed  that her adopted sister Kara isn’t the only one with a secret identity.

In the new episode, Crossfire, detective Maggie Sawyer played by Floriana Lima gets dumped by her girlfriend, and mistakes Alex’s invitation to get drinks as asking her out on a date.

Maggie tells Alex she didn’t realize that Alex was gay. Alex of course at first denies it and bolts, but after some soul searching she comes out as gay.

supergirl-204-5-640x360

She confessed that she had strived to be perfect in every aspect of her life, but could never seem to manage it in her romantic life.

She thought she didn’t want to be intimate with anyone, but it was this latest episode that sparked her to realise she just didn’t want to be intimate with men.

https://twitter.com/TheRealMissAbbs/status/795908989162811392

Fans were quick to jump on social media and praise the episode for the way it handled Alex coming out.

Executive producer Andrew Kreisberg told the Hollywood Reporter their goal is to tell Alex’s story in a “respectful, educational, entertaining and thoughtful” way, surrounded by supportive family and friends.

After talking to [executive producer] Greg Berlanti and doing some research on my own, anecdotally it seems like people who come out later in life come out because they’ve met someone. There’s a specific person for whom they’ve fallen.

The idea that Alex who never really had a strong romantic connection with anybody and had come to dismiss it, and then meets Maggie and has her world turned upside down, it seems like interesting territory to us, that it wasn’t about a young teenager coming to grips with it.

It was somebody who was an adult and in some ways had more to overcome on an internal level to get to the point where she could recognise that she has these feelings.”

As for what’s ahead, Alex has a new relationship to explore, and some other people to come out to.

It’s going to be funny, it’s going to be serious, it’s going to be romantic, it’s going to be heartbreaking. It’s going to be everything that any relationship that you see on TV, no matter what the gender, should and will be.”

Oh, and if you’re worrying this could build up to another instance of the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope, fear not:

Well, they’re not dying, either of them, so we’re not really thinking about that right now.”

Alex’s coming out comes just after GLAAD released its latest report on LGBT representations in TV, highlighting the fact that there is a record number of LGBT characters on US television.

Supergirl is currently airing its second season, and will soon take part in a giant crossover with Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.

It will also enjoy a separate crossover with The Flash that will apparently be musical-themed.

‘Supergirl’ Gives Us A Queer Girl In Season 2 To Look Forward To.

This news is something we all need to get excited about girls.  A new TV character to crush over. Executive Producer, Ali Adler, who by the way is also out, said during TCA:

Maggie Sawyer is an amazing character from the DC Universe who is a bad ass, gay character, who we’re bringing in and she is so cool. The actress, Floriana Lima, is amazing. We’re so excited to get started with her and it’s just gonna be an amazing addition to our cast.”

This news is sure to get the lez community inspired as well. It’s great when an intriguing LGBTQ character is introduced to a series because it helps promote our community in a strong way and encourages others to realise that we are all just regular people no different than anyone else. Positive LGBTQ characters in mainstream TV programmes are an absolute must.

3262931-katemaggie2

Another Exec from the DC universe team, Sarah Schechter, added:

What’s important for us in Supergirl is that all women in the show are really strong, I mean it’s important on all of our shows and I think you see that in all the shows, but Supergirl, it’s like, if you have a great villain, it elevates your hero. If you have a strong woman, you want to surround her with other strong women and so Maggie’s sort of suspicious. She’s grounded; she’s [sort of not] a superhero—she’s a regular real life hero.”

We’re getting the feeling she might be more than an anti-hero type character? If so, that’s just great. They’re the best kind and normally show real dilemmas between saving themselves or saving the rest of the world. Ultimately, we all have to make decisions like this sometimes.

It seems that another intriguing hook is coming into play during season two as well. In the form of a character that would be ‘exploring their sexuality’ and ‘coming out.’ Greg Berlanti, an Exec working on Supergirl hinted:

It is a significant character and we’re not being coy about it. We really want the audience to enjoy the character development, you know, and not necessarily being ahead of the storyline.”

Speculation is already flying around as to who this might be. You never know ladies it might even be a female character that has a relationship with the newbie lez, Maggie Sawyer. That would be interesting. Whatever season two has in store for us I’m sure it’s fan base will increase dramatically after this exciting news so we can all wait in anticipation until October 2nd when season two will kick off on the CW.

 

Batwoman Will Get To Be An Out (And Happy) Lesbian In New Animated Film ‘Batman: Bad Blood’

DC’s Batwoman (aka Kate Kane) hasn’t always had a great turn being one of the only out character in comic land.

However, it seems that – at least in DC Universe Animated Original Movies – things are on the up.

In a new animated feature she’ll be living openly as a lesbian, and happy one at that.

Batwoman came out as a lesbian in 2006, and became the lead in Detective Comics in 2009 (with writer Greg Rucka and artist J.H. Williams winning multiple awards for their seven-issue arc, Batwoman: Elegy).

However, things started to backslide once she got her own title. Just when she started gaining real momentum as a character – with Williams continuing to tell her story with W. Haden Blackman – DC changed their policies, which meant that Kate couldn’t marry her long-time love interest, Detective Maggie Sawyer of the GCPD.

This was especially harmful for Batwoman, because she was actually in a fulfilling relationship that was a positive representation for the LGBTQ+ community.

The fallout from the decision meant Williams and Blackman left the book; the title started to tank, and was cancelled in 2014.

However, DC seems to be coming to its senses, and recognizing the importance of seeing all-ages, positive representations of LGBTQ+ relationships. In the new

bb-7

Batman: Bad Blood sees Batwoman teams up with Dick Grayson (in the Cape and Cowl) and the new Batwing to solve the mystery of Batman’s “death” and find him. As her story unfolds, her sexuality is treated like no big deal.

According to Autostraddle:

In Bad Blood, Kate goes to a gay bar and flirts with Renee Montoya; she chats with her worried father about how he just wants her to find a good girl and settle down; she jokes with Dick about how it took her a long time to figure out women, too. And at the end of the film, she’s the only character whose happy ending includes a romantic interest.

batwoman-batman-bad-blood

That’s a thrilling breath of fresh air after what’s been done to the character in the comics. Here’s hoping that we see more of that treatment of the character throughout her appearances in the comics. Who knows? If Bad Blood is well-received, it might encourage DC to bring Batwoman back in her own title!

Batwoman And Her Girlfriend Take On WW2 In New Retro Comic

At a time when companies like DC and Marvel have been criticised for not putting the same spotlight on their female heroes as they do their male ones, Batwoman is a rare standout.

Batwoman-Proposes-03

Not only that but she’s also an out and proud gay lady (who was kicked out of the military because of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, no less) which makes her one of the few queer characters in all of comics.

She hasn’t exactly had an easy time, however, as DC Comics recently caught flak for not allowing the iconic hero and her girlfriend, Maggie Sawyer, to get married although they were engaged.

This caused the lead writer – followed by the entire original creative team – to leave. And then there was further controversy when the comics seemed to show Batwoman being sexually assaulted.

Eventually, Batwoman, within the New 52 series, was cancelled as DC rejigged the entire thing and did its best to fix its mistakes.

Since then, fans have lamented the lack of Batwoman media, but this new DC comic series Bombshells could be exactly the refresher that fans need.

batwoman-04

In Bombshells, Batwoman, Maggie Sawyer and queer-fan favourite Wonder Woman do their bit to help the war effort.

When the series kicks off, it’s 1940 and World War 2 is in full swing, so Batwoman (as Kate Kane, a baseball player) and Maggie Sawyer (who is also a detective in this series) pitch in to help fight crime.

batwoman-05

In the first issue of Bombshells, we see Batwoman use her bat as a weapon while saving a family and a headline about her reads “local celebrity smashing her opponents on and off the diamond”.

batwoman-06

Most of Bombshells is about Batwoman, Maggie, and eventually Wonder Woman in their adventures outside of Gotham City (Batwoman is already bored of the place by the time the comics start) and how they put their ass-kicking to good use, e.g when they help the Amazons to defend their island.

However, there are some sweeter moments too where we see Batwoman and Maggie cuddle up in bed and even take a shower together.

batwoman-09

Admittedly, this won’t completely make up for all of the missteps that DC made with Batwoman’s New 52 run, but it at least does a good job of catering to fans who have grown impatient waiting for what’s next.