[kswiston]

Wally being gay also seals the deal on his children never coming back.

He is by far the most popular character not already re-introduced into the universe. He was in Justice League Unlimited.

[MWS Natural]

June is LGTB month??? Was not aware.

So much BS, why don't us straight people have our own month??!!!

[DR2K]

So much BS, why don't us straight people have our own month??!!!

It corresponds with your wedding day.

It'll probably be Batman.

[Escape Goat]

So much BS, why don't us straight people have our own month??!!!

You have 10 out of the 12. One belongs to Blacks and other to gays.

[Crewnh]

It wont be Wally, DC might be dumb but theyre not that dumb enough to piss Flash fans off. Who's a major villain that could be gay? Who would the public maybe give a shit about?

[Zulithe]

See you just told everyone you don't want you're talking about. There has been a female robin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Brown_(comics)

"don't want (sic) you're talking about" dang, put away the fangs! It's not the same kind of mentorship bruce had with dick, jason, tim or even damien and you know it. You are ignoring what I was getting at.

Anyway we saw what Marvel has done with many of its characters, they took Nick Fury who nobody cared about, and made him interesting in part by his ethnicity change (in the Ultimate universe and cinematic universe). I suspect they will take a character who needs much the same "makeover" in this instance as well.

Why does everyone keep suspecting it will be a villain? Personally I don't think that is their route, it has the potential to send a bad message. Wouldn't bother me, but still.

[G-Fex]

Power Girl

I have a feeling it won't be any females.

Unless they're stupid and make WW a lesbian. That'll just be...that's it? That's the best you can do DC?

Lex Luthor gay I'm calling it, he has a obsession with Superman after all.

[Neuromancer]

Edit: never mind, not major or iconic

[First Name]

Was this really necessary? I mean it'd make sense if they made every superhero that existed before gay rights dubbed as straight. I'd bet Wolverine is gay. Someone from Watchmen is probably gay, too.

Possibly homosexual? Must remember to investigate further.

[Parallax]

You have 10 out of the 12. One belongs to Blacks and other to gays.

and we get the shortest month of the year, whats up with that?!?

[TheKaeptain]

He adopted the last, 2nd best Batgirl. Cassandra Caine, because her dad was a murderous sociopath who was training her to be a killer. In fact, my memory is muddy, but I think she was the only one he actually encouraged to be Batgirl, the others he always tried to discourage them or make them wash out, and only accepted them after they proved themselves. I miss scary Batgirl. *sigh*

I forgot about Cass.

[Crewnh]

I have a feeling it won't be any females. Unless they're stupid and make WW a lesbian. That'll just be...that's it? That's the best you can do DC? Lex Luthor gay I'm calling it, he has a obsession with Superman after all.

Wonder Woman is clearly not male.

Luthor has been in the relaunch since day 1 so that leaves him out too.

[CorvoSol]

Big deal. Ultimate Marvel did this with Colossus years ago.
AND IT WAS DUMB.
Not because they handled Colossus being gay poorly (as I don't remember that at all) but because they decided to make Nightcrawler, who is usually one of the most kind-hearted X-men, and make him into a hate-filled psycopath for a very special episode.

[JokerOfSpades]

Big deal. Ultimate Marvel did this with Colossus years ago. AND IT WAS DUMB. Not because they handled Colossus being gay poorly (as I don't remember that at all) but because they decided to make Nightcrawler, who is usually one of the most kind-hearted X-men, and make him into a hate-filled psycopath for a very special episode.

Ultimate comics just try to be edgy for no reason in particular.

[Suairyu]

Good. Minorities need a ton more representation. Companies like DC have a responsibility regarding this. Even if they're probably (definitely) just doing it for media buzz, the end result is good. If it's written well, that is. But mainstream comics, so probably not.

Next they can work on not having a super-objectified depiction of women. Actually, nevermind. That's less likely than Batman and Superman both turning out to be gay.

Big deal. Ultimate Marvel did this with Colossus years ago. AND IT WAS DUMB. Not because they handled Colossus being gay poorly (as I don't remember that at all) but because they decided to make Nightcrawler, who is usually one of the most kind-hearted X-men, and make him into a hate-filled psycopath for a very special episode.

Colossus was handled fairly well, if you ignore the fact they refused to show him actually being affectionate with his supposed boyfriend. I'm not actually sure if they ever ended up having an on-page kiss. It was very much "behind closed doors" thing. Which was decent progress, but still not enough.

As for Nightcrawler, he acted like some people actually do when they find out their best mate is guy, just exaggerated for comics. They went too far, maybe, but it wasn't completely stupid. You could understand the artistic reason.

[Zulithe]

Big deal. Ultimate Marvel did this with Colossus years ago. AND IT WAS DUMB. Not because they handled Colossus being gay poorly (as I don't remember that at all) but because they decided to make Nightcrawler, who is usually one of the most kind-hearted X-men, and make him into a hate-filled psycopath for a very special episode.

Well he is Catholic... :P Part of his character is how devout he is despite how devilish his appearance is to others. Not that I was a fan of how he let that override his empathy, but sadly that is all too common in believers. They were clearly trying to drive that point >.<

[TheKaeptain]

"don't want (sic) you're talking about" dang, put away the fangs! It's not the same kind of mentorship bruce had with dick, jason, tim or even damien and you know it. You are ignoring what I was getting at.

He adopted the last, 2nd best Batgirl. Cassandra Caine, because her dad was a murderous sociopath who was training her to be a killer. In fact, my memory is muddy, but I think she was the only one he actually encouraged to be Batgirl, the others he always tried to discourage them or make them wash out, and only accepted them after they proved themselves. I miss scary Batgirl. *sigh*

That's two women Batman has mentored.

[Parallax]

Well he is Catholic... :P Part of his character is how devout he is despite how devilish his appearance is to others. Not that I was a fan of how he let that override his empathy, but sadly that is all too common in believers. They were clearly trying to drive that point >.<

the ultimate versions seem to be extreme takes of their 616 counterparts. i dont think kurt would lose his shit over something like that.

[TheKaeptain]

Also it will be Wally. I will laugh out loud.

[Crewnh]

Ultimate Nightcrawler being a homophobe is not his big character flaw. How about being a creepy stalker kidnapper potential rapist.

[LuCkymoON]

He starred in the Superhero Squad. Julie is bisexual and just hooked up with Caroline from the runaways. They also have White Tiger and Whiz Kid.

Did that happen in Avengers Academy?

[Zulithe]

That's two women Batman has mentored.

I would agree that the mentor relationship was similar between batman and carrie kelley, not as much with the other two. Ohhh there's one you forgot!

[CorvoSol]

the ultimate versions seem to be extreme takes of their 616 counterparts. i dont think kurt would lose his shit over something like that.

Which was my problem. Up until that point, Nightcrawler had been like 616 Kurt, and he and Colossus had been buddies. Then Colossus drops the word and Kurt's all freaking out and like, creepy watching some girl when nobody can stop him. No matter how devout Kurt is, his character's always been about empathizing with people who are hated for being different.

It felt very heavy handed.

Ultimate Nightcrawler being a homophobe is not his big character flaw. How about being a creepy stalker kidnapper potential rapist.

I thought these two things happened within issues of each other.

[kswiston]

Which was my problem. Up until that point, Nightcrawler had been like 616 Kurt, and he and Colossus had been buddies. Then Colossus drops the word and Kurt's all freaking out and like, creepy watching some girl when nobody can stop him. No matter how devout Kurt is, his character's always been about empathizing with people who are hated for being different. It felt very heavy handed.

It's a universe where Wolverine abandoned Cyclops to die because he was jealous that Jean left him and chose Cyke. What do you expect?

[Parallax]

Did that happen in Avengers Academy?

i wanna know where the rest of the power pack is...

[Crewnh]

I thought these two things happened within issues of each other.

Probably. I stopped reading uxm around this time.

[TheKaeptain]

I would agree that the mentor relationship was similar between batman and carrie kelley, not as much with the other two. Ohhh there's one you forgot!

She isn't canon.

[BeesEight]

On one hand, this is fantastic to keep branching away from the homogenization of comic book heroes that had unfortunately built up over the years.

On the other hand, I'm sure there's a more organic way to this that wouldn't feel so forced.

On the third hand, it's just comics and people really seem to get upset about these things when the damn things reboot every ten years or so anyway.

I'm not surprised to see minorities getting more spotlight in the stories though. And, it is a good thing. It seems strange to have a staunch resistance to this change especially among younger audiences who are, in general, far more progressive than older demographics. I know it's more due to the "change is worrisome" but these overhauls of characters really allows a great breadth and depth of creativity that couldn't be enjoyed if the creators stuck staunchly to their original visions.

I mean, look at Batman and the numerous various portrayals we've had of him. It would suck if we were stuck with just the Adam West interpretation for the last fifty years.

[Parallax]

On the third hand, it's just comics and people really seem to get upset about these things when the damn things reboot every ten years or so anyway.

to my recollection, only dc has done the reboot thing. and its more like 20 years than 10

[TheKaeptain]

to my recollection, only dc has done the reboot thing. and its more like 20 years than 10

He's probably counting zero hour.

[Slayven]

Did that happen in Avengers Academy?

Yeah.

[patrickthehedgehog]

If it has to be a goddamn gimmick to give me a gay character in comics that I can get into then so be it.

I think a lot of people take for granted how 99% of comics are really focused on straight emotional / sexual relationships. I can get invested in these relationships regardless of the gender of the characters, but there's something that is always missing for me. When I read the new issues of Swamp Thing I can't tell if I don't give a shit about the relationship between the two characters or if it's just poorly written with crappy characterization. Although it may seem trite or shallow it's difficult for me to get into characters when you can't identify with who they are or their motivations. That's not something that is always tied to their sexual orientation, but anything helps.

I love comics, movies, video games and animation, but I can count the number of characters I really feel like I can identify with on one hand. Everyone else gets everything.

Not that I have any faith in DC pulling this off.

[i_am_ben]

Riddler

[SalsaShark]

Power Girl

i'll take it

[Angelus Errare]

Aquaman.

And done

[Buddha Beam]

Probably Shazam, since we haven't officially seen him yet. I can't imagine it'll be Wally West, given his history.
plus, they're saving Wally and the real Booster Gold for when they revert back to the old continuity

If its not Shazam, I'm going to go with Beast Boy. I don't think we've seen him yet and he's a relatively major character.
Or have we seen the Doom Patrol yet? Could be one of them too.

[Escape Goat]

i'll take it

Looks like its a guy so I dunno. I can't think of anybody that would make for an interesting spin. If the suits are calling it iconic that probably means B tier at best.

[yencid]

Its going to be either the atom, wally west or vibe.

[kittens]

Gay inclusiveness is cool, but I can't imagine this not being totally tokenizing. Small victories are nice, but the patriarchal superhero archetype needs to be destroyed entirely.

[JokerOfSpades]

...Yeah, I'll second that.

[TheKaeptain]

Probably Shazam, since we haven't officially seen him yet. I can't imagine it'll be Wally West, given his history. plus, they're saving Wally and the real Booster Gold for when they revert back to the old continuity If its not Shazam, I'm going to go with Beast Boy. I don't think we've seen him yet and he's a relatively major character. Or have we seen the Doom Patrol yet? Could be one of them too.

Real... What?

[Izick]

I like how being gay is a big reveal in a comic book.

[Plywood]

I like how being gay is a big reveal in a comic book.

reveal = media = interest = sales

[JokerOfSpades]

I like how being gay is a big reveal in a comic book.

Wish it weren't, but you know.

[TheKaeptain]

Has Atom should up yet? That would be a good character.

[Suairyu]

I like how being gay is a big reveal in a comic book.

Reflects real life, then.

[kai3345]

Oh my god, please

[Count Dookkake]

I like how being gay is a big reveal in a comic book.

To be fair, sometimes it is a big reveal in real life.

[JokerOfSpades]

Reflects real life, then.

To be fair, sometimes it is a big reveal in real life.

Touché.

Still wish it weren't, though.

[invaderzim69]

General Zod is flaming. Kneel Before Zod! Super man, indeed.

Ha ha! Sorry, I laughed so hard that I fell out of my chair with my eyes watering up. :)