[Switters]

Night Wang.

[MisterHero]

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

They do it because it's contemporary, and it's contemporary because the competition is doing it.

Whoever it is, I'm sure I won't be surprised. And instead of "Good for that character", it will probably be "Maybe the character will be interesting again".

[Buddha Beam]

Real... What?

Booster's series ended with him stranded at the end of time so he shouldn't have been effected by the time jumble quake thingy. He's still there he just has to be :(

[SonicMegaDrive]

Only this man knows the answer.

[Banana Kid]

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.

To be fair, it's also a universe where Nightcrawler was held captive and tortured by Weapon X for years. The way they explained it was that he had been traumatized by that more than anyone realized, until he started lashing out over Dazzler and people realized something was up.

But that was long after Ultimate X-Men had started going off the rails, so yeah I guess it was kind of dumb.

[Trojita]

Kind of like how they made AoA Wolverine and Iceman into complete assholes.

[Gentleman Jack]

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.

When it comes to treatment of gay characters, I see few great examples in the genre of superhero comics. The Vertigo imprint of the late 80s-late 90s broke a lot of ground here and treated the subject with tons of respect, making sexuality an essential part of character building without turning into some Ellen Degeneres "I'm Gay!" over a loudspeaker moment. The narrative engaged you in an intimate way with the characters and while gay/transgender characters were human, the sexuality reveal wasn't the center of gravity for an entire arc.

Then you have Grant Morrison, of all people, have Beast say "In fact I think I might be gay." and that's just left to hang there, adding nothing to either Beast as a character (besides the fact that he just lost a girlfriend) and not brought up again. Throw away mentions like this kind of enrage me because it insults the intelligence of the readership. I don't read comics because I like salacious details to just be tossed out, I want characters that feel human despite the impossible conditions of their world.

Maybe I just need better examples of it being done right on the Spandex side of things and not hug my Strangers in Paradise trades so tightly. Someone give me an example of gay superheroes that treats the matter respectfully and weaves it properly into a story rather than having 'GAY' tacked to a wall somewhere and a camera pointed at it once in a while. For the record, I don't count the Midnighter/Apollo pairing from The Authority to be a great example.

[Trojita]

When it comes to treatment of gay characters, I see few great examples in the genre of superhero comics. The Vertigo imprint of the late 80s-late 90s broke a lot of ground here and treated the subject with tons of respect, making sexuality an essential part of character building without turning into some Ellen Degeneres "I'm Gay!" over a loudspeaker moment. The narrative engaged you in an intimate way with the characters and while gay/transgender characters were human, the sexuality reveal wasn't the center of gravity for an entire arc. Then you have Grant Morrison, of all people, have Beast say "In fact I think I might be gay." and that's just left to hang there, adding nothing to either Beast as a character (besides the fact that he just lost a girlfriend) and not brought up again. Throw away mentions like this kind of enrage me because it insults the intelligence of the readership. I don't read comics because I like salacious details to just be tossed out, I want characters that feel human despite the impossible conditions of their world. Maybe I just need better examples of it being done right on the Spandex side of things and not hug my Strangers in Paradise trades so tightly. Someone give me an example of gay superheroes that treats the matter respectfully and weaves it properly into a story rather than having 'GAY' tacked to a wall somewhere and a camera pointed at it once in a while. For the record, I don't count the Midnighter/Apollo pairing from The Authority to be a great example.

Beast is a jokester. He was playing a joke on the media and his ex-girlfriend.

[Slayven]

If they really want to fuck with people they will make Dr.Light gay.

[Satch]

reading some of the suggestions in this thread, i'm wondering if the definition of the words "major" and "iconic" have warped in the past 5 years

[Slayven]

reading some of the suggestions in this thread, i'm wondering if the definition of the words "major" and "iconic" have warped in the past 5 years

You don't consider Vibe iconic? I will have to rethink our relationship.

[CorvoSol]

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?

Man, Ultimate X-Men just really sucked, huh? Was Ultimate Spider-Man the only good thing about the Ultimate continuity? I remember Ultimates had an issue where Wasp was trying to tell Cap that he just didn't approve of the incest between Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch because he was from the past. That was weird.

[Slayven]

Man, Ultimate X-Men just really sucked, huh? Was Ultimate Spider-Man the only good thing about the Ultimate continuity? I remember Ultimates had an issue where Wasp was trying to tell Cap that he just didn't approve of the incest between Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch because he was from the past. That was weird.

Ultimate Spiderman was the only good thing. It seems like that was only book that followed the message of updating characters. Everybody else just made their characters assholes and called it a day.

[G-Fex]

Any odds it'll be a Villain?

Riddler?

[Dariee]

Would have been more fun if they hadn't announced it and just put that in the storyline like there wasn't something special with it (as honestly, it shouldn't be). THAT would have caused some good outrage. At least dropped a bigger bomb.

Anyway, happy there's a slight change affecting the usual heteronormativity.

[CorvoSol]

Ultimate Spiderman was the only good thing. It seems like that was only book that followed the message of updating characters. Everybody else just made their characters assholes and called it a day.

For what it's worth, I did like Ultimate Nick Fury a lot more than regular Nick Fury, and the idea of "Is Thor a crazy man or a Norse God?"

But the Phoenix God and Shi'ar Church? UGH.

[Slayven]

For what it's worth, I did like Ultimate Nick Fury a lot more than regular Nick Fury, and the idea of "Is Thor a crazy man or a Norse God?" But the Phoenix God and Shi'ar Church? UGH.

Well you can get Ultimate Nick Fury in Secret Avengers now.

[TheKaeptain]

Booster's series ended with him stranded at the end of time so he shouldn't have been effected by the time jumble quake thingy. He's still there he just has to be :(

Isn't he in the JLI?

[Banana Kid]

I remember Ultimates had an issue where Wasp was trying to tell Cap that he just didn't approve of the incest between Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch because he was from the past. That was weird.

That was Jeph Loeb's Ultimates 3, and it does not count. It was complete trash that we all need to pretend never happened.

I think Ultimates 1 & 2 and the first six volumes of Ultimate X-Men are the best work Mark Millar's ever done. I unapologetically love those comics.

[Black_Stride]

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/G0NUp.gif/IMG] reveal = media = interest = sales

This man?......Gay.....get serious son, he already seems to have some sort of chemistry with that black chick(her name escapes me).
And isnt he kinda losing touch with his own humanity, if his powers keep taking hold of him im sure soon the very idea of being attracted to a human will be alien to him.

Heck did you see the red-winged future version of himself.....red-wing captain atom doesnt even speak....i wouldnt be surprised if Captain Atom becomes a more Cosmic Character than an Earth bound superhero...his powers are pretty insane.

P.S He also doesnt have a penis.

[bigboss370]

homosexual for the sake of being homosexual/having a gay character, what a pity.

[Azure Dream]

Wally West. Just to further screw with Flash fans not born in 1975 or earlier

Literally last week on Young Justice they revealed Wally hung up his hero garb during the time skip to focus on his studies, and his relationship with Artemis. And he's still clearly crazy about her on the show. This would really mess with the fans on what should be an established plotline, because the show does borrow heavily from comic plotlines (working around limitations as they can, so Speedy's heroine addiction became his self-destructive search for the original Roy Harper).

It would show incredibly bad communication on DC's part with their various production arms. But that's probably to be expected.

[patrickthehedgehog]

homosexual for the sake of being homosexual/having a gay character, what a pity.

How else would you approach it? How can you say this story is any more or less planned than a development with any other character's personal life?

[krypt0nian]

homosexual for the sake of being homosexual/having a gay character, what a pity.

Yes, it's terrible to give gay kids a hero to identify with, and straight kids a hero that says that it's fine to be gay and maybe help to eliminate bullying.

[bigboss370]

How else would you approach it? How can you say this story is any more or less planned than a development with any other character's personal life?

it depends of the character, but seeing as how they're saying its a major one, i am of the opinion that he already has an established sexual preference. so to reverse that just for the sake of doing so is being cheap. they should do it to either a new character or a previously less developed one so as to make it natural.

altho a separate comics series, it was done perfectly in Irredeemable.

Yes, it's terrible to give gay kids a hero to identify with, and straight kids a hero that says that it's fine to be gay and maybe help to eliminate bullying.

i'm okay with both those things.

[krypt0nian]

it depends of the character, but seeing as how they're saying its a major one, i am of the opinion that he already has an established sexual preference. so to reverse that just for the sake of doing so is being cheap. they should do it to either a new character or a previously less developed one so as to make it natural. altho a separate comics series, it was done perfectly in Irredeemable.

This is a reboot of the DCU. That character was never straight, or anything else yet.

[Brera]

Jimmy Olsen.

[Hot Coldman]

Jimmy Olsen.

He's gay for scoops.

[nemss]

Truth, Justice, and the American Gay.

[bigboss370]

This is a reboot of the DCU. That character was never straight, or anything else yet.

didn't DC say that they will retain necessary canon though? so wouldn't the love interests and sexual preference of major characters count as such?

[jorgeton]

I always found The Flash a little queer. My money's on her!

[Satch]

didn't DC say that they will retain necessary canon though? so wouldn't the love interests and sexual preference of major characters count as such?

dog, Superman isn't married to Lois Lane and they won't be together for the forseeable future

nothing is sacred

[Parallax]

I always found The Flash a little queer. My money's on her!

her?

[bigboss370]

dog, Superman isn't married to Lois Lane and they won't be together for the forseeable future nothing is sacred

fuck this reboot bullshit >_>

they're gonna scrap decades of continuity? screw you DC!!

[LAUGHTREY]

didn't DC say that they will retain necessary canon though? so wouldn't the love interests and sexual preference of major characters count as such?

Character backgrounds that don't interfere with established stories and stuff. Why would that be necessary canon? They're rebootin stuff, there isn't much they need to keep.

[jorgeton]

her?

Would rather it be Batman

[.GqueB.]

For some reason I've never asked this but... is that real?

[nemss]

It has to be Superman or Batman. They're top men for sure.

Flash, Aquaman are bottoms no doubt.

[Weemanply109]

Yes, it's terrible to give gay kids a hero to identify with, and straight kids a hero that says that it's fine to be gay and maybe help to eliminate bullying.

[patrickthehedgehog]

it depends of the character, but seeing as how they're saying its a major one, i am of the opinion that he already has an established sexual preference. so to reverse that just for the sake of doing so is being cheap. they should do it to either a new character or a previously less developed one so as to make it natural.

I don't like the idea of taking a previously straight character and making them gay either. I would think it would be someone who has had a non-existent love life up to this point.

Not that comic book characters tend to have a ton of consistency anyway. I hate to say it, but I'll take what I can get...unless it's shitty.

edit: Oh, right. This is gonna be a new 52 reboot. They can do pretty much anything...

[Banana Kid]

Yeah, something about "This character was straight before the reboot, but now he's gay" doesn't sit right with me. It's a weird way to go about doing it.

If it was "This previously straight character is coming out of the closet", I'd be okay with that. But rewriting continuity so it's "This character has always been gay in this universe" is super weird.

At that point, the gayness doesn't bother me nearly as much as the retcon does.

[Escape Goat]

Yeah, something about "This character was straight before the reboot, but now he's gay" doesn't sit right with me. It's a weird way to go about doing it. If it was "This previously straight character is coming out of the closet", I'd be okay with that. But rewriting continuity so it's "This character has always been gay in this universe" is super weird. At that point, the gayness doesn't bother me nearly as much as the retcon does.

That was the point of the reboot. Characters histories got rewritten so why not their sexuality? Its all just a facet of their character.

[ReiGun]

As long as it's handled and written tastefully in the book (whatever book it is), I'm all for it.

The writer of the DC Women blog guessed Alan Scott, and I'm inclined to agree. He fits all the perimeters (iconic, male, hasn't been in a new 52 book yet).

[Banana Kid]

That was the point of the reboot. Characters histories got rewritten so why not their sexuality? Its all just a facet of their character.

I'm not opposed to them making this kind of change, I just think "this is the way it's always been now" is an awkward way to do it.

[Slayven]

As long as it's handled and written tastefully in the book (whatever book it is), I'm all for it. The writer of the DC Women blog guessed Alan Scott, and I'm inclined to agree. He fits all the perimeters (iconic, male, hasn't been in a new 52 book yet).

He was just in Earth 2

[Parallax]

As long as it's handled and written tastefully in the book (whatever book it is), I'm all for it. The writer of the DC Women blog guessed Alan Scott, and I'm inclined to agree. He fits all the perimeters (iconic, male, hasn't been in a new 52 book yet).

a young alan scott? i wonder what would become of jade and obsidian

and if this is the case, like son, like father

He was just in Earth 2

well then hes out

do characters like dr midnite and hourman count?

[akira28]

For some reason I've never asked this but... is that real?

I'm guessing that in the story they just showed 'a day in the life' type interaction of the superheroes lives and while the other guys incidentally touched their wives and girlfriends, since they have actual lives, Batman was probably show touching Robin while fighting crime, or while practicing drills or something. I'm sure it's real, but I'm also sure there would be no gay undertones, since they were pretty uptight back then.

He was just in Earth 2

And what was with that totally dressing down that Jay Garrick's ex-gf gave him? "You're immature and will never amount to anything. I'm destined for big things, and let's face it, you're not"? I was like...damn, Joan. DC really has the serious hatred for their old continuity.

[ReiGun]

He was just in Earth 2

Was he? Hmm, I need to reread the first issue.

[Rafa=FedKilla]

I'm telling you brahs it freakin' Tomcat.

[Escape Goat]

I'm telling you brahs it freakin' Tomcat.

Tom Cruise?