Confessions of a Comic Book Guy is a weekly column by Steve Bennett of Super-Fly Comics and Games in Yellow Springs, Ohio. This week, columnist Steve Bennett talks the public’s reactions to Superman Jon Kent coming out as bisexual.
In the weeks prior to the big announcement (see “Another DC Character Comes Out As LGBTQ”), I had, of course, heard rumors that Jon Kent was going to come out as bisexual, but I honestly didn’t believe it. When it came to the risk to reward ratio if they did it, it seems like Warner Bros. would be taking a tremendous risk with one of their most important brands without any kind of tangible reward. For those of you who weren’t refreshing your newsfeeds every hour on the hour like I was, the news generated about as much online attention as you’d expect.
Much, if not most of the press, was neutral. However, the rest were extremely negative “think pieces” like “Why Gay Superman Needs Rescuing From The Leftists,” “When Equity Comes for Superman, Bond and Chappelle, No One Wins | Opinion,” and “Where’s Dr. Frederic Wertham When We REALLY Need Him?”
Then, there were the politicians and public figures who felt like they just had to say something on the subject, like the former star of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman actor Dean Cain who said Superman coming out as bisexual ‘isn’t bold or brave’, but rather an example of “bandwagoning.” Or Josh Mandel, who’s running for the U.S. Senate in Ohio who tweeted, “Bisexual comic books for kids. They are literally trying to destroy America.”
Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers tweeted: “Superman loves Louis Lane. Period. Hollywood is trying to make Superman gay and he is not.” And yes, she tweeted “Louis”, not Lois, Lane. And while on the Laura Ingram show Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo confessed to having been “a fan of Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man as a kid” and complained bitterly about the “sexualization” of superheroes. Saying “We just wanted them to get the bad guys, not a venereal disease.”
Back in August, I wrote about writer Tom Taylor’s run on Superman: Son of Kal-El (see “A Better World“) about how Jon Kent’s catch phrase had been updated from the traditional “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” to “Truth, Justice, and a Better World.” Well, DC must have liked it because last Saturday during the DC FanDome virtual event held last Saturday chief creative officer and publisher Jim Lee announced that they’ve officially updated Superman’s mission statement.
Though they’ve taken “Truth, justice and a better world.” and given it a tweak; it’s now “Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow” which I have to admit has a better sound. And while most people were still focused on Jon Kent coming out, this change also sparked some outrage. Like from Fox’s Brian Kilmeade who has called for a boycott of the ‘Anti-American’ Superman comic. He said, “The only thing you can do, if you are an American consumer, decide that if you are anti-American maybe I’m gonna choose a different cartoon.”
While everyone is waiting to buy Superman: Son of Kal-El #5 next month, #4 shipped this week and it’s well worth reading. The nice thing about seeing this young Superman in action is that while he has all of his tremendous powers fully under control, he is clearly over his head; literally. Don’t get me wrong, Jon Kent is a thoughtful kid, but he’s just not thinking things through fast enough to handle the things getting thrown at him. It’s going to be fun, watching him grow into the role of Superman.
I like to say that I’m this big fan of the character balloons that appear in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but I somehow completely missed the announcement that there would be Pokemon Pikachu and Eevee balloons in the parade this year (see “Pikachu and Eevee Will Soar Over The Streets Of NYC”). But I can add that the sled they’ll be riding in will have a Pokeball design and “every blade on the sleigh is about the same length as a semi-trailer truck.” And the balloons will be 34 feet tall, 48 feet wide, and 23 feet long.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
Source: ICv2
