As mentioned before I’m a big fan of anything comic book and my main focus is the DC Universe. Now as it’s the time for the Gay Pride Festival we at NG thought it only suitable to join in the celebrations by writing a few articles dedicated to the cause.  As the world changes so does that of the comic book world and in recent years LGBT characters are making a huge name for themselves, even appearing in their own publications (such as Katherine Kane as Batwoman).

Now given that the DC Universe has always sported more lycra than the London 2012 Olympics, its gay undertones were a given. These undertones date back to the ‘Golden Age of Comic Books’ where same-sex sidekicks were rife and a ‘woman only’ ‘Paradise Island’ was created. Batman’s relationship with the first Robin, ‘Dick Grayson’, was under constant scrutiny. Despite the creators insisting that there was no homosexual relationship between the two, scenes, such as the one below didn’t really appease their critics. Batman subsequently became quite the icon in the LGBT community. He was one of the first fictional characters to be openly attacked due to his perceived homosexuality, and also the extremely camp 1960s TV series didn’t hurt his appeal.

The first blatantly gay character was ‘Extraño’ who appeared in the ‘Millennium’ and ‘New Guardians’ series in 1987. The character was portrayed as being extremely effeminate and was consequently perceived by the gay community as being overly stereotypical and therefore a negative representation. Also the fact that ‘Extraño’ translates as ‘Strange’ in Spanish probably lent fuel to the fire. Come the 1990s DC’s attitude to LGBT characters improved. Transsexual themes were explored in the DC publications ‘The Sandman: The Story of You’ (1991) and in ‘Legion of Superheroes’ (1992), whilst a lesbian couple was introduced in the form of ‘Lee’ and ‘Li’ in the ‘Green Lantern’ series.

However, it has been in more recent times, namely the launch of the ‘New 52’ series, that the DC Universe has truly begun to implement and star LGBT characters in their publications, the most prominent being the new ‘Batwoman’ ‘Katherine Kane’. From the onset ‘Katherine Kane’ was portrayed as being an openly lesbian character, this having been announced in conjunction with her release in spring 2006. It is quickly revealed that she has a relationship with ‘Renee Montoya’, a member of the Gotham City Police Department, and another prominent LGBT character, however this is short lived and instead Batwoman has more recently proposed to her new girlfriend ‘Maggie Sawyer’ making this the first ever lesbian marriage proposal in comic book history. Another notable LGBT headliner for the ‘New 52’ is the openly bi-sexual ‘Vodoo’, a character who has been re-vamped from her ‘Wildstorm’ days, who has now upgraded to having shape shifting and telepathy abilities.

Recently there is any amount of LGBT characters, some of which have had their orientation changed, such as ‘Earth 2s’ Green Lantern ‘Alan Scott’ (who has been revamped for the New 52 Universe) or others who have become more open about their orientation, such as ‘Hartley Rathaway’ aka ‘The Pied Piper’. More recently  ‘Barbara Gordon’s’ (aka Batgirl)  roommate ‘Alysia Yeoh’ has been revealed to be transgender therefore breaking yet another barrier and representing another section of the LGBT community.

In all, it is clear to see that leaps and bounds have been made in the representation of LGBT characters in the DC Universe. In the early stages DC was quick to denounce and deny any rumours that any form of homosexuality was present in their publications. They were quite heavy handed in their early representations, as illustrated in the character ‘Extraño’ and were quite slow to portray LGBT as headliners. However, in recent years, it is clear that DC has made every effort towards an even-handed portrayal of the LGBT community in their publications, what with the release of’ Batwoman’ and also  ‘Barbara Gordon’s’ immediate acceptance of ‘Alysia Yeoh’ as a transgender character.  So, it is safe to say that the LGBT is an ever-growing and increasingly prominent force in the DC Universe, which, it’s fair to say is filling this fan girl with ever increasing (please pardon the pun) pride.

Siobhan