The comic book industry has put on active work to bolster LGBTQ+ representation in recent times, and the DC universe is taking a very bold step forward in 2021, there’s been news that the current Superman, Jon Kent, is coming out as bisexual in the upcoming Superman: Son of Kal-El Issue #5.
I saw this and my first reaction was, “Why?” , then after two seconds, I thought about it and thought, “why do I care?”, I don’t. I’m glad LGBTQ comic fans have more characters to relate to. I’ve been a life long comic fan, and I had a blast being able to relate to comic characters. From the standpoint of an average Nigerian where we might have an Anti-LGBTQ nuance, I feel we are starting to get more sensitized and educated about respect and acknowledgement of the LGBTQ community, we are recognizing that times have changed and cultures are not immovable mountains. I’m glad today’s generation have characters they can relate to. It might just be time to let a wider audience have a turn and make everyone feel included.
Jon has had far less history and it seems to make much more sense here. He’s not a necessarily new character, as he’s very much established his own identity and name in the DCU to where we’d like him regardless of his sexuality, but such elements of his life have rarely been investigated, so it’s much easier to process.
In an exclusive interview with IGN Tom Taylor (screenwriter in series) had said “Over the years in this industry, it probably won’t surprise you to hear I’ve had queer characters and storylines rejected. I felt like I was letting down people I loved every time this happened…but we are in a very different and much more welcome place today than we were ten, or even five years ago. When I was asked if I wanted to write a new Superman with a new #1 for the DC Universe, I knew replacing Clark with another straight white savior could be a real opportunity missed. I’ve always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes. Today, Superman, the strongest superhero on the planet, is coming out.”
“It is a pretty big deal doing it with Jon Kent as Superman,” adds artist John Timms. “As we have seen Jon grow up in front of our eyes, it will be interesting to see him not only trying to find himself as a person but a global super hero in the complex atmosphere of modern life. On the other hand, I hope this kind of thing will not be seen as a big deal in the future. You could visualize how it could pan in the future when the most powerful man in the world is part of the LGBT community. So many things are on the horizon and beyond.”
I’m glad we are starting to see with the Jon Kent character and Timms (the comic artist) more representation of bisexual men in media. For a long time the majority of bisexual rep seemed to have been more focused on women.