Literature Review: Homosexuality in Superhero Comics

In the spring of 2006, DC Comics announced that it was introducing a new, openly gay version of its Batwoman character in the pages of its miniseries 52. While homosexual characters were no longer new to superhero comics by this time, this would lead to a milestone with the publication of Detective Comics #854 in 2009 in which Kate Kane (Batwoman’s secret identity) became the first openly homosexual superhero to headline a comic book (as opposed to supporting characters or members of larger teams). These events led to much discussion and debate, and in many ways was the culmination of events that go back to the gradual introduction of homosexual characters into mainstream comics in the 1990s, and even further back into the early days of the medium.

Several articles been written regarding homosexuality throughout the early history of superhero comics. Most of these reference Fredric Wertham’s infamous 1954 book The Seduction of the Innocent as a jumping-off point. Wertham’s book was released at a time of growing concern over the content of comic books and its influence on young children. Aside from citing depictions of violence and drug use, Wertham pointed to hero/sidekick relationships like that of Batman and Robin as being homosexual in nature. Wertham’s book, along with a U. S. Congressional inquiry, led to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority by publishers to self-censor their titles. A guideline in the Code forbidding any mention of homosexuality in mainstream comics existed until 1989.
In “Domesticity, Homosociality and Male Power in Superhero Comics of the 1950s”, Mark Best discusses that while Wertham saw the homosexual subtext of these characters as something wrong with comics, he was correct to see the possibility of that reading. This subtext, and Wertham’s reaction to it, goes to demonstrate the complicated nature of issues of homosexuality and American masculinity in the 1950s. Best discusses the homosocial nature of male superhero relationships in this period, and how women were often presented as a threat to this. A female superhero like the original Batwoman is seen as an intrusion by Batman and Robin when first introduced – one that needs to be stopped. Women like Lois Lane are often depicted as scheming to ensnare heroes into a domestic life and threaten their male freedom. He also sees these love interests, as well as the concept of the “superhero family” (an extended cast of mixed-gender superheroes), as attempts to contain suggestions of homosexuality, but at the same time only complicating the matter.
Andy Medhurst similarly opens with a reference to Wertham in “Batman, Deviance, and Camp”. Medhurst points out that Batman is particularly interesting to view from a homosexual perspective, partially because of Wertham’s attacks. He discusses that while Wertham’s accusations clearly came from a place of homophobia, the subsequent need for others to refute them, to defend Batman’s masculinity, is equally homophobic. He goes on to discuss how the camp nature of the 60s Batman TV show seemed to bring the homosexual possibilities of the character to the forefront, and how the subsequent “darkening” of Batman in the 80s comics (including the killing of the second Robin after a fan poll) was an apparent attempt to purge him of this campiness. He concludes that, as a fictional character, Batman is open to the interpretation of the reader, whether that interpretation is heterosexual or homosexual.
In his book Demanding Respect: The Evolution of the American Comic Book, Paul Lopes looks at the development of the medium from its early days through today. In his discussion of comic books in the 1970s and 80s, he looks at how mainstream comics were dominated by the white, heterosexual male viewpoint, and how the desire of the publishers to maximize profits made it difficult for minority voices to break into this world. This led to the emergence of alternative comics by female, gay and minority artists, and a growing demand by fans in these groups for diversification on mainstream comics. He goes on to show the resistance that this eventual diversification met with. He points to, for example, the negative criticism that Marvel editor Axel Alonso met with after publishing Rawhide Kid in 2003, which featured a gay cowboy (146).
In “Queering Super-Manhood: Superhero Masculinity, Camp and Public Relations as a Textual Framework,” Rob Lendrum looks closer at the release of Rawhide Kid, which reinterpreted an established character as gay, and the subsequent reactions to it in the media. He argues that the utilization of the iconic masculine figure of the cowboy “challenges the assumed hetero-normative ‘ownership’ of cultural iconography” (287). Lendrum also starts with Wertham and references Medhurst’s assertion that the repression of the Batman character in the 1950s helped spawn the camp version of the 60s. His suggestion is that a similar trajectory led to the “queering” of the Rawhide Kid. Although this character is nowhere near as iconic as Batman, the media scrutiny and negative backlash demonstrate the continued volatility of the issue of homosexuality in mainstream media.

Perhaps as a result of the press surrounding DC’s announcement of the gay Batwoman, much has been written about the state of homosexuals in superhero comics in recent years. Some of these articles amount to little more than inventories of gay superheroes. In “Ten Gay Superheroes Who Broke New Ground” from the gay website AfterElton.com, Lyle Masaki lays out some of the major developments in recent years. These include the first instance of a major hero coming out with Marvel’s Northstar in 1992, and the first gay kiss in a mainstream comic between the character Mikaal Tomas and his boyfriend in DC’s “Starman” in 1998. Suzan Colon made a similar list in the Advocate article “Don’t Mask, Do Tell” in reaction to the news that a new incarnation of DC’s Justice League would include both Batwoman and Mikaal Tomas. While briefly discussing previously mentioned characters like Northstar and The Rawhide Kid, she significantly mentions Renee Montoya, an oft-overlooked but important character in the history of gay superheroes. Montoya was a main character in Gotham Central, a series that focused on ordinary police detectives in Batman’s hometown. Montoya was outed as a lesbian by the villain Two Face in a 2003 story arc that was nominated for a GLAAD award. Kate Kane was later introduced as a former lover of Montoya’s in 52.
Michelle Helberg looks more at the character of Montoya in “Batwoman’s Lesbian Identity is No Secret to Comic Book Fans”, which is essentially a review of the issues of 52 that introduced Kate Kane’s Batwoman. She points out the irony of the amount of news coverage regarding the character, considering several lesbian characters already existed in mainstream comics, particularly Montoya, through whom Kane was introduced. Helberg commends the storyline, particularly the straightforward and fleshed-out relationship between Montoya and Kane, and DC for bringing it to publication. Her only criticism seems to be in the way Kane’s “voluptuous” figure can be seen as a way to appeal to a young male demographic – and issue that should probably be explored much further.
Published in response to the Batwoman announcement, George Gene Gustines’ New York Times piece “Straight (and Not) Out of the Comics” discusses the current state of minorities in DC and Marvel comics. The article is basically another inventory of minority characters in comics, but is of greater interest due to its interviews with various key figures in the industry. Among them are Judd Winick, who introduced a gay character to Green Lantern in 2001. In response to the continued resistance these representations receive, Winick says, "When I get gripes for my need to force my social agenda into comics, I always ask: which social agenda are you complaining about? Is it the gay people? Or the black people or the Asian people? After a while, it doesn't look like a social agenda. This is the world we live in." Several people interviewed point out the significance that minority characters are now introduced with little fanfare.
An issue I feel is neglected by both Gustenes’ and Helberg’s articles is that the Batwoman announcement seemed suspiciously like a publicity stunt meant to drum up controversy and boost sales. Since a character like Montoya could exist with little attention, Batwoman would likely have also flown under the radar had it not been for DC’s press release. As much as the introduction of the character was a step forward for DC, the publicity it created was self-serving. Where racial minorities seem to be naturally integrated into comics, the industry still has some way to go in its handling of gay characters.
This is something that Joe Palmer gets into a bit deeper in “Gay Comics 101” for AfterElton. In looking at the current state of gays in superhero comics, he addresses Marvel’s policy that any comic emphasizing a solo gay character will receive an “Adults Only” label. Some of their titles, such as Young Avengers, feature gay supporting characters and carry the equivalent of a PG rating, but little intimacy is shown. Palmer concludes that while both major publishers are making advancements, one still has to go to independent comics for more open and varied depictions of gay characters.
In “Flame On: Observing Gay Superheroes,” Matt Kennedy is much more critical of DC and Marvel in their handling of gay characters. He dismisses Rawhide Kid as poorly written, and points out that most series relegate homosexuality to minor characters. While he acknowledges writers like Winick and a headlining hero like Batwoman as positive for the industry, he shows that these are really exceptions to the rule. He blames continued fear of the religious right for the gay superheroes being held back, and calls for gay fans to be more vocal.

In “A Superhero for Gays?: Gay Masculinity and Green Lantern,” Valerie Palmer-Mehta and Kellie Hay take a novel approach to the issue. They look specifically at Winick’s Green Lantern plotline in which the title character’s gay assistant, Terry Berg, is brutally attacked in a hate crime. After an overview of past articles that discuss masculinity in comics, they decide that there is a lack of literature regarding the medium’s representation of gays and antigay hate crimes. They proceed to analyze a group of unpublished letters received by the creators in response to the story. They break down the responses into four main categories: resistance to the representation of gay issues, concern over Green Lantern’s vigilante violence in response to the attack, conerns over the representation of gay characters, and appreciative responses. The appreciative responses make up the majority of the letters, followed by concern over vigilantism. The authors see this as a positive sign – that we are at a point in which more people will disapprove of vigilantism in a comic book than gay themes. The strength of their argument is somewhat questionable, considering that they are based on a small amount of letters.

In the course of my research, I was somewhat disappointed with how little seems to be written on this topic. Of what I did find, much of it seems to be rather superficial in its analysis. I would like to explore this issue much further, concentrating particularly on DC’s approach to homosexuals in their publications, although comparing it with Marvel’s approach would be appropriate. I would like to concentrate on characters that I feel deserve more attention, such as Mikaal Thomas and Renee Montoya, and give an up-to-date analysis of the most recent developments with Batwoman and her series. I feel there are several issues that should also be explored much further. I find it particularly interesting that the first gay character to headline her own series is a woman. Does the mainstream comic industry see male homosexual relationships as being less acceptable to their main demographic? If they are still in the mindset that they are catering to a young, heterosexual male audience, perhaps they’re assuming that lesbian characters would be somewhat intriguing and even arousing to them. I also think an idea touched on very briefly by several of these authors – that the introduction of gay characters can be as much, if not more, an attempt at publicity by the publishers as they are a noble attempt to diversify they’re comics – deserves much more attention. I look forward to digging much deeper into these issues and whatever new ones are likely to arise in the coming years.

Works Cited
Best, Mark. “Domesticity, Homosociality, and Male Power in Superhero Comics of the 1950s”. Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies 6 (Spring 2005): 80-99.
Colon, Suzan. “Don’t Mask, Do Tell.” The Advocate Nov. 2008: 18.
Gustines, George Gene. “Straight (and Not) Out of the Comics.” New York Times 28 May 2006.
Helberg, Michelle. “Batwoman’s Lesbian Identity is No Secret to Comic Book Fans.” After Ellen. Logo, 24 Jul. 2006. Web.
Kennedy, Matt. “Flame On: Observing Gay Superheroes.” Forces of Geek. 29 Sep. 2009. Web.
Lendrum, Robert. “Queering Super-Manhood: Superhero Masculinity, Camp and Public Relations as a Textual Framework.” International Journal of Comic Art 7.1 (2005): 287-303.
Lopes, Paul. Demanding Respect: The Evolution of the American Comic Book. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2009.
Masaki, Lyle. “Ten Gay Superheroes Who Broke New Ground.” After Elton. Logo, 9 Jul. 2009. Web.
Medhurst, Andy. “Batman, Deviance, and Camp.” Popular Culture: Production and Consumption. Eds. Denise D. Bielby and C. Lee Harrington. Malden: Blackwell, 2001. 24-35.
Palmer, Joe. “Gay Comics 101.” After Elton. Logo, 16 Oct. 2006. Web.
Palmer-Mehta, Valerie and Kellie Hay. “A Superhero for Gays?: Gay Masculinity and Green Lantern.”
Wertham, Fredric. Seduction of the Innocent. New York: Rinehart and Co., 1954.