In a case of the Internet being awesome, fans overwhelmed the One Million Moms Facebook page with pro-DC sentiments after the organization posted a warning (their words) about Green Lantern being gay. “If only because, in the long run, whether it’s with these recent ‘big gay additions’ to mainstream comics being tossed into the superhero stew for monetary reasons or publicity’s sake, or because of a genuine desire to better reflect our current culture … the end result will eventually lead us down the same path and to the same destination: widespread acceptance and support of LGBT people.”Īnd for all the trolling, there’s evidence that this is already happening. “Do I view this exploitation as a terrible, awful, negative thing? Not so much,” Andersen said. But considering that Archie Comics hadn’t exactly been known for risk-taking and there were no gay characters in Riverdale previously, Kevin’s arrival seemed legitimately noteworthy.īrian Andersen, a pro-LGBT independent comics creator and longtime comics reader, said that while there is an element of exploitation in DC’s actions, there is also an upside. Sure, Archie Comics got plenty of attention in 2010 after introducing its first gay character, Kevin Keller, who wed his boyfriend in the alternate-reality “Life with Archie” series. But in the case of Scott, should the mere fact of a character’s sexual orientation be the subject of a teasing publicity grab? Why not just let the character speak for himself and then let the blogosphere go to town? (Marvel revealed that Northstar was gay in 1992.) Given the ongoing debate in this country over gay couples’ right to get married, one could argue that this event is at least topical, and comic book nuptials have been the subjects of news releases before. To get really technical about it, Earth 2 isn’t even main continuity but a parallel universe.Īround the same time, Marvel made headlines of its own with the news of X-Men character Northstar’s marriage to his boyfriend, Kyle. Let’s be real here: Scott is well-known to people who read comics, but he isn’t Clark Kent or even Hal Jordan. An icon is someone that the average person on the street recognizes. DC also said the character would be iconic, but that turned out to be a stretch. Speculation was inevitable.īut then the company started using words like “mystery” and “big upcoming twist,” giving the whole thing a tacky, Where’s Waldo? quality. The site Bleeding Cool reported that, in response to a question about LGBT characters at London’s Kapow comic book convention, DC Co-publisher Dan DiDio said a yet-unnamed, existing straight character would be relaunched as gay in the new 52. To be fair, DC didn’t make a big deal out of it initially. The coy, press-baiting runup to the announcement is another matter. Before the relaunch, he was a middle-aged hero whose son, Obsidian, was gay.
Gay characters in mainstream comics aren’t new, but DC took a chance in changing the sexual orientation of an established character like Scott. 2 last week, when Scott made his debut in the relaunched DC Universe. It’s safe to say that those people didn’t pick up “Earth 2” No. “UGH ALAN SCOTT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTER IN COMICS DC YOU REALLY *&%#? UP THIS TIME ALAN SCOTT IS THE MOST CLASSIC DC CHARACTER NOW HE’S GAY WTF” On Facebook, a friend hilariously mocked the all-caps, incorrectly punctuated outrage thusly:
Peterman is a Florida-based writer and editor, and the co-creator of the comics blog .Īfter DC Comics made it official that Green Lantern Alan Scott is gay, the reaction from the Trolliverse was as predictable as it was ridiculous.