DC Comics is breaking its promise not to change the sexual orientation of characters in their ongoing reboot. Senior VP Sales Bob Wayne says their position “has evolved” just like the President of the United States, but it probably has more to do with the publicity generated by all the speculation.

Courtney Simmons, DC Entertainment’s senior vice president of publicity, told ABC News, “One of the major iconic DC characters will reveal that he is gay in a storyline in June.”

Although we know it’ll be a male character, we don’t know what (super) team he will play for. DC already has many gay and lesbian super heroes such as Bunker, Pied Piper, Obsidian, Midnighter, Apollo, Batwoman, and The Question AKA Renee Montoya, but with the exception of Voodoo (bisexual) you’d be hard-pressed to name any gay super villains. And what better villain to switch sides than Lex Luthor. He’s a metrosexual with a hard-on for a Super Man. The only woman he’s ever noticed was Lois Lane, which was often just to get to Big Blue.

Even when revealed, this iconic character may not be who you think he is. DC recently reintroduced a parallel universe in its Earth 2 series, which is populated with radically different versions of familiar characters.

Bleeding Cool says it has several sources outing the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, who appeared at the end of Earth 2 #1. “If my assumptions are correct, we will learn of Alan Scott’s sexual orientation and his role as a Green Lantern of Earth Two in Earth Two #2, out next month,” says the website.

However, it seems unlikely that DC would choose a character that’s so… well, gay. Green Lantern received his powers from a mysterious green flame. In fact, on the Earth 2 #3 cover he’s literally flaming! And believe it or not, he has a weakness to wood. Now it’s more like a weakness for wood (zing).


Marvel comics isn’t about to take this lying down. They’ve upped the ante with a gay wedding. The X-Men mutant Northstar AKA Jean-Paul Beaubier proposed to his human boyfriend, Kyle Jinadu, in Astonishing X-Men #50. The ceremony will take place in the following issue Astonishing X-Men #51, which will have a “Create Your Own Wedding Variant.” Fans can frame or draw their own wedding portrait alongside memorable Marvel marriages of the past.

“The Marvel Universe has always reflected the world outside your window, so we strive to make sure our characters, relationships and stories are grounded in that reality,” said Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor in Chief. “We’ve been working on this story for over a year to ensure Northstar and Kyle’s wedding reflects Marvel’s ‘world outside your window’ tradition.”

GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has praised both companies for their efforts. “DC and (archrival) Marvel are recognizing that there is an LGBT audience that has been reading their comics for years. When creating these fictional worlds it’s important to show the full diversity,” said Matt Kane, associate director of entertainment and media.

The right-wing activist group One Million Moms, which believes homosexuality is a choice, is ironically upset with DC for changing an established character’s sexuality.

“Last year, DC Comics Co-publisher Dan DiDio said that the company would not change the sexual orientation of an existing superhero and would bring in a new one altogether,” they explained. “Parents may have been able to avoid a new character since it would not be one many children have grown to admire.”

They fear that children will be unable to resist the allure of brightly colored spandex and turn gay.

“Children desire to be just like superheroes. Children mimic superhero actions and even dress up in costumes to resemble these characters as much as possible. Can you imagine little boys saying, ‘I want a boyfriend or husband like X-Men?'”

One Million Moms has started an online petition to “cancel all plans of homosexual superhero characters immediately.” If they hope to succeed then they’ll need to fly around the Earth a few times because clearly superheroes have always been gay, or at least their fashion sense has.