When the writer behind the latest Superman comics was asked to create the character, Tom Taylor knew that he wanted to create a hero that had ‘new fights’. Soaring out the closet, the world’s latest Superman, ie: the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, has been announced as bisexual.
The announcement was made yesterday, October 11, which is also National Coming Out Day in the US.
DC Comics revealed that in the upcoming fifth issue of the comic book dubbed Superman: Son of Kal-El, the young Jonothan Kent is set to have a romantic relationship with a male reporter, Jay Nakamura.
For Taylor, the announcement of Jon Kent’s sexual orientation isn’t a gimmick, but rather a representation of a new era.
“We didn’t want this to be ‘DC Comics creates new queer Superman,” he said as per Reuters.
“We want this to be ‘Superman finds himself, becomes Superman and then comes out,’ and I think there’s a really important distinction there.”
The vision.
Taylor further noted that when he was asked to create the character, he didn’t want to replace Clark with another hero of the same ‘straight, white saviour’ construction.
“That would’ve been a missed opportunity,” Taylor said.
“I’ve always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes…Superman, the strongest superhero on the planet, is coming out.”
The battles this Superman has in the series are different too.
“A new superman had to have new fights – real-world problems – that he could stand up to as one of the most powerful people in the world,” notions Taylor.
Since the series surrounding Jon Kent began in July, Jon has combated wildfires as a result of climate change, protested the deportation of refugees in the metropolis and protected during a high school shooting.
Taylor has also expressed that the reactions have been positive, with some people saying that they burst into tears upon reading the news, communicating that they wished that they had this Superman growing up, one in which they could see themselves.
Setting the tone for the future.
It’s not the first time a DC character has been revealed to be bisexual. This was also the case in the Batman: Urban Legends Series where Robin, Tim Drake, was revealed to be of this orientation.
However, when a character with as much influence, and who is usually doted with more traditional energy, comes out as bisexual, people start talking, and it could be the tone for the future as the creatives behind the character note.
Weighing in, the comic book artist John Timms conveyed as per HypeBeast that: “It is a pretty big deal doing it with Jon Kent as Superman…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 hope this isn’t a headline in a few years’ time. I hope this isn’t trending on Twitter. I hope this [is] just something about a person and good rep for everybody that represents,” Taylor agreed.
Meanwhile in the Mother City, we recently enjoyed the 2021 Comic-Con. Who knows, maybe next year we’ll see Jon Kent as the character most celebrated by Capetonians!
WATCH: An inside look at Comic Con Cape Town 2021
Picture: DC Comics