Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite LGBT DC Characters

…So, I mentioned this on my Facebook, but I figured I should bring this up on my blog. Yes, I know about the horrible shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Florida. I don’t know all the details. What I do know is this: Around 50 people were killed in this shooting, and about 50 more were injured. I’ve heard that, in the wake of this, some people have chosen to put their own projects on indefinite hold. However, I’ve instead opted not to. On the contrary, I feel it necessary to continue my work as a form of entertainment and escapism for anyone affected by this tragedy. In fact, because the LGBT community has been the target of a lot of hate as of late, culminating in this attack, I’ve decided to do some LGBT related articles, starting with this one. It’s no secret that I love lots of diversity in comics, and while DC has kinda failed from time to time to get it right, there ARE a number of gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, and even asexual characters among their vast line-up. But who are my personal favourites? Well, let’s find out. Here are my 5 Favourite LGBT DC Characters.

#1 – Jackson Hyde, AKA Aqualad

I’ve actually heard that the staff of the Young Justice cartoon claimed that Jackson was “not straight”, and that’s where he made his first appearances, so no, DC Rebirth’s outing him isn’t necessarily a retcon…I think. I’m gonna get into this when I review DC Universe Rebirth #1, but the thing is, the implication some people are taking from his scene in the book is that he’s gay. However, I’m pretty sure the intent with him prior was that he was bi, not gay, so I’m hoping they stick with that. Regardless, I really like Aqualad. His position in the Aquaman stories is complex, but in a good way, he’s got a kickass power-set and a usually level-headed demeanor (at least in the show, I haven’t read much of his appearances in the comics), and I’m glad to see him making his return. I seem to recall hearing once that he was originally supposed to join the Teen Titans in the New 52, but it never came to be, and considering how the team did in that era, might be for the better that he didn’t. Still, this DOES make me wonder if he’ll either join the Titans in the Rebirth era, or perhaps be part of a new Young Justice team. And considering how many people would like to see a return of the Young Justice TV series, honestly, I’d go with the latter as a means to either push that idea or give the fans clamoring for it a consolation prize.

#2 – Pamela Isley, AKA Poison Ivy

Honestly, is anyone REALLY shocked? And yes, for the record, Pamela’s bisexuality has been made canon. Granted, it’s in a book I don’t much care for, and the writers don’t always seem to get her all that well, but I appreciate the fact that they made clear what many of us assumed for a while now. I remember for years thinking it already WAS established canon, actually. But anyway, Poison Ivy is a character who has a lot of layers to her. She suffers from seasonal affective disorder, which can sometimes undermine her better judgment and brilliant mind, and she’s been known to…well, let’s call a spade a spade, she kills people. However, she really DOES care for the planet, as most of her criminal endeavors over the years have been to stop people from polluting or otherwise mistreating it, and to those who think she doesn’t care about human beings, she once protected a park full of orphaned children. No one told her to, she just did it because she identified with their trauma and because it was the right thing to do. She once gave up her powers because she was afraid it might be killing them. So yeah, she IS a good person deep down. Just…don’t ever piss her off, and in the words of Captain Planet, protect the environment, or she’ll fucking kill you. 😛

#3 – Katherine Kane, AKA Batwoman

History’s a funny thing, isn’t it? The original Batwoman was created specifically to be Batman’s love interest as a means of disproving concerns that he was gay for Robin. 50 years later, the character was reintroduced as a lesbian, and is actually Bruce’s cousin. And frankly, all the better in my opinion, as she’s arguably the single most high-profile LGBT superhero in DC’s entire roster, and is currently Batman’s equal in his new boot camp in Detective Comics. Also, her existence provides more of something Batman is lacking: Family. While he’s brought in wards and made plenty of allies, we don’t see a lot of his surviving blood relatives. I think right now, off the top of my head, there’s Kate, her dad, her sister, and Bruce’s son, Damian, and alternate Earth daughter, Helena. That’s it. And while there’s more than a lot different about Bruce and Kate in their personalities and approaches to crime fighting, there’s also a lot that’s the same, which may be the real reason they haven’t always gotten along together that great as superheroes. Oh, and in Batman: Bad Blood, she used guns, and I’m not a big fan of that, but it at least makes sense with her military training, and she DID switch her live rounds for rubber bullets by the end, so I can tolerate it and still like her in that movie, unlike some other things in it, but let’s not go there…

#4 – Miguel Barragan, AKA Bunker

…Okay, I’m gonna admit to something that people might find a bit strange to hear come out of my mouth, and I understand that. Frankly, it baffles me a bit, too. But, having thought about it for a while, and looking back over the character’s history, I’ve come to a conclusion: Scott Lobdell wrote Bunker best so far. He was optimistic, entertaining, and just outright FUN. I don’t know what they were trying to do with him in the new book, but he wasn’t what I’d necessarily call “fun”. In fact, he kinda had an attitude that rubbed me the wrong way, at least in comparison to how I knew him to be prior. I hope if he comes back in Rebirth, he more resembles his previous personality. Also, I gotta wonder about something: As I said before, Aqualad was originally rumoured to be joining the Teen Titans in the New 52. Now, we’ve met Bunker’s boyfriend, and he’s not Jackson, but I can’t help but wonder if the original intent was for Jackson to be Bunker’s boyfriend and be on the team? Food for thought is all I’m saying.

#5 – Harleen Quinzel, AKA Harley Quinn

Again, like Ivy, Harley Quinn has been confirmed to be bisexual by the writers of her book, so she counts. And, like I said before, I honestly thought she already WAS confirmed to be a while ago, and I have no idea why it took anyone from DC so long to finally let that particular cat (or hyena, as it were) out of the bag. Now, maybe it was a concern that such might be controversial, but lemme ask you something: Which is the more controversial thing to do with a character? To have Harley be bisexual, or to have her be in a long-term abusive relationship with a killer clown, and have her get the shit kicked outta her multiple times, once or twice even in a cartoon show? And I’m not saying they shouldn’t have done that, as it was an intriguing look into abusive relationships and twisted psyches, while also serving as a cautionary tale. I’m just saying, once you’ve crossed that line, how is this any worse? Regardless, it’s out in the open now, with no going back, though I have my doubts they’ll reference that in DC Super Hero Girls. lol

Hmm, y’know, while I like this list, I feel like there are others I should at least mention… … …Ah, screw it, here’s a collage of some of my other favourite confirmed LGBT characters in DC Comics, so no Wonder Woman since DC’s never made it 100% clear about her. lol

Anyway, be sure to leave your own favourites in the comments, OR let me know if there’s anyone else you’d like to see officially come out at DC these days. Ja né!

What I Bought Today – Batman #19, Batgirl #19, Batman and Red Robin (Batman and Robin #19) (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Y’all know what day it is, and believe it or not, I actually managed to get all the books that came out this week! lol So, let’s check out…

So today, we got death, despair, and doppelgängers! Let’s start off with Batgirl #19.

Hallelujah, Gail Simone has returned! And holy crap, she hasn’t missed a beat after being gone for a couple of months. First off, let’s talk about Barbara‘s room-mate, Alysia, who lets her back home and, after a heart-to-heart between the two where Babs tells her everything (except being Batgirl, that is), reveals she’s actually transgendered. I don’t know if that was the original plan or if they decided on this later, but it does add some depth to the character. Either way, kudos to Gail Simone and DC for doing this, and let me just say it’s most welcome to see the first openly transgender character in a mainstream superhero comic. Also, I can’t help but wonder if, after Barbara tells Alysia to call her Babs because “The people I love call me Babs”, Gail Simone is actually planning on doing a relationship angle between the two? If I recall correctly, she had once wanted to do Barbara and Black Canary as a couple but was denied by DC, so it wouldn’t be the first time she wanted to try something like this. Given my own personal experience in writing superheroine stories, I will say that I would accept this change with open arms if it did happen.

In other news, Jim Gordon Jr. is dead. Again, thank goodness. The guy was as psychotic as anybody else in DC’s long line of villains. Now, technically Batgirl does kill him, but because she got him with a Batarang to the skull when he was going to kill their mother and he fell off the pier to the sharp pointy rocks below, and she DID try to save him. Besides, it was her mother who had originally intended to kill James to protect them both. However, Commissioner Gordon shows up at the entirely wrong time, looking to arrest Batgirl for his son’s murder, not knowing the whole situation and that Batgirl is his daughter. Definitely going to make future scenarios in this comic interesting to say the least.

Batman and Red Robin…Well to be honest, this feels more like it should be called Batman VS Red Robin. First off, we get to meet the Prime Earth version of Carrie Kelley, who is a college girl who was a friend of Damian’s (the exact relationship is still not completely known). She’s intent on finding out exactly what has happened to Damian, but Bruce ain’t talkin’. In fact, Bruce is kinda busy at the moment, as he has kidnapped Frankenstein so he can take him apart (Frankenstein still lives, mind you), and figure out how he works. Why? Because Batman has officially gone Bat shit crazy, and is trying to resurrect Damian. Luckily, Alfred called Tim Drake up and asked him to check on what Bruce was doing in the Arctic, and managed to put a stop to it. Unfortunately, doing so may have made an enemy out of Batman, depending on just how far into this plan he is and how willing he is to see it through. Still, it’s an interesting set-up for the next few issues of Batman and Robin, especially considering that next month, it’s Jason Todd‘s turn to meet up with Bats.

Batman was pretty awesome. The only problem is that there was no doubt in my mind that the Bruce Wayne on the cover was Clayface. It seems he’s actually evolved somewhat, as he’s not only able to replicate one’s appearance, but their DNA as well. This makes him all the more dangerous, especially since he’s assuming the form of Bruce Wayne. He can now access anything Bruce can, from his insane wealth to the tech created for Batman Incorporated. Also, I gotta admit that I really like the extra story included in the back, written by James Tynion IV, that features Batman and Superman investigating a house filled with mystical energies, that apparently will be concluded next month along with the conclusion to the main story included here. At any rate, this is still a good issue, despite the fact that it IS really just filler until Scott Snyder begins Zero Year.

So that’s all for this week. Next week might be a big week depending on what becomes available (I have two comics being ordered in AND there’s some confusion regarding JLA #3’s release date), but for now I will say that I will be checking in on Nightwing’s move to Chicago and how things are going for Batwoman. Ja né!

Related articles

• DC Reveals Transgender Character in BATGIRL #19 (newsarama.com)
• Simone & DC Bring Transgender Character To “Batgirl” (comicbookresources.com)
• ‘Batgirl’ #19 Features First Openly Transgender Character In Mainstream Superhero Comics (comicsalliance.com)
• Batgirl 19: Mainstream comics first transgender character (comicsheatingup.wordpress.com)
• DC Comics Introduces First Openly Transgender Character (fox2now.com)
• ‘Batgirl’ Reveals Transgender Character (geek-news.mtv.com)