Archive for May, 2012

Irresponsible Speculation on DC’s Much-Hyped Coming Out Party

May 23rd, 2012

The blogosphere is a-buzzing with news that DC Comics plans to re-introduce a major DC character – previously thought to be straight – as the DC Universe’s “most prominent gay character”.

Blogs the Daily Mail:

Co-publisher Dan DiDio previously said that the company would not change the sexual orientation of an existing superhero and would bring in a new one altogether.

But at Kapow Comic Convention in London on Sunday, he revealed that an existing character – who was previously assumed to be straight – will become ‘one of our most prominent gay characters’, according to comic blog BleedingCool.com.

Of course, this has prompted a deluge of online speculation regarding whom Didio is talking about. Here’s my Top Five list:

#5 Kendra (Hawkgirl)

Hawkman: "I love you, Hawkgirl!" Hawkgirl: "But, I'm gay!" Hawkman: "But we were meant to be together! Even death cannot impede our love!" Hawkgirl: "BUT I'm GAY!!!"

Hawkgirl was the chosen estrogen injection for the animated JLU series, so she’s definitely prominent enough to warrant a press release. Kendra is also rumoured to be reintroduced soon in the New 52 universe. Finally, the Hawk mythos asserts that Hawkman and Hawkwoman are destined to be together, and find love despite being reincarnated into new hosts; there’s much romantic angst to be had if Kendra/Hawkgirl is gay, and has to ward off the unwanted advances of Hawkman.

Unfortunately, there’s also reason to discount Hawkgirl: a few years back, DCU already introduced a major lesbian superhero in 52′s Batwoman. So, it’s likely that this time ’round, DC’s major unveil will be a male gay character.

#4 Joker

I do have to admit, the Bat nipples on the George Clooney Batsuit are pretty irresistable.

Didio’s statement didn’t specify that the character was a superhero, just a prominent character previously assumed to be straight. Unlike many DCU characters, including members of the JLA, Joker has massive pop culture name recognition. Further, there has been in-cannon and fandom speculation that Joker’s obsession with Batman stems, at least in part, from unrequited attraction to Batman. Irredemable‘s Modeus, written by Mark Waid, is inspired in part by arch-nemeses like Lex Luthor and Joker, and his attraction to the series’ Superman pastiche, Plutonian, is explicit.

Personally, I’ve always been a fan of stories that include sexual tension between Joker and Bats, so I would appreciate DCU making Joker officially gay.

#3 Ray Palmer (The Atom)

In that case, maybe you can help us figure out who Didio is talking about, Ray...

The Atom remains one of the few prominent DC characters who has yet to make a significant appearance in The New 52 (Wikipedia notes that Ray Palmer Atom shows up in Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. as S.H.A.D.E.’s science adviser but I haven’t read the story to know enough about how he’s characterized there), but he’s a well-known JLA member who has featured heavily in many of the DCU’s recent story arcs (e.g. Identity Crisis, 52). Further, unlike other characters, wherein a romantic interest is integral to their traditional origin story, Ray Palmer’s relationship with Jean Loring isn’t critical to his mythos (and only achieved any particular significance in Identity Crisis).

In short, there’s plenty of room to reinvent Ray Palmer Atom as DC’s newest (and super-intelligent) gay character.

#2 Ollie Queen (Green Arrow)

As if the reimagined Green Arrow wasn't badass enough...

I’m a little behind in my comic reading, but I think the latest issue of New 52 Justice League introduced Green Arrow as a JLA wannabe who is subsequently offered his own super-team (the Outsiders?). Like the Green Arrow we are familiar with, New 52 Ollie Queen is quippy, witty and self-confident.

Reasons why Green Arrow might be gay: Black Canary — usually a pretty important part of the Green Arrow mythos — hasn’t been introduced yet in the New 52. Could it be that DC is going to reintroduce Ollie as a self-confident, gay, hilariously clever superhero and leader of his own band of superpowered vigilantes?

Reasons why Green Arrow is unlikely to be gay: His last name is Queen. I’m pretty sure DC wants to steer far clear of that potential PR disaster.

#1 Superboy

Did no one else ask themselves why Superboy was wondering about Supergirl's shield in this panel... and not her conspicuous lack of ANYTHING covering her entire lower half?

If anyone has been following the New 52 Teen Titans, the rebooted Superboy has been dealing with quite a big of angst associated with having been grown in a lab as a biological weapon of mass destruction. Thematically, Superboy has been struggling with a host of identity issues (analogous to early adolescence) while he learns to integrate into the real world; a coming out narrative actually fits perfectly into this reimagined Superboy mythos.

Further, a gay Superboy certainly achieves the kind of prominence that would warrant a DC press release. Superboy wears the “S”-shield, which is easily the most recognizable comic book icons in modern history. To make a member of the Super-family gay is just one step short of making Superman, himself, gay.

A final argument in favour of Superboy: the recent introduction of Superboy in Teen Titans and his comic title have taken great pains to note Wonder Girl’s “hotness”. Almost every male character in the title, including Kid Flash and Robin, have quipped about Wonder Girl — all, except (to my recollection) Superboy. Further, a quick Google of the aftermath of The Culling (the current Teen Titans story arc) reveals that Superboy and Wonder Girl will be stranded together on a deserted island for an extended period of time: this is either a perfect opportunity to spark a romance between these two teenaged characters, or alternatively to  introduce the absence of any sort of romantic tension due to Superboy’s sexual orientation.

Personally, my money is on Superboy. Agree with me? Disagree with me? Let’s start the betting pool…

Bonus: Who It’s Not Going to Be

  • Superman: Lois Lane is too critical to the Superman storyline
  • Batman: Lots of reasons why it won’t be Bats, but I think the main reason is that Bats is simply too obsessive about crime-fighting. In my mind, he’s almost asexual — his ability to have any kind of emotional relationship or attachment to others are too damaged to be able to tell a decent story about his sexual orientation.
  • Wonder Woman: We already know that Steve Rogers has unrequited attraction to WW in New 52, and we know that WW was raised in an all-female culture. But, let’s face it: Wonder Woman is simply too obvious a choice. I’m going to give DC a little more credit than this.
  • Green Lantern: The Star Sapphire / jilted love thing is pretty important to the Hal Jordan Green Lantern mythos, and there’s lead-up to it in the DC movies. I don’t think DC will mess with this in the comics.
  • Martian Manhunter: Can a shape-changing martian with fairly loose affiliation to any particular gender be gay?
  • Aquaman: Aquaman was introduced in a stable and committed relationship with Mera, and there’s no signs that he’s dissatisfied or not attracted to her. I doubt DC has left themselves any room in his title to reimagine him as gay. Also, if you’re not reading New 52 Aquaman, you should be — it’s hilarious!
  • Any member of the Bat-family: one word — Batwoman. It would be a little weird if the second major gay character in the DCU was also Bat-affiliated.

 

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Posted in Comics, LGBTQ | 2 Comments »

Welcome to Reappropriate v 2.0 (or Why I Stopped Blogging and Why I’m Starting Again)

May 21st, 2012

So, there was a time when I blogged on an almost daily basis. There was a time when Reappropriate was a relatively well-read (and well-linked) blog in the Asian American and feminist blogosphere. There was a time when “blogger” was part of my self-identity.

And then, I stopped blogging.

There wasn’t a specific reason why I stopped blogging, but about a million reasons contributed to it. There wasn’t a conscious decision to write. I didn’t get mired in a blogosphere battlezone that left me shocked and stunned, too jaded with the Internet to continue writing.

I just stopped.

And that’s when I realized something: I felt free. It turns out that blogging had stopped being fun long before I had stopped writing. I had felt trapped by my blog, by the pressure to be “responsive”, adequately “expository”, and sufficiently “progressive”. I was writing as a service for a community I cared about, because I felt needed, and somewhere in the mix I stopped having fun doing it.

Thankfully, a year away from this blog helped me realize a couple of things:

  1. No one needs me to write. Yes, I realize it’s incredibly egotistical to feel like you were needed, and I’m a little embarrassed to say that I succumbed to this hubris. But, I did. I felt like if I stopped writing, that my voice would be missed in the Asian American blogosphere, and so I had to keep on writing. Y’know what? It wasn’t. Oh, I had some regular readers asking what had happened to me when I suddenly disappeared from my blog one day, but for the most part, the world kept on spinning, Asian Americans continued to make headlines, and the Internets did not implode. Surprisingly, this has done a lot to help convince me that I can come back to blogging, but on my own terms.
  2. I miss writing. Writing helps me process my thoughts, develop my opinions, and stay engaged in the world. Over the last few months, I’ve found that I missed keeping a blog. In particular, I’ve missed having a small space of the Internet that I can call my own, and I even just missed having a server I could post stuff on to share with others.

All of this has led me to my final realization: it’s time to re-start my blog. But I’m restarting it with a few different caveats.

First of all, I promise to write for the right reasons. I will be writing because I have something to say, not under the misguided notion that someone needs to hear from me (‘cuz, really, no one does). I’ll also spend less time on this blog by writing shorter posts — this decision is based purely on the fact that I have much less free time these days than I did in the past, so I can’t really invest the 2+ hours it used to take me to write some of my posts of yesteryear.

Secondly, I’m going to shift the focus of this blog somewhat. Asian American politics, feminism, current events — these topics still interest me and will remain a primary topic for this blog. But, I’m also interested in fitness, science, movies, pop culture, LOLcats, and my every day life. I used to avoid putting these topics on my blog, because my Asian American feminism niche was so well-carved out, and also because I tried to put a solid barricade between my personal life and my online life. Well, there are plenty of Asian American feminist blogs out there on the Internet these days; so, I think it’ll be okay for this cyberspace to be more reflective of me and my interests. Also, in my personal life, I’ve made efforts over the last year to stop compartmentalizing my life, and in the spirit of that journey, this blog must also transcend those disparate interests.

Finally, I’m going to focus less of my attention on readership metrics. At one point, I spent a lot of time cross-posting and promoting my blog, and I did end up with some pretty noticeable success. I wanted to raise my blog’s profile, to take advantage of social media advertising, etc. However, it took a lot of time, and energy, to worry about those kinds of things. I just don’t have the time or energy for that kind of stuff these days.

So, long story short, Reappropriate is back (now at a new URL because some assholes took Reappropriate.com!). Guess we’ll see what happens next.

Posted in All About Jenn, Site Administration | 3 Comments »