DC Comics has announced that its latest Superman, Jon Kent, the son of the fictional character ‘Superman’, will come out as bisexual in an upcoming comic series.
The storyline is part of ‘Superman: Son of Kal-El‘, a series following Jon as he takes on the mantle of Superman from his father, Clark Kent.
In its next comic book issue, due for release on November 9, Jon will be pictured in a same-sex relationship with his friend Jay Nakamura.
Just like his father before him, Jon Kent has fallen for a reporter 💙 Learn more about the story to come in SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #5: https://t.co/bUQAsos68o #DCPride pic.twitter.com/wfQPc3CEVD
— Superman (@DCSuperman) October 11, 2021
DC Comics made the announcement on National Coming Out Day, an annual LGBT awareness day started in the US.
The company said the pair will become romantically involved in the upcoming fifth issue, after Jon “mentally and physically burns out from trying to save everyone that he can“.
In the series, Jon Kent focuses on real-life events and political issues such as holding protests against refugee deportation, extinguishing wildfires and preventing mass shootings at high schools.
In an earlier issue, Jon struck up a friendship with Jay Nakamura – a bespectacled, pink-haired reporter.
Nakamura, who possesses special powers, will also be seen supporting the superhero when he becomes physically and mentally exhausted. The character of ‘Superman’ has traditionally been that of a straight, white male.
While speaking about the new development, writer Tom Taylor justified the decision. He said;
I’ve always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes and I’m very grateful DC and Warner Bros share this idea…Superman’s symbol has always stood for hope, for truth and for justice. Today, that symbol represents something more. Today, more people can see themselves in the most powerful superhero in comics.
The idea of replacing Clark Kent with another straight white saviour felt like a missed opportunity.
He said that, despite backlash from “trolls” on social media, reaction to the storyline has been overwhelmingly positive.
Taylor expressed;
We have people saying they read this news today and burst into tears – people saying they never thought in their life that they would be able to see themselves in Superman… literally the most powerful superhero in comics. You’ll always have people who’ll use the old line of ‘don’t put politics into comics’ – forgetting that every single [comic book] story ever has been political in some way,” he said. “People who don’t realise that the [Marvel comic series] X-Men were an analogy for the civil rights movement.
We try to bring those people with us, but we are writing for the people who will hopefully see this Superman… and say ‘This Superman is like me. This Superman is fighting for things that concern me’.
On his part, DC Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee remarked;
We talk a lot about the power of the DC Multiverse in our storytelling and this is another incredible example. We can have Jon Kent exploring his identity in the comics as well as Jon Kent learning the secrets of his family on TV on Superman & Lois. They coexist in their own worlds and times, and our fans get to enjoy both simultaneously.
