The "retroactively making old DC characters gay/bi/biracial" thread

[Robanker]

In the case of Alan Scott, I'd prefer he came back exactly as he was Pre-Flashpoint. If the DC Bombshells can have pretty much every female be bisexual or lesbian without headlines killing DC over not carrying to the mainline continuity, Alan Scott can remain gay in his New 52 Earth-2 incarnation while heterosexual in his main Earth incarnation.

[Aahz]

Okay, I am becoming more convinced that perhaps Alan Scott might not be the best choice, particularly if Obsidian is coming back, but what other heroes would be more viable candidates for this kind of story, because I think the story of a gay Mystery Man in the 1940s sounds like it'd make for a potentially interesting story. The Invisible Hood sounds like a good one, and the name is certainly evocative enough

Very likely one that is a little less popular, doesn't have an iconic love interest and preferably not a teen side kick.

[BatmanJones]

I agree with that.

Like MajorHoy, I don't really like past continuity being screwed with too much. I don't like retcons and reboots. Embrace it all, all the mistakes, all the wrong headed cultural norms, and make it work for you. Don't be lazy and pretend it was different/better than it was, just make it good *now.*

However, where he and I disagree is that I've no issue with additional layers being added, as long as it's not taking anything away. It's completely possible that one (or more) of the Golden Age heroes was secretly gay (or whatever) and kept it a secret, perhaps even refused to admit it to him (or her) self. Knowing what we know now, it's just very likely statistically. So with Allan, yeah I can totally see (with hindsight) him having been a gay man in all those stories. And I think it adds a lot of potential to the character. I don't see anything being removed; the man could still have loved his wives. Just not in "that" way. All his adventures remain utterly unchanged. But it adds something new you can do with him now. And it makes the DCU a more diverse place, which is a great bonus.

I haven't seen anyone acknowledge yet that gay Alan Scott is not JSA Alan Scott. They're two different characters.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Would this really be such a nightmare?

Some comic news sides would probably act like that was big scandal, but do you really think that the readers would care?

I would guess about the same number of fans would be upset that classic Alan Scott was back to liking gals as were upset that NuEarth-2 Alan Scott liked dudes, just on opposite ends of the outrage spectrum

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I haven't seen anyone acknowledge yet that gay Alan Scott is not JSA Alan Scott. They're two different characters.

I don't think there's any confusion about that around here. The issue is whether or not to carry over NuEarth-2 Alan's gayness to Classic Alan. Since the average person who read "Green Lantern is gay!" headlines years ago thought it was about Ryan Reynold's Green Lantern, I don't think we need to worry too much about them

[Bored at 3:00AM]

double post

[The Darknight Detective]

If it's a new continuity, anything is possible, IMO. Where a problem could arise is altering something within an established continuity. Now if it's something that wasn't well defined in the first place, okay by me then.

[Trey Strain]

I posted a poll about this a while back. The practice got a resounding thumbs down.

http://community.comicbookresources....hed-characters

[Confuzzled]

I posted a poll about this a while back. The practice got a resounding thumbs down.

http://community.comicbookresources....hed-characters

That's about a 60/40 split between people who are against it and people who are for it or unsure/don't care either way. Wouldn't call that "resounding", especially when the total number of votes is just 113.

[dancj]

I've got no problem with race or orientation changing - even in-continuity.

As was pointed out above, it's really hard to make new characters stick, so it's the only feasible way to get any proper representation going.

[PyroTwilight]

It reminds me. Apparently Hal Jordan is Jewish in the main continuity? I've seen it mentioned by readers here and there. When did that happen/first get brought up? Even if Hal came from a Jewish background I can't exactly see him actually care about religion regardless of which, unless it was something he and his Dad loved to spend time doing together, because man Hal is all about his Dad.

Same for Barry Allen? I know the Justice League movie said he was but apparently fans have said he was prior to that?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

It reminds me. Apparently Hal Jordan is Jewish in the main continuity? I've seen it mentioned by readers here and there. When did that happen/first get brought up? Even if Hal came from a Jewish background I can't exactly see him actually care about religion regardless of which, unless it was something he and his Dad loved to spend time doing together, because man Hal is all about his Dad.

It was only made official recently by either Robert Venditti or Tom King, but Hal being Jewish has been part of his DNA since the beginning since he was based upon Paul Newman, who is also Jewish on his mother's side, same as Hal. His father is not Jewish, but that doesn't really matter. To be Jewish, your mother is the only one that counts. For instance, my father is Jewish, but my mother is not, so I am not officially a Jew, even though I am still Jewish enough for the Nazis to want to murder me

[Assam]

For the people saying that a more minor character should have the coming out of the closet storyline, you do get the problem with that right? With a character like Invisible Hood, the instant the current writer is done, he's gonna go bye bye and be replaced with someone the new writer actually cares about. DC actually has a lot of LGBT heroes. The problem is that the vast majority of them are never used. Having a JSA staple be gay adds to the minuscule number of LGBT characters we actually get to see on regular basis.

And again, Alan simply has the most interesting story to tell here. An old man coming out as gay to his gay son? That's genuinely interesting drama.

[Trey Strain]

That's about a 60/40 split between people who are against it and people who are for it or unsure/don't care either way. Wouldn't call that "resounding", especially when the total number of votes is just 113.

Um, what? Sixty percent opposed it and 28 percent percent supported it. You don't get to add the twelve percent with no opinion to the supporters.

More than twice as many people dislike it than like it. You can't spin that as a victory of the likes and keep a straight face.

[iron chimp]

did the old comics code forbid (or whatever proper word is) the use of gay characters?