A History of Sex in DC Comics

[Slimybug]

Way, way back in the day (the 1970's ), Lois was constantly asking Clark to come over to her place to have Beef Bourguignon for dinner. In some interview somewhere (and I'm sorry, I forget where it was), one of the main writers at the time said that this was an inside joke that she was really asking him over for sex. I don't know if this is true, but I have to admit, beef bourguignon would be a strange dish for that... given it takes hours to make... Or maybe not so strange afterall ).

As for the Dick and Kory scene in NTT vol.2 #1 (Baxter edition), I believe it was called out at the time for yes, having two unmarried "teenagers" in bed together... especially ones who were supposed to be "role models" for their readers (I remember back in the letter pages from those days, there were both pro- and con- letters) but also that they were apparently the first couple shown who were obviously nude in bed together (unlike the scene posted above with Ollie and Dinah in robes). I guess it was just too "on-the-nose" for some people at that time.

Are you sure it was #1? A google search only shows this from issue #36 in 1988. And daaaang, it's way more rique then I would have thought. Plus, from what I'm reading in the synopsis, the issue sees Kory inviting Dick to move in with her, which it doesn't say if he accepts.

Dick.jpg

EDIT:

Nevermind, this is the one everyone's referring to, from 1984. Yeah, that's a lot tamer. The above one would've been a much bigger leap.

Teen Titans.jpg

There's also this one, which I can't seem to figure out where it comes from, but if its after the one from 1984, I guess it doesn't really matter.

tumblr_inline_o1638elwCA1s81zze_540.jpg

[Air Wave]

Yeah, so far it sounds like that issue of WF is the record holder for earliest.

One has to wonder when Hal Jordan or Batman, the resident skirt chasers of the DCU, first got it on

Weren't Bruce and Silver St. Cloud pretty obviously sleeping together?

[The Darknight Detective]

Weren't Bruce and Silver St. Cloud pretty obviously sleeping together?

Yeah, it could be said it was implied, but nothing as overt as the Ollie-Dinah panels that I posted before.

[Paul Newell]

I know there was sex in the 80's Vigilante series - it was aimed at more mature readers. I don't think they showed the act, just a woman getting naked then yada, yada...

Pretty sure they did show Vic and Myrna while having sex in an issue of "The Question." (PG-13 though I think)

In the 80's a few of the Legionnaires use to refer to their partners as "lover", but I don't recall seeing anyone in bed back then.

There was the infamous hidden Star Boy panel from Superboy & The Legion of Super-Heroes #201....Back in 1974.

SLSH201b.jpg

[Konja7]

Phil Jimenez invented Trevor Barnes, not Greg Rucka. But yeah Wonder Woman was a virgin (at least implicitly) until the New 52 when she and Superman got together.

If I'm not mistaken, pre-COIE has scenes where it's implicit that Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor have sex (even if something explicit isn't show).

In post-COEI, Wonder Woman doesn't have a love interest. So, she may be virgin in that continuity.

In New52, she has sex with Superman (and we don't exactly know how her relationship with Steve was in the past).

In Rebirth, she has sex with Steve (this time explicity), while it's implied she had relationships with other amazons in the past.

[The Darknight Detective]

There was the infamous hidden Star Boy panel from Superboy & The Legion of Super-Heroes #201....Back in 1974.

SLSH201b.jpg

I believe that's what they call slipping something under the radar.

[Paul Newell]

I believe that's what they call slipping something under the radar.

Too true!

[Slimybug]

If I'm not mistaken, pre-COIE has scenes where it's implicit that Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor have sex (even if something explicit isn't show).

Yeah, someone mentioned this...

In "Wonder Woman" #224 (July, 1976) Diana is shown to be sharing an apartment with Steve Trevor. The issue ends with a panel of them kissing on the couch in said apartment with the implication being things eventually progressed to the bedroom although that's not shown on the page.

I'll have to see if I can get my hands on that. Is that the only one?

[Jackalope89]

Regarding rape; oddly enough, the one time I can think of that they had a hero deal with it and have actual, believable ramifications, was Jason Todd leading up to his death. They came across a victim of rape, found the perp, but he had diplomatic immunity, and the victim killed herself afterwards. Leading Jason to angrily storm after the rapist. By the time Batman caught up, the rapist had fallen to his death. Whether he had fallen or Jason pushed him, was left ambiguous.

With Dick? DC doesn't care. With Sue Dibny? A prop for the story.

[Slimybug]

Well, by 1987, they were comfortable enough to write an issue where Superman and Big Bard are hypnotized into almost recording a porno together.

https://comicsalliance.com/superman-sex-tape/

[Electricmastro]

DC has also had some pretty awful moments with regards to sex. Like Dick Grayson in Teen Titans being raped and subsequently slut-shamed. And can't forget getting raped by Tarantula, and DC brushing it off.

Yeah, and while on the subject, in fact, DC Database used to have a page about sexual assault, but has since been deleted. It was saved on the Wayback Machine though. Might as well list here what was listed there and provide the list of referenced issues. It may or may not be 100% correct, but I thought it was at least worth bringing up: https://web.archive.org/web/20190711...Sexual_assault

Female victims:

Arella was raped by the demon Trigon, leading to the conception of their daughter Raven.[1]
Anne Pasquale was raped her freshman year in college by an unknown man who was never caught. The event caused Anne to become a cop.[2]
Artemis Her soul ended up in Tartarus after death and there she became a figurative bride or concubine to one of the ruling Princes of Hell, Dalkriig-Hath. Diana had came to her aid, but Artemis accepted her fate. Despite being raped, beaten, and tortured at the hands of her "husband" and possibly other demons, she became accustomed to her "damnation", and adapted quickly.[3]
Batwoman was raped by Nocturna over a period of many months due to vampiric-hypnosis, and during that time also subjected to repeated acts of emotional and psychological abuse. After Nocturna's deception was revealed by Bette, along with her intent to frame her for murder, the vampire attempted to shift all of the blame on to Kate, claiming it was what her subconscious desired all along. It didn't work.[4]
Bleez was repeatedly raped by members of the Sinestro Corps after her home planet was overrun, which inspired her with the rage to become a member of the Red Lantern Corps.[5]
Cellanth was kept as a sex slave by the megalomaniacal Solus.[6]
Cinder DuBois was raped as a child by Lacey.[7]
Cora was raped and impregnated by Dardanus and gave birth to her son Kordax.[8]
Gypsy was raped by Baron Üman von Mauler twice, once when she was fourteen and once when she was nineteen. After the second time, she psychically battles and then kills him.[9]
Demolitia was raped by a group of thugs after she was found under the rubble of a building.[10]
Grace Choi ran away from her foster home and was abducted to become an underage sex slave from the ages of 9 to 12. Her abuser was a man named Tanner who held her prisoner until her powers developed.[11]
Harriet Arkham and her daughter were both brutally raped and murdered by Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins.[12]
Hippolyta was drugged, chained and raped by Heracles after he simulated a truce to steal her girdle.[13]
Judith Benoir was raped by Mathieu Arbogast and died due to injuries.[14]
Lady Flash was raped by Vandal Savage.[15]
Starfire was raped by members of the Citadel.[16]
Mirage was raped and impregnated by Deathwing and gave birth to her daughter Julienne.[17][18]
Pix was beaten and raped by a gang of street thugs.[19]
Sue Dibny was revealed to have been brutally raped by Doctor Light during the Identity Crisis storyline.[20]
The Huntress was kidnapped and raped by a mobster who belongs to a rival family when she was a child.[21]
The original Silk Spectre was raped by the Comedian in Watchmen.[22]
Windfall was drugged and passed around by members of a fraternity at her college, who posted pictures online. The local district attorney was father to one of the boys, and he refused to press charges. The school used her past career as a super-villain to justify expelling her, and she ended up on the Suicide Squad.[23]
Melissa Dugan was sexually assaulted by Lex Luthor out of spite for attempting to end their romantic relationship.[24]

Male victims:

Apollo was raped by The Commander. The rape was followed by a scene of revenge in which it is implied that The Midnighter raped The Commander with a jackhammer.[25]
Aquaman was raped by Siren who was disguised as his wife, Mera.[26]
Batman was drugged and raped to conceive a child with Talia al Ghul which she raised in secrecy.[27] This may be a retcon of an earlier story in which their sexual encounter appeared consensual, and took place during marriage.[28]
Birgit Eisenmann once attempted to rape Batman in the hope of creating a perfect child, although she failed because she couldn't get him to develop an erection.[29]
Cosmic Boy: Saturn Girl tried to use her telepathic powers to bring Cosmic Boy out of a coma. It appeared that she'd succeeded, but instead she was subconsciously animating and controlling his comatose body; during this period they began dating, and Cos woke up at their wedding. This admittedly was not treated as "okay" so much as it was forgiven because Saturn Girl did it subconsciously, not on purpose.[30]
Edward Lawton: The son of Deadshot, is implied to have been sexually assaulted prior to being killed by Wes Anselm.[31]
Green Arrow was raped by Shado while he was delirious with fever, believing her to be his girlfriend Black Canary.[32] This lead to the birth of their son Robert Queen.
Invisible Man was sodomized to death by Mr. Hyde in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics, as revenge for Griffin assault and attempted rape of Mina Murray.[33]
John Constantine was raped by Swamp Thing and his wife Abigail when Swamp Thing possessed John's body without his consent in order to conceive their daughter.[34]
Kyle Rayner was date-raped by Bueno Excellente, who slipped something into his drink. This is only mentioned in passing and he does not remember the incident.[35]
Mr. Majestic was raped repeatedly by Nemesis while he was in a paralytic state.[36]
Nightwing has been raped on multiple occasions. Mirage posed as his girlfriend Starfire to deceive him into having sex with her.[37]
Tarantula pulled his pants down and raped him on top of a building while he was going into shock after the emotional strain of participating in Blockbuster's murder.[38]
Starman was raped by the villainess Mist II and fathered a child.[39]
Swamp Thing was raped by an alien entity known as Technis.[40]
Vril Dox was raped by his L.E.G.I.O.N. teammate Stealth as part of her species' mating habits.[41] This led to the birth of their son.
Guy Gardner (New Earth) was raped by Vuldarian Empress Karine.[42]

1. Teen Titans (Volume 3) #8
2. Vigilante #33
3. Artemis: Requiem (Volume 1)
4. Batwoman (Volume 2) #40
5. Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #2
6. Swamp Thing (Volume 1) #21
7. Cinder and Ashe #2
8. Atlantis Chronicles #3
9. Justice League Task Force #24
10. Action Comics #718
11. Outsiders (Volume 3) #17
12. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
13. Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #1
14. Beware the Creeper (Volume 2) #5
15. The Flash (Volume 2) #50
16. Tales of the New Teen Titans #4
17. Team Titans #8-10
18. New Titans #130
19. Batman: Gotham Knights #34
20. Identity Crisis #2
21. Huntress #1
22. Watchmen #2
23. Suicide Squad (Volume 3) #5
24. Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography #1
25. The Authority #14
26. Aquaman (Volume 7) #44
27. Batman #656
28. Batman: Son of the Demon
29. Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #24-26
30. Legion of Super-Heroes (Volume 4) #96
31. Deadshot #3
32. Green Arrow (Volume 2) #11
33. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Volume 2) #5
34. Hellblazer #10
35. JLA/Hitman #1
36. Wildcats: World's End #23
37. New Titans #88-90, Deathstroke the Terminator #14
38. Nightwing (Volume 2) #93
39. Starman (Volume 2) #12
40. Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #60
41. L.E.G.I.O.N. #7
42. Hawkman (Volume 3) #23

[dancj]

John Constantine was raped by Swamp Thing and his wife Abigail when Swamp Thing possessed John's body without his consent in order to conceive their daughter. [32]

Is that right?

I could have sworn he gave his consent. The only thing he didn't consent to (and as far as I know isn't aware of) is the tree they had tattooed on his arse.

[ed2962]

The only sex scene in DC history that actually means anything was Swamp Thing and Abby during the Alan Moore run.

"Having sex" by way of sharing psychedelic fruit!

[ed2962]

Are you sure it was #1? A google search only shows this from issue #36 in 1988. And daaaang, it's way more rique then I would have thought. Plus, from what I'm reading in the synopsis, the issue sees Kory inviting Dick to move in with her, which it doesn't say if he accepts.

Dick.jpg

EDIT:

Nevermind, this is the one everyone's referring to, from 1984. Yeah, that's a lot tamer. The above one would've been a much bigger leap.

Teen Titans.jpg

There's also this one, which I can't seem to figure out where it comes from, but if its after the one from 1984, I guess it doesn't really matter.

tumblr_inline_o1638elwCA1s81zze_540.jpg

I want to say that right before that there was a scene in the newsstand version of NTT...Dick shows up at Kori's apt for a date, but they decide to stay in instead. We cut away to other characters. When we come back to Dick and Kori, Dick is on the balcony with his shirt off and Kori joins him wearing just a robe. There's no mention of sex and he dialogue says that Kori was in the shower, but yeah...the implication is that something sexual may have occurred.

[Jackalope89]

Yeah, and while on the subject, in fact, DC Database used to have a page about sexual assault, but has since been deleted. It was saved on the Wayback Machine though. Might as well list here what was listed there and provide the list of referenced issues. It may or may not be 100% correct, but I thought it was at least worth bringing up: https://web.archive.org/web/20190711...Sexual_assault

Female victims:

Arella was raped by the demon Trigon, leading to the conception of their daughter Raven.[1]
Anne Pasquale was raped her freshman year in college by an unknown man who was never caught. The event caused Anne to become a cop.[2]
Artemis Her soul ended up in Tartarus after death and there she became a figurative bride or concubine to one of the ruling Princes of Hell, Dalkriig-Hath. Diana had came to her aid, but Artemis accepted her fate. Despite being raped, beaten, and tortured at the hands of her "husband" and possibly other demons, she became accustomed to her "damnation", and adapted quickly.[3]
Batwoman was raped by Nocturna over a period of many months due to vampiric-hypnosis, and during that time also subjected to repeated acts of emotional and psychological abuse. After Nocturna's deception was revealed by Bette, along with her intent to frame her for murder, the vampire attempted to shift all of the blame on to Kate, claiming it was what her subconscious desired all along. It didn't work.[4]
Bleez was repeatedly raped by members of the Sinestro Corps after her home planet was overrun, which inspired her with the rage to become a member of the Red Lantern Corps.[5]
Cellanth was kept as a sex slave by the megalomaniacal Solus.[6]
Cinder DuBois was raped as a child by Lacey.[7]
Cora was raped and impregnated by Dardanus and gave birth to her son Kordax.[8]
Gypsy was raped by Baron Üman von Mauler twice, once when she was fourteen and once when she was nineteen. After the second time, she psychically battles and then kills him.[9]
Demolitia was raped by a group of thugs after she was found under the rubble of a building.[10]
Grace Choi ran away from her foster home and was abducted to become an underage sex slave from the ages of 9 to 12. Her abuser was a man named Tanner who held her prisoner until her powers developed.[11]
Harriet Arkham and her daughter were both brutally raped and murdered by Martin "Mad Dog" Hawkins.[12]
Hippolyta was drugged, chained and raped by Heracles after he simulated a truce to steal her girdle.[13]
Judith Benoir was raped by Mathieu Arbogast and died due to injuries.[14]
Lady Flash was raped by Vandal Savage.[citation needed]
Starfire was raped by members of the Citadel.[15]
Mirage was raped and impregnated by Deathwing and gave birth to her daughter Julienne.[16][17]
Pix was beaten and raped by a gang of street thugs.[18]
Sue Dibny was revealed to have been brutally raped by Doctor Light during the Identity Crisis storyline.[19]
The Huntress was kidnapped and raped by a mobster who belongs to a rival family when she was a child.[20]
The original Silk Spectre was raped by the Comedian in Watchmen.[21]
Windfall was drugged and passed around by members of a fraternity at her college, who posted pictures online. The local district attorney was father to one of the boys, and he refused to press charges. The school used her past career as a super-villain to justify expelling her, and she ended up on the Suicide Squad.[22]
Melissa Dugan was sexually assaulted by Lex Luthor out of spite for attempting to end their romantic relationship.[23]

Male victims:

Apollo was raped by The Commander. The rape was followed by a scene of revenge in which it is implied that The Midnighter raped The Commander with a jackhammer.[24]
Aquaman was raped by Siren who was disguised as his wife, Mera.[25]
Batman was drugged and raped to conceive a child with Talia al Ghul which she raised in secrecy.[26] This may be a retcon of an earlier story in which their sexual encounter appeared consensual, and took place during marriage.[27]
Birgit Eisenmann once attempted to rape Batman in the hope of creating a perfect child, although she failed because she couldn't get him to develop an erection.[28]
Cosmic Boy: Saturn Girl tried to use her telepathic powers to bring Cosmic Boy out of a coma. It appeared that she'd succeeded, but instead she was subconsciously animating and controlling his comatose body; during this period they began dating, and Cos woke up at their wedding. This admittedly was not treated as "okay" so much as it was forgiven because Saturn Girl did it subconsciously, not on purpose.[29]
Edward Lawton: The son of Deadshot, is implied to have been sexually assaulted prior to being killed by Wes Anselm.[30]
Green Arrow was raped by Shado while he was delirious with fever, believing her to be his girlfriend Black Canary.[31] This lead to the birth of their son Robert Queen.
Invisible Man was sodomized to death by Mr. Hyde in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics, as revenge for Griffin assault and attempted rape of Mina Murray.[32]
John Constantine was raped by Swamp Thing and his wife Abigail when Swamp Thing possessed John's body without his consent in order to conceive their daughter.[33]
Kyle Rayner was date-raped by Bueno Excellente, who slipped something into his drink. This is only mentioned in passing and he does not remember the incident.[34]
Mr. Majestic was raped repeatedly by Nemesis while he was in a paralytic state.[35]
Nightwing has been raped on multiple occasions. Mirage posed as his girlfriend Starfire to deceive him into having sex with her.[36]
Tarantula pulled his pants down and raped him on top of a building while he was going into shock after the emotional strain of participating in Blockbuster's murder.[37]
Starman was raped by the villainess Mist II and fathered a child.[38]
Swamp Thing was raped by an alien entity known as Technis.[39]
Vril Dox was raped by his L.E.G.I.O.N. teammate Stealth as part of her species' mating habits.[40] This led to the birth of their son.
Guy Gardner (New Earth) was raped by Vuldarian Empress Karine.[41]

1. Teen Titans (Volume 3) #8
2. Vigilante #33
3. Artemis: Requiem (Volume 1)
4. Batwoman (Volume 2) #40
5. Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #2
6. Swamp Thing #21
7. Cinder and Ashe #2
8. Atlantis Chronicles #3
9. Justice League Task Force #24
10. Action Comics #718
11. Outsiders (Volume 3) #17
12. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
13. Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #1
14. Beware the Creeper (Volume 2) #5
15. Tales of the New Teen Titans #4
16. Team Titans #8-10
17. New Titans #130
18. Batman: Gotham Knights #34
19. Identity Crisis #2
20. Huntress #1
21. Watchmen #2
22. Suicide Squad (Volume 3) #5
23. Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography #1
24. The Authority #14
25. Aquaman (Volume 7) #44
26. Batman #656
27. Batman: Son of the Demon
28. Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #24-26
29. Legion of Super-Heroes (Volume 4) #96
30. Deadshot #3
31. Green Arrow (Volume 2) #11
32. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Volume 2) #5
33. Hellblazer #10
34. JLA/Hitman #1
35. Wildcats: World's End #23
36. New Titans #88-90, Deathstroke the Terminator #14
37. Nightwing (Volume 2) #93
38. Starman (Volume 2) #12
39. Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #60
40. L.E.G.I.O.N. #7
41. Hawkman (Volume 3) #23

...DC has a bigger problem than I thought. And some of the ones that I know about were basically swept under the rug.

Seriously, what the hell, DC?