Where are the gay/bi men in DC comics?

[jb681131]

I know Batwoman is gay, and Wonder Woman is now bi/pan, as if Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and seemingly every woman in Gotham.
But where are the gay/bi men in DC?
I know Constantine, yes, and Jericho, but are there any others currently active in any books?
I can think of several - Ray, Bunker, Earth 2 Alan Scott, Obsidian that aren't active anywhere that I'm aware of.
It does seem like there's a real lack of representation for gay/bi men, while there's a lot of gay/bi women.
I love a lot of those women - Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Harley, etc, and I love a lot of straight characters too, those are the characters I grew up with, the ones that made me love comics, when there was no diversity, and that's just how it was. It would be nice to see more gay/bi men all the same.

Not against you, but what's up with people wanting to put/have some LGBT everywhere !

[vasir12]

Not against you, but what's up with people wanting to put/have some LGBT everywhere !

People like to have fun

[J. D. Guy]

Cullen is Harpers brother...

David Singh is in the Flash TV Series, in NEW52 etc. he works in the same department as BARRY ALLEN..
In NEW52 Comics Hartley Rathaway is in relationsip with David Singh.
In the TV Series Hartley Rathaway is also shown, but not with David Singh but has a boyfriend named Roderick..

The Ray has his own Series: Freedom Fighters: The Ray

Pretty much ever reference here is outdated.

For example, Cullen hasn't done anything or been shown doing anything because Harper hasn't been doing anything or shown doing anything in the comics. The last time that was true for Harper was during Tynion's Detective Comics run, except she was a minor recurring side character there (with alleged promises that she'd get a bigger role later on that never came to pass because Tynion left the book before it reached #1,000). Harper's been in limbo since then, so you know that means Cullen hasn't been seen. I'm not even sure if I recall Cullen being in Tynion's Detective Comics run. But if he was, it wasn't much in the way of much. The last time that was true for Cullen was in the latter dozen or so issues of New 52's Batman and Robin: Eternal, when he was reintroduced because they were worried for his life and that he could be a target for the arc villain. Cullen spent most of that time hanging, interacting, and working with Midnighter in his home/base (which was super cool and something I want them to revisit later between the two).

David Singh and Hartley Rathaway have been largely out of focus since the latter portions of the New 52. What made them so compelling then was that they got focus and Barry was rooming at Detective Singh's place at the time. But since then, since Rebirth, Williamson hasn't focused on Singh at all. He's made appearances, but he was never in focus (both in a literary and literal sense; he never even got much in the way of close-ups on panel). Rathaway only now just popped in to save Barry super recently, and those few moments in a couple of issues didn't really do much to acknowledge what he'd been doing or even reference his and Singh's relationship that was established and built upon in the New 52 (during much of that time frame, he was willingly abstaining from his costumed persona, which didn't seem to be an issue when he showed up).

The Ray was a prominent element in Justice League of America, yes, but once that ended, he's been in limbo. And Freedom Fighters: The Ray isn't new and hasn't had any new episodes for some time now. I'd also argue about how relevant Singh and Rathaway's characters are on The Flash's current episodes, but I don't really follow that show closely enough to comment. Nevertheless, it's probably not as strong as you may be equating them to be.

Again, most if not all the gay/bi male DC characters referenced here are not concurrently getting focus. Bunker is the most recent example thanks to his role in an relatively recent arc in Red Hood: Outlaw last year, who wasn't even listed here. As mention by one of the above posters, Aqualad/Jackson Hyde and Constantine are the only two male gay/bi characters who have any sort of role or presence in current DC. And in Jackson's case, there was even a recent post in his very own Appreciation Thread that decried a side story taking time to reference Jackson's love life, as if that facet of Jackson wasn't the least focused aspect of his character since his Rebirth reintroduction.

[Frontier]

David Singh and Hartley Rathaway have been largely out of focus since the latter portions of the New 52. What made them so compelling then was that they got focus and Barry was rooming at Detective Singh's place at the time. But since then, since Rebirth, Williamson hasn't focused on Singh at all. He's made appearances, but he was never in focus (both in a literary and literal sense; he never even got much in the way of close-ups on panel). Rathaway only now just popped in to save Barry super recently, and those few moments in a couple of issues didn't really do much to acknowledge what he'd been doing or even reference his and Singh's relationship that was established and built upon in the New 52 (during much of that time frame, he was willingly abstaining from his costumed persona, which didn't seem to be an issue when he showed up).

Singh was probably one of the more major supporting characters in the first half of Williamson's run, in my opinion, at least for frequency of appearance.

Side-topic, but I hope Hartley's relationship with Wally comes back at some point.

The Ray was a prominent element in Justice League of America, yes, but once that ended, he's been in limbo. And Freedom Fighters: The Ray isn't new and hasn't had any new episodes for some time now. I'd also argue about how relevant Singh and Rathaway's characters are on The Flash's current episodes, but I don't really follow that show closely enough to comment. Nevertheless, it's probably not as strong as you may be equating them to be...

Singh has actually factored into the Big Bad's plot to some degree and Piper got his own spotlight episode. Maybe not the be all, end all, of relevancy but I think it's still fairly notable.

[J. D. Guy]

Singh was probably one of the more major supporting characters in the first half of Williamson's run, in my opinion, at least for frequency of appearance.

Side-topic, but I hope Hartley's relationship with Wally comes back at some point.

Singh has actually factored into the Big Bad's plot to some degree and Piper got his own spotlight episode. Maybe not the be all, end all, of relevancy but I think it's still fairly notable.

Again, I can't comment on the TV Series, but Singh in the comics really didn't carry the weight he did during the New 52 issues I was referring to. Like, if he was there more than I realized, his importance and agency wasn't all that, compared to Meena or August. I felt it was a downgrade to before.

[Robanker]

I think Talia was depicted in like an orgy type situation with men and women when she popped up in King's Batman run.

No wonder I missed it then.

[Factor]

Another I wat to see more of is Bunker. Lobdell's TT run was disastrous, but Bunker was a rare bright spot.
I think he has a lot of potential and I hope he makes it to the big leagues someday.
I could see him working pretty well alongside the older Titans like Nightwing and Donna Troy, so maybe he could be added to the next Titans series, whenever that gets relaunched.

[9th.]

DC LGBT though not sure who's active and who's not.

Has DC ever given Wondy a girlfriend?

[dietrich]

Talia is news to me. When did that happen?

For what it's worth, Helena, Cass and Steph are straight too as far as I know so your statement is a bit skewed.

Yeah, we need Obsidian back. I think Tim and Conner would work as an "it's cool if it's you" thing. While I don't really see either as gay, I think they could make an exception for each other.

I was in the camp which was for Jon being gay/bi, but not with Damien. I really hate that kid and Jon deserves someone who will treat him well instead of some gaslighting prick who will mistreat him and say he's special.

Not sure how or why you think or know this will be the case especially with Damian being very very selective and closed off when it comes to letting people in.
To get close enough for him to let his guard down enough to consider a romance the person has to already be very very special. that has been a key part of Damian's character since day 1

I'm not a fan of the pairing however can I ask what if he does treat him right and what if Jon is special?

[9th.]

Aquald, I knew I was forgetting somebody. Thanks for reminding me.
It would really like to see at least a little gay male representation in the Super and Bat books. It's especially unbalanced in the Bat books where every woman except Barbara Gordon is gay or bi and every man is straight.

Steph is straight

[dietrich]

DC LGBT though not sure who's active and who's not.

I reme,ber this panel from the love is love special. I also recall how gutted I was that DC has so many LGBTQ characters and only a hand full were regulars in the comics.

Such a waste of potential resources that can earn them goodwill and PR point's while increasing diversity that reflects our world.

DC has enough LGBTQ characters to offer representation and diversity to the point where the calls and demand for rep becomes an ....'and? yawn... met, hang up' Done same goes for race representation.

No race bending or changing canon. no need to create new characters just invest and build up the ones currently ]collecting dust in limbo.

It just feels like a no brainer to me.

I hated when the Midnighter title was cancelled. I understand it was under performing so it had to end but that doesn't mean the character had to be shelved nor does it mean give up trying.


aware that kate, Harley etc are female LGBTQ characters have had titles since but I'm talking personally as a gay man who would like to see more of the male pairings get some focus

[skyvolt2000]

Not against you, but what's up with people wanting to put/have some LGBT everywhere !

Like with race-to show that they exist.

I think folks are tiring of excuses.

We will hear all this mess about sales when it comes to LGBTQ & POC lead books.

So it's not Midnighter volume 4(?) or Steel volume 2.

Yet we see Moon Knight volume 7.

We see guys who haven't sniff a book in years like Question and Adam Strange gets minis and OGNs.

Yet there is an excuse for everybody else because some trolls on Twitter are going to throw fits.

It gets to be we see events and all this and LGBTQ (in this case) are MIA in it (aside from Batwoman).

I don't need it in everything. I would liek to see a little more variety and this is when an anthology or showcase book is needed. OUTSIDE of the direct market-since there are issues when DC or marvel does it. Everyone else seems to excluded.

Look at Boom-current Batman writer did 2 LGBTQ series. To no complaints and one got a pilot form SYFY.

[Stanlos]

I know Batwoman is gay, and Wonder Woman is now bi/pan, as if Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and seemingly every woman in Gotham.
But where are the gay/bi men in DC?
I know Constantine, yes, and Jericho, but are there any others currently active in any books?
I can think of several - Ray, Bunker, Earth 2 Alan Scott, Obsidian that aren't active anywhere that I'm aware of.
It does seem like there's a real lack of representation for gay/bi men, while there's a lot of gay/bi women.
I love a lot of those women - Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Harley, etc, and I love a lot of straight characters too, those are the characters I grew up with, the ones that made me love comics, when there was no diversity, and that's just how it was. It would be nice to see more gay/bi men all the same.

Connor Hawke I thought was bi. I would wager that Beatriz DaCosta is as well. Kaldur Ahn is bi.

[Robanker]

Not sure how or why you think or know this will be the case especially with Damian being very very selective and closed off when it comes to letting people in.
To get close enough for him to let his guard down enough to consider a romance the person has to already be very very special. that has been a key part of Damian's character since day 1

I'm not a fan of the pairing however can I ask what if he does treat him right and what if Jon is special?

Even one of his closest friends, Dick Grayson, gets respect through a very specific lense: one where Damian needs to assert himself first and foremost. He needs to remind Dick that (he thinks) he's the best Robin. Damian is the kind of person who is all ego and insufferable at that, so he would very likely (even unintentionally) be emotionally abusive to his significant other. He's a jerk. He has yet to grow out of it, which admittedly is often writers backsliding his development, but it remains. Jon is a generally outgoing, sunny person who treats people with a lot more kindness. That relationship would be mostly give on Jon's part with very little in return other than what he interprets Damian's grandstanding as.

Anyone who needs to remind adopted brothers that he's the blood son really isn't ready for interpersonal relationships, especially when those adopted brothers all suffered their biological parents being murdered.

I don't entirely blame Damian for being the way he is given his upbringing and Bruce is a piece of work himself, but as of right now he's certainly no catch. The kid is a complete ass. That's why people like him, but he's never been a tender person to anyone sans Dick and Jon, and he usually needs to be rude to them anyway to assert a dominance that only he believes exists. I do remember some moments of genuine, selfless compassion for people from Damian (finding out Dick was alive, for one), so there's hope, but we're talking about their characters as they exist and right now nobody needs to return Damian's affections.

[staptik777]

I know Batwoman is gay, and Wonder Woman is now bi/pan, as if Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and seemingly every woman in Gotham.
But where are the gay/bi men in DC?

lesbians more accepted than gay men