by Chris Ceary
Jon Kent is bisexual! Jon Kent, former Superboy and current Superman is bisexual, canonically, officially. A recent interview with Tom Taylor, writer of Superman: Son of Kal-El, revealed that Jon will have a boyfriend in the current run of Superman: Son of Kal-El. Come November, he is getting a Lois Lane of his own in the newly introduced Jay Nakamura.
Jon joins Tim Drake as the second major DC character to come out in recent months. Jackson Hyde, a young gay man who was formerly Aqualad, has also become Aquaman in Aquaman: The Becoming. This is a specifically significant development because instead of introducing new characters to be the queer representation, DC comics is revealing existing members of the main families as queer. With the Batfamily, Superfamily, and Aquafamily represented, fans are feeling emboldened to ask who comes out next? The choice to weave representation into existing characters is important because in the history of queer representation in comics, introducing new characters is easy for future writers to ignore or push to the side (we will never forget you, Harper Row, even if many writers do). It will be much harder to ignore a bisexual Superman, a queer Robin, and a gay Aquaman.
Tom Taylor has been a huge part of creating queer representation in DC comics from the diverse cast in his Suicide Squad run to this recent news about Superman: Son of Kal-El. His tweet on the subject left no room for interpretation. Jon Kent is bisexual.
As a queer life-long DC comics fan, this news hits an emotional place. Reading the news stories and watching the reactions on social media throughout the day has repeatedly brought tears to my eyes. A few months ago, this type of mainstream comics representation seemed a distant dream. Now, the world of comics feels more open. The possibilities feel endless, and it is beautiful to see. DC is increasingly changing to represent the readers who get their books.
At the end of the day, DC comics is a company. If we want to see the pages of our comics continue to move toward representing the full rainbow spectrum of the world we live in, we need to support the comics that are doing the work. Get yourself a cover of Superman: Son of Kal-El with Jon Kent and his new boyfriend. Go get Batman: Urban Legends to support Tim’s coming out story. Get Aquaman: The Becoming. Make noise on social media. At the end of the day, it is us as readers who can hold these companies accountable to continue to represent diversity.
Here is to hoping that next year’s DC: Pride looks increasingly like a Justice League cover, with more of the main families represented.
