21st CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: Superman Comes Out, as DC Comics Ushers In a New Man of Steel.
Up, up and out of the closet!
The new Superman, Jonathan Kent — who is the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane — will soon begin a romantic relationship with a male friend, DC Comics announced Monday.
That same-sex relationship is just one of the ways that Jonathan Kent, who goes by Jon, is proving to be a different Superman than his famous father. Since his new series, Superman: Son of Kal-El, began in July, Jon has combated wildfires caused by climate change, thwarted a high school shooting and protested the deportation of refugees in Metropolis.
—The New York Times, today.
To be fair though, Superman’s been out of the closet for quite some time:
Warners has a lot at stake with its long-delayed attempt to breathe life into the “Superman” franchise. The studio’s schedule is dominated by pricey sequels, prequels and remakes, but its first such effort this summer, “Poseidon,” sank faster than the boat. And “Superman Returns,” which will cost about $300 million to release with marketing costs added in, faces formidable competition from the latest installment in the blockbuster franchise “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” which opens nine days after “Superman” lands in theaters.
Beyond the Advocate cover, which features the film’s star, Brandon Routh, in costume, industry blogs such as the Defamer Web site, which has become the online show business bible for many young industry executives, have been as obsessed with “Superman’s” gay appeal as Britney Spears’ parenting skills and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s new baby girl.
Defamer has posted a number of stories on how gay the “Superman Returns” posters and Topps trading cards make the character look, particularly in one trading card showing Superman literally coming out of a closet. “If Warner Bros. marketing partners like Topps aren’t even going to bother pretending, why should we?” Defamer asked. “Be proud, our fabulously caped little Queer-El.”
Warner Bros. declined to comment. But the studio is reaching out to some gay moviegoers. Warners has bought “Superman Returns” advertising time on Logo, a year-old digital cable channel in 20 million homes that calls itself “the channel for Gay America.”
—“Will gay appeal help sell Superman?”, the Chicago Tribune, June 11, 2006.