DC Comics announced on Monday that the new Superman — the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane — will have a boyfriend and will let other superheroes battle evildoers while he battles climate change.
If ever there were a more perfect representation of the liberal culture’s idea of a superhero, Jonathan Kent will be it.
Jonathan, who will be known by his metrosexual nom de guerre “Jon,” is not your daddy’s Man of Steel. No doubt because making steel causes pollution and other evils. Perhaps DC Comics could rename Superman “Man of Jello,” which would be much more appropriate and far more descriptive.
“The idea of replacing Clark Kent with another straight white savior felt like a missed opportunity,” Tom Taylor, who writes the series, said in an interview. He said that a “new Superman had to have new fights — real world problems — that he could stand up to as one of the most powerful people in the world.”
Happy Coming Out Day! Here is a picture of Superman (Jon Kent, son of Clark & Lois) kissing his boyfriend. Warms my gay heart.
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 pic.twitter.com/1ZQg9teFb1— David Wald (@DavidWald_VA) October 12, 2021
Just like his father before him, Jon Kent has fallen for a reporter 💙 Learn more about the story to come in SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #5: https://t.co/bUQAsos68o #DCPride pic.twitter.com/wfQPc3CEVD
— Superman (@DCSuperman) October 11, 2021
I guess saving the world from supervillains wasn’t woke enough.
DC Comics had to make their superhero, super woke. NRO observes, “Jon has combated wildfires caused by climate change, thwarted a high school shooting, and protested the deportation of refugees in Metropolis.”
What? No battling evil anti-abortion Christians? Perhaps the new Superman isn’t going to be as woke as some people had hoped.
In truth, perhaps we should all take a deep breath, relax, and look at the situation objectively before we have a collective fit. It’s a comic-book character, after all. It’s not like the left is trying to turn your children into woke warriors for a political agenda. All that DC Comics is trying to do is make being gay more acceptable.
Right?
Jonathan and Jay Nakamura met in an August story during the new Superman’s ill-fated attempt to establish a secret identity and attend high school. Last month, Jay, a budding journalist, met Jonathan’s parents — and was awe-struck by Lois Lane.
Jonathan and Jay will share a kiss in a story that will be published next month. This month, readers will discover that Jay has special abilities. “Jay could be the only person in Jon’s life that he does not have to protect,” Taylor said. “I wanted to have a really equal, supportive relationship for those two.”
I was never into comic books as a child. They seemed shallow and silly. I was an occasional Superman reader largely because the old TV show with George Reeves was so campy.
But the attempt to make Superman more “relevant” is giggle-worthy and reveals desperation from those who see their life’s mission as tearing down anything and everything that even tangentially smells of being “traditional” or, dare I say, “patriotic.”
There’s absolutely nothing revolutionary about creating a gay superman — “a boring and lazy way to try to generate headlines and put the iconic franchise on the correct side of the cultural divide,” observes NRO’s Philip Klein. It’s far more important what Superman is losing.
As an icon of American manhood, young boys couldn’t have had a better role model. Superman may not have spouted leftist dogma, but he was kind and gentle with the weak, and a warrior for justice — real justice, not some lefty’s idea of “social justice.”
Superman’s strength was never used in service to a personal agenda. He didn’t beat up women. He was always extraordinarily patient with children who worshiped him. Did all this make Superman an anachronism to be discarded?
The sad fact is, Superman is changing because non-woke executives at DC Comics want to maximize his profit potential. Give the public something new, something slightly titillating, something perceived as “daring” and the comic books will fly off the shelves or whatever the equivalent boffo bestsellers are doing today.
Actually, there is nothing titillating or daring about Superman “coming out” to battle climate change. Like all left-wing politics shoehorned into a traditional cultural template, it’s just, plain boring.
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