From CNN.com op-ed, dated 10.10.21, by Noah Berlatsky: “When Jonathan Kent, the new Superman, comes out as bisexual in next month’s issue of ‘Superman: Son of Kal-El,’ he won’t be the first queer superhero. But he’ll be one of the most visible.
“As such, Jonathan defies stereotypes about sexuality and masculinity that have shaped the character and the superhero genre for generations.
“In the new storyline — prompted by an aging Clark Kent passing the super-baton to his son — Superman shares a kiss with his friend and ally Jay Nakamura, a computer hacker and activist who admires Superman’s mom, journalist Lois Lane.
“A bisexual Superman is an important step for LGBTQ representation. It’s also a sign of how recognizing that there are options other than heterosexuality can change superhero preconceptions about goodness, masculinity and empowerment.”
Dean Cain on Fox & Friends this morning: “They said it’s a bold new direction, I say they’re bandwagoning. Robin just came out as bi — who’s really shocked about that one? The new Captain America is gay. My daughter in [The CW series] Supergirl, where I played the father, was gay. So I don’t think it’s bold or brave or some crazy new direction. If they had done this 20 years ago, perhaps that would be bold or brave.
“Brave would be having him fighting for the rights of gay people in Iran where they’ll throw you off a building for the offense of being gay,. They’re talking about having him fight climate change and the deportation of refugees, and he’s dating a hacktivist — whatever a hactivist is. Why don’t they have him fight the injustices that created the refugees whose deportation he’s protesting? That would be brave, I’d read that. Or fighting for the rights of women to attend school and have the ability to work and live and boys not to be raped by men under the new warm and fuzzy Taliban — that would be brave.
“There’s real evil in this world today, real corruption and government overreach, plenty of things to fight against. Human trafficking — real and actual slavery going on. It’d be great to tackle those issues.”
