Batwoman, the red-headed lesbian, is unleashed at last
As Bruce Wayne's future remains in doubt, comic book unveils a 'successor'
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Independent Minds
AP/DC
Kathy Kane's alter-ego Batwoman is to be given a full run in the DC Comics graphic novels after some fleeting performances in the past
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Holy sexuality, Batman! Two months after his untimely death, the creators of Gotham City's crime-fighting superhero, Bruce Wayne, have finally unveiled his politically-correct replacement: a ginger-haired, lesbian socialite called Batwoman.
The publisher of Detective Comics, the iconic title which for 60 years has revolved around the recently-deceased Wayne, revealed this week that future editions of the comic book will star his long-standing female counterpart, whose real name is Kathy Kane.
Described as "a lesbian socialite by night and a crime-fighter by later in the night", Batwoman will be the subject of at least 12 issues. It will be the most high-profile appearance by a gay superhero in any book published by the legendary DC Comics.
As her alter-ego, Batwoman, Ms Kane wears knee-high red stiletto boots and a figure-hugging black outfit. Two years ago, she made headlines when it emerged that she was the ex-lover of Renee Montoya, a Gotham City police detective.
Although Kane has enjoyed only fleeting appearances in Batman comics since being "outed", writer Greg Rucka – who is in charge of this summer's run of Detective Comics – said Bruce Wayne's apparent death had provided the perfect opportunity to make her the subject of his prestigious series.
"We have been waiting to unlock her. It's long overdue," he said in an interview with the Comic Book Resources website. "Yes, she's a lesbian. She's also a redhead. It is an element of her character. It is not her character. If people are going to have problems with it, that's their issue. That's certainly not mine."
The news represents a significant cultural landmark for the gay rights movement, and follows a concerted effort by DC Comics to introduce more characters from ethnic and sexual minorities. However, Rucka hopes that the new titles, which are due to be released in June, will not be overshadowed by controversy about Kane's sexuality.
"I think there is going to be some media," he said. "I can't control it. You've got to remember, Wonder Woman got a haircut and that became news. So it will be what it is."
"My job is to write the best book I can, about a character that I think is exceptionally cool, that J.H. Williams [his co-writer and artist] thinks is exceptionally cool, that DC Comics thinks is exceptionally cool and worthy of being the lead player in Detective Comics," he added. "Frankly, she should be judged on her merits."
The last episode of Detective Comics ended with Batman's millionaire alter-ego Bruce Wayne being ejected from a speeding aircraft without his famous cape and face-mask.
He is now presumed dead (although it is an unwritten rule of comics that superheroes can always be reincarnated) and Mr Rucka said future editions will revolve around a selection of potential heirs, including Batwoman, Catwoman and Bruce Wayne's purported son, Damien, fighting to succeed him.
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Comments
I think PHWOAR ( a very apt name for him - or her ? ) thinks lesbania is a province of Greece.
so now sex really is more important than the fight between good and evil
still - all this stuff is for people without any life of their own
moving swiftly on..............
In the US, red hair is regarded as particularly sexy and exotic, and the term 'ginger' is only used to describe a flavour. It's never used to describe hair colour, and never as a pejorative. If one has red hair, that's a good thing.
yes yes yes - I know about Lesbos - I do get out soemtimes !
My reamrk was a joke about men slavering over a woman - who ( oh the irony ) would not fancy him in any way shape or form
i was pointing out that he seemed to have misunderstood what a lesbian is - a reference to the old joke
"hello gorgeous - how about it ?"
" sorry I am lesbian "
" oh........right............what part of lesbania are you from ? "
Just in case you STILL don't get the joke- it's a dig at men who cannot comprehend that some women prefer - other women ! - shock horror !
no more geography lessons please
moving swiftly on ..................
Get over it, you children. You have just confirmed yourselves to possess every stereotypically ignorant, narrow minded, pseudo-cynical, self-congratulatory, nasty little comment it is possible to possess about lesbians.
Yes, Lesbo Batwoman, I'm talking about you.
"Gee, will there be any girl on girl rug munching? Will Bat woman be using her crime fighting strap on to punish evil doers?"
Oh but of course, that's all lesbians do. How silly of me. They aren't actually, y'know, people in their own right, they're simply characters to be exaggerated and mocked. [insert fictional being here] forbid they have personalities and lives! Gosh.
How very sad for you that an original and potentially ground-breaking heroine is relegated to soft porn star just because you can't tell the difference between porn stars and lesbians.
Curious that the only person getting hung up on the whole "lesbian sex" thing is you. I repeat: how sad.
Now stop fantasising about a comic book character and go get some fresh air.
no we are not hung up - just taking the mick.
not out of lesbians - but because these numpties think it's a "cool" thing to do.
the problme here is that these comic producers are trying to epxloit people
batman's sexual prefernce was of no interest - and was never mentioned.
Funny how it now becomes THE central feature.
as usual someone with a huge chip on their shoulder accuses others of "not understanding " maybe we do - maybe we ain't so dumb - maybe we think exploting sex in this way is not the way forward.
this is a comic with the classic "good versus evil" theme as it's raison d'etre - it has bugger all do to with sexual preferences.
It may come as a shock to you pipedreamer - but I don't give a rat's backside what peope do in their bedrooms - it's so crushingly boring for people to thrust their sexuality into every area of life - and assume it is the central issue we are all concerned about
you cannot see past the stereo type yourself. this chippy attiude is just a bit boring now .
moving slowly on............
Batman gets romantically involved with several women throughout his various incarnations. It's mentioned quite frequently: Vicki Vale, Silver St. Cloud, Wonder Woman, Sasha Bordeaux, Catwoman, and Talia al Ghul - who bears him a son. Yet you say it's never brought up? How very misinformed.
The only reason it's a central issue is because people like Lesbo Batwoman keep making a broo-ha-ha about the fact that she's a lesbian first and a superhero second. Making snide little comments about cunnilingus and strapons as though it was the sum total of what lesbians are is narrow minded, petty and sad.
And that's really all there is to it. Are you going to finish your next rebuttal with "swiftly on...(dramatic three full stops)" or are you going to be original this time? Post an argument that actually makes sense, please.
I'm not a sexist or a racist and I'm very liberal in my political views but I mean come on can't us guys have a straight male hero to look up to? I mean that's what we daydream about when we're young, about being the hero. Every damn series these days has to have a whole spectrum of sidekicks and support characters from some random ethnicity and sexuality generator. How exactly is John Conner supposed to save humanity when his mother fights all his battles for him? I'm rambling a bit but do you get what I mean?
Can't the all inclusive non offensive politically correct nazis leave us one damn proper guy hero?
Just because you can think it, say it, or do it doesn't make it good or valuable despite the misguided use of equivocation by those in favor of this crap. Change is not Progress. Put down the crayons, dismount your unicorns and get real about social quality.
P.S. I'm sure you open minded progressives will vehemently attack this, thus exposing the truth in what I said.
First of all, you would expect the author of this article to have actually read the CBR piece sited in the third paragraph, wouldn't you? He obviously didn't, though, since the quote presented here doesn't exist, apparently originating in an article on the BBC website instead (where it is also misattributed- perhaps THAT's where our reporter chose to do his research?). A quick perusal of the same CBR piece would have also allowed our correspondent to learn that Batwoman does not wear heels, and that Greg Rucka is the sole writer of the series, not co-writer- J.H. Williams III is an astonishingly talented artist, but he's never written a comic to my knowledge.
(The original, and far more informative, Comic Book Resources article can be found here, for those genuinely interested rather than simply looking for a laugh at the expense of an art form they know nothing about: http://comicbookresources.com/?page=art
As for the comments here... my aren't we open minded types quick to judge? Is anyone willing to consider that perhaps this really is just a comic that happens to star a lesbian, rather than a marketing ploy? For the person who asked, I doubt there will be any "rug-munching" in an all-ages super-hero comic. And for the person who said that "all this stuff is for people without any life of their own", well, people say that about the internet, don't they? But they're just making judgements based on ignorance, same as yourself.
And finally, for the commentor who said "come on can't us guys have a straight male hero to look up to?" may I suggest Superman, Spiderman, Captain America, Iron Man, The Hulk, Green Lantern, The Flash, Daredevil, three quarters of the Fantastic Four, Aquaman, the Punisher, all of the male X-Men except Northstar (who's dead), oh and well, Batman. That's quite a persecution complex you have there.
Just because you can think it, say it, or do it doesn't make it good or valuable despite the misguided use of equivocation by those in favor of this crap. Change is not Progress. Put down the crayons, dismount your unicorns and get real about social quality.
P.S. I'm sure you open minded progressives will vehemently attack this, thus exposing the truth in what I said.
seriously now?
i bet you never said that when every damn comic book has the male super hero fawning over a female character. hmmm spidey and mary jane, for example. just because this one is a lesbian doesn't mean it's about sex. just because all other comic book heroes are straight doesn't mean it's about sex. double standard, huh?
FanFrakingTastic. love it. I applaude you. Its about time