Archive of Our Own

Is the Superhero Community Homophobic?

By Vicki Vale

In recent years as education about the LGBTQ+ community has been on the rise and people have grown more comfortable about expressing themselves and their identities, one thing has remained stagnant: the Justice League’s quiet stance.

Most organizations, companies, political groups, and celebrities have readily voiced their support for people who identify themselves as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, whether they are allies, they’re a member, they have family or friends that are members, or they have less than wholesome reasons such as the rampant capitalism that tends to coincide with Pride Month. But for better or worse, they have taken a stance.

Do you know who hasn’t taken a stance? Superheroes.

That’s right, folks, our lovely men and women that spend their days protecting the world from threats have never vocalized their stance on things such as gay marriage, trans rights, or gender and sex identities being taught in our schools.

Could this be because they don’t ally with the LGBTQ+ community? Why else would they not readily support them? What do we know and what have we seen regarding these heroes?

We know that Superman has been seen to have (or had) very close relationships with fellow hero Wonder Woman¹ and Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane.² We know the Star City vigilantes Green Arrow and Black Canary are married.³ We know Central City’s Flash has mentioned a wife.⁴ The first Green Lantern and the third Green Lantern have notably and openly flirted with only women.⁵ We know Hawkman and Hawkwoman are married,⁶ and many have speculated that Hawkgirl is their daughter.

Then, in a turn of controversial events, there is Gotham’s own Batman who has been caught locking lips with the former thief known as Catwoman.⁷

What do all of these relationships have in common? They are all straight (or straight-passing) relationships. Where is the diversity in superhero sexualities? Is it as simple as none of them being members of the LGBTQ+ community? Or is there a possibility of something more sinister, such as none being allowed in the Justice League?

Even other hero teams are notable for only straight-passing relationships. Nightwing and Starfire were the Teen Titans It Couple for two years,⁸ and Troia and Tempest were occasionally seen sharing a kiss.⁹ The duo Hawk and Dove have mentioned their relationship in the past as well.¹⁰ It is also widely speculated that Captain Marvel and Lady Marvel of the Fawcett City Marvel Family are together.¹¹

We deserve to know who is protecting us. We deserve to know who they stand with. Are they the protectors of everyone? Or do they only care about the ones who are like them?

We the people are calling for an official stance by the Justice League and other superheroes.

“This is bullshit!” Dick threw down the paper onto his coffee table before groaning in frustration. “I didn’t spend ten years having a gay panic to be called straight.” He set his head in his hands, leaning forward on his knees.

Beside him, Wally rubbed his lower back in comforting circles. “I think we have more pressing matters than that, babe,” Wally said gently.

Dick picked his head up, glaring at the horrible newspaper. “You’re right,” he said with a mocking grin. “They called Bruce straight, too. I’ve never seen a more chaotic bisexual than him.”

“Again, missing the point.”

Sighing, Dick looked at Wally. “I know the point, Wally. I’m trying to ignore the point.”

“Which we really can’t be doing,” Wally replied with a small smile.

“You’re really dragging my dramatic ass down.”

“Good,” Wally said, “because the last thing we need making headlines is Nightwing flipping off a reporter. Which means, that is exactly what your brother is going to do, and we need to stop him from doing so.”

Dick closed his eyes in reluctant realization. “Damnit.”

He quickly shot up and grabbed his phone from the table, navigated to his contacts, and texted Tim and Damian to occupy Jason to buy him enough time to get to the manor and talk Jason down from doing anything rash. Wally was right. While Dick was generally a dramatic performer, Jason was the theater kid with a lack of inhibitions. He would follow through and make things worse.

Dick then slipped his phone into his pocket, turned to Wally, held out his arms, and said, “Carry me?”

Wally gave him a considering look and replied, “You know I like hearing you say that.”

With a cheeky grin, Dick hopped into Wally’s arms in a cradle and prepared for the run to Wayne Manor.

Meanwhile, at Wayne Manor, both Damian and Tim hurried out of their rooms the moment they received the text from Dick.

Pausing upon seeing each other in such a state of rush, Tim held his phone up and asked, “You get the same text from Dick?”

“Why would Richard need us both to detain Todd?” Damian asked with a scowl.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Tim muttered. He waved to Damian to follow him. “Whatever the reason, we need to find Jason.”

As they ran through the halls calling for Jason, they first checked the most likely place he’d be: the library. When they entered, they found Alfred with a visibly angry Jason holding a crumpled newspaper in his hand, waving it around, so Tim deduced that it might be the source of Jason’s anger.

“Now, Master Jason, that will not help matters whatsoever,” Alfred said sternly.

“I don’t care!” Jason exclaimed. “Whoever let her publish bullshit like that deserves a sucker punch to the jaw. I won’t hit her, but I’m sure Steph would be glad to.”

“Who will Steph gladly hit?” Tim immediately asked.

“Why are you being dramatic, Todd?” Damian asked as well.

Jason rolled his eyes and waved them off with a gruff sigh. “Oh, great, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. Move, I’ve got somewhere to be.”

Flitting around them with far more grace than someone his size should be able to have, Jason left the library but didn’t get very far after Tim and Damian exchanged a look, nodded at each other, and jumped him. They didn’t know what was going on, but Dick must have had a reason for telling them to keep Jason inside, and it likely aligned with whatever Jason was angry about and what Alfred had been trying to talk him down from. Regardless, Gotham didn’t need Jason released on a warpath, even if it meant that both Tim and Damian were working together.

Tim attacked from above while Damian went for his legs, both latching onto their older brother. Jason let out a noise of annoyed alarm as he tried to shove them off, stumbling in his attempt to leave. But Tim and Damian held on as tightly as they could. They wouldn’t let go easily.

“Boys!” Alfred scolded, following them out of the library as Jason tried to hobble away with the extra baggage.

“Sorry, Al!” Tim said, holding onto Jason’s shoulders for dear life.

“Get the hell off me!” Jason demanded, trying to kick Damian off his leg. “I’m going to kill the both of you!”

Before anything else could be said, a flash of lightning filled the hall and then revealed Dick and Wally. Everyone froze, wide-eyed. Dick hopped down from Wally’s arms and shook his head at his brothers.

“What are you two doing?” Dick asked.

“You told us to detain Todd,” Damian answered plainly, still clutching Jason’s leg.

Dick shook his head again. “That’s not what I said, Dames. I said to distract him, not attack him. Let go.”

Damian grumbled quietly but did as he was told and let go of Jason’s leg before standing. Tim did the same, letting go of his grip around Jason’s neck and shoulders and landing on the floor.

“Thanks for calling off your attack dogs, Dickie, but step aside,” Jason said, noting the way Dick was stationed in front of him, perfectly blocking the hall. “I need to go do something.”

“You mean make the whole situation worse?” Dick corrected. “No, Jay. We’re going to sit, talk this out, and figure out a course of action as a family.”

“Can someone please explain what is going on?” Tim asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You attacked me without knowing the reason?” Jason asked incredulously. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Language, Master Jason,” Alfred said before gently coaxing the crumpled newspaper from Jason’s fist and handing it to Tim while saying, “For your perusal, Master Timothy.”

He thanked him before flattening the paper and reading the headline out loud, “'Is the Superhero Community Homophobic?’” Tim looked up at Dick and Jason. “What? This can’t be real.”

“You must be joking, Drake.” Damian reached over and grabbed the paper from him to read it himself. “'In recent years as education about the LGBTQ+ community has been on the rise and people have grown more comfortable about expressing themselves and their identities, one thing has remained stagnant: the Justice League’s quiet stance.’” Damian shook his head in exasperation. “They can’t be serious.”

Jason made a dramatic ‘now you understand’ face. “Now do you agree with me?”

Tim said, “No,” at the same time Damian said, “Yes.”

Dick pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed, then said, “We need a plan. We need to grab Bruce, too.” Then he gave Jason and Damian stern looks. “And no one will be assaulting any reporters.” Jason started to open his mouth, but Dick cut him off. “Or anyone else that isn’t a part of our nightly job. No civilians.”

“Buzzkill,” Jason muttered.

“Anything we do can’t be seen as lashing out or performative,” Wally said. “Otherwise, not only will heroes and the League look bad, but so will the LGBTQ community.”

Tim nodded in agreement. “All the violent outrage we should leave to the rogues who will likely be pissed, too. I can name a bunch off the top of my head who are queer in some way. Though, someone should probably reach out to Harley and Ivy since they’re still trying to become better. Wouldn’t want them to set back like this.”

“Set back like what?” a new voice said, and they all turned to see Bruce and Cass walking toward them, in the direction of the study that led to the cave.

Cass gave an analytical once over of Jason and said, “Jason, angry. Why?”

Tim passed the newspaper over to them. Cass held it out in front of her and Bruce read it over her shoulder. It only took a moment to hear an angry grunt from Bruce and an appalled huff from Cass.

“Vicki,” Bruce muttered as he continued reading. It didn’t take them long to finish the whole article, and when they were done, Bruce looked up and said, “I need to meet with the League. An article like this, we can’t ignore it. We’re going to have to release some sort of statement.”

“Can it be something along the lines of if anyone so much as implies that every hero is straight and cis, Red Hood will knock them on their asses?” Jason asked, ignoring the subsequent half-hearted scolding from Alfred about his cursing.

“No,” Bruce bluntly answered without much heat behind it.

He understood Jason’s anger better than most people as it had taken them both a long time to become fully comfortable expressing themselves and their identities. It was far easier for Bruce, however, considering he had the steady, supportive hand of Alfred and a lifestyle of a rich playboy while Jason had died when he was still trying to figure himself out.

Bruce looked at each of his children, deciding what to do. “While Dick, Wally, and I are at the Watchtower with the League, I want the rest of you focused on Gotham,” he said. “Cass and Damian, you two will reach out to the Sirens. Make sure they don’t do anything rash and that they understand the League is working on it. I won’t let the League decide not to do something, but we need them to not make things worse.” Cass nodded in understanding, with Damian adding a quiet, ‘Yes, Father,’ so he focused on the others. “Tim, start working on drafts of a press statement.”

“For the League or for us Waynes?” Tim asked.

Bruce paused. He meant the League, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to have either their family or the company also release statements supporting the Justice League. “Both. Prioritize the League, but we should openly support the heroes.” He then turned to Jason. “Jay, I want you to reach out to other heroes and vigilantes. Anyone who would like to be a part of the press statement, either in person or with their identity. I know many have never hidden who they are, but it might do well to have it blatantly stated.”

“Add me as the first name on that list, Little Wing,” Dick said.

“Me too,” Wally said, slipping his hand into Dick’s.

“And me,” Tim said.

Bruce let his eyes jump from kid to kid. Regardless of how things turned out, he was proud of each of them and couldn’t love them more than he already did.

The next day, Nightwing stood in front of a podium outside the Hall of Justice. The team thought a younger member of the Justice League would be better suited as the outreach spokesperson for the controversy at hand, especially since he had the Dick Grayson charm about him that made him excellent for public speeches and making people like him.

Behind him stood multiple heroes all standing in their support of him and the LGBTQ+ community. Most notably, directly on either side of Nightwing a few simple steps back were Keystone’s Flash and Batman. Other heroes present included Superman, Wonder Woman, Central City’s Flash, the first Green Lantern, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Red Arrow, Zatanna, Troia, and Starfire.

Dick would be lying if he said he hadn’t done his best to influence who would be up there with him.

Flashing lights threatened to blind Dick as he stood tall and proud in front of the crowd of reporters, cameramen, and bystanders. It wasn’t the first time he had been in front of a crowd, and it wouldn’t be the last. The first time he had been front and center with every pair of eyes on him, he had his family to back him up, and it was no different this time around.

Nightwing cleared his throat before looming closer to the microphone, the crowd quieting to hear him speak.

“Thank you all for coming,” Nightwing began, eyes drifting over the crowd, taking in every eager expression. “Yesterday, an article was released proclaiming the superhero community’s lack of action regarding our support of the LGBTQ Plus Community. So, I am here today to dispel the rumors that have been circulating since.”

He paused, lifting his chin, and standing tall and confident. “When the Justice League was founded eighteen years ago by the original seven—Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman—they founded it with one goal. They desired, above all else, to put their lives on the line protecting the world and the universe from threats, whatever form they may take, and that goal has not changed. The Justice League stands as one against anything that may threaten everything we pour our hearts and souls into protecting. We stand united in the protection and support of people of all races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexes, and sexualities.

“We hoped our support was obvious in the way we aided everyone, but we see now that we could have been more vocal and proactive in our support rather than silent. We had no intention of seeming like an unsafe group to trust. While we are open to each other, we sometimes forget that the rest of the world is not aware of things such as our sexualities or races, and for that, we apologize. There are a diverse set of heroes on the team or allied with the team, and we are happy and proud of every single one.”

Dick glanced down at the podium where a list of heroes compiled by Jason sat, waiting to be read. He ran his thumb over it and thought, Now or never. Everyone has given the okay. Especially Wally.

“There are many of us who are open about our queer identities,” Nightwing continued, “and here I have a list of a few that have given consent for me to share with you, to show that we are like you as much as we stand with you.”

Then he started reading off the list.

“Red Robin of Gotham is bisexual. Batwoman of Gotham is a lesbian. Black Bat and Spoiler of Gotham are in a relationship. Wonder Woman of Themyscira is pansexual. Superman of Krypton is demisexual. The Superboys of Metropolis are both bisexual. The current Aqualad of Atlantis is gay. Apollo of Earth declined a label for his orientation, but he is in a very happy marriage with Midnighter of Indiana who is gay. Aruna of Madras, India is gender fluid. Kid Quick and Impulse of the Teen Titans are non-binary. The second Green Arrow of Star City is asexual. Coagula of Doom Patrol is openly bisexual and a transgender woman. Circuit Breaker of Central City is a transgender man. And I am very proud to announce, with his express permission to inform the world as dramatically as possible,” Nightwing allowed an amused grin, “that Red Hood of Gotham identifies as asexual.”

He could imagine Jason setting off a celebratory howl into the polluted Gotham air along with Harley, Ivy, and Selina, all of whom he knew were watching the live broadcast. Dorks, the lot of them.

Then Dick looked back at Wally who donned a smile and nodded encouragingly.

Nightwing turned back to the podium and steeled himself as he then, openly, on a live televised broadcast across the nation and maybe even in other parts of the world, said, “There are many more heroes that are members of the LGBTQ Plus Community, both out and closeted. I myself am pansexual and have never hidden that. Related, Keystone’s Flash is bisexual. Together, we are taking this time to announce our engagement to not only our family but the world in the hope that we can be role models to the next generation of not only heroes but the rest of the world.”

The heroes on the platform with them all exchanged looks of shock, amusement, and delight as the crowd of civilians collectively let out their own sounds of surprise, ranging from gasps, awes, and at least one squeal.

Barry was the first one to move, jumping into Wally’s arms in a forced bear hug as he beamed from ear to ear. Dick couldn’t hear what he was whispering into Wally’s ear, but he didn’t need to based on the way Wally clutched his uncle back, hugging him back with all his might. Hal wrapped his arms around both of them, and Dick would hazard a guess that the idea of his best friend’s nephew (practically son) getting married was enough to bring tears to his eyes under the green mask.

Dick also didn’t need to look back at who placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to know it was Bruce, but he looked up at him anyway. Despite the harsh lines of the Bat’s cowl, Bruce smiled softly at him, with nothing but love and support. Then a weight on his other shoulder joined, and Dick looked to see Clark with a similar smile. His two dads gazed down at him with pride in every inch of their being. The only thing that would make it better would be if John Grayson were right there with them.

Together, Bruce and Clark gave him a hug from either side. Dick ignored the flashing lights of the cameras to cherish the warmth and comfort.

It didn’t last long before Donna, Roy, and Kori pulled him and Wally out of their familial hugs and forced them into one giant Titan’s hug, forcing them away from the podium to allow one of the older heroes to take over with the waylaid press release.

But Dick didn’t care. He was surrounded by friends, family, and his fiancé. And when they returned to Gotham, he would have his brothers, sister, and dare-he-say son there, too.

Superman stepped up to the podium as he let the young heroes behind him have their moment, still smiling as he began to speak with Batman standing beside him. Clark couldn’t tell if the man was vibrating with happiness or glowering at the crowd, threatening one of them to say something against his son’s announcement.

Knowing Bruce, it was both.

“The Justice League will always stand for equality for all, amongst our own ranks and throughout the world,” Superman said, loud and clear. “We encourage everyone to be true to themselves and their identities and orientations and to support one another to create a warm, welcoming world. Thank you for joining us today. That is all.”

The crowd rushed to begin asking questions, wanting to know more about the world’s heroes, wanting news story after news story, but the heroes had said their peace.

And now, it was time to celebrate. Two of them were getting married, after all.