Undercurrent Investigates...

Has the era of male hegemony in comics finally begun to wane? Kathy Kane, once the woman who used to pursue Batman, has been reinvented as a high-powered socialite – with NO interest in men… And what (if anything) does this mean for comic books?

This month Undercurrent investigates… Batwoman.

For the first Undercurrent Investigates, I interviewed Ian Rankin, a non-Christian (but not altogether un-Christian) novelist who knows a fair bit about comics, and has some interesting thoughts on God too.

For the second, I interviewed BJ Oropeza, a rather mysterious academic, who thinks that the genre of ‘Christian comics’ should probably not exist… Good to have a bit of contradictory thinking isn’t it!

So now for my third column, I have decided not to do an interview; instead I am going to provide you with what is probably best described as a polemic – or perhaps just a rant. See what you think…

Maybe its because I’ve got a four-year-old daughter who tells me she wants to be batgirl… (Although sometimes she wants to farm snails), or perhaps its because of all the superheroes I find the Bat based characters to be the best…

Whatever the reason – I found my interest peaked recently by the furore over the new Batwoman.

What’s the big news? Well she’s back (from the dead?) and now she’s gay.

Well, you may say that a Christian comics website is hardly likely to come up with anything new and/or interesting to say about this story. After all, it’s already been around the houses twice.

Plus we Christians don’t usually manage to come up with much by way of constructive or imaginative input when it comes to discussing homosexuality! (Shame on us.)

But stick around because actually I believe there IS a story here, and I believe that this goes beyond the sexuality of a comic book character, which, lets be honest is not an important issue.

Firstly, it is probably worth putting the whole thing into context:

Batwoman first appeared in July 1956 in Detective Comics #233. She was a costumed crime fighter – the female version of Batman. Her alter ego Kathy Kane is thought to have been based on Bob Kane’s wife Betty.

Batwoman continued to appear from time to time in Batman stories from 1956 to 1964. In general Batman wanted Kathy to retire because of the danger she put herself in. A woman’s place is definitely not up a dark alley chasing criminals!

In 1961, Batwoman was joined by her niece Betty, who became Bat Girl. (This character was actually named after Bob Kane’s wife).

Both Aunt and niece were romantically interested in Batman and Robin. But while Robin liked Batgirl, Batman wasn’t having any of it, perhaps Batwoman just wasn’t submissive enough.

She continued to appear occasionally until in September 1979 she was killed by the brain washed martial artist Bronze Tiger – at the behest of the League of Assassins – in Detective Comics #485. I suppose that should be a lesson to all you feisty women – Batman was right!

Other references to Batwoman have been made since that time, but it is only now in 2006 that Batwoman is making a full return. How that return will be worked out in the continuity is yet to be seen.

Now though the Kathy Kane character is rather different – rather than the plucky auntie, with a hankering after the hunky Bat, this Kathy is a wealthy socialite, and a lesbian to boot.

Batwoman appears in the 52 series, which for those who don’t know, is a year long weekly collection of stories, which tells a story in which Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman do not play a part. Titan Books will publish 52 in the UK as a graphic novel in 2007.

The new Batwoman is a 5-foot-10 superhero who comes with flowing red hair, knee-high red boots with spiked heels, and a form-fitting black outfit. (Hmmm, very post feminist!)

A socialite from Gotham high society, she has some past connection with Bruce Wayne.

So here’s the point I want to make – I don’t care much what the sexuality of this character is, what I do care about it is the way we’ve ended up here. In my view, somehow Batwoman has been put off men. And I think I know how.

(No this is not a comment on my view of homosexuality – it is a metaphorical examination of the comic book industry.)

Of course she’s not the first gay comic book character by a long chalk, but its noticeable that none of the main gay characters have ever had the kind of recognition that the best known heroes have.

And here’s another thing – not only are there no big gay names, no black or Asian superhero has enjoyed the kind of sustained run that characters like Batman, Spider-Man, Hulk or Superman have.

Nor have any had a hit TV show or blockbuster movie made about them. (Correct me if I’m wrong someone).

The main comic book characters are: white, male, hetero, tough, and usually a bit dark. Even in X-Men the top characters conform to this sterotype.

DC say that their reasoning behind making Batwoman gay is that they are trying to diversify their characters. Reality is that it’s more likely to be a publicity stunt. It has got them plenty of publicity so if it is a stunt then it has worked.

But maybe the diversification thing is true too.

Because for all the huffing and puffing, I can’t help wondering it its comic book readers and creators that have put Batwoman off men. The predominantly adult white male readers and creators of western comics have pulled traditional comics into a ghetto.

It strikes me by the way that Manga comics are somewhat different – a gross generalisation for sure, but guess what, lots of girls read Manga, nowhere near as many read western comics.

It’s time for comic book creators and readers – whatever the genre – to wake up and smell the glossy paper! Unless we break out of the mould and integrate and promote characters that represent different backgrounds, races and so on, more and more metaphorical Kathy Kane’s are going to turn their back on Batman, and the rest of our comics too, and seek comfort elsewhere.

So I say go out and read some books that aren’t your usual taste, pick up something different, learn to appreciate what they’re about. Think about what might appeal to others; ponder why you don’t see many kids in comic shops, and what we might be able to do about that.

And perhaps we could stop buying some stuff too – we shouldn’t just avoid porn, but perhaps we should grow up a little, and leave go of the stuff that’s all macho peacocks and curvaceous chicks..?

On the other hand we could just let comics go the way they will, surrender to the ghetto, accept that only certain people will want to read our comics, and continue to ignore the rest, just leave them to read Manga, or play video games…

So in summary I applaud DC, not especially for outing Batwoman, but for deliberately bringing in a wider range of characters – witness the Mexican Blue Beetle, The Great Ten (Chinese) and etc. Good on ‘em I say.