DC's new Superman comes out as bisexual: 'Today, more people can see themselves'

The DC Universe is celebrating Oct. 11's National Coming Out Day in the most super way possible.

On Monday, the comic-book publisher announced that Jon Kent, Superman of Earth and son of Clark Kent and Louis Lane, will be coming out as bisexual in the newest issue of Superman: Son of Kal-El, the fifth in the series, to be released on Nov. 9.

"I've always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes and I’m very grateful DC and Warner Bros. share this idea,” writer Tom Taylor said in a press release. “Superman's symbol has always stood for hope, for truth and for justice. Today, that symbol represents something more. Today, more people can see themselves in the most powerful superhero in comics."

In an interview with The New York Times, Taylor added that “the idea of replacing Clark Kent with another straight white savior felt like a missed opportunity,” explaining 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.”

“I'm incredibly honored to be working beside Tom on the Superman: Son of Kal-El series showing Jon Kent tackling his complex modern life, while also saving the world from its greatest threats, villains and menaces,” illustrator John Timms said in a statement.

Of course, Clark Kent is Superman’s alias. In the original comics, he falls for a journalist, Lois, as he continues to hide his true identity from the public — saving the world from evildoers in the process.

As it turns out, Clark’s apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. According to a description of the issue, Jon, just like his father, becomes romantically linked with a reporter, Jay Nakamura, after a gut-wrenching scene in which Jon is physically burned out from his superhero duties and Jay is “there to care for the Man of Steel.”

“We couldn’t be prouder to tell this important story from Tom Taylor and John Timms,” DC Chief Creative Officer and Publisher Jim Lee said in a press release. “We talk a lot about the power of the DC Multiverse in our storytelling and this is another incredible example. We can have Jon Kent exploring his identity in the comics as well as Jon Kent learning the secrets of his family on TV on Superman & Lois. They coexist in their own worlds and times, and our fans get to enjoy both simultaneously.”

This is not Taylor’s — nor Timms’s — first time queering up the DC Universe. The popular antihero and bisexual character Harley Quinn, whom Timms draws regularly and whom Taylor has written about in the pages of the Injustice: Gods Among Us series, has had high-profile relationships with both the Joker and Poison Ivy.

Recently, another second-generation superhero, Batman’s sidekick Robin, came out as bisexual in an August issue of the comic Batman: Urban Legends. Meanwhile, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is introducing its first gay superhero, Phastos, into the upcoming film The Eternals — who will be played by out actor Brian Tyree Henry.

The expansion of the DC Multiverse also allows for two Black Superman movies currently in the works — one being led by Michael B. Jordan in a limited series for HBO Max, based on the Val-Zod version of the character, and a movie version written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and produced by J.J. Abrams, which exist in an alternate timeline in a different universe from Jon Kent.

News of Superman's son being bisexual has brought a slew of online support.