The new Superman is bisexual, but it shouldn't be big news

On National Coming Out Day last month, DC Comics announced the next issue of Superman: Son of Kal El will reveal the new Superman will be openly bisexual. DC comics was met with lots of criticism and backlash about changing one of their most popular characters.

If you don’t read the comics or know about the DC comics universe, you might be out of the loop on who exactly Superman is at the moment. Throughout the many years, comic book publishers liked to let different people carry the titles of already established superheroes. The first and most popular Superman is named Clark Kent and this is who everyone thinks DC Comics is making bisexual. However, the person who currently has the Superman title is Jon Kent, the son of the first Superman and Lois Lane.

Jon Kent, who debuted in July of 2015, has only been in the comics for about six years and is a completely independent character from his father. Since his first appearance, Jon has had his set of experiences that brought him to where he is today. Just like how Clark Kent has Lois Lane, Jon Kent now has his love interest in the form of Jay Nakamura. Just how Clark and Lois’s relationship wasn’t a big deal this one shouldn’t be either.

With more and more LGBTQ characters finding their way into the media we consume, many fans are upset and view this as pandering or as a sort of agenda being pushed onto audiences. This isn’t the case at all, the appearance of new LGBTQ characters is simply a reflection of the world around us. According to a survey conducted this year by Gallup, about 6% of Americans identify as LGBT. The true percentage may be even higher if the survey included other identities and preferences. This percentage has been consistently rising with about a 1% jump since their 2017 survey.

Times are changing and people are more and more comfortable with coming out and expressing who they truly are. DC reflects these new times very well with the continuous inclusion of these LGBTQ characters not just in their comics but in other media as well. Jon Kent is simply the latest character to come out but hopefully not the last.

The inclusion of these characters and others at DC Comics are important steps forward leading us to a point where we no longer consider heterosexuality as the default or as the norm. Once we get to the point where being a part of the LGBTQ community is no longer looked at as different is when we stop considering a character’s sexuality news.