One of these days good old Supes is going to be public domain. After that, anything goes.
Marc
Supes, I presume, is trademarked. That means that you’ll be able to reprint the earliest issues someday, but you’ll never be able to use the character until DC goes out of business. There is no such thing as public domain in trademark law.
Especially since this is a Kryptonian super-trademark that we’re talking about.
The problem with Superman being gay (or having homosexual sex) isn’t that he’s too mainstream; it’s that he’s too devoted to Lois (though you could, as Lightray points out, pull some sex-change shenanigans there). For a more promiscuous character like Bruce Wayne, though, I don’t think it’s entirely out of the question.
Quoth Miller:
Weren’t Harlequin and Poison Ivy an item for a while, too? I don’t see them listed anywhere there.
Harley Quinn, not Harlequin. Different characters.
And, they’re…an interesting case.
Hell, Ivy’s an interesting case all in herself.
Ivy is canonically bisexual. Or, rather, canonically willing to have sex with both men and women. Which isn’t quite the same thing. Whether she does because she enjoys it, or because it serves her actual goals, isn’t clear. (She’s never been shown to have a (explicitly) romantic or sexual relationship with anyone, male or female, she wasn’t manipulating, that I can think of.)
Harley is only of the few humans (and I think the only adult) she’s ever displayed any real human warmth towards.
However, the (mostly clearly deliberate) implications that their relationship is romantic or sexual have never gotten past the point of being…implications.
And I don’t think any of the writers who’ve made the implications intend them to be anything else, unlike, say, pre-Zero Hour Shrinking Violet and Lightning Lass, who the writers really did intend to be having a relationship, but they had to keep it subtle.
Someone mentioned earlier that it’s doubtful with Bruce Wayne as well, but for a different reason. After the whole Seduction of the Innocent fiasco, I doubt DC’d want Batman to get anywhere near any type of homosexual relationship, just because of what it may imply about his past relationships with his Robins.
Well, for starters, how many people, in current canon, has Clark/Superman ever had sex with? Was he actually a virgin when he married (or at least, when he first started dating) Lois?
takes out magnifying glass
peers real closely at each post before this one
shrugs
loses interest
wanders off
duly noted
:rolleyes:
In the world of Smallville slash, it’s overwhelmingly Clex*. In comics-based DC slash, it’s often Supes/Batman but other pairings are out there.
(*Clark/Lex)
Including Clex. Oh, the jokes about Superboy’s conception…
And Miss Purl doesn’t need to take the blame/credit for causing Clark(or Superman)/Jimmy slash…there was already plenty.
The mind boggles. I suppose Lana Lang and Lois Lane have done a little muff-diving in someone’s fevered imagination, too…
This is one of my favorite Smallville fanfics by one of my favorite authors, Astolat. As she notes at the beginning, “I’ve borrowed a bunch of DC comics characters for this story; the one that I feel needs some real explanation is Kon, aka Superboy, who is the test-tube baby of Superman and Lex Luthor. (No, I am seriously not making this up. I would have, but the writers at DC generously smoke crack so we fans don’t have to.)”
If Superman had gay sex with The Flash, who would come faster?
Who’s the top? And does he give a reach-around?
We’re talking about Superman and the Flash. Of COURSE there’s a reacharound.
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Oh, wait. Apollo in Wildstorm’s The Authority is pretty clearly modeled on Supes (powers, not personality) & is gay; how blatantly gay depends on the writer, but yeah. His longtime companion is Midnighter, a cowled toughguy vaguely reminiscent of Wolverine & Batman. I read some interview where someone was talking about how he wanted to be able to portray Supes & Bats as a gay couple, & the boys were his way of doing that.
So yeah, there’s that. That’s about how close it gets.
But you know, it’s not fair to compare the new Batwoman’s sexuality to Superman’s. The previous version of Kathy Kane/Batwoman died over 25 years previously, & had been pushed out of regular appearances 15 years before that. This is in effect a new character, & hardly a flagship one.
If DC had a female flagship character that they took as seriously as they do Superman, then you could compare. And in fact, three of the characters that come to mind as closest to being distaff correlaries to Supes–Lois Lane, Wonder Woman, & Batman–are written as straight. In the latter two cases, there’s a nervous insistence on it due to popular perception of them as bi. It’s probably easier to accept bisexuality for Supergirl & Power Girl, as one is merely a junior version & the other is a third-tier trademark at best.
And yes, I called Batman a distaff Supes. Because he’s a big girl’s blouse.
Actually, I think it would be more of a runaround 
Several writers of Wonder Woman have stated that due to her makeup and background, having her be bisexual only makes sense, and the only reason they don’t say it explicitly is because they’re chicken. They like to hint when they can, though.
If you liked Astolat’s fic, you’ve got to read Rageprufrock’s Conflicts of Interest (and even longer sequel Visiting Hours). Amazing AU version of Kon’s story poulated with well realized characters.
You actually see a lot of m-preg in Superman slash; afterall, he is an alien so who knows what’s possible? 