In a historic Sunday night episode of “Batwoman,” the lady caped crusader came out as a lesbian to Gotham City, thereby making her sexual orientation official.
According to Deadline, the midseason premiere episode, titled “How Queer Everything Is Today,” featured actress Ruby Rose’s Batwoman revealing her sexual identity after learning about a teenager whose parents refuse to accept her sexuality.
“The big reveal came in a magazine article published by CatCo, and the scoop belonged to none other than Kara Danvers, a.k.a. Supergirl (Melissa Benoist), the title hero from Batwoman’s Arrowverse sister show,” the outlet reported of the big moment.
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What was Lena doing there?! jajaja and, also, Kara wrote the article of Batwoman being a lesbian!!!! Kara and Kate BROTP! pic.twitter.com/TH2QbLMV3B— 𝗗𝗿. 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 (@lKDanvers_) January 20, 2020
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, series showrunner Caroline Dries, who wrote the episode, said she wanted the character to “stand in her truth.”
“For me, it was so important for this character to stand in her truth,” said Dries. “The girl underneath the costume is so comfortable with who she is and so comfortable with being truthful, and she never really has been in the closet.”
The character Batwoman first came onto the comic book scene in the 1950s as a potential love interest for Batman, but she eventually took a backseat in the 1960s and did not become a lesbian until being reintroduced in DC’s “New 52.” A previous Hollywood Reporter poll showed that 85% (more than 2,000 people) of respondents wanted a separate “Batwoman” series.
Though Batwoman certainly has her own woke pedigree, SJWs were reportedly upset over the openly gay Ruby Rose’s casting, prompting her to leave social media after enough people complained she was “not gay enough” to play the title character.
“A #RecastBatwoman hashtag started circulating, with people also wondering why the role couldn’t have gone to a lesser-known LGBTQ+ actress in need of an acting break,” Glamour reported at the time. “Critics also accused Rose of not being a lesbian since she also refers to herself as gender-fluid.”
In response, Rose said she could not believe people were actually insinuating she was not gay enough when her entire career has been people accusing her of being too gay. “Where on earth did ‘Ruby is not a lesbian, therefore she can’t be Batwoman’ come from — has to be the funniest most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read,” the actress tweeted at the time. “I came out at 12? And have for the past five years had to deal with ‘she’s too gay’ how do y’all flip it like that? I didn’t change.”
The CW network broke barriers on the SJW-themed “Supergirl” with the arrival of Nia Nal, the first transgender hero in television history, played by transgender actor Nicole Maines and based on the DC Comics character Nura Nal. Sometimes called “Dream Girl,” the character Nia Nal is a humanoid alien that also sees into the future.
Marvel has separately announced that phase four in its cinematic universe will feature more LGBTQ representation, starting with “The Eternals,” which will introduce the universe’s first openly gay superhero, Phastos. The character will be married to a man and will be portrayed by actor Brian Tyree Henry.