Updated on December 10, 2021
Today, DC Comics announced that it’ll be producing a new digital-only Superman anthology comic titled “Adventures of Superman.” The name, of course, is the same as the one used for the live-action 1950s TV show, plus the post-Crisis renaming of the original Superman title for some number of years. Since it’s a non-canonical anthology title, not only does Superman regain his proper costume (red shorts and all), but the stories don’t have to tie into the “New 52.” Good news for those of us who dislike the latest reboot-du-jour. There’s also a large roster of names who’ll be writing stories for this title.
Unfortunately, the initial stories will be written by sci-fi writer and outspoken anti-gay rights activist Orson Scott Card. And when I say “anti-gay rights activist,” I don’t mean just a mere “I don’t like the idea of gay marriage” level either—on top of various public remarks against gay rights, Card’s on the board for the National Organization for Marriage, an organization campaigning against same-sex marriage.
It seems rather sad that DC’s decided to lead off their new Superman series with Card. It also seems to work against DC wanting to update their books’ image to reflect today’s world, especially when their own series “Batwoman” features an openly gay lead character and won some GLAAD awards. There’s also DC’s existing issues since the “New 52” reboot with minorities as it is, per their treatment of female characters plus how quick they were to cancel their few books starring Black characters not related to Batman.
The website Bleeding Cool weighed in on this mostly in Card’s defense, despite some specious logic. One Million Moms, you’ll recall, is the same group that wanted to get the adult Kevin Keller’s wedding issue off Toys R Us’ shelves, lest children see that gays aren’t Satan’s second cousins, I suppose. Also contrary to the blog post, Card doesn’t merely “believe something very different to what I do”… he’s on the board of a group actively working to discriminate against a sizable portion of the population. I’m sure various comic writers whose work I read don’t have views that match mine, but I doubt any of them are front and center in working on promoting discrimination like Card does…
Depending on the writer, I might buy the new “Adventures of Superman” series (since it’s not tied to the New 52). However, I definitely won’t be buying the initial Card-written storyline.
On a final note, while one can write a character who doesn’t share one’s point of view (I doubt the “Simpsons” writers would agree much with Homer’s boorish beliefs), I’d assume the Man of Steel would be in favor of same-sex marriage/not discriminating against gays, per Superman’s welcoming and non-discriminatory personality. There’s also that one of his own supporting cast members is openly gay—Metropolis cop Maggie Sawyer.
