They've said definitively that the gay character is going to be a guy, and a hero. At least, all the press releases I've read have said that. As many have said, Batwoman is already a lesbian, so it really wouldn't be anything new to have a lesbian character. They've said they're "re-introducing" a character as gay who was previously portrayed as straight, so it's going to be someone we've met before, and probably someone reasonably well known. Don't know if it's going to be someone we've met since the reboot yet, though...
I'm hoping it's NOT Nightwing or any of the Robins, if only because that's a really old joke and was in poor taste to begin with (it implies that Batman's a pedophile, which isn't the same thing as gay, folks). Who could be re-interpreted as gay without disrupting their core character too much?
Honestly, I think it would be interesting if they just went with it and actually did have some Batman and Robin UST going on.
Meanwhile, Marvel is (probably) having a gay wedding.
Which is (probably) being done in New York, between two Canadians, in a book where the author got one of their names wrong in the first issue of her run.
At this early stage, it seems like a blatant publicity stunt, frankly.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.That carries even more Unfortunate Implications than having it be Bruce or Dick - Jason is by far the most depraved and unstable member of the Bat Family. Having him be revealed to be gay would only stink of Depraved Homosexual - people would take it as if it were intended to be some kind of explanation, and it just wouldn't work.
That's actually kind of why they can't have it be a villain - with only a few exceptions Bats' villains kind of revel in their depravity. Making one of them be the big homosexual reveal would cause more problems than solve.
That's different though. That's a character trait that's been around for awhile, not this big fanfare'd retcon they're suddenly hyping as the thing that shows they care about homosexuals.
If this particular instance, with all they're putting on it, turns out to be one of the villains it might not end well for them.
@Post 26: I was talking about general trends; Stormwatch is an outlier.
Ooh, how about Mogo
? If only to force someone to figure out how that would even work?
If mainstream comics don't do gay male characters, then what the hell is Northstar, Bunker, Wiccan, Hulkling, Anole, Midnighter, Apollo and the Tasmanian Devil?
That said, the latter seriously needs more love. He got skinned alive, got back to life...and might as well have stayed dead, since not even gay fans remember him.
A single phrase renders Christianity a delusional cult@Gannetwhale: Again, I was talking about general trends, and employing slight hyperbole to make a point. Those guys are outliers.
Ukrainian Red CrossIt is not like anyone reacted well to DC's recent attempts to portray straight sexuality on their pages, why expected them to do anything else well? Those who insist on continuing to buy DC comics I'll reckon aint doing so to see more sex and relationship drama. Could they want to see more stand alone stories with long term plot development and possibly super heroics? Power Girl's shirt was bigger news.
Modified Ura-nage, Torture Rack"Northstar, Bunker, Wiccan, Hulkling, Anole, Midnighter, Apollo and the Tasmanian Devil"
Wiccan and Hulkling aren't appearing in ongoing series. Anole's a background character in a couple books. Midnighter and Apollo were from an already-fucked-up series, so hardly truly mainstream. Northstar is appearing in a low-selling book, alongside Karma. The same applies to Striker in Avengers Academy, and Shatterstar and Rictor in X-Factor. I'm not sure how the Batwoman series is selling.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.Wiccan and Hulkling are sort of the ensemble darkhorses of Young Avengers though, so they have several specials. And now they are supposedly going to feature alongside the main Avengers, given that they now are full Avengers.
A single phrase renders Christianity a delusional cult

I think the two guys in the Stormwatch are gay. I mean, I get your point what with Girl-on-Girl is Hot, I'm just willing to bet they think the publicity might be worth it.
Fight smart, not fair.