Homosexuality in the Batman franchise

[2] In the 1954 Seduction of the Innocent, psychiatrist Fredric Wertham claimed, "the Batman type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies, of the nature of which they may be unconscious" and "only someone ignorant of the fundamentals of psychiatry and of the psychopathology of sex can fail to realize a subtle atmosphere of homoeroticism which pervades the adventures of the mature 'Batman' and his young friend Robin".

[5] Andy Medhurst wrote in his 1991 essay Batman, Deviance, and Camp that Batman is interesting to gay audiences because "he was one of the first fictional characters to be attacked on the grounds of his presumed homosexuality", "the 1960s TV series remains a touchstone of camp" and "[he] merits analysis as a notably successful construction of masculinity".

[8] While Frank Miller has described the relationship between Batman and the Joker as a "homophobic nightmare",[9] he views the character as sublimating his sexual urges into crime fighting, concluding, "He'd be much healthier if he were gay".

[15] Schumacher commented: "I had no idea that putting nipples on the Batsuit and Robin suit were going to spark international headlines.

Writer Warren Ellis addressed the issue of Batman's sexuality obliquely in his comic book The Authority from Image Comics where he portrayed the character of the Midnighter, a clear Batman pastiche, as openly gay and engaged in a long term relationship with the Superman analogue Apollo.

In the summer of 2005, painter Mark Chamberlain displayed a number of watercolors depicting both Batman and Robin in suggestive and sexually explicit poses.

Batman is a myth and a mosaic, an icon who catches the light at different angles at different times, and takes multiple forms.

In 2006, DC drew widespread media attention by announcing a new, lesbian incarnation of the well-known character Batwoman,[24] alongside other lesbian characters such as Gotham City police officer Renee Montoya, police captain Maggie Sawyer, and Catwoman's protégée (and, for a time, successor as Catwoman) Holly Robinson, already existed in the Batman franchise.

[citation needed] In 2011, during The New 52, DC introduced Alysia Yeoh, Barbara Gordon / Batgirl's roommate and friend who is a bisexual trans woman.

[30] A few months later in 2012, Harper Row would be introduced; she would go on to become Batman's sidekick and don the moniker Bluebird, and is also a bisexual woman.

[35] In a July 2011 Comic Vine interview, Judd Winick[a] was asked by staff member Sara Lima if Jason Todd is bisexual.

Winick also admitted that he was trying to dodge the question as there are certain things that he is prevented from discussing and "DC Comics doesn't like [him] talking about".

[38] In Batman and Robin #25 (2011), when Jason is strip-searched naked by a group of male soldiers and told they would use technology to scan him, without touching his body, he complains, "You say that like it's a good thing".

[39] In a press release by DC Comics regarding the reveal that Tim Drake is bisexual, Alex Jaffe discussed the history of queer themes in comics and how the various wearers of the Robin mantle have often been interpreted as being queer, highlighting Jason's friendship with Roy Harper often being viewed as more than platonic.

[42] Bruce Wayne, depending on the player's choices can also be depicted as having some sort of love for John, but it is never explicitly specified as amorous, with the only romantic options in the game being women.

[43][44] Batman's Golden Age villain-turned-antihero Catman was confirmed to be bisexual by writer Gail Simone,[45] which was explored during the 2015 volume of Secret Six.

In 2021, DC published a storyline as part of Batman: Urban Legends in which the third Robin, Tim Drake, realises he has romantic feelings for both men and women, and begins dating his former schoolfriend Bernard Dowd.

[47] In the 2022 Valentine's Day special, Strange Love Adventures #1, The Riddler is confirmed to have romantic feelings for both women — such as The Quiz, Miss Grantham, and Jasmin Shroff — as well as men, such as Antoine Moray.

[citation needed] In the TV cartoon Harley Quinn, Bane, in a state of uncontrolled sexual arousal, was shown to be attracted to the sexy British actor Brett Goldstein, but in the same episode ended up dating with a professional dominatrix named Betty.

[54][55] In the TV cartoon Harley Quinn, Clayface was shown to have an interest in men,[56][57] and Riddler and Clock King were revealed to be a couple.