The internet geekverse has gone all atwitter over a rumor that the Batman villain Black Mask will be portrayed as gay in a new movie.
Warner Bros. has announced that Black Mask will serve as the primary villain in the film adaptation of Birds of Prey, a spinoff of the “Batman family,” and part of the DCEU series of films. Now gossip site We Got This Covered reports that Black Mask will be portrayed as gay, albeit in a subtle manner. Apparently, the film will show sexual tension between Black Mask and fellow villain & serial killer Victor Zsasz. Actor Ewan McGregor will play Black Mask opposite Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Black Canary.
Related: Marvel casting director promises LGBTQ characters in future films
More to the point, we have to wonder why perceived subtext–particularly that of a villain–even warrants celebration at this point. Though we would love to see more queer characters in comic book blockbusters, or, for that matter, existing characters like Wonder Woman, Mystique, Loki, Valkyrie or Iceman portrayed as unapologetically LGBTQ as their comic counterparts, subtle hints don’t quite qualify as progress. Hollywood films like Star Trek Beyond and Avengers: Endgame have tried adding queer characters in minor roles or with blink-and-you’ll-miss-them details, which come off more embarrassing and insulting than inclusive.
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For now, the news about Black Mask remains nothing more than rumor. Here’s hoping that if it comes to fruition, it gives us an actual reason to celebrate.
UlfRaynor
One can only cringe at the thought of how they are planning to “imply” the character is gay without him even saying so… but the bigger concern is the stereotypical trope of homosexuals being portrayed as the villain.
jjose712
The worst thing is that someone thought it wa a good way to promote it which is all kinds of pathetic.
This is not even new, we have plenty of supposedly homosexual villains on films, from Javier Barden in that Bond film, to Jafar, Scar or even worse Xerxes.
It’s a weird way to get promo, specially when Marvel is supposed to cast a gay actor for a gay role on The Eternals.
A gay superhero it would be groundbreaking (specially if he doesn’t die on the film, i don’t know the reason but screenplayers seem to enjoy killing gay characters) a gay (only in the name) villain it’s not groundbreaking at all
SoloMcDaniel
So we have Black Mask who’s most known for killing a young girl in the comics and Victor Zsasz who carves marks on his body for every person he kills. However these two characters have never been portrayed as gay in the comics. Not saying they can’t be. But there are heroes that have been members of Birds of Prey that are gay they could’ve included.
itsandre
oh great. another queercoded villain…
taking notes from disney’s animated movies, are we dc?
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
As long as he anhilates, destroys, and demolishes right wing evangelical homophobic smcubags, I have no prob with the concept…
Tootall
This is nothing new. Film and television (especially within the scifi and fantasy genres) is littered with villains who are queercoded (aka ‘subtly gay’). It’s nothing to celebrate, it just reinforces the age old concepts that being anything but cis and straight is inherently bad/evil.
Maybe try again, and make the heroes and anti-heroes ‘subtly gay’ instead.