the power cosmic

What will the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ mean for Kate Kane?

From Robot 6:

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I’d be lying if I said that, while following coverage this weekend of the Senate’s repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” I didn’t briefly wonder what this development would mean for Kate Kane, the new Batwoman.

After all, she’s the most notable (if not the only) comic-book superhero whose origin is tied to the law prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military: While a cadet at the United States Military Academy, Kate is discovered to be in a secret relationship with another female student. When confronted with the allegation, Kate chooses to resign from West Point rather than lie. The scene, depicted in Detective Comics #859 by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III, is a powerful one.

“Way back — waaaay back — when I knew I was going to be writing Kate, and I knew we’d be telling her origin story, I knew I would write this scene,” Rucka said in a well-timed post that appeared Sunday at DC Women Kicking Ass. “This was, in many ways, the first scene I wrote for Kate Kane, one I kept rewriting and rewriting in my mind until the time came to put it down on the page. I’d done a lot of research into West Point, and the Cadet’s Code of Honor had stuck with me, stuck with me all the more in the face of DADT. In my mind’s eye, even before ever seeing the Bat Symbol of encountering Batman, this was where Batwoman was born — in Kate’s need to serve something greater and to, at the same time, remain true to herself.”

Williams, who’s sharing writing and art duties on the new Batwoman series, commented this afternoon on the repeal, saying, “It’s just sad that this policy ever occurred in the first place. It was grotesque and shameful that we ever went there. And terrible that it took nearly two decades for the folly to be properly dealt with.”

“Now to figure out what this may mean for Kate Kane,” he continued, “we’ll need to acknowledge this in some way, but properly in the plot, much like the policy’s enforcement affected the plot for Batwoman’s origin. Like it informed her past, setting her on the path she now has, this new progress will have to inform her direction at some point in a significant way.”

As curious as I am about how Williams & Co. will address law’s repeal, I’m even more interested in how later writers — those a decade or more removed from the policy — will address the character’s past. The origins of Marvel’s character operate on a sliding scale, with someone like Tony Stark first being tied to the Korean War, then the Vietnam War, the first Gulf War and now (I think) the conflict in Afghanistan. But how will DC revise Batwoman’s history when “don’t ask, don’t tell” is just a relic of the shameful past?

Five Comics Creators On Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

From Bleeding Cool:

So, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell legislation has been repealed in the US, members of the armed forces will no longer be dismissed because someone discovers they are gay. But in all the political punditry, tweet wars and column inches, has anyone thought to find out what the comic creators think? Bleeding Cool did just that! By, um, cut-and-pasting from various other websites.

John Byrne:

Next, we need total integration of the armed forces. Men and women working and living together as equals. Kind of a “Starship Troopers” sort of thing.

Then we can REALLY start thinking of ourselves as grown ups!

(Just in Case: No sarcasm here. I mean it. I’ve been saying this for years. The repeal of DADT is a good, solid step in the right direction.)

It’s even more embarassing, isn’t it, when we consult his record. In ’06 he said he [John McCain] was in favor of ending DADT.

Now, everybody is entitled to change their minds — but usually it works better if such changes carry us FORWARD.

Greg Rucka:

Way back – waaaay back – when I knew I was going to be writing Kate, and I knew we’d be telling her origin story, I knew I would write this scene. This was, in many ways, the first scene I wrote for Kate Kane, one I kept rewriting and rewriting in my mind until the time came to put it down on the page. I’d done a lot of research into West Point, and the Cadet’s Code of Honor had stuck with me, stuck with me all the more in the face of DADT. In my mind’s eye, even before ever seeing the Bat Symbol of encountering Batman, this was where Batwoman was born – in Kate’s need to serve something greater and to, at the same time, remain true to herself. She’s given the out; hell, Reyes wants her to take the out, but she refuses. The choice between attaining what has been – to that point – her life’s work, or betraying herself, is an impossible position. This is the moment, in my opinion, that defines her as a hero; it’s what makes her a person worthy of wearing the Bat Symbol.

Chuck Dixon:

Look, I hope it all works out. I personally wouldn’t care if the next Audie Murphy was gay. I’d be just as proud of that man or woman. And I’m sure our troops will do all they can to make this new non-policy work because they are good, decent, tolerant men and women. These are the same branches of the service that integrated blacks into their ranks long before the rest of the country did the same. And those traditions continue. You won’t see the gay bashing I’m sure the MSM is salivating for just as they breathlessly awaited the mass lynching of Arab-Americans post 9-11. I’m certain it will all go smoothly. Our commanders (even those that oppose it) will make sure of that and our service men and women will follow orders. They will serve as they have always served; as a good example for the rest of us of what an American can be.

But it is still wrong to tinker in the name of social justice with the greatest fighting force on the planet. And I don’t mean “greatest” simply in terms of ass-kicking skils. I mean, historically, the most noble and generous military that has ever marched on this planet. You ask anyone around the world which army they’d rather see show up in time of trouble and (if they were honest) they’d tell you they’d rather have the G.I.s on the ground than the U.N. or NATO or any of their neighbors.

But the Far Left, through incremental moves in the media and the courts and legislation, are insistant on meddling with how our military works. With one hand they lay on new policies, rules and restrictions while disarming our guys with the other hand. START treaty? Seriously?

And they won’t be happy until all five branches of the service (not forgetting you, Coast Guard) are more like our college campuses than the guys who charged Devil’s Den or landed on Omaha Beach.

Larry Hama (reported by Josh Lynsen)

As I neared the end of my time sitting with Larry, I couldn’t resist an urge to touch on the current controversy surrounding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” I asked him whether he’d ever considered touching on the topic in any way in G.I. Joe. He responded that because the franchise is the property of Hasbro, he couldn’t imagine the company wanting to touch the topic “with a 10-foot pole.” But on the topic itself, Larry said he considered it “ridiculous” that gays couldn’t openly serve in the armed forces. He recalled working during the Vietnam era with an army intelligence officer that was widely known to be gay. The officer did a good job, Larry said, and wasn’t subject to harassment. Of course, Larry said it didn’t hurt that the man’s last name was Patton and he was rumored to be related to  the famous World War II general. But it showed that people who want to serve their country should be allowed to do so.

Gail Simone:

If a man has gotten all the way to the military without seeing another man’s wee-wee, he’s got bigger problems than shared showers.