Batgirl #19 Outs Supporting Character as Transgender

Alysia Yeoh, the girlfriend of Batgirl's deranged brother James Jr., came out to Barbara as transgender in today's issue of Batgirl. This isn't entirely a surprise for many readers; writer Gail Simone had expressed that she planned to introduce a transgender character into the title and, while Yeoh has been around since the first issue, some speculated that it would be Alysia. Nevertheless, DC is billing the character as the first transgender character in a mainstream superhero comic. That, of course, takes the shine off a few characters (at least two DC characters) who may qualify as the first, but who weren't introduced with the same pomp and circumstance. Overlooking those minor characters, though (Shining Knight, whose transgender status is questionable and who may be just considered a cross-dresser; and one-time Red Hood villain Suzie Su, whose gender identity has only been established off-page by writer Scott Lobdell), will likely be forgiven since Simone has such a strong and vocal LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) fan base. Simone also told Wired that DC Entertainment was surprisingly amenable to the development, as Co-Publisher Dan DiDio offered no resistance to the idea beyond the standard concern that it wouldn't distract from the title character. "I thought I might have to sell it, so to speak," said Simone. "But he just paused for a moment, asked how this would affect Barbara's story, and immediately approved it. And we went back to our excellent nachos."