Young Justice: An LGBTQ Character May Come Out In Season 3
Young Justice will soon return to television for its long-awaited third season. When it does [...]
Young Justice will soon return to television for its long-awaited third season. When it does return, it may be more diverse – or at least more openly diverse – than ever.
Young Justice co-creator Greg Weisman was asked on Twitter about LGBTQ representation in Young Justice, which had no openly queer characters in its first two seasons.
The person who posed the question wanted to know if an LGBTQ character would be added to the team's roster in Season 3. Weisman responded by saying there are already LGBTQ characters in Young Justice.
@Superhero_News1 @JasmineShawarma @SexyDeadpool69 There are already LGBT characters in #YoungJustice
— Greg Weisman (@Greg_Weisman) January 6, 2017
Weisman seems to be indicating that one or more characters from Young Justice are members of the LGBTQ community and that simply hasn't been revealed yet. This echoes similar comments Weisman made in a response to a fan question in 2012:
"I also believe we have differently oriented characters in the series, even though we're not allowed to mention it out loud. (And just to be sure, I checked to see if we were allowed and got a no answer. Everyone seems to want to get there, but we're not there yet.)"
The indication seems to be that the Young Justice creators have always intended certain characters to be members of the LGBTQ community, but they were forbidden by the network or someone else above them in the chain of command to make that fact overt.
When this past comment was brought up in the same Twitter thread, Weisman simply responded by saying "Again, that was then." In other words, things have changed.
And indeed they have. Nickelodeon's The Legend of Korra, a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, ended with Korra taking the hand of another female character, Asami, as they began their new quest together. If that wasn't plain enough, creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino quickly confirmed that, while the network did put up some resistance to the idea, Korra and Asami were indeed a romantic couple, and that relationship will be further explored in The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars, a Dark Horse Comics published sequel to the animated series.
It seems this is a sign of the changing times, and possibly that Weisman hopes to take advantage and make his characters' orientations more plainly visible. Young Justice has never shied away from focusing on romantic relationships, so being able to reveal characters' LGBTQ orientation could open up a number of new storytelling avenues.
As for who the LGBTQ character or characters are, Weisman didn't want to spoil anything but did use the hashtag #BuyYJComicsonComixology. Are there clues in the Young Justice comic book tie-in?
MORE: Young Justice Season 3 Officially Announced / Which Network Will Young Justice Air On? / Twitter Reacts To Young Justice Season 3 / Young Justice Season 3: Who Will The Villain Be? / What Fans Want To See In Young Justice Season 3 / Young Justice Showrunners Thank Fans For Young Justice Season 3
Young Justice Season 3 is currently in production.
