The quotes below were posted by Teen Titans artist, Brett Booth, and spotted by Bleeding Cool. The first group of text is how writer Scott Lobdell described the gay character in the script, while the lengthier one below that is Booth's reaction to the criticism, explaining in detail the decisions behind the creation and personality of "Bunker". Oh, and there's also a first look at the new superhero in full costume.
His real name is Miguel Jose Barragan. He was raised in a very small Mexican village called El Chilar. He was very loved by his family and the village as well — and they were as accepting of his homosexuality as they were to his super powers when they first manifested. To that end he grew up in an angst-free environment. He was born out of the closet and so he has a very refreshing outlook on life.
So Bunker has been out of both closets since the get go. Why the more flamboyant look? Well it’s complicated. I’ve seen all the other gay superheroes out there, Ok maybe not all. They look just like regular heterosexuals, they act like regular heterosexuals, they just happen to have sex with people of their own gender, under the covers and in the dark. Sure you might get a kiss on a page, but that’s all (an no we won’t be doing any sex scenes in TT, get your minds OUT of the gutters;)
We wanted to show an interesting character who’s homosexuality is part of him, not something that’s hidden. Sure they are gay people who you wouldn’t know are gay right off the bat, but there are others who are a more flamboyant, and we thought it would be nice to actually see them portrayed in comics. Did we go over the top, I don’t think so. I wanted you to know he might be gay as soon as you see him. Our TT is partly about diversity of ANY kind, its about all kinds of teens getting together to help each other. It is a very difficult line to walk, will he be as I’ve read in some of the comments ‘fruity’? Not that I’m aware of. Will he be more effeminate than what we’ve seen before, the ‘typical’ gay male comic character, yes. Does it scare the shit out of me that I might inadvertently piss off the group I want to reflect in a positive way, you’re damn straight (pun intended!)
The Pink shirt has been changed to blue, it’s only pink because his costume is actually showing a bit, we didn’t want too many different colors. But I think the blue works just as well. I would have used that image but I don’t know if I got that change in my files…
As for the children.. Most simply don’t know or don’t care. It’s not like Migg’s is going to be doing a one man gay pride parade. I don’t think we even mention that he’s gay, you see him, you know it, no need to harp on about it. He’s just a happy fun loving guy! He won’t be wearing anything that I haven’t seen at Walmart. Well maybe Target;)
Well, this makes me feel a lot better. I have zero problem with the addition of a gay character to
Teen Titans (one of the many relaunched titles I plan on picking up) but the fact he won't be portrayed as over the top and "fruity" as we were led to believe is bound to ensure that Bunker doesn't become a tedious and cliched character to read - a concern I believe the majority of the backlash focused on. I guess we'll find out when the book goes on sale next week...
About The Author:
Comic Book Reader. Film Lover. WWE and F1 Fan. Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and ComicBookMovie.com's #1 contributor.