DC Comics accidentally asks fans to vote for or against queer representation

DC Comics‘ latest publicity stunt asks fans to choose which comics get published in the first place, but the social media campaign has also unwittingly sparked a conversation about queer representation among superheroes. Under the hashtag #DCRoundRobin, the publisher put together a March Madness-style bracket of comic book pitches, asking fans to pick their faves. The winner of the bracket will get made into a complete series. It’s certainly grabbing people’s attention, but not always for the right reasons. The bracket is full of well-known characters like Superman and Swamp Thing, with brief summaries for each pitch. In a series of Twitter polls, sixteen pitches will be narrowed down to one victor. This format quickly received backlash because it pits creators against each other in a popularity contest that can be easily gamed. The real controversy is centered around one specific face-off: JLQ vs Robins. Robins is a team-up between Batman’s sidekicks, a popular concept involving beloved, established characters. Meanwhile, JLQ is a story about eight unspecified queer heroes. So DC essentially set up a public poll where fans can vote for or against queer representation. This poll is now effectively a referendum on the existence of queer superheroes. Queer representation is a contentious issue in DC fandom and in pop culture at large, and hardly the kind of choice to leave up to an anonymous poll.