Billy Batson is 15 in the new continuity. I think that's the same age they introduced Kurt Hummel on Glee.
However, I don't know where those rumors came from. The theory that's getting the most credibility right now seems to be Alan Scott, the leader of the new JSA.
1) DC have certainly not suggested it's Billy Batson, in fact it's completely unlikely to be Billy since we've been told this character hasn't appeared yet post reboot. Billy has.
2) Billy being a kid doesn't mean he can't know he's gay. He wouldn't be shown doing anything ABOUT it, but that's a different situation, though no different from Billy shifting from pre-adolescent to adult, which has been a cornerstone of the character for 70 years.
His confusion over romantic/sexual advances from women has been used in both whimsical and dramatic fashion in that time with nary a complaint. Making it a gay situation would not fundamentally alter anything.
Assuming that this would be handled badly or in a more unpleasant way because he's gay rather than straight does make me a might curious as to why you think that would be?
Well... Billy Batson has appeared. Captain Marvel/Shazam has not. It's not a bad guess. I mean when you're dealing with
1) Not yet appeared in Nu52 2) Male 3) Iconic
There aren't a lot of options really. I was thinking that it might be the Earth-2 version of someone already appearing in Earth-1 continuity. Barring that, that DC might go with a GL or a Flash.
The Big Red Cheese hasn't yet put in a costumed appearance. It could be.
While noscans_daily welcomes differing opinions, your post here is bordering on homophobic sentiment which goes against this comm's rules. The idea that gay sexuality automatically makes a character sexual and therefore inappropriate for children in ways heterosexuality doesn't is a very problematic heterosexist sentiment, especially about a character who is 15 not 8. The fact that you felt the need to make the 'I'm not trying to be anti-gay' disclaimer in addition to suggesting that it would be wrong to portray a young teen as gay is not particularly working in your favour. Please reframe your post.
I am more worried how the writers/artists/editors will handle this. DC has gotten to some wrong and weird places with their characters not too long ago... Steph's body being over "detailed" being tortured by Blackmask, as well as most "bad things" that happen with Lian (namely the AWM special and Cry for Justice/ Rise of Arsenal). Heck, Mary Marvel and that power stick was a vibrator joke. Name another comic about minors and sexuality in comics that haven't end up either being awkward or just unpleasant
( ... )
I'm worried that if Billy was still an 8-year old that can turn into adult who explored his sexuality, whatever it maybe, by becoming an adult... and then sleep with other adults to satisfy his "cravings" just seems wrong.
So, would you have been less worried about Billy exploring his sexuality if he remained straight? Cause you're not really helping your case here by continuing to imply that gay = sexual. Now, if the concern you're having has to do with how writers will handle writing a gay teen given their poor handling of other diverse characters in the New 52, that's another thing entirely.
I could be wrong here, but I think Silverzeo's concern with this situation was that he believed Billy was still an 8 year old, instead of the teenager he is in the DCnU, and by having him be the gay character that the media is currently hyping up, it sort of sexualizes him. While it's been mentioned a few times in the thread that obviously gay does not equal sexual, and that many people have known which sex they are attracted to at a young age,having a child character openly identified with any sexual orientation in a written medium does allow for them to be seen in a sexualized light. I think Silverzeo doesn't trust the current writers to avoid putting Billy in sexual situations,especially considering his powers.If this is the case, then I understand where Silverzeo is coming from when he says it feels "wrong" as it's exactly how I feel anytime I watch the sex scene in the movie Big. Having a character that is literally a child trapped in an adult's body engage in sexual acts with other adults definitely seems like a situation where
( ... )
Just chiming in to agree with others. What would Billy's relative youth have to do with whether he was gay, bi, straight, ace, whatever.
A great many people IRL will say they knew from an extremely young age who they were attracted to. I don't see why the character's age would be an issue here at all.
If you're worried that DC's writers have a past track record of writing this kind of thing badly or being gratuitous in their portrayal of young people's sexuality, that's a whole other thing.
I am more worried how writers will take this... I am a tad worry that Billy might abuse his powers as being adult... the writers of DC kind really ruin him for the last couple of years before the reboot.
I don't want Shazam to be gay because I thought he was around 10 or something, and that the writers will make go through the kind of awkward things like they did with the entire family starting with COuntdown and ending with Brightest day...
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However, I don't know where those rumors came from. The theory that's getting the most credibility right now seems to be Alan Scott, the leader of the new JSA.
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1) DC have certainly not suggested it's Billy Batson, in fact it's completely unlikely to be Billy since we've been told this character hasn't appeared yet post reboot. Billy has.
2) Billy being a kid doesn't mean he can't know he's gay. He wouldn't be shown doing anything ABOUT it, but that's a different situation, though no different from Billy shifting from pre-adolescent to adult, which has been a cornerstone of the character for 70 years.
His confusion over romantic/sexual advances from women has been used in both whimsical and dramatic fashion in that time with nary a complaint. Making it a gay situation would not fundamentally alter anything.
Assuming that this would be handled badly or in a more unpleasant way because he's gay rather than straight does make me a might curious as to why you think that would be?
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1) Not yet appeared in Nu52
2) Male
3) Iconic
There aren't a lot of options really. I was thinking that it might be the Earth-2 version of someone already appearing in Earth-1 continuity. Barring that, that DC might go with a GL or a Flash.
The Big Red Cheese hasn't yet put in a costumed appearance. It could be.
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So, would you have been less worried about Billy exploring his sexuality if he remained straight? Cause you're not really helping your case here by continuing to imply that gay = sexual. Now, if the concern you're having has to do with how writers will handle writing a gay teen given their poor handling of other diverse characters in the New 52, that's another thing entirely.
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That is a dishonest headline.
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A great many people IRL will say they knew from an extremely young age who they were attracted to. I don't see why the character's age would be an issue here at all.
If you're worried that DC's writers have a past track record of writing this kind of thing badly or being gratuitous in their portrayal of young people's sexuality, that's a whole other thing.
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You don't want the new Shazam to be gay because you worry that Billy will abuse his powers?
You don't want the new Shazam to be gay because before the reboot, his comics were rubbish?
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