Ambiguously Gay characters in the DC Universe.
A No Recent Examples rule applies to this trope. Examples for episodic works shouldn't be added until end of season for the season introducing the ambiguity (or after 3 months, for episodic works without seasons). This is to allow time for the story to develop the character and resolve ambiguity. There is no waiting time for non-episodic works.
Comic Books
- Julia Pennyworth has several lines in Batwoman (Rebirth) that imply she's attracted to Kate Kane, and one that even implies the two have had sex. Her TV counterpart is considerably less ambiguous about this; she and Kate are explicitly stated to have had a relationship in the past.
- The Joker of Batman fame. Since Harley's transition from the DC Animated Universe into canon comics, the writers have been seemingly trying to tear them apart and made it into a one-sided relationship on her part. Harley & Ivy both think that The Joker only has eyes for Batman. Joker has often professed affection towards Batman (complete with moments of desperate attention-needing) and has made some awkward comments about Robin's shorts and shaving habits. He seems to have quite a flirtatious love/hate thing for Lex Luthor as well. The Joker is also very keen on his appearance and once said he didn't want to see Batman until his nails were finished drying (though the polish was poisonous when the red and green polishes touched). He also took off his pants in front of Onomatopoeia and told him that he "bottoms from the top". As counter-evidence, The Killing Joke showed the not-yet Joker's pregnant wife saying that he was "good in bed", but the entire segment falls into his Multiple-Choice Past. In Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth Joker slaps Batman on the butt and continually hits on him throughout the comic. The pages are lined with homoerotic content and an unnatural level of sexual tension. (Arkham is non-canon, though its status as one of the iconic Joker portrayals means it can't be discounted because of that.) Various Batman media have run with this. Batman (1989) shows that Jack Napier, the man who became the Joker, had more than a casual interest in art and was very keen on his appearance. In The Dark Knight, the Joker disguises himself as a white-skirted nurse to blow up a hospital and, in his last meeting with Batman, looks forward to many future encounters with him and tells him: "You complete me." Batman: Mask of the Phantasm has him bat his eyelashes when he sees his old mob boss for the first time in years.
- Vigilante has the assassin duo Cannon and Saber, who call each other "Love", act flirty with guys before a fight, operate out of a Southern California beachhouse, and in one notable panel, give each other mostly-nude massages.
- Melinda Zucco, the Mayor of Bludhaven and Dick's half-sister in the post-Infinite Frontier ‘’Nightwing'' comic. Her bodyguard Audre is a masculine, shaven-headed woman who also lives with her.
- Watchmen:
- Adrian Veidt, of course. The movie version fits the trope fairly well, the book a bit less so. The 2019 television miniseries splits the difference. He specifically says he’s never been with a woman but it’s never made clear if he means that he’s gay or if he’s just celibate.
Rorschach: He is pampered and decadent, betraying even his own shallow, liberal affectations. Possibly homosexual? Must remember to investigate further.- Rorschach: The "holding a handshake too long" scene that demonstrates Nite Owl II's sexual tension for Silk Spectre II is mirrored later with confirmed bachelor Rorschach doing the exact same thing to Nite Owl II. Plus he has mommy-issues and possibly idolizes his dad.
- Wonder Woman:
- Wonder Woman (1942): Marya spends considerable time going on about how beautiful Diana is, how she wants to protect her, and will throw herself into situations with the Princess with little to no provocation. She even moves from Mexico to Washington DC to attend Holliday College in order to be closer to her.
- Some of the Amazons are Ambiguously Bi; most of the rest are Ambiguously Gay (some are stated to be asexual and a very small handful are only into men and practice abstinence). Post-Crisis, it is revealed that most residents of Themyscira are the immortal reincarnations of women who were wronged or abused by men and are all (mostly) misandric as a result, giving them a Freudian Excuse for avoiding men.
- In Wonder Woman (2006) a relationship between Hippolyta and Phillipus is hinted at, and if the book had gone on longer there were plans to have the two women get married, but their love for each other was never made to be explicitly more than the love of a longstanding friendship in the text.
- Superman's Friend on the Force, Maggie Sawyer, was this in her earlier appearances, before it became very unambiguous.
- If there's one place you wouldn't expect this, it's probably an AIDS awareness PSA. However, a Green Lantern one had John Stewart defending a man with a perm and another with a Freddy Mercury moustache from an angry mob claiming "people like them" spread AIDS, without clarifying who "people like them" actually are.
- Convergence: Supergirl: Matrix features Lord Volt and Lady Quark from Crisis on Infinite Earths. Volt is played up as camp, Quark as butch, and both are clear their marriage is purely a political arrangement. Mae thinks they're "y'know", and is surprised they have a daughter, but nothing's actually confirmed.
Films
- The Riddler in Batman Forever displays a lot of stereotypical hyper feminine camp gay mannerisms and is practically a Stalker with a Crush towards Bruce Wayne, AKA: Batman.
Live-Action TV
- Supergirl (2015): Alex Danvers was suspected by many fans to be gay as early as the Pilot. Though a male character expressed interest in her in the first season, she never returned that interest. While she had good reasons not to be into that character, she lacked any significant love interests in her backstory. She mentions having dated men in college, but she doesn't seem to have actually liked any of them. When DCTV revealed that a character on either Supergirl or The Flash (2014) would be coming out in the upcoming season, Alex was an immediate suspect. As of Crossfire Alex's sexual orientation is no longer ambiguous.
Western Animation
- Legion of Super Heroes (2006):
- Color Kid, who wears a rainbow on his chest, as well as speaking and gesturing flamboyantly. He's also concerned at one point that he may not have used the precisely appropriate shade of green.
- The show stops just short of saying Brainiac 5 is in love with Superman, but he clearly is.
- Young Justice (2010): Impulse. He has an incredibly close relationship with Blue Beetle that is practically subtext. He is one of the few characters in the show that is shown to have no romantic interest in any girl. On a mission to Bialya (where there's Queen Bee, who can brainwash anyone who is attracted women) he is one of the only boys to openly be a part of it. And Greg Weisman has stated that his sexuality is a spoiler
. And in "Illusion of Control", Static complains about being Alone Among the Couples when in a group that includes two official couples ... and Bart spending time with with (Word of Gay-confirmed) Ed.
