Actor Dean Cain slammed Superman’s coming out as ‘bandwagoning’. It backfired spectacularly
Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher in a Superman television series in the 1990s and an image from DC Comics new issue which depicts Clark Kent’s son as bisexual. (ABC/DC Comics)
Former Superman actor Dean Cain is being roundly mocked for accusing comic book writers of “bandwagoning” with a bisexual version of the superhero.
Queer comic book fans were overjoyed when it was revealed that Jon Kent, the Superman of Earth and the son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, will be openly bisexual in an upcoming issue.
Needless to say, not everybody is happy – the news has sent conservatives into a tailspin, with many hitting out at DC Comics for daring to represent Superman as anything but completely straight.
Dean Cain, who played Clark Kent in the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman from 1993 to 1997, is the latest to express his dissatisfaction with the move.
Cain – who is also, incidentally, a Trump supporter – told Fox & Friends: “They said it’s a bold new direction. I say they’re bandwagoning.”
He continued: “I don’t think it’s bold or brave or some crazy new direction. If they had done this 20 years ago, perhaps that would be bold or brave.”
Dean Cain would prefer to see Superman fighting for the rights of gay people in Iran
Cain went on to suggest that it would have been brave of the writers to instead make Superman fight for the rights of gay people who are persecuted and marginalised in Iran and other countries.
“Brave would be having him fight for the rights of gay people in Iran where they’ll throw you off a building for the offence of being gay,” he said.
“Why don’t they have him fight the injustices that created the refugees whose deportation he’s protesting? That would be brave, I’d read that.
“Or fighting for the rights of women to attend school and work and live and boys not to be raped by men under the new warm and fuzzy Taliban.”
Cain said there is “real evil in this world today”, such as “corruption and government overreach”. Those are the issues he would like to see tackled in a Superman comic book, apparently.
It wasn’t long before Cain’s remarks found their way to social media. Countless people mocked the actor on Twitter for his bizarre, perplexing comments.
If Dean Cain is mad about Superman being bisexual we should probably make a gay Hercules and a trans Chachi just so we can upset Kevin Sorbo and Scott Baio too.
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) October 12, 2021
Dean Cain was actually thrilled about this news, because it meant he'd get work being Professionally Angry this week.
Kevin Sorbo is praying someone makes a Gay Hercules movie so he can keep his house out of foreclosure. https://t.co/M9W8ORGz8N— Sean Kelly (@StorySlug) October 12, 2021
Let's be clear.
Dean Cain doesn't read comic books. If he weren't guaranteed a fee, he'd never set foot in a comic book convention. So asking his opinion, because he was the categorically worst Superman actor in creation for three seasons 30 years, is a useless exercise. https://t.co/AwtrdpQRl0— Jamal Yaseem Igle (@JAMALIGLE) October 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/MagsVisaggs/status/1448044577663901697
Dean Cain, who starred in a Superman TV series that became famous for… Teri Hatcher. https://t.co/ORZsIzmXxK— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) October 12, 2021
If Dean Cain wants me to stop being mean to him on Twitter he shouldn’t make it so easy. https://t.co/rz0JEeLsrP
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) October 12, 2021
Cain’s comments come just days after it was announced that Superman: Son of Kal-El #5 will hit shelves in comic book stores on 9 November. The new issue will see Clark Kent’s son strike up a friendship with reporter Jay Nakamura.
As so often happens, the friendship eventually turns into something more.
In a statement, comic book writer Tom Taylor said: “I’ve always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes and I’m very grateful DC and Warner Bros share this idea.
“Superman’s symbol has always stood for hope, for truth and for justice. Today, that symbol represents something more.
“Today, more people can see themselves in the most powerful superhero in comics.”
The news comes just weeks after DC Comics had Batman’s sidekick Robin come out as bisexual and land himself a date in a comic book released in September.
