Queer Superhero History: Pied Piper

In caller years, mainstream comics publishers similar DC and Marvel person made large strides successful expanding the LGBTQ+ rep successful their universes, though they inactive person a agelong mode to go. But getting present was a dilatory and gradual process, with galore notable landmarks — and immoderate admitted missteps — on the way. In Queer Superhero History, we’ll look astatine queer characters successful mainstream superhero comics, successful (roughly) chronological order, to spot however the scenery of LGBTQ+ rep successful the genre has changed implicit time. Today: Pied Piper!

The characters we’ve covered antecedently successful this bid — Extraño, Cloud, and Maggie Sawyer — hid down a (very, precise thin) smokescreen of plausible deniability. They are canonically queer, but definite words are ne'er said, lone heavy hinted at. The Pied Piper is the archetypal costumed quality successful superhero comics to usage the connection “gay” successful narration to himself. Minor civilian characters had utilized it before, but ne'er idiosyncratic from the capes and tights set. He’s besides the archetypal canonically queer supervillain (albeit a reformed one), and the archetypal quality to travel retired decades aft his introduction, arsenic opposed to being introduced arsenic queer from the get-go.

That’s surely a Look, Hart.

Piper — existent sanction Hartley Rathaway — dates each the mode backmost to the Silver Age. He debuted successful The Flash #106 (May 1959), by John Broome and Carmine Infantino (fun fact: this contented besides introduced Gorilla Grodd!). Initially helium was a emblematic Flash villain: a slope robber with a gimmick. In his case, helium committed crimes via highly implausible uses of dependable waves arsenic “the maestro of sound.”

Though his archetypal quality gives nary backstory for him, we would yet larn that helium was calved deaf, but that his affluent parents paid for groundbreaking assistive exertion that made him capable to perceive and near him obsessed with dependable and its potential. He turned to transgression mostly due to the fact that helium was bored, since helium didn’t request the money.

Piper spent the adjacent fewer decades arsenic a reasonably generic subordinate of the Flash’s Rogues Gallery, but successful the precocious 1980s, aft the Silver Age Flash (Barry Allen) had died and his nephew Wally had taken over, Piper reformed and became an state of the Flash alternatively of an enemy, arsenic good arsenic a progressive firebrand profoundly invested successful issues of societal justice. And successful The Flash #53 (August 1991), by William Messner-Loebs and Greg LaRocque, helium came out.

The contented opens with Wally and Piper hanging retired connected a extortion and chatting astir the Joker, who Piper knew somewhat successful his villain days. Wally asks if the rumors are true: is the Joker gay? “Guys similar that, you tin always tell…there are signals,” Wally says confidently.

Piper says helium doesn’t deliberation the Joker is gay. In fact, helium can’t deliberation of immoderate supervillains who are…except himself.

This is the facial look Wally thinks is “slick” and discreet. Bless his heart.

Shocked, Wally babbles that of people helium knew that and of people it doesn’t fuss him and ohio nary look astatine the time, gotta run! As helium speeds away, helium thinks with alleviation that astatine slightest helium was “slick enough” that Piper didn’t announcement his profound discomfort, which…oh, buddy, nary you weren’t.

Later, Wally teams up with impermanent prima Superman to rescue Jimmy Olsen from a metahuman kidnapper. Wally’s program involves a bait and switch, with Wally successful disguise and idiosyncratic other wearing the Flash costume. The past leafage reveals that idiosyncratic other to beryllium Piper. “See, I’ve got a endowment for picking friends!” Wally says, leaning affectionately connected Piper, and frankincense answering the unspoken question from the opening of the issue: contempt Wally’s archetypal daze and discomfort, their relationship remains unchanged.

Aw, he’s truthful happy.

Obviously successful an perfect world, it wouldn’t person taken Wally an full contented to scope that conclusion, and surely the mode helium talks astir cheery men successful the opening pages is…not enlightened. But fumbling his mode done quality maturation was precise overmuch Wally’s M.O. during this era, and Piper’s cheerful, matter-of-fact coming retired is simply a acold outcry from the cautious (and often self-loathing) connection utilized by characters similar Extraño and Maggie Sawyer conscionable a fewer abbreviated years prior.

Piper would usher successful a mostly much matter-of-fact attraction of queer characters implicit the adjacent fewer years, with a fig of (admittedly ever precise minor) characters casually coming retired without a whiff of angst, and zero cheery bashing — again, a acold outcry from the ’80s. That’s not to accidental that everything astir however queer characters were depicted had wholly changed. Piper’s emotion beingness is heavy sanitized — helium has a civilian fellow named James for a while, who has nary property to talk of, and that’s it.

And of people the taxable of AIDS does yet travel up, arsenic it ever did for queer antheral characters astatine the clip — specifically, successful The Flash #60, erstwhile Wally asks successful emblematic clumsy but well-meaning manner if Piper’s being careful. Piper wryly but mildly points retired that helium knows a batch much astir HIV than Wally does, and that betwixt the 2 of them, Wally is the 1 with a estimation for promiscuity and carelessness — astatine which constituent Wally rapidly changes the subject. But the country doesn’t work arsenic stereotypical oregon fear-mongering, and has nary of the irresponsible factual inaccuracies of Extraño’s communicative a fewer years earlier. Instead, it treats a superior taxable with the gravitas it deserves, and reminds its readers that consecutive radical request to beryllium educated and liable too. Once again, Piper’s communicative highlights a gradual taste displacement (plus the value of thoughtful, compassionate writing).

Piper remained a dependable supporting subordinate of the Flash formed for astir 15 years. Then on came 2007’s Countdown, a 52-issue play bid that juggled aggregate crippled threads. In 1 of those threads, Piper and chap reformed Rogue the Trickster recovered themselves handcuffed unneurotic and connected the tally from heroes who incorrectly believed them to beryllium liable for the decease of Flash #4, Bart Allen. As chap Rioter Eileen has pointed out, this had each the earmarks of a delightful romcom but was, successful fact, blistery garbage. Trickster spends the bid being relentlessly homophobic to Piper; past some of them die. Piper goes retired with a bang, playing a operation of the cosmically destructive Anti-Life Equation with Queen’s “The Show Must Go On,” but a chapeau extremity to Freddie Mercury doesn’t A) amended the bid overall, B) erase each the homophobia the scholar had to wade done to get to this point, oregon C) marque Piper not dormant astatine the end, so.

When DC rebooted their full past successful 2011 with the New 52, Piper returned arsenic a villain-turned-vigilante, present successful a narration with Barry Allen’s boss, Captain David Singh — a narration strained by some their differing views connected the instrumentality (Singh does not o.k. of vigilantes) and the information that Singh is successful the closet and Piper is not. It’s bully to spot Piper successful a narration with a 3 dimensional quality alternatively of a placeholder…but it’s besides a spot jarring for Hartley “ACAB” Rathaway to beryllium dating a cop. It besides demotes him from the Flash’s champion person to…the Flash’s boss’s boyfriend, which whitethorn beryllium wherefore helium had truthful fewer appearances successful the New 52 era.

Piper showed up adjacent little successful the Rebirth epoch (2016–2020), but he’s precocious made his triumphant instrumentality to comics — and luckily for him, Wally is erstwhile again the pb Flash, which means Piper and Wally were capable to prime up their aged relationship wherever they near off. I’m not ashamed to admit I yelled “Piper!” retired large successful my bare flat erstwhile helium was revealed astatine the extremity of The Flash #788 a mates months ago. Because Piper!

There person been immoderate important improvements to the costume implicit the years.

I’ve talked astir however Piper was successful galore ways the commencement of a new, little angsty attack to queer characters, astatine slightest astatine DC, but Piper’s important for different crushed I deliberation is often overlooked. As I mentioned astatine the start, dissimilar characters similar Extraño and Maggie Sawyer, Piper was not intended to beryllium queer erstwhile helium was created. (Okay, technically I person nary impervious of this, but I highly uncertainty immoderate mainstream comic publication characters debuting successful 1959 were intended to beryllium queer.) Instead, 32 years later, a antithetic originative squad decided to picture him arsenic gay.

This whitethorn look similar splitting hairs, but superhero comics are each astir longevity. It’s vanishingly uncommon for a marque caller quality to go anyplace adjacent arsenic fashionable arsenic a quality who is 50, 60, 80 years old. Piper acceptable an important precedent: that conscionable due to the fact that a quality had not been established arsenic canonically queer up to present didn’t mean that they couldn’t beryllium canonically queer going forward. I’m not saying that long-established and beloved characters similar Wonder Woman, Iceman, Harley Quinn, Tim Drake, Renee Montoya, and much would ne'er person go canonically queer without Piper — but I’m gladsome helium opened that doorway a small sooner than it mightiness different person been opened.

Pied Piper is nary much an A-list quality than immoderate of the others we’ve talked astir truthful far, but he’s been astir for 60 years and he’s been retired and arrogant for fractional of them, and that’s a beauteous awesome legacy. I look guardant to The Flash each month, since it’s 1 of the champion books DC is publishing close present — and present that Piper is backmost successful the mix, I’ll beryllium looking guardant to it adjacent more.

(And hey, DC — possibly revisit the full Piper/Trickster conception again, huh? For maine and Eileen?)