Famed Comic Book Writer: 'Batman is very, very, gay'

Grant Morrison, a Scottish comic book writer who has written for "New X-Men," "Fantastic Four, "All-Star Superman," "Batman" and many other comics, recently told "Playboy" that the iconic superhero Batman is "very, very gay," Bleedingcool.com reported.

"Gayness is built into Batman," Morrison told the magazine. "I'm not using gay in the pejorative sense, but Batman is very, very gay. There's just no denying it. Obviously as a fictional character he's intended to be heterosexual, but the basis of the whole concept is utterly gay. I think that's why people like it.

All these women fancy him and they all wear fetish clothes and jump around rooftops to get to him," he continued. "He doesn't care -- he's more interested in hanging out with the old guy and the kid."

This isn't the first time Batman's sexuality has been called into question -- in fact, Wikipedia has devoted an entire article about the subject. Although DC Comics has never confirmed or denied whether Batman is gay or not, comic fans have speculated the issue almost since the comic's inception.

The article points out that the earlier Batman comics were "dark and violent, but during the interregnum period of the late 1940s and early 1905s they changed to a softer, friendlier and more exotic style, that was considered 'campy.' This style awoke contemporary and later associations to homosexual culture."

Morrison went on to say that in the mid 70s, the Batman comic writers "got rid of the pervy elements, and instantly sales plummeted."

Fredric Wertham, a psychiatrist best known for his book 1954 "Seduction of the Innocent" (which purported that comic books are dangerous to children), said that "the Batman type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies, of the nature of which they may be unconscious" and "Only someone ignorant of the fundamentals of psychiatry and of the psychopathology of sex can fail to realize a subtle atmosphere of homoeroticism which pervades the adventures of the mature 'Batman' and his young friend Robin."

Batman and Robin's sexuality has been parodied a number of times but most notably on "Saturday Night Live"'s comedy sketch "The Ambiguously Gay Duo." Even in Joel Schumacher's Batman films, the openly gay director included several homo-erotic innuendos, such as close-ups of the heroes' butts and crotches.

"I had no idea that putting nipples on the Batsuit and Robin suit were going to spark international headlines," Schumacher said. "The bodies of the suits come from ancient Greek statues, which display perfect bodies. They are anatomically erotic."