Honestly my only problem is with KING SHARK is why couldn't they find a talented gay or bisexual polynesian actor to fill that roll. He's native to Hawaii after all and I would have loved to see him speak in the numerous languages such as. Tahitian, Samoan, Tongan, Māori and obviously Hawaiian. And yes he wouldn't speak English at all at least not from the start, but there would be captions to help people understand what he's saying. My vision for KING SHARK would be that he understands what people are saying but they don't understand anything he says, yet they can understand his emotions at times based on his body language and tone of his voice. And KING SHARK only learns how to speak English do to him listening to those around him but his English wouldn't be fluent for he is still learning this new language. But that's just what I would do if I was a writer for DC Comics.
Shoot I would ever change Aquaman completely. I would give him two separate looks, one would be his More human form when he's on land and the other would look like Abe Sapien from HellBoy or Kit Fisto from Star-Wars when he's in the water.
I'm a big fan of King Shark and have done a lot of research into the character. One thing that's kind of wild is that that bit in Apokalips War was the first time Nanaue was ever implied as having been in any kind of romantic relationship. Unless you count him hiring a (female) prostitute in the Sword of Atlantis series, Constantine is his first canonical love interest of any gender.
King Shark is one of my personal favourites, especially in the Harley Quinn show. I thought it made perfect sense for him to be gay 🤷🏼♀️ Also that “reveal” in Shazam Fury of the Gods was just simply adorable lol
I love your analysis videos because it validates my feelings that "Yes, this character/relationship is queer-coded". King Shark is my favorite character from the HQ show, he's so fun (without being nearly as camp as Clayface).
Can't say I'm a fan of this show, but I have seen bits of it. One thing I do like is that in this version Clayface isn't suffering from all the ANGST that his 'condition' gives him in other settings. he actually enjoys his new form, as it makes him the 'Ultimate Actor', and seems to have gained some control of it (able to maintain a single form for what maybe be weeks at a time, or indefinately). Wonder if his acceptance of it has anything to do with his increased control, something other Clayfaces have never done?
The crazy thing is HQ show's version of Clayface is the most powerful version of him due to this. I'm not even sure he's evil/a villain, dude's just doing roles and chilling with his homies. Of all the chars in the show he's the least violent and hasnt killed a single person.
There was a joke in season two of Harley Quinn where they meet John Constantine, after they beat him in a drinking game he is shown wearing a “I jumped the Shark.” Shirt which I choose to read as an acknowledgment of his and King Shark’s relationship
@@auricstorm it’s a term for doing something ridiculous and not having it pay off, the term occurred because of the Happy Days episode where Fonzi jumped sharks on skis
My guy please keep doing what you are doing. My God i feel so seen watching you break things down. All to often I feel invisible being gay, black and a geek. Just hearing you tackle things makes me happy.
Me and my dad who is heavily bigoted watched apocalypse war he missed the scene with Constantine and King Shark but at the end of the movie with Zantana and John kissing he went on a tangent about that’s is what god intended us to be and how that’s “normal” and I couldn’t stop laughing at him
2:52 so I’m not too far I don’t think into the HBO show but there was a whole episode about him and marriage • • • • • So king shark ran away from home and didn’t go to the ocean for a long time cuz he didn’t want to get married to the princess of a different clan and he initially turned down the betrothal and the princess didn’t want him either but in the end they get married solely for political reasons and they both agreed to live their own lives separately after just on the DL. If you’re taking a queer reading to it you can def see it as a lavender marriage or just your typical arranged marriage but a lot of media will turn arranged marriages into “and then they fell in love” but the show kept him with the “I don’t want to be with her at all, we’re only doing this to prevent war”
Another stellar video! King Shark is probably my favorite main character on Harley Quinn, so happy S3 went so far into his kingdom/life the way it did. Perfect use of the character and Ron was an inspired choice Honestly I'd love to see more of "The Weeper". The Brave and the Bold series introduced me to him, and pairing him up with Joker made a terrific Tragedy & Comedy analogy. Plus Tim Conway was terrific, sad he's no longer with us to continue him on.
Clock King (William Tockman version) needs more fleshing out. The most characterazation we've gotten is from the Harley Quinn show. With his relationship with the Riddler. He has a very dark backstory that never gets explored. He is taking care of his sick sister then gets misdiagnosed so thinking he is going to die he becomes a criminal to get enough money to make sure his sister doesn't end up in a home because he promised his (assumed dead) parents that. He then gets caught by Green Arrow and finds out that the doctors were wrong but he ends up dying in a home. We don't know why he is in Gotham, fighting Batman or why he still commits crimes.
As far as the animated HQ series goes, I think that Tabitha *will* try to usurp King Shark from the throne...but when he uncovers her scheme, instead of challenging her, he just lets her have the kingdom and walks (swims?) away from it all. It would be the ultimate act of him finally overcoming his familial guilt. Of course, the Shark people are totally screwed with the Hammerheads taking over...but hey, the chaotic ending to their kingdom would fit in *perfectly* with the show's vibe -- chaos is what Harley Quinn is about, after all.
Y'know, if I had a nickel for everytime a Shark became a symbol of an LGBT subcommunity, I'd have two nickels, which isn't very much, but it's fun that it happened twice right?
I don't know (shame on me) if you've done this already, but Martian Manhunter is my favorite DC character since the old Justice League cartoon, and I think it would be interesting to look at them in terms of gender at the very least. I think I remember an issue where their personality got split up in like five people? In any case, you got me into the Harley Quinn show, so thanks 😁🍀
Great analysis. Since his introduction in S1, I thought there was a queer reading in King Shark, but after meeting his fam in S2, I def thought they were hinting King Shark was gay. Glad I'm not the only one.
Dc villain that I’d love to see fleshed out: Demonia from the Omega Men. Dc character who ought to be analyzed through a queer lense: Gar Logan. He gives off both nonbinary and bisexual vibes, especially in Teen Titans Go. I would love to see a queer analysis of Gar’s relationship to gender in the TTG episode “Chicken’s in the Cradle”. EDIT: A few more references for a queer reading of Gar Logan: * The New Teen Titans: Tales of the Teen Titans #55, where Gar dresses up as and pretends to be Starfire when no one is watching. * The New Titans #98 pg19, where Dick Grayson says that Gar cares more about Cyborg than about girls. The New Titans #103 p10-11, where Gar ignores his designated love interest Terra II to focus on Cyborg. Tbh, the whole Terminus arc has BBCY vibes. * The fact that Gar did not choose the title Beast Boy but did choose the title Changeling.
Terra was always this interesting friend that people read into a relationship with but I can see it just as friendship. Complicated by their American VAs being a couple in other shows. But Cyborg and Gar were above all else so if course he'd go to Cy before anyone else.
I loved this video! The Harley Quinn animated series is so delightfully queer. King Shark is incredibly underrated in it. I know Clock King is canonically queer in the series, but I'd love if you would go over his coding in other media too (not only the comics, but I got major queer vibes from him in Arrow on the CW).
I may be cheating on my assignment, but I have a team that I want to see more fleshed out and given more respect - Shadowpact. When I first read a friend's copy of an omnibus of Infinite Crisis and all its tie-ins, I didn't expect to fall in love with this ragtag team of magic-based heroes, but not only did I fall HARD for them, but to this day, they are my go to answer for favorite superhero team. To me, it's essentially a crime that they (as a team) have not been seen, referenced or used at all since the series cancellation in 2008.
King Shark>>>>Zatanna as John’s love interest. Zatanna x John has always had no chemistry & been so forced. Like white man x white lady in a team book being paired up… so revolutionary/sarcasm Lot of ppl try to argue that not liking the ZatJohn ship is biphobic but like frankly as a dc reader, it’s really notable how they end up trying to weaponize queer politics to push a m/f pairing instead of an m/m one. I’ve even had ppl try to argue Zatanna isn’t white cause of her bombshell AU where she’s roma/Jewish. Which esp pisses me off cause I am Jewish & it’s trying to VO-opt our identity to silence idea of John being with a man. Like they don’t actually care about her being diverse, they’re concerned with weaponizing a marginalized ethnoreligion to be homophobic
I’m really just so disappointed that they didn’t give him a male lover in the Harley Quinn animated series (at least at this point in time). Like, the series is fully queer and re-evaluates all of the Batman characters, so I just don’t understand why they couldn’t give him a male lover despite how queer coded he already is.
Everytime I hear something about Gail Simone, I just love her more and more! I've loved what I've read of hers, but I feel like I might need to just go snag up all of her work. Fantastic work here! One of my fave monster boyfriends
My friend Willow (shoutout Questing Refuge) recommended your channel (they also mentioned that you had some tweets supporting the striking writers which i wanna see more pop culture lefties do), this was the first video title I saw, I subscribed immediately. When you showed Con I said "gay superboy!" as though Jon isn't the canonically bi one, what That analysis of King Shark and his family is so good!!! I didn't even think about that but it makes so much sense. Especially because everyone in Gotham City seems to be neurodivergent and/or queer. Harley and Ivy definitely are. Speaking of- I went to the same college as Bruce Timm who created Harley Quinn, which makes a lot of sense knowing me
I think it would be really fun if DC gave us a look into whatever King Shark and Constantine had going on. Whichever form that takes. Whether in the comics or the Harley Quinn show. It'd just be great to see that whole situation unfold. (Also, two of my favorite relatively unknown DC characters are Lonnie Machin / Anarky and Jark Ryder / The Creeper - an anti-villain and a hero respectively. But I do still believe they count, because seldom have I seen them be explored to their full potential since their initial appearances, and both have been screwed over since then. What with Lonnie being slandered as a murderer in most every DC character guide he appeared in and Jack being rebranded as a demon once and teaming up with villains since. Which really sucks, because I would love to see them utilized effectively, even if not necessarily in a queer reading kinda way. More in a leftist angle with Anarky and a positive view of mental health issues in Ryder's case. Both views would take me a couple essays to explain, but trust me when I say it would be so amazing!)
King Shark and Constantine were supposed to have been featured in a wholesome short story together in one of the DC Pride comics. Not sure why it didn't happen as it would've been the *perfect* venue to really start exploring their relationship.
I still find it crazy people say we are trying to make everything gay yet gay people have and will continue to exist threw out history at a certain you would think even they would realize there hypocrisy I hope further generation continue to have representation even if it's a shark king
This was a phenomenal video, you’ve got a new fan. Thank you so much for clueing me into the actual meaning of “Blood is thicker than water” it’s something I found myself recently pushing back against and the actual quote is so much more meaningful
Just a reminder: the argument that it's wrong to queer up a character just because there's no pre-existing indication of their queerness is fundamentally a bad faith argument foisted upon the community by bigots. Long running fictional characters written illustrated and otherwise portrayed by a number of people over a period of time inherently demand adaptation, don't let bigots drag you down the wrong path trying to justify queer character's existence (and by implication your existence) by some misguided appeal to precedent.
Not always, I, as someone who writes and enjoys including diverse race and sexuality choices to my cast also hate character inconsistency. The issue is that they will take character in a pre-established and ongoing series, and complete change them or retcon previous actions of the character in said storyline and universe, just because. Iceman. Fucking Iceman. Go the midnighter route, and make a character sexuality become something to harp on if they don't have pre-established sexualities that are written out in logic defying ways. Or just make them closeted in a way that makes sense. I'll never understand how character randomly come out as 100% gay and have done it with dozens of women with no issues or questions, you've gotta be bi or have the strongest imagination at that point.
@@opo3628 yes but Iceman has had no prior indication or build up in any matter and was suddenly told he was gay. He was literally told he was gay and just went, "oh, really? Alright, I guess." That's not how that works. I'm sure those same people you've mentioned have been called gay before haven't just instantly decided, "yeah, makes sense." That's like if you took some gay and told them they were straight and you can be tell, and they just went, "oh my god, you're right!"
@@opo3628 also,.it's a story, narratively if something happens with no indication, clue or build up, most people won't like it. That's why you're reading a book, you want to be engaged and having something come out of nowhere with no logic or preparation and permanently change a characters dynamics and personality would not go well for most. The only time that usually ever works is with tragedy, and even then some ability to see it coming would make it hit harder.
I'd love to see an attempt to bring Eraser back into the modern day. The idea of a forensics expert that works for criminals to remove evidence from the crime scenes is such a unique concept and I feel like it would really put Batman's title as the world's greatest detective to the test.
I've seen pics of Constantine making out with the devil in a public men's room though I lack the full story behind this. But I really love the idea behind it. If nothing else, pairing Constantine the disaster bisexual with the freaking Devil is so much more interesting than his heteronormative relationship with Zatana. I'd love to know more about this relationship, and I hope it's something that's still on-going instead of a one-off gag.
A D-List DC Supervillain I would love to see get expanded upon is… Snowflame. If you don’t know who he is look him up. And also from what I’ve seen he gives bi/pan vibes.
I never thought of King Shark being queer but I'm myself an ace but kinda lean into queer because of gender fluidity lol. But with your analysis makes sense. I love the Harley Quinn version of King Shark, but then again I love Ron Funches voice work.
Hammer tine arrrrrr Also one of the most memoraple turtle tries and really with it own very skater bro identity XD but fun. Ther really should be a mobile game at least :P
I would love to see a video on the LGBT elements of the doom patrol overall Comics and TV show! One of my favorite teams of all time i honesty adore every run starting at Grant Morrison to current day, though to be honest I've never read anything before Morrison.
Speaking as Queer man who is a monster fucker, I found it interesting to hear that the queer people relate monsters. As while I absolutely love monsters and the violence they bring, I never felt like I related to them. Representation has always been a ‘huh” thing to me, as I have never really felt related too in the media I watched, and it wasn’t until I started listening to video essays that I learned its something that people desired in media. I didn’t think people could actually see themselves in media so its very interesting to hear people talk about what they relate too.
I was not surprised by king shark hooking up with constaintine because I heard a while back that constaintine was Bi, I heard that he even had a poly relationship at one point.
I really liked Bombshell from Batman Beyond/The Zeta Project. The Brain Trust in general seemed like they had a lot of potential as villains but we only get to see them twice! Two and half times if you want to count the leader appearing as a child in an episode of JLU.
I'm just salty they aged up John and made him bi when Kon was _right_ there in all his old 90s glory. Nobody who read those old comics would have been surprised, and even if Justice League fans threw a fit (and a few would), it wouldn't have had as big a blow-out as the John Kent nonsense has been.
I don't agree with your take about race/genderbending, but I fully agree on respecting when OC are successful. Sometimes, the demographic of a character sometimes is important and the twist is made more for shock-baiting, rather than inclusion or are straight out done in a dumb way. Ariel being chief example: the '800s Europe was still extremely racist and making a POC princess in said setting just doesn't work HOWEVER, if they were to pull a Tiana on us, changing the general setting (let's say Jamaica in the 1960s) it would genuinely being interesting. OCs... OCs are fully in the hand of the creators and that's it. Take HelluvaBoss and those saying that Blitz(o) corrupted Stolas, when the show makes very obvious that this is not the case. More representation is a MUST! We live in 2023 and having, what, 90% of media characters being cis heterosexual caucasics is moronic AT BEST, but raceswapping or genderswapping is not the way as it will only fuel controversy. King Shark is actually great in this regard: they took a barely ever used character and elaborated the sides of him that were never explored, and nobody should tell you that he is CIS simply because... it was never said nor implied. After he became prominent we've seen him being attracted by men (Constantine), women (Killer Frost) and we even have various jokes about fishes, before that? ZERO! King Shark is part of the LGBTQ+ community and there can be no counter argument. Comic books are full of underused characters belonging to demographics considered "minorities": -Northstar -Photon -Wiccan -Hulkling -Mystique -Destiny -Batwoman -Karolina -Scandal Savage -Alan Scott -Renee Montoya -Chromedome -Rewind -Cyclonus -Tailgate -Arcee -Greenlight -Aileron -Anode -Lug Maybe it's time to give them some time to shine and let the ususal 10 notorious characters that get cycled over and over rest for a bit.
Sometimes the youtube algorithm sucks, and sometimes it brings me to true gems like your channel. I will say, I'm not sure your right that Tabitha is actually going to try to take the throne for the hammerheads. I could also see them revealing that she's also gay, or is bi, pan or ace, and thinks the power that comes with the throne will protect her from harm by others, only for her to get what she wants, realize it doesn't actually change anything and leave. For all we know, Hammerhead society is extremely sexist, and marriage to King Shark (who's gone most of the time and doesn't want anything from her) was her best option for getting out.
In b4 someone says "You forgot to use the 'OMG ITS BEYONCE!' clip!"
Baby shark duduuh baby shark dududuh baby shark
Honestly my only problem is with KING SHARK is why couldn't they find a talented gay or bisexual polynesian actor to fill that roll. He's native to Hawaii after all and I would have loved to see him speak in the numerous languages such as.
Tahitian, Samoan, Tongan, Māori and obviously Hawaiian. And yes he wouldn't speak English at all at least not from the start, but there would be captions to help people understand what he's saying.
My vision for KING SHARK would be that he understands what people are saying but they don't understand anything he says, yet they can understand his emotions at times based on his body language and tone of his voice.
And KING SHARK only learns how to speak English do to him listening to those around him but his English wouldn't be fluent for he is still learning this new language.
But that's just what I would do if I was a writer for DC Comics.
Shoot I would ever change Aquaman completely. I would give him two separate looks, one would be his More human form when he's on land and the other would look like Abe Sapien from HellBoy or Kit Fisto from Star-Wars when he's in the water.
There are a lot of funny quotes from him
I loved when they run into Constantine at a bar and hes wearing a shirt that says "I tanked the shark" 😂 best call back ever
I really wonder who was top and who was bottom
@@hairlessgrizzly559 I feel like they're both switches
@@RaymonZX200 I can see that...
That came out wrong lol
I ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ q❤❤ as
No. No. "Disaster Bisexual" isn't enough. John Constantine is an Apocalypse Bisexual.
Correction, "Apocalypse Omnisexual" is the better term I believe.
an apollyon level bisexual
I have never been more proud to be Bi! I love these different names, they are beautiful and thank you!
How about tag?
I've literally read the entire Hellblazer series and I'm pissed that I never came up with this myself. Damn you!
I'm a big fan of King Shark and have done a lot of research into the character. One thing that's kind of wild is that that bit in Apokalips War was the first time Nanaue was ever implied as having been in any kind of romantic relationship. Unless you count him hiring a (female) prostitute in the Sword of Atlantis series, Constantine is his first canonical love interest of any gender.
Lmao, dude tried it once and went "eh, nah, maybe I'm gay"
King Shark is one of my personal favourites, especially in the Harley Quinn show.
I thought it made perfect sense for him to be gay 🤷🏼♀️
Also that “reveal” in Shazam Fury of the Gods was just simply adorable lol
King Shark is a bear. I will not elaborate.
No, I know what you mean. lol
imagine reading this out of context
i had to wait a year to comment because he's literally not because he literally cannot be
I'd argue otter, but that would likely send Nanaue into a blood lust.
I love your analysis videos because it validates my feelings that "Yes, this character/relationship is queer-coded". King Shark is my favorite character from the HQ show, he's so fun (without being nearly as camp as Clayface).
Can't say I'm a fan of this show, but I have seen bits of it.
One thing I do like is that in this version Clayface isn't suffering from all the ANGST that his 'condition' gives him in other settings.
he actually enjoys his new form, as it makes him the 'Ultimate Actor', and seems to have gained some control of it (able to maintain a single form for what maybe be weeks at a time, or indefinately). Wonder if his acceptance of it has anything to do with his increased control, something other Clayfaces have never done?
The crazy thing is HQ show's version of Clayface is the most powerful version of him due to this.
I'm not even sure he's evil/a villain, dude's just doing roles and chilling with his homies. Of all the chars in the show he's the least violent and hasnt killed a single person.
There was a joke in season two of Harley Quinn where they meet John Constantine, after they beat him in a drinking game he is shown wearing a “I jumped the Shark.” Shirt which I choose to read as an acknowledgment of his and King Shark’s relationship
Isn't jumping the shark a movie term/slang for improbable heroics, like Mary Sue is for any woman badly written
@@auricstormjumping the shock means doing something outrageous
@@auricstorm HE F×CKED A SHARK!! I don't know if that is Improbable Heroics but it sure is Bizarre
@@auricstorm it’s a term for doing something ridiculous and not having it pay off, the term occurred because of the Happy Days episode where Fonzi jumped sharks on skis
@@auricstorm - It's a term for an outrageous stunt that's so blatantly done for attention it's shameless.
My guy please keep doing what you are doing. My God i feel so seen watching you break things down. All to often I feel invisible being gay, black and a geek. Just hearing you tackle things makes me happy.
As a queer fan of comics and a huge fan of Ron Funches, I'm already in love with this video
It's funny how some people need 0 evidence to assume someone is straight and nothing less than a full on declaration to assume they're gay
Me and my dad who is heavily bigoted watched apocalypse war he missed the scene with Constantine and King Shark but at the end of the movie with Zantana and John kissing he went on a tangent about that’s is what god intended us to be and how that’s “normal” and I couldn’t stop laughing at him
We all know God wants us all to be with raven-haired near all powerful stage magicians.
@@Extinctanimals22 amen
@@Extinctanimals22 As the Lord intended…
LMAO THATS SO WEIRD OF HIM GOING OFF LIKE THAT OVER A HET COUPLE KISSING
@@RokkTheRockTHEY ARENT EVEN HET ONE OF THEM IS BI TOO LIKE BRO
King Shark is just the most precious shark babby at this point in his character development, and I'm here for it.
Doubting that King shark is queer is basically the same as doubting that King shark is a shark.
New R101 let's go!
Found family tropes are my favourite, especially when they're queer found families ❤
2:52 so I’m not too far I don’t think into the HBO show but there was a whole episode about him and marriage
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So king shark ran away from home and didn’t go to the ocean for a long time cuz he didn’t want to get married to the princess of a different clan and he initially turned down the betrothal and the princess didn’t want him either but in the end they get married solely for political reasons and they both agreed to live their own lives separately after just on the DL. If you’re taking a queer reading to it you can def see it as a lavender marriage or just your typical arranged marriage but a lot of media will turn arranged marriages into “and then they fell in love” but the show kept him with the “I don’t want to be with her at all, we’re only doing this to prevent war”
La'Ron mentioning the high level of monterf****s in the community made me feel more seen than I have in a long time 😌
Another stellar video! King Shark is probably my favorite main character on Harley Quinn, so happy S3 went so far into his kingdom/life the way it did. Perfect use of the character and Ron was an inspired choice
Honestly I'd love to see more of "The Weeper". The Brave and the Bold series introduced me to him, and pairing him up with Joker made a terrific Tragedy & Comedy analogy. Plus Tim Conway was terrific, sad he's no longer with us to continue him on.
Clock King (William Tockman version) needs more fleshing out. The most characterazation we've gotten is from the Harley Quinn show. With his relationship with the Riddler. He has a very dark backstory that never gets explored. He is taking care of his sick sister then gets misdiagnosed so thinking he is going to die he becomes a criminal to get enough money to make sure his sister doesn't end up in a home because he promised his (assumed dead) parents that. He then gets caught by Green Arrow and finds out that the doctors were wrong but he ends up dying in a home.
We don't know why he is in Gotham, fighting Batman or why he still commits crimes.
As far as the animated HQ series goes, I think that Tabitha *will* try to usurp King Shark from the throne...but when he uncovers her scheme, instead of challenging her, he just lets her have the kingdom and walks (swims?) away from it all. It would be the ultimate act of him finally overcoming his familial guilt. Of course, the Shark people are totally screwed with the Hammerheads taking over...but hey, the chaotic ending to their kingdom would fit in *perfectly* with the show's vibe -- chaos is what Harley Quinn is about, after all.
Y'know, if I had a nickel for everytime a Shark became a symbol of an LGBT subcommunity, I'd have two nickels, which isn't very much, but it's fun that it happened twice right?
I don't know (shame on me) if you've done this already, but Martian Manhunter is my favorite DC character since the old Justice League cartoon, and I think it would be interesting to look at them in terms of gender at the very least.
I think I remember an issue where their personality got split up in like five people?
In any case, you got me into the Harley Quinn show, so thanks 😁🍀
I always watch your videos twice. Once on Patreon and again on here to get the algorithm to push your channel more. Love your videos brother.
Great analysis. Since his introduction in S1, I thought there was a queer reading in King Shark, but after meeting his fam in S2, I def thought they were hinting King Shark was gay. Glad I'm not the only one.
Bane and King Shark are two of my favorite villains in DC comic/DC Universes
Dc villain that I’d love to see fleshed out: Demonia from the Omega Men.
Dc character who ought to be analyzed through a queer lense: Gar Logan. He gives off both nonbinary and bisexual vibes, especially in Teen Titans Go. I would love to see a queer analysis of Gar’s relationship to gender in the TTG episode “Chicken’s in the Cradle”.
EDIT: A few more references for a queer reading of Gar Logan:
* The New Teen Titans: Tales of the Teen Titans #55, where Gar dresses up as and pretends to be Starfire when no one is watching.
* The New Titans #98 pg19, where Dick Grayson says that Gar cares more about Cyborg than about girls. The New Titans #103 p10-11, where Gar ignores his designated love interest Terra II to focus on Cyborg. Tbh, the whole Terminus arc has BBCY vibes.
* The fact that Gar did not choose the title Beast Boy but did choose the title Changeling.
Terra was always this interesting friend that people read into a relationship with but I can see it just as friendship. Complicated by their American VAs being a couple in other shows. But Cyborg and Gar were above all else so if course he'd go to Cy before anyone else.
16:00 this is so validating thanks
I loved this video! The Harley Quinn animated series is so delightfully queer. King Shark is incredibly underrated in it. I know Clock King is canonically queer in the series, but I'd love if you would go over his coding in other media too (not only the comics, but I got major queer vibes from him in Arrow on the CW).
Clock King is definitely queer-coded in Batman the Brave and the Bold.
"OH MY GOD IT'S BEYONCE!"
The only things I know about King Shark going into this are that he is a shark and that he feels honored to fight alongside Captain Boomerang.
I may be cheating on my assignment, but I have a team that I want to see more fleshed out and given more respect - Shadowpact. When I first read a friend's copy of an omnibus of Infinite Crisis and all its tie-ins, I didn't expect to fall in love with this ragtag team of magic-based heroes, but not only did I fall HARD for them, but to this day, they are my go to answer for favorite superhero team. To me, it's essentially a crime that they (as a team) have not been seen, referenced or used at all since the series cancellation in 2008.
King Shark is one of my absolute favorites, and I love how he's evolved!
I was also wondering if you had plans for any Power Rangers content
King Shark>>>>Zatanna as John’s love interest. Zatanna x John has always had no chemistry & been so forced. Like white man x white lady in a team book being paired up…
so revolutionary/sarcasm
Lot of ppl try to argue that not liking the ZatJohn ship is biphobic but like frankly as a dc reader, it’s really notable how they end up trying to weaponize queer politics to push a m/f pairing instead of an m/m one. I’ve even had ppl try to argue Zatanna isn’t white cause of her bombshell AU where she’s roma/Jewish. Which esp pisses me off cause I am Jewish & it’s trying to VO-opt our identity to silence idea of John being with a man. Like they don’t actually care about her being diverse, they’re concerned with weaponizing a marginalized ethnoreligion to be homophobic
I’m really just so disappointed that they didn’t give him a male lover in the Harley Quinn animated series (at least at this point in time). Like, the series is fully queer and re-evaluates all of the Batman characters, so I just don’t understand why they couldn’t give him a male lover despite how queer coded he already is.
Everytime I hear something about Gail Simone, I just love her more and more! I've loved what I've read of hers, but I feel like I might need to just go snag up all of her work. Fantastic work here! One of my fave monster boyfriends
My friend Willow (shoutout Questing Refuge) recommended your channel (they also mentioned that you had some tweets supporting the striking writers which i wanna see more pop culture lefties do), this was the first video title I saw, I subscribed immediately.
When you showed Con I said "gay superboy!" as though Jon isn't the canonically bi one, what
That analysis of King Shark and his family is so good!!! I didn't even think about that but it makes so much sense. Especially because everyone in Gotham City seems to be neurodivergent and/or queer. Harley and Ivy definitely are. Speaking of- I went to the same college as Bruce Timm who created Harley Quinn, which makes a lot of sense knowing me
King Shark is a Shark
I think it would be really fun if DC gave us a look into whatever King Shark and Constantine had going on. Whichever form that takes. Whether in the comics or the Harley Quinn show. It'd just be great to see that whole situation unfold.
(Also, two of my favorite relatively unknown DC characters are Lonnie Machin / Anarky and Jark Ryder / The Creeper - an anti-villain and a hero respectively. But I do still believe they count, because seldom have I seen them be explored to their full potential since their initial appearances, and both have been screwed over since then. What with Lonnie being slandered as a murderer in most every DC character guide he appeared in and Jack being rebranded as a demon once and teaming up with villains since. Which really sucks, because I would love to see them utilized effectively, even if not necessarily in a queer reading kinda way. More in a leftist angle with Anarky and a positive view of mental health issues in Ryder's case. Both views would take me a couple essays to explain, but trust me when I say it would be so amazing!)
King Shark and Constantine were supposed to have been featured in a wholesome short story together in one of the DC Pride comics. Not sure why it didn't happen as it would've been the *perfect* venue to really start exploring their relationship.
I still find it crazy people say we are trying to make everything gay yet gay people have and will continue to exist threw out history at a certain you would think even they would realize there hypocrisy I hope further generation continue to have representation even if it's a shark king
Praying that season 4 of Harley Quinn delves into this topic, I can’t wait to start watching it now that new episodes are coming out!!!!
I'd like to see Catman fleshed out more. I heard he was queer but since I've never read him I don't really know.
This was a phenomenal video, you’ve got a new fan. Thank you so much for clueing me into the actual meaning of “Blood is thicker than water” it’s something I found myself recently pushing back against and the actual quote is so much more meaningful
This video was awesome! I love your content so much!!
0:56 Aww! I love this family.
Just a reminder: the argument that it's wrong to queer up a character just because there's no pre-existing indication of their queerness is fundamentally a bad faith argument foisted upon the community by bigots.
Long running fictional characters written illustrated and otherwise portrayed by a number of people over a period of time inherently demand adaptation, don't let bigots drag you down the wrong path trying to justify queer character's existence (and by implication your existence) by some misguided appeal to precedent.
Not always, I, as someone who writes and enjoys including diverse race and sexuality choices to my cast also hate character inconsistency.
The issue is that they will take character in a pre-established and ongoing series, and complete change them or retcon previous actions of the character in said storyline and universe, just because. Iceman. Fucking Iceman. Go the midnighter route, and make a character sexuality become something to harp on if they don't have pre-established sexualities that are written out in logic defying ways. Or just make them closeted in a way that makes sense. I'll never understand how character randomly come out as 100% gay and have done it with dozens of women with no issues or questions, you've gotta be bi or have the strongest imagination at that point.
@@B3A5TorSomething - Ehh...there are *plenty* of people IRL who have experienced multiple straight relationships before coming out as gay.
@@opo3628 yes but Iceman has had no prior indication or build up in any matter and was suddenly told he was gay. He was literally told he was gay and just went, "oh, really? Alright, I guess." That's not how that works. I'm sure those same people you've mentioned have been called gay before haven't just instantly decided, "yeah, makes sense." That's like if you took some gay and told them they were straight and you can be tell, and they just went, "oh my god, you're right!"
@@opo3628 also,.it's a story, narratively if something happens with no indication, clue or build up, most people won't like it. That's why you're reading a book, you want to be engaged and having something come out of nowhere with no logic or preparation and permanently change a characters dynamics and personality would not go well for most. The only time that usually ever works is with tragedy, and even then some ability to see it coming would make it hit harder.
“Naturally effeminate or deeply Southern.” 😂
Scarecrow definitely gives me bi vibes. Just like his scythe, he swings both ways, violently.
Shots fired on the nostalgia things 😂
17:05 “or are deeply southern” 😂
Love this breakdown, fantastic as always
I'd love to see an attempt to bring Eraser back into the modern day. The idea of a forensics expert that works for criminals to remove evidence from the crime scenes is such a unique concept and I feel like it would really put Batman's title as the world's greatest detective to the test.
Another banger La'ron. Id love to see a resurgence for black spider after the meta casting and writing he started with young justice
Love the bendis shade i cackled. Like i missed 90s kon but bendis just wasnt the writer for him or tbh any character lol
Yeah...
Kon have been done so dirty by him. I still can't get over the groom!ng he went through being played straight.
Good evening everyone, hope y’all are doing well :)
EXCELLENT VIDEO La’Ron!
I would love to see The Shade explored cause him and Giganta… I didn’t see it 🤷🏾♂️
I've seen pics of Constantine making out with the devil in a public men's room though I lack the full story behind this. But I really love the idea behind it. If nothing else, pairing Constantine the disaster bisexual with the freaking Devil is so much more interesting than his heteronormative relationship with Zatana. I'd love to know more about this relationship, and I hope it's something that's still on-going instead of a one-off gag.
This video helped me relate a lot to King Shark. And Harley Quinn and The Suicide Squad is what made me fall in love with King Shark.
I have that Superboy number with King Shark!
Just discovered your channel, and I really love what you've got to say! Subbed!
A D-List DC Supervillain I would love to see get expanded upon is… Snowflame. If you don’t know who he is look him up. And also from what I’ve seen he gives bi/pan vibes.
I love this! keep going strong friend!
I never thought of King Shark being queer but I'm myself an ace but kinda lean into queer because of gender fluidity lol. But with your analysis makes sense. I love the Harley Quinn version of King Shark, but then again I love Ron Funches voice work.
Hell yesss. Also related to sharks in animation, I’m pretty sure Street Sharks made me gay
Hammer tine arrrrrr
Also one of the most memoraple turtle tries and really with it own very skater bro identity XD but fun. Ther really should be a mobile game at least :P
One of them was even voiced by Andrew Rannels
I would love to see a video on the LGBT elements of the doom patrol overall Comics and TV show! One of my favorite teams of all time i honesty adore every run starting at Grant Morrison to current day, though to be honest I've never read anything before Morrison.
Speaking as Queer man who is a monster fucker, I found it interesting to hear that the queer people relate monsters. As while I absolutely love monsters and the violence they bring, I never felt like I related to them. Representation has always been a ‘huh” thing to me, as I have never really felt related too in the media I watched, and it wasn’t until I started listening to video essays that I learned its something that people desired in media. I didn’t think people could actually see themselves in media so its very interesting to hear people talk about what they relate too.
speaking of conner kent... i'd love a look at young justice 98 and how queer they all were (tim is even out now!!)
Wait wait wait wait why am I JUST hearing that Shazam 2 had a coming out scene?!
@11:00 are these the same people that complain that Jaime Reyes isn't Ted Corbin even though they are pretty much different characters all together?
Bendis call outs will always be delightful ^_^
I wish Killer Croc could be more fleshed out, right now he is just a punching bag to be thrown at the heroes
I love this video but I'm high af, and at 9:35 He said Disney instead of DC. I had to rewind like 5 times cause I couldn't stop laughing.
Enjoying this video so much I liked and subscribed. That furry and MF line had me rolling 😂
Man, can't believe how I didn't recognize that. He was just cool caring bro to me. Still fits tho.
I was not surprised by king shark hooking up with constaintine because I heard a while back that constaintine was Bi, I heard that he even had a poly relationship at one point.
I wish they would have given King Shark so much more in season 4 😵
OK but we're forgetting the single most important part of King Shark's queer journey: his obsession with The Baby-Sitters Club. (Kidding. Mostly.)
I really liked Bombshell from Batman Beyond/The Zeta Project. The Brain Trust in general seemed like they had a lot of potential as villains but we only get to see them twice! Two and half times if you want to count the leader appearing as a child in an episode of JLU.
I've never seen the justice league dark movie bit that king shark line cracked me up
I would love to see the Superman villain, Riot, get reimagined, maybe as a sometime partner or henchman of Anarky.
I'm just salty they aged up John and made him bi when Kon was _right_ there in all his old 90s glory. Nobody who read those old comics would have been surprised, and even if Justice League fans threw a fit (and a few would), it wouldn't have had as big a blow-out as the John Kent nonsense has been.
18:04 So going the full Audrey 2? Or is that level of flamboyant more of a modern Dandy coding?
All hail king shark
No joke, I just like your breakdowns of things.
I love the King Shark x Costantine ship so much! i love fics that fuse the Dark Version personality with the Harley series one.
I don't agree with your take about race/genderbending, but I fully agree on respecting when OC are successful.
Sometimes, the demographic of a character sometimes is important and the twist is made more for shock-baiting, rather than inclusion or are straight out done in a dumb way.
Ariel being chief example: the '800s Europe was still extremely racist and making a POC princess in said setting just doesn't work HOWEVER, if they were to pull a Tiana on us, changing the general setting (let's say Jamaica in the 1960s) it would genuinely being interesting.
OCs... OCs are fully in the hand of the creators and that's it.
Take HelluvaBoss and those saying that Blitz(o) corrupted Stolas, when the show makes very obvious that this is not the case.
More representation is a MUST! We live in 2023 and having, what, 90% of media characters being cis heterosexual caucasics is moronic AT BEST, but raceswapping or genderswapping is not the way as it will only fuel controversy.
King Shark is actually great in this regard: they took a barely ever used character and elaborated the sides of him that were never explored, and nobody should tell you that he is CIS simply because... it was never said nor implied.
After he became prominent we've seen him being attracted by men (Constantine), women (Killer Frost) and we even have various jokes about fishes, before that? ZERO! King Shark is part of the LGBTQ+ community and there can be no counter argument.
Comic books are full of underused characters belonging to demographics considered "minorities":
-Northstar
-Photon
-Wiccan
-Hulkling
-Mystique
-Destiny
-Batwoman
-Karolina
-Scandal Savage
-Alan Scott
-Renee Montoya
-Chromedome
-Rewind
-Cyclonus
-Tailgate
-Arcee
-Greenlight
-Aileron
-Anode
-Lug
Maybe it's time to give them some time to shine and let the ususal 10 notorious characters that get cycled over and over rest for a bit.
king shark respect hell yeah!
I want more Ratcatcher 2
30:51 Zeta from The Zeta Project fr fr
Are you planning on doing a video about Total Drama Island 2023? It's pretty good~!
_finds out La'Ron has another channel_
*_BREAKS SUBSCRIBE BUTTON_*
I think king shark in the cw Flash series was voiced by David Hayter aka Solid Snake
Sometimes the youtube algorithm sucks, and sometimes it brings me to true gems like your channel.
I will say, I'm not sure your right that Tabitha is actually going to try to take the throne for the hammerheads. I could also see them revealing that she's also gay, or is bi, pan or ace, and thinks the power that comes with the throne will protect her from harm by others, only for her to get what she wants, realize it doesn't actually change anything and leave. For all we know, Hammerhead society is extremely sexist, and marriage to King Shark (who's gone most of the time and doesn't want anything from her) was her best option for getting out.
18:43 wait so I wasn’t crazy in thinking if he were human he’d be black??
I get the feeling that if HQ ever did end up doing something with him like that he'd end up being bi
King shark is a shark 💅🏻✨
Ecplore martian manhunter
And i guess calendarman or music meister, clock king?
I'm actually curious to hear what La'Ron has to say about Clayface now.
All i want to know.
How the fuck was the hammerhead smoking underwater. Fucking how.