So was going through the collection this past 4th of July holiday weekend, when I stumbled across a copy of 2006 Teen Titans annual No. 1. Now I am not a regular Titans reader, and was trying to figure out why this issue was in my long box, (Most likely picked it up due to Infinite Crisis Crossover- tie in) and as I was flipping through it to refresh my memory on the plot, I was kind of shocked to see some sultry panels with Superboy (Conner) and Wonder Girl (Cassie) getting it on in the Kent family barn. Now I am not a prude and am fully aware of the Sex motif popular in comics, (Thanks Adam Hughes and Mike Turner.) with the super gals running around in short skirts, body suits,and fish net stalkings. But this seemed a little much for even a modern day DC comic. If not for the carefully placed shadow in the Barn we’d see Cassie’s top asset’s. But at least they had our Wonder Girl wearing pants along with Conner’s shirt the morning after, all be it a low cut shirt. The really funny thing about this issue is when Ma and Pa Kent, discover the two lovers the morning after with the whole awkward breakfast scene taking place.
I guess what throws me off about this issue is that our current Superboy was portrayed vastly different from our original Superman, boy scout Kansans farm boy, Smallville Clark Kent. But I guess with Conner we are being more realistic with teens doing what teens do, when not fighting crime and the scourge of evil. Overall an odd funny issue. But maybe DC could have taken advantage of the issue to help promote or educate safe sex for our young readers. Or maybe Sex just sells.
Sex absolutely sells. To me, comic books are timeless, and they capture the essence of the world around them. May seem a bit deep for little book with drawings in it, but it's the truth. You can see the change in our culture, through comic books, as the years go by. Think of the old female characters. The art, the costumes, etc. The world was a very different place then, and you certainly wouldn't see fire star or jean grey in a thong or some racy sex scene. It just wasn't acceptable back then.
The question I have now, is when did it cross that line? When did it become ok to use sex to sell comic books? That's a deeper question than we probably need to get into here. It's more a look at our society, and what we've grown into. The comic book industry just did what it should, and follow suit to sell comics. I'm ok with that, and most everyone else is too.
As the first comment mentioned, sex does sell. Whenever I read something with a sex scene I only hope that DC comics doesn't believe we're all sad, lonely, hormonal teenage boys living in our parents basement and thus they need to fill comics with sex just so they'll sell.
I agree, sometimes writers do take it too far, but not in this case. If you think this is raunchy then you should [or shouldn't considering your post] check out the New 52, Catwoman where she mounts Batman in a hotel room in the first issue. [Whatever happened to the cat and flying mouse game, the flirting and the suggestive nature of the couple?! Lost to the ages I guess.]
This example of Conner and Cass I have no problem with, I thought it was sweet and romantic in a way, they got caught up in the moment but not in some rampant carnal 'I must have you now' fashion. They were in love so they made love. So compared to more recent comics in my mind this is no way too much.
Can I ask why should DC comics be responsible for promoting safe sex? They never claim to bring that message [although there is the occasional discarded condom wrapper in some scenes]. Perhaps in the early days [and occasionally now] there was a far more 'pro peace', 'believe in yourself and you can do anything', 'fight for your country' theme but now it's all about action. I believe their giving the masses what they want. We've evolved and there's no going back. I don't like that argument about contraception awareness whatsoever. It's a cliché, no less true now than when it was first used but it feels weak, like a desperate attempt to find more fault.
And I'm also pleased Conner isn't the same as Clark, he may be Superman's clone but they are in no way the same person on a whole. That's wonderful. Do we really need another boy scout? When I compare Superman and Superboy I think about the Robin's, none of them were exactly the same and the writers knew that the second they brought in Jason Todd to take Dick Grayson's place. Batman needed fresh blood in his duo, so do we as readers.