Warning: spoilers for Wonder Woman #777!
Mainstream comics are far from perfect in how they practice inclusivity, but DC has followed its Pride-inspired output highlighting its LGBTQ+ relationships and heroes with continued engagement with queer issues, recently revealing that beloved Robin Tim Drake is bisexual and now, in Wonder Woman #777, eschewing assumptions of binary gender as Diana and supernatural hero Deadman find themselves on Earth-11, where they team-up with the Justice Guild.
Wonder Woman has been on quite the adventure lately. Arriving in the Sphere of the Gods after her apparent death, she rescued the Norse gods from their dwindling cycle of resurrection, saved her fellow Olympians from eternal torment, and chased her villainous doppelganger across the dangerous realms of myth. Now, as she tracks the evil, rogue, Roman god, Janus, in an attempt to stop her from destroying the whole of reality, Diana finds herself in another unexpected arena.
When Diana finds herself on Earth-11, a world in which the Justice League and all of Earth's heroes' genders are "swapped," it's not long before things are said in regards to both gender dynamics and gender as a whole. It's obvious that the creative team behind 'Afterworlds - Part 8' (Michael W. Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Emanuela Lupacchino, Wade Von Grawbadger, Jordie Bellaire, and Pat Brosseau) took the opportunity of putting Wonder Woman in this alternate reality as a way for her to face her male counterpart Wonder Man in an epic fight, make readers believe she might finally be back in her home reality, and offer some commentary on the idea of a gender-swapped Justice League. While Wonder Man spews his own theories on gender, it's Deadman who questions the core assumption of Earth-11 - when Superwoman says, "I take it you're from the same dimension as this female Wonder Man. That would make you Deadman, I suppose," deceased hero Boston Brand replies, "Yeah, but I think we both know binary gender is just a construct."
The simplicity and matter-of-fact delivery of his comment is perfect and seamless, plus having this come from Deadman is especially fitting considering his powers allow him to possess any living being, regardless of gender. It's also worth noting that Boston Brand is privy to many, if not most, of DC's spiritual realms, working as the agent of the god Rama Kushna, and so his observations about the nature of being carry even more authority than a more mundane hero might be able to offer in his place.
It's exciting to see this kind of vocalization coming from such a big name in the industry, and in such a well-established comic. The writers behind this issue even took it upon themselves to additionally call out outdated rhetoric regarding gender stereotypes. Pair these progressive conversations with what DC has been doing lately to bolster its LGBTQ+ and minority characters through miniseries, special cover art, and more, and readers get stories that finally start to represent a wider portion of comics' ever-growing fan base. Hopefully the messages in Wonder Woman #777 are just one step among many more in DC and its creators' commitment to inclusivity and representation.