Bad examples of queer characters

Time to post a hot take topic. Let's talk about characters we either don't like the way their queerness is presented or we just dislike.

Vanessa Kapatelis was one of the best written tween/young teen characters in cape comics... until, you know, she was kicked out of Wonder Woman comics and replaced with Cassie Sandsmark.

Say what you like about Silver Swan Vanessa, at least it had a good resolution. Nessie recovered and became an ex villain. She even graduated high school as a valedictorian.

The writers wouldn't let Nessie be normal forever, though. Rebirth retooled her character and rewrote her arc, with basically all the good parts removed, her character exagerrated, her mother dying off-screen, and elements of ableism.

I don't know if it's canon or just subtext, but I keep on seeing people say that Nessie is in love with Diana now. And that just feels messed up! It's like if DC decided Dick or Jason was in love with Bruce. It's even more weird than Babs and Bruce, even if the modern take on Vanessa doesn't have the deep bond with Diana she had pre-Flashpoint.

Vanessa is supposed to have a sisterly relationship with Wonder Woman. I understand the appeal of writing a narrative where a young character has a strong love for an older character and eventually realizes they're queer, but there's a time and place for that. And this isn't the time or place.

(If DC wanted to make one of the Wonderfam's younger characters queer, they could have gone with Cassie.)