DC Comics is set to introduce its first major non-binary superhero next month. Though the Suicide Squad already counts non-binary antihero The Aerie among its members, this upcoming character will go on to take on one of the most notable mantles in the DC pantheon.
Debuting in next month’s festive-themed anthology DC’s Very Merry Multiverse is Jess Chambers AKA Kid Quick, an alternate version of the Flash. Chambers, who uses they/them pronouns and has the current-day Jesse Quick for an aunt, will be introduced in an eight-page story following the Teen Justice team of Earth-11, where the Justice League are youthful, gender-flipped versions of the usual DC icons. Kid Quick was created by Ivan Cohen and Eleonora Carlini, along with the rest of Teen Justice, including Aquagirl (Jacqui Hyde), Supergirl (Laurel Kent) and Robin (Talia Kane).
After their debut in December, Kid Quick will then become the Flash in 2021’s Future State: Justice League, as part of the company-wide Future State event that’ll see many new characters taking over from traditional heroes, such as John Ridley’s African-American Batman.
Cohen explained to ScreenRant that Kid Quick was initially intended to be a one-off character before DC started getting excited about their potential, saying:
“I suggested that Kid Quick could be Earth-11’s first genderfluid character, and once editors saw Eleonora Carlini’s terrific take on the character design, there was suddenly a lot of interest in them for stories beyond the Merry Multiverse special in December.”
Both Marvel and DC haven’t made much progress in creating trans and non-binary characters up to this point, so the introduction of Kid Quick, and especially their impending upgrade to the Flash mantle, is a positive sign. If they catch on, we could even be seeing them on screen – maybe in the Arrowverse or the DCEU – in the near future.
Don’t miss DC’s Very Merry Multiverse when it hits stores on December 6th.