(Editor’s note: In the months to come, proprietor Dean Compton and I hope to share with you the thoughts on an increasingly diverse array of comics from even more fellow lovers of that most Unspoken of Decades! If you would like to be one of them, head on over to The Unspoken Decade’s Facebook page and send us a message! In the meantime, enjoy this look at DC’s Coagula from new contributor Lee! – ES)
Hi, Legions of the Unspoken! You can call me Morbius95 (aka Lee). That’s all you get for now! As you will probably be able to tell, this is my first time writing on a professional level. I decided I wanted to write because I have a voice that can possibly help someone through my writing. (Plus it’s fun!) I was born in the 90’s, so I guess that makes me a perfect fit to write about this unspoken decade! My first tastes of comics came in 2003 when I acquired The Demon #22 for my 8th birthday from a cousin of mine. I have been in love with comics ever since, with a special fondness for the 90’s despite not collecting till the 2000’s. Doom Patrol became one of my all-time favorite groups when I first acquired, you guessed it, Doom Patrol #70. I became infatuated with these outcasts because I felt like one my self.
Kate Godwin (aka Coagula) made her debut in that issue of Doom Patrol, published in September of 1993, and quickly made an impression as one of the first ever transgender characters in DC comics history. Created and written by the amazing Rachel Pollack and penciled by Scot Eaton, Coagula’s appearance stood out in a landscape where LGBT issues in comics had been limited to very few events, such as Marvel’s Northstar coming out in Alpha Flight #106 (1992) and DC’s Pied Piper coming out in The Flash #53 (1991). Appearances from transgender characters were practically nonexistent in the Big Two –that was until Coagula showed up.
To start off in Doom Patrol #70 we meet a man not named yet who has a troubled psyche about his, ahem, small genitalia and how he hates others because of his problems, especially, shockingly, women. This guy gets rejected repeatedly, and every time this happens he believes it’s because of his size. So after some pity over his life he decides, he has had enough and decides to get back at society by making a gigantic codpiece to make up for his lack of size. (Yes, that is his name too. Really.)
We first meet our super-heroine picking out a mask for her friend Jean’s birthday party, a fairly realistic looking frog mask. They leave the scene and head to a bar, where we learn about her powers, which are she can coagulate liquids and dissolve solids. We find out that while working as a prostitute she gained her powers from sexual contact with Rebis, a radioactive hermaphrodite formed by the original Negative Man Larry Trainor and Dr. Elanor Poole, who are forced to merge by and with the Negative Spirit that had left and then returned to Trainor.
Next we find Kate in a bar showing off her powers for her friend. She also discusses trying out for the Justice League, who liked her powers but didn’t like the way she was. At first we think she’s about to give up, but boy are we wrong.
Codpiece is seen walking up to a bank, which he proceeds to blow away part of with his, well, codpiece. He then drills a hole in to one of the vaults with the piece, which is basically like a Swiss Army knife with all its attachments. The police try to stop him, but that goes as well as you would expect, and Codpiece knocks one out with a boxing glove from, well, you know where by now.
I haven’t said much on who else is in this story mostly because I wanted you guys to know how great Coagula is, but yes, there are others in this story as well. Like the couple that come to help the cops take on big old Coddy, George and Marion of the Doom Patrol! Earlier in the story they decide to get out of DP HQ and go out on the town to have some fun. They invite Cliff (aka Robot Man), but he refuses. (We’ll discuss that at a later date.) They encounter Coddy as he unleashes bombs from his piece and conks two officers out cold with some technical prowess. They throw everything they can at him but to absolutely no avail. He stops them at every corner, and when all seems dark for our heroes someone takes notice of the scene, and that someone is…Coagula! Kate had an official costume at one point but got rid of it because she didn’t think heroing was her calling. Then she remembers the green frog mask from earlier and puts it on.
Immediately you can tell he is distracted by this seemingly normal woman who’s just wearing some costume mask, but boy is he in for a huge surprise, folks.
After is all said and done, George and Marion are very impressed with the abilities Coagula showed off, so much so that they offer her a spot on the Doom Patrol. She accepts their offer to go with them, thus turning into one of my personal favorites of the Doom Patrol. This was ground breaking for the time to see a transsexual lesbian in a comic. (She later turns out to be bisexual, dating Cliff Steele.) When I first read it, it honestly blew my mind, especially for the decade it came from.
I just wanted to thank Dean for giving me this opportunity to write something I’m very passionate about and hope to write more in the future. The reason I’m passionate about LGBT issues is because I myself am bisexual and genuinely care for my community. I had problems as a child thinking something was wrong with me, and these comics helped me through some tough stuff in my life. Thanks for letting this manic depressive have a shot where most wouldn’t give me one.
It began with the ending. That’s the way I remember it. Superman, the symbol for truth, justice, and the American way was gone, beaten to death by the creature known only as Doomsday. As comic fans surrounding the globe mourned the passing of DC’s iconic superhero, they couldn’t help wondering, “Is this it?” and “Who will fill his big, red boots?” Well, as it turns out, we wouldn’t have to wait long! 
We will begin with The Man of Tomorrow. This Superman resembled a type of cybernetic Kryptonian with a very familiar costume and powers. He acted very much like the Superman we had known but exhibited lapses in his memory. He did remember Doomsday though and the first thing he did was to chain the creature to an asteroid in the furthest reaches of space. This Superman starred in “Superman,” which was written and drawn by Dan Jurgens.
The second, the Last Son of Krypton, looked exactly like Superman but with very different powers. This being had the ability to produce blasts from his hands of pure solar energy. He wore sunglasses to protect his sensitive eyes from intense light but, more importantly, he wore black like an executioner. He also dealt out punishments to criminals as such. This Superman starred in “Action Comics,” which was written by Roger Stern with artwork by Jackson Guice.
Lastly
Now that the stage was set, and the players were all present, it was time for the story to commence and for fans to wonder, “Who is the real Superman?” Starting with the Man of Steel, this character was a true hero! Take one half Iron Man and one half John Henry from folklore, and you get the amazing John Henry Irons. Irons, once saved from a fatal fall by Superman, promised to make his life count for something. When Superman fell in battle, and a new weapon nicknamed the “Toastmaster,” (Who named this thing?!) was beginning to kill people in John’s neighborhood, he created a high-tech suit of armor with a familiar design on the chest to take the fight to the gangs and honor his hero’s legacy. It turned out that Irons had created the weapon long ago for the military and felt responsible. Though he was later proven to not, in fact, be Superman reincarnated, Steel remained a hero long after the “Reign of the Supermen” and even joined the Justice League for awhile.
The Metropolis Kid, though obviously only a young clone of Superman spliced with unknown human DNA, stated for anyone to that would listen, that he was the only true Superman. He even went so far as to legally obtain the rights to the name! When this “Superman” wasn’t trying to pick up women, or grandstanding for crowds, he actually did some good for Metropolis. After the “Reign of the Supermen” Superman, with permission from the nameless youth, rightfully reclaimed his name and dubbed him Superboy. Though reluctant, Kon-El, as he was later named, accepted the moniker. Later, Superboy remained a hero even after dealing with the fact that the human DNA used to create him, was Lex Luthor’s!
Next would be the Last Son of Krypton. (My personal favorite!) Have you ever wondered what it would be like if the Punisher and Superman had a secret love child? That would be our boy! This being was later found out to be the (once thought destroyed) Kryptonian computer called the Eradicator in energy form plus dead tissue from the corpse of Superman. This Superman was actually thought to be deceased at the end of the “Reign” storyline, but, as we all know, energy cannot be destroyed, only changed. The Eradicator would surface many times throughout the years. Never with the same look, but always with the same “anti-hero” attitude.
Finally, what about that Cyborg Superman? He was really the real deal, right? You, and apparently, then President, Bill Clinton, couldn’t be more wrong! This creature was actually once a man named Hank Henshaw. Henshaw, a madman with the limited ability to absorb the properties of whatever or who ever touched him, had a real hatred for Superman. So much that, after absorbing Kryptonian DNA and technology while in space, seemingly masqueraded as his enemy only out of pure spite! This genocidal maniac, with help from the villainous Mongul, destroyed the then Green Lantern Hal Jordan’s hometown, Coast City, to build a giant “Engine City” in its place! His next stop would have been Metropolis had it not been for the intervention of the above mentioned “Supermen” and…..Superman himself?!
