DC Comics teases new ‘trans man’ superhero ‘Circuit Breaker’

DC Comics recently revealed a new transgender superhero, whose own comic book series will debut this Valentine’s Day.

DC Comic editor Andrea Shea seemed confident that the new hero would be a new “favorite” among DC comic book fans.

Queer sci-fi writer and artist A.J. Kaplan teased the new hero in a tweet in January, ahead of the February publish date for volume one of “Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate.” 

Named “Circuit Breaker,” the new superhero can channel the “Still Force,” which is best described as an opposite power to the “Speed Force” that legacy DC superhero “The Flash” channels for his heroics.

Notably, Circuit Breaker’s secret identity is Jules Jourdain, who is described in Bounding Into Comics as trans-non-binary and goes by “he/they” pronouns. 

In his teaser tweet, Kaplan wrote, “Meet Jules Jourdain (he/they, aka Circuit Breaker). ‘Can a new hero channel the inexorable Still Force energy to fend off evil?’ – Debuting in DC’s Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate #1, out on Valentine’s Day.”

In response to someone commenting on Circuit Breaker’s gender identity, Kaplan affirmed, “Yeah! Trans, but not super into the binary.”

Adding to the excitement, DC editor Andrea Shea tweeted about the latest woke addition to the pantheon of DC Comics superheroes. Predicting people would love this transgender addition to the world of Batman and Superman, Shea exclaimed, “CIRCUIT BREAKER is gonna be your new favorite character!”

She gave a shoutout to this creation by Kaplan, adding, “@alkcomics breathes life into Jule[s] Jourdain’s first adventure this February, in which our new hero is blessed (or cursed?) with the dreaded Still Force during LAZARUS PLANET: DARK FATE. Don’t miss his debut 2/14!”

Continuing to heap praises on this trans character, its artist, and the creative process that led to Circuit Breaker’s conception, Shea tweeted, “Working with @alkcomics as he developed this amazing new character and we planned the road ahead has been a non-stop joy ride.”

The official synopsis for the comic made no mention of this inclusivity milestone, merely opting to outline the central struggle its heroes will face.

It stated, “NEW THREATS WILL RISE! When the Lazarus storm touches down, people from every walk of life stand to be affected. People who are kind, people who are good…and people who are evil. This epic issue will spotlight the…disastrous new villains created by the Lazarus event and the heroes who stand ready to stop them from doing harm…”

Circuit Breaker is only the latest in DC Comic’s push for the progressive subject matter. 

Last month the comic book series featured a story arc in a Joker-centric comic book that involved the villainous male clown becoming pregnant and giving birth to his own son. Critics claimed the company was introducing a trans theme into its product.

And in 2021 DC Comics announced that Superman’s son was bisexual and in a relationship with a young man in a new comic book series centered on him taking up his father’s heroic mantle.