Batman's Penis Censorship Controversy

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Overview

Batman's Penis Censorship Controversy refers to the public reaction to publication of a panel in the comic book Batman: Damned in which the penis of comic book superhero Batman is visible. Following the release of the book, DC Comics, the publisher of the comic, announced that the penis would be removed from subsequent pressings.

Background

On September 19th, 2018, issue #1 of the comic book Batman: Damned was published by DC Comics. Within the comic, several panels featured the character Batman stripping off his clothes and revealing his penis (censored image below).^[1]

Developments

Online Reaction

On September 19th, Tumblr ^[2] user kaybutts posted, "they just. straight up showed batmans dick in a recent comic. uncensored." The post received more than 115,000 notes in two days (shown below).

The following day, Redditor ^[3] thisisforreddit posted kaybutts's comment and used an "_Arrested Development":/memes/subcultures/arrested-development I Don't Know What I Expected meme as the punchline. Within 24 hours, the post received more than 390 points (98% upvoted) and 20 comments (shown below, left).

Twitter user @CharlotteBeyond tweeted, "Who called it "Batman's penis" and not Lil' Wayne." The tweet received more than 1,500 retweets and 4,400 likes in two days (shown below, right).^[4]

Media Reaction

On September 19th, Seth Meyers joked about the comic book on Late Night with Seth Meyers. The following day, the clip was uploaded to YouTube. Within two days, the post received more than 315,000 views (shown below).

DC's Retraction

On September 20th, DC Entertainment announced that they would be censoring the panels in all future prints of the comic book.^[5]

According to IGN, "DC chose to alter the art because it wasn't additive to the story. The first print run currently on sale in shops still features the unaltered art, but all future printings of Batman: Damned will reflect the altered artwork, the source also said."^[6]

Following the announcement, people online expressed their disappointment over the decision to censor Batman's penis. Twitter^[7] user @BrunoMaltus tweeted, "The dark knight will never rise again 😢" (shown below).