How Batman's Controversial Full-Frontal Nudity Changed DC Comics

DC Comics went into damage control mode as soon as the nudity in “Batman: Damned” made international headlines, including being referenced in an episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” DC quickly decided to alter future printings of “Batman: Damned” #1 while retroactively censoring the issue’s digital release. Jim Lee spoke with Polygon at the 2018 New York Comic Con and said the nudity was published due to production errors, adding, “It’s made us, certainly, look at what Black Label is and think about whether these elements are additive to the story. And that’s something that we’ll be mindful of going forward, because I don’t think we want necessarily a repeat of what happened with the first issue.” The second issue of “Batman: Damned” was delayed while artist Lee Bermejo redrew several pages to avoid more controversy.

In the same interview, DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio admitted he regrets the nudity made it into the final product, adding it wasn’t the intended first impression he hoped the Black Label line would make. “It’s something we wished never happened,” DiDio told Polygon, “because it really took the attention away from what we thought was quality storytelling, and that’s not the way we see this imprint.” 

Around the same time, DC Comics also axed the religious satire series “Second Coming” (by Mark Russell and Richard Pace) to avoid further controversy. The series follows Jesus Christ becoming roommates with Earth’s strongest hero and was canceled by DC to avoid making headlines again after receiving early backlash from religious groups, including a petition signed by nearly 140,000 people. The series, which was intended to be part of the now-defunct Vertigo imprint, eventually found a home at Ahoy Comics.