by Jason Inman
The labeling even extends past your time in the service. Once I was honorably discharged, the moment someone found out I had been in the Army, it became the subject of every question. Their brain couldn’t comprehend how a man like me could star in the musical Chicago and be a war veteran. (I was a theatre/film major in college, and I’ll have you know my performance as Amos Hart was praised immensely.) These two aspects of my life strike people as antithetical, and yet they are parts of who I am. Very much like Kate Kane, people are infinitely complicated and defy categorization.
As an Army soldier, Kate has the drive to maintain her integrity. “To do what’s right, legally, and morally,” as stated by the code of Army values. It’s a value she learned from her mother. In Detective Comics #858, in December 2009, readers are introduced to the origin of Batwoman. In a plain white house that sat snugly within the confines of an Army base, Kate and Beth Kane, twin sisters, were fighting with their mother over dinner. Their mother, Gabrielle, and her husband, Jacob, were both soldiers. Unfortunately, her husband was currently deployed, leaving the matron of the family to deal with the two red-headed hellions. The girls had been trading places in class, tricking teachers and taking advantage of the fact that instructors couldn’t tell them apart. (This scheme sounds like the dream of every school-age child who hates math.) Their mother made them stand up and accept punishment for their actions. She ordered both girls to apologize to the teacher they’d tricked. She told them, “That’s integrity, and it is the foundation of honor.” This is something Gabrielle and her husband believed strongly in. This moment would seal the importance of integrity in all aspects of Kate’s life going forward.
Kate’s origin is completely wrapped up in the normality of being an Army brat. Several years later, when she and her sister spotted a moving truck outside their house, they knew for certain they would have to move. They hated it because they didn’t want to leave their friends behind. However, this is a very normal part of being the child of a service member. You are constantly moving. Forced to deal with new situations, new people, new locations, and sometimes new tragedies.
If you’ve never picked the brain of an “Army brat,” then you really should. It will expose what you take for granted from your childhood. Tell them you’ve had the same best friend for your entire life. They will reveal the legion of friends they have across the continent picked up as a result of their parent being constantly relocated for postings and missions. Tell them you only lived in one house growing up. They will counter that they were never in one place for more than two years. This is the most shocking normality for me, as my wife, who was also an Army brat, revealed that she has lived in Los Angeles longer than she’s lived in any other location. For myself, I still need another decade to beat my childhood record.
Following the theme of military relocation, the Kane family moved to Brussels, Belgium. Her father took a new job working for NATO, and not long after she had settled into her new routine, the worst day of Kate Kane’s life occurred. On a trip to get chocolate and waffles, the Kane family car was smashed into a wall by a cargo van. The driver of the van was killed. Kate and Beth’s mother was knocked unconscious. The girls were lucky their father was away on business, or else he would have been taken as well. The Kane twins were forcibly removed from the car, only to have hoods shoved over their heads. Kate awakened to discover her father, Jacob, in the process of removing her hood. He was dressed in full battle rattle: Kevlar helmet, flak jacket, with an M16 around his body. He took her hand and softly told her, “Keep your eyes on me, honey.” On their way out, Kate briefly saw two dead bodies: her mother and her twin sister had both been killed.
She pushed her grief deep, deep down and used the loss to push herself to be the best. Kate further pushed herself to serve in the US military just like her parents. She blazed through the military academy, becoming one of the top cadets in her class. On the day she was called to Colonel Reyes’ office, everything changed. The colonel stated that an allegation regarding her conduct had been levied against her, a violation of Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. (Article 125 makes it a criminal offense to “engage in unnatural carnal copulation” with “another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal.” It is technically still in effect.) The colonel pleaded with Kate. He told her to say it was all a misunderstanding, so he could sweep the entire incident under the rug. Colonel Reyes knew she would be one of the finest officers in the Army. He didn’t want to lose her. This allegation would lead to her discharge, and Kate found herself at a crossroads. She could have taken the colonel up on his offer to sweep it under the rug and gone on to become a great soldier. However, being a soldier is about more than serving. One part of it is about integrity—the integrity she had learned from her mother. She looked the colonel straight in the eye and said, “A Cadet shall not lie, cheat, or steal, nor suffer others to do so. I’m gay.” Following her separation, she met with her father. When Jacob learned about her discharge, he wanted to know why Kate couldn’t have told Colonel Reyes what he needed to hear. In one of the bravest sentences I’ve ever read from a comic book character, she told him, “I’d have been lying.” By way of response, her father praised Kate for her integrity and said he and her mother were proud of their daughter’s choices.
The decision Kate made not to lie to her commanding officer proves she has a strong moral code. This is an excellent prerequisite for being a strong superhero and, unlike what “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policies tried to promote, your sexuality does not define your honor. It certainly doesn’t define Kate Kane.
Although the eternal struggle between her sexuality and the military’s policy would inform all of her stories going forward, Kate Kane would push onward from this point as a “broken” character. Her moral code is so rigid, not unlike Batman’s rigid view of the law, that even though she made the correct choice in not lying about who she was, Kate still feels chastised, as if she had broken a rule. As a consequence, guilt eats her up from the inside. Her mind twists toward the belief that she cannot be a good soldier and a lesbian at the same time. These two sides of her identity were things she believed would always be a part of her, yet she finds them to be at war internally. Here are two concrete absolutes which are no longer active parts of her external life. Her identity, her personal view of self, is radically changed, and this leads to the complication of her integrity—Kate Kane’s most treasured value. Integrity is defined by Merriam-Webster as “adherence to moral and ethical principles,” but my alternate definition of the word is also an unimpaired, or perfect, condition. In her state immediately after leaving the military, Kate Kane was far from a perfect soldier. She had lost her purpose. She had lost what she felt was her “best destiny.” If she cannot be a soldier, then what is her purpose?
Kate falls into what I like to call “the Bruce Wayne method of healing.” She rebelled. She gallivanted around Gotham City, drinking every night and having fling after fling. Except that, in Bruce’s case, it’s an act to keep up his playboy persona—for Kate, it’s real. She was reaching out, trying to find a connection, trying to find purpose in her new world. Eventually, she fell for a Gotham Police Detective named Renee Montoya. She and Renee fell deeply in love, but Kate could not accept the revelation that Renee was not open about her lesbian identity. Kate couldn’t understand. Unlike Renee, her integrity forced her to be out, forced her to not lie. So there was no way Kate could be in love with someone who could not be true to herself.
On a fateful night in a darkened alleyway, Kate finally uncovered her destiny. The Batman flew down from the sky to save her from an attempted mugging. Following the scuffle, he reached out a hand and helped Kate up. It was in this moment when she literally—and finally—accepted a helping hand that she took a monumental step toward embracing her purpose post-service. Kate would never be the perfect soldier. She would never follow the rules again, but as long as she remained true to her integrity—the one
part of her identity she had proven would never fail—she could make a difference. Kate Kane could be like Batman.
Kate put on a black and red costume inspired by the Batman and named herself “Batwoman.” She patrolled the streets and tried to save citizens, the same way Batman saved her. Her father soon discovered her covert operations and ordered her to stand down: “Just because you were a senior elite in gymnastics doesn’t mean you’re a crime-fighter,” he stated plainly. Unsurprisingly, she refused. Kate shut him down by proclaiming that she had finally uncovered her way to serve. This was her call to arms. Her words made her father, the old soldier, respect her. He eventually acquiesced and let her continue. Secretly, he agreed to help her only if she would agree to more training. She did agree. The father and the daughter united with the goal of saving Gotham and returned purpose to Kate Kane’s life.
Batwoman encountered other Bat-family members during her earliest adventures, but she did not play well with them. Despite wearing the symbol of the Batman, she had not been trained by him. Even in the world of Gotham vigilantes, she was an outsider. Her post-military rebellion led her to consistently damage relationships. Kate was not about to be locked down or told what to do by anyone anymore. Her identity was now to challenge everything. Eventually, Batman did invite the Batwoman to join his team in Detective Comics #934 in August 2016. He thought her military training would be an asset with the potential to aid him in recruiting and training a new team of younger Gotham vigilantes. This was an unorthodox team, to say the least, with the mute Orphan, Cassandra Cain, and the villainous Clayface, a former Batman villain, fighting alongside Red Robin, Tim Drake. In many stories, her military strength and training came to aid the team; she pulled them free from many tight spots. Yet, Batman and Batwoman would eventually be at odds. In Detective Comics #974–975 (2018), Clayface went rogue. His powers malfunctioned, and he became a danger to hundreds of civilians. When confronted with this great danger, Batwoman leaned on her military training. She killed Clayface—shot him—because killing one person in order to save thousands of endangered Gotham citizens was an acceptable loss to her. Her decision flew in the face of Batman’s “no killing” rule. However, she’s the only person on this team who could have made this decision. The other teammates’ optimism could have led to the death of hundreds. Shooting one person is no big deal to Kate. She can deal with the consequences. She can deal with the moral implications and with Batman scolding her, because she is still a soldier. This action complicated her life, of course. Just like her brief time in the Army, her actions—which she deemed correct—directly led to her being kicked off Batman’s team. Her identity as a Bat-family member was suddenly at odds with her identity as a soldier. Her struggle with authority and the predetermined rules of being a vigilante, as set down by Batman, was overwhelming.
That was my biggest struggle in the military, as well. Not Batman, but having to follow the ironclad rules of the institution, even when they made no sense—especially when I knew they were wrong or when they were being handed down by lieutenants who were the same age I was. Sometimes they were officers I knew had never left the base and never seen the things on missions that I had. It was very difficult to swallow that. Nonetheless, that is what serving in the US armed forces is like. You have to trust that your commanding officer has your back. If you can’t follow the orders, then you shouldn’t serve. Eventually, I had to leave because of it.
Kate was never afforded that choice in the military, although she experienced it when she left Batman’s group. A way of living steeped in integrity ultimately made her an outcast again. She continued to struggle to maintain her identity afterward, clawing toward a sense of stability. By this point, she had lost her twin, her military rank, and her status as a Gotham vigilante. It’s no wonder Kate struggled to follow each system of rules. Her identity complicated all of it at every turn. Her sense of being a twin was ripped away from her, her sense of being a soldier was torn away, and then the Batman seal of approval. With none of these labels left, her queerness became most important.
For all of Kate’s struggles with identity, her sexuality remains constant, and she’s a great representation of a modern LGBTQIA+ person. It’s the one part of her life she’s never afraid to show or talk about, whether that be to her father or to the military, she will always have the integrity to stay true to herself. This is what makes her truly independent and resilient.
Batwoman is a soldier who reminds us no one can be defined by any singular trait. Service members are complicated beings and the correct paths in our lives aren’t always clear. She proves that staying true to yourself means sometimes having to break the rules, and being true to yourself is more important than giving up your integrity.
Kate’s problems with identity may be fluid. She may wander, she may fall, and she may be unsure of what her purpose is. Nevertheless, her actions prove there will always be a problem when you keep dedicated soldiers from serving our country. Kate Kane’s integrity was true when her country’s values were not.
Chapter 12
Beetle Bailey
The Polite Rebel
It’s time for us to talk about the most famous Army soldier in all of pop culture: Beetle Bailey. Private Carl James “Beetle” Bailey is the ultimate slacker. Instead of performing his military duties, he’s usually lounging underneath a tree or attempting to flummox Sergeant 1st Class Orville Snorkel (until this moment I had no idea Sarge was that highly ranked. Good on you!). Bailey is the representation of the average GI Joe, as well as probably being most Americans’ introduction to the life of a soldier.
The comic strip titled Beetle Bailey began on September 4, 1950, right near the start of the Korean War (June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953). It was written and drawn by comic legend Mort Walker. Sadly, Mort is no longer walking the mortal plane. However, the tales of Beetle Bailey continue, due to the diligent work of his granddaughter, Janie Walker-Yates, and her husband, Mike Yates. The strip’s content and original jokes were based on Mort Walker’s time in the Army. Looking at the characters who populate Beetle Bailey’s stories, you get a very intriguing view of Mort’s time in the military.
Besides the title character, Beetle Bailey features one of the largest supporting casts of all comic strips. Sergeant Snorkel, Beetle’s nemesis, is an obese snaggle-toothed man from the unfortunately named Pork Corners, Kansas (fun fact: not a real place!). There’s Otto, Snorkel’s bulldog, who dresses in the same uniform as his owner and acts more human than Sarge does sometimes. Ruling over the base is Brigadier General Amos T. Halftrack, an alcoholic old man who doesn’t really care how his base (Camp Swampy) runs, as long as he can make it to his tee time. Miss Buxley is the general’s civilian secretary, who draws the eyes of all the men on the base and eventually becomes Beetle’s girlfriend (the schemes he must have had to pull on her to get her to agree to a date boggle the mind). Rounding out the cast are Cookie Jowls (the mess sergeant), Private Zero (the dumb farm boy), and Private Plato (the philosophical book lover). Each character ranges from a little odd to quite absurd, although, to tell you the truth, I met many people just like them during my time in the military.
You see, joining any branch of military service is a strange experience. You’re suddenly asked to do things you never thought in a million years you would ever be doing. You’re asked to work beside people from all over the Earth; many who would not talk, or even think, the way you do. Moreover, nationals of several foreign countries can gain citizenship by serving a set number of years in a branch of the US armed forces. It’s a melting pot of surrealism mixed with very real stakes. Some of the Beetle Bailey strips are more realistic than silly because the high-stress nature of the military can lead very quickly to high school and adolescent hijinks.
Beetle represents the typical enlisted man: thrown into basic training, shoved onto buses like cattle, treated like dirt by their sergeants, only to turn around and be praised by the blue-haired ladies of
the community for protecting America’s freedom. While they preserve freedom for all of us, they lose every ounce of it the minute they join the Army. They have to wake up at predetermined hours, they have to go to places and countries they don’t want to, and they have to perform the dirtiest jobs no one would ever volunteer for. (Would you choose to dig a latrine? Remember Isaiah Bradley in Chapter 9 did not have a fun time doing it.) Mort Walker introduces the idea that a lower ranked soldier’s duty is to be a slacker, to avoid doing work at all costs, and then to stay up all night having fun when they get the pass to go off base. The pure antithesis of a good non-commissioned officer. (Sgt. Rock in Chapter 10 would have hated Beetle.)
