‘Pro-Hong Kong’ DC Comics poster draws flak

BEIJING, China (Global Times) — DC Comics’ official Instagram account released a cover of Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child which many netizens found offensive, as it likely shows its support for Hong Kong’s rioters, sparking a strong backlash on social media.

Experts told the Global Times that Chinese netizens are reminding foreign companies such as DC Comics to speak and act cautiously, as they risk losing the Chinese market.

In the cover, a character dressed as Batman, one of DC’s most iconic characters, holds a flaming Molotov cocktail and tries to throw it. “The future is young. Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child out 12/11,” the DC Comics Instagram account said in the post on Wednesday, though the post was later deleted.

In another picture of The Golden Child, a group of rioters screamed, holding sticks in their hands with fire behind them.

Some users on various social media have demanded a clarification from DC Comics and called for a boycott of the company. They linked the cover to the unrest in Hong Kong, interpreting Batman’s gesture as supportive of Hong Kong’s unrest and violence.

On LIHKG, a major social-networking platform used by rioters to incite violence and spread false information, users praised the cover.

In the Batman series, Batman saves the citizens of Gotham City and battles various criminals like the Riddler, Penguin, Catwoman and the Joker. After the recent release of The Joker, some people compared the city of Hong Kong with Gotham, saying the movie represents Hong Kong rioters.

A Weibo user asked, “Is Hong Kong really becoming Gotham City? Hong Kong rioters are not Batman. Instead, they are the criminals of Gotham City.”