Cullen is a teenaged boy with an unruly mop of hair living with his older sister Harper in a run down apartment in The Narrows section of Gotham City. Cullen tries his best not to create stress for Harper whose life is full of the responsibilities of finishing high school, working, and being a pseudo parent after their emancipation from an abusive father. No mention is made of their mother. At times Cullen is happy and optimistic, such as when he’s giving Harper a makeover and sharing his scheme to get Tim Drake to fall in love with him. Other times he tries to downplay matters and distract Harper, such as when she finds a deep cut on his arm which is the result of a homophobic attack. Harper attends an event that Cullen insists she go to, and returns to discover their apartment has been broken into and Cullen was assaulted and had the word “fag” shaved into his hair. The idea just occurred to me that this scene might be commentary on the incident with teenaged Mitt Romney accosting a gay classmate and cutting his hair. The following night both Cullen and Harper are assaulted by the gang and attempt to defend themselves. They’re rescued by Batman who’s been keeping tabs on Harper for different reasons.
This entry will be updated if there are more appearances of Cullen.
Cullen’s first appearance is in Batman #12 (vol 2). Created by Scott Snyder and Becky Cloonan. Art by Cloonan.
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