Reporter Marissa Higgins, writing for web site The Daily Dot, noted "how important it is for people to have representation that feels real". Dialogue in Detective Comics makes Dr. October a "real" transgender person by addressing issues fundamental to transgender people: Choosing a new name, deadnaming, and revealing that one is transgender. Higgins applauded how the comic provided these details as character history and avoided making transgender identity "the all-consuming present and future" of Dr. October.