THEGAYUK

Tag: Marvel Comics

All the latest breaking news on Marvel Comics. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on Marvel Comics.

  • Why it’s about time Hollywood gave us a Gay Superhero

    With Black Panther breaking records at the box office and another six or seven superhero films due to come out in 2018, Marvel and DC are major power players in the film industry now, and don’t look to be losing their position anytime soon. But where are all the LGBT+ characters? LUKE MARLOW questions.

    LGBT representation in these films has been sorely lacking – and whilst Black Panther has brought some much-needed diversity to the screen, it also cut a reference to a lead character’s sexuality. In addition, last year’s brilliant Thor Ragnarok introduced audiences to Tessa Thompson’s badass Valkyrie – but whilst the actor was keen to play the character true to her bisexual origins, no mention of this was made on screen. With new generations finding inspiration in these films, shouldn’t they be finding representation too? It’s about time we got an LGBT superhero on the big screen – and here are some of the potential Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual heroes who could set the silver screen alight.

    Iceman

    The X-Men comics are hugely popular amongst a gay readership – the tales of a band of outsiders persecuted by the larger world, the parallels to the gay community are clear. Bobby Drake or, to call him by his codename, Iceman, was a founding member of the X-Men and appeared in the very first issue of the comic back in 1963. Whilst the other original X-Men have had torrid romantic lives over the years, Bobby had a number of girlfriends, but none ever stuck. An encounter with a time-travelling younger version of himself (even more complicated than it sounds), led to Bobby accepting what he’d been hiding for so many years – and he’s now an out and proud gay man who’s recently been exploring his new outlook on life in a fantastic series by queer writer Sina Grace.

    Iceman has already been on the big screen – portrayed by Shawn Ashmore in X-Men, X2, X-Men The Last Stand, and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Movie Iceman was shown in a relationship with Anna Paquin’s Rogue – but maybe it’s time Iceman made a reappearance and came out of the closet. The planned solo ‘Kitty Pryde’ movie could be a great time for Iceman’s sexuality to be explored in more detail – and as a fun, witty, everyman he could be a great fan favourite if portrayed properly

    Northstar

    Jean-Paul Baubier, who goes by the codename Northstar, became famous as a member of the Canadian comics group Alpha Flight. Northstar is important as he’s probably the first high profile out gay character, with his sexuality heavily hinted at by writers, but not being clearly stated until 13 years after his first appearance. Jean-Paul then made history by marrying his partner, Kyle in a much-publicised wedding back in 2012 – making him the first Marvel hero to be in a Gay marriage. Witty, sassy and full of snark – Northstar could be a great hero on the big screen. Cast someone suitably elfin like Lee Pace to play him, and not only would you have a modern and contemporary hero, but the potential to portray a stable gay relationship in a medium where they’ve yet to make an appearance.

    Karma

    Film company Fox has made a film of comic book group the ‘New Mutants’, which is due for release in 2019. That film is set to feature all of the founding members of that group, with one notable exception – Karma. Xi’an Coy Manh, is a character from Vietnam – with a power of psychic possession and a harrowing origin tale. First appearing in 1980, Karma came out as a lesbian in a comic published in 2002. She’s not received much focus over the years, but could be a great character to receive some time and attention on the big screen, with her dark origins, struggle to be a responsible figure for her younger siblings, and discovery of her sexuality meaning she could be a great fit for the more “teen” orientated New Mutants film, and I’m hopeful she’ll be top of the list should they get optioned for a sequel.

    Midnighter & Apollo

    Two for the price of one with these two – Midnighter and Apollo are a superhero couple who first appeared in Stormwatch – a book published by Wildstorm comics. Wildstorm has now become a part of DC comics, and Midnighter and Apollo brought into the same universe as Batman, Superman and Wonderwoman amongst others. They may look relatively familiar – Midnighter is an ultra-violent vigilante who dresses all in black, and Apollo is a caped superhero with flight and super strength… However, the difference between two and the more famous Batman and Superman, is that Midnighter and Apollo are openly gay, and in a relationship. They’re a hugely fun pairing who’ve had their romantic ups and downs over the years, and whilst the similarities to Batman and Superman may mean that Midnighter and Apollo may not be showing up in live action films anytime soon, they’re ripe for inclusion in DC’s ever-growing portfolio of animated films.

    Daken

    The son of Wolverine, Daken is hot, frequently shirtless, very angry and openly bisexual. Introduced in 2007, he’s an angsty, troubled character who’s constantly unpredictable and thus always very readable. Confident yet conflicted, Daken is less about forming relationships and more about using sex as a way of manipulating and controlling people, whether they be man or woman. With Hugh Jackman stating that he’s not coming back as Wolverine, there’s room for a clawed killer who can take his place and look damn good doing it – and Daken is definitely my pick.

    Catman

    Yes, not Catwoman (who, for the record, is bisexual – something fleetingly hinted at in The Dark Night Rises, but Catman. Thomas Blake, was initially designed as a villain for Batman to face, but has become a far more balanced and sympathetic character over the years, showing up in the Secret Six book and coming out as bisexual. With it highly likely that the DC movies are going to bring us yet another version of Catwoman – why not stop and switch to Catman instead? He’d bring some much-needed Bi-Visibility to the movie universe, and if written well could be a darkly sexy counterpoint to the straight-laced Bruce Wayne.

    Mystique

    We’ve had two versions of Mystique on the big screen – first played by Rebecca Romjin in the original X-Men trilogy, and then by Jennifer Lawrence from First Class onwards. Whilst the recent films have given Mystique motive and heart, the character is far removed from her comic book self. Mystique, or Raven Darkholme, first appeared in 1978 –  the adoptive mother of Rogue and the biological mother of Nightcrawler, she’s a complicated, fascinating and untrustworthy character who constantly keeps the reader on their toes. Openly bisexual, Mystique and her former partner Irene Adler served as Rogue’s parents – and despite Mystique’s villainy, they were a loving, tender couple, leading to Mystique’s utter heartbreak when Destiny died. As a character who has yet to find any real happiness in the films – isn’t it time Mystique got a girlfriend?

    (Living) Lightning

    Miguel Santos first appeared in a Marvel comic in 1990 – a man whose encounter with a mysterious machine left him capable of both being and controlling lightning. He appeared on and off over the years – and in 2005 was revealed to be gay. He’s recently moved up to the big leagues in the current Avengers: No Surrender event that’s taking place in the comics. With actors like Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr coming to an end of their contracts in the Avengers’ films, and big-name deaths predicted for the upcoming Infinity War,  the timing couldn’t be better for introducing Miguel Santos to the movie universe – and giving us a gay Latino hero with plenty of sparks.

    Batwoman

    Think Batman, but with pops of red on the costume, flowing locks and perfectly applied lipstick – and you’ve got Batwoman. Kate Kane appeared in the DC universe proper in 2015 and she’s a remarkable character. An out lesbian, she’s got a unique look – whether in her brilliantly designed costume or dressed down as her pale-skinned, rockabilly self. She’d certainly brighten up a film universe that’s been rather monotone so far, and her interesting and timely backstory as a marine discharged due to her sexuality, is one that could work extremely well on the big screen.

    Wiccan and Hulkling

    Two for the price of one here – Wiccan and Hulkling are two young lovebirds from the Marvel Universe. With Wiccan’s magical abilities and Hulkling’s shapeshifting skills, these are a powerful and beloved pairing who would look brilliant on film. Their story, as gay teens accepted and loved by those around them, could be a valuable piece of representation on film, and it’d be great to see a new generation of Avengers be built around this pair.

    Constantine

    DC’s sarcastic, magic-wielding and Liverpudlian detective John Constantine is a hugely popular character who’s made a few live-action appearances over the years, with a Keanu Reeves led film that completely missed everything that made Constantine such a brilliant character. A TV series in 2014 provided a brilliant Constantine in the form of welsh actor Matt Ryan, but sadly decided to steer clear of addressing Constantine’s bisexuality. However, Ryan has now made appearances in the tv show Legends of Tomorrow where he’s flirting up a storm with both men and women, and I’m hopeful that he’ll be pulled into the DC cinematic universe before too long.

    Harley Quinn

    Critics hated Suicide Squad when it was released in 2016 – but Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn was a standout star, and the character swiftly became a fan favourite. Whilst the film chose to portray Harley’s doomed and abusive relationship with the Joker, in the comics, she’s moved on from that sadist and found love and companionship in the form of Poison Ivy. Two intensely intelligent characters (Harley has a PhD in Psychology and Ivy one in Botany) with compelling motives, they’re close friends in an open relationship. With the upcoming ‘Gotham City Sirens’ movie mooted to contain both Harley and Ivy – it could be a great place to see their bond forming.

    The Question

    Much like Harley Quinn, Renee Montoya was created for the Batman Animated series, before being pulled through into the DC comic line. A police detective, Renee was outed as a lesbian and later left the police force and became an investigative hero known as The Question. A character who’s gone through huge amounts of change since her debut, Renee is a compelling character who could fit well into the dark and grimy movie world that DC have created so far.

    Rictor and Shatterstar

    Both Marvel characters, these two came together in 2009, 22 years after Rictor’s first appearance, and 18 years after Shatterstar’s. One a mutant with earth quaking abilities, and one a time travelling, dimension hopping superhero, both came to prominence as members of a team called “X-Force”, and with an “X-Force” film scheduled to be released in the next few years, the stars could be aligning for Rictor and Shatterstar’s big screen debut. Here’s hoping they keep Shatterstar in full 90’s garb – ponytail and all!

    Ultimate Colossus

    Piotr Rasputin, or Colossus, has been a mainstay of the X-Men books since his first appearance in 1975. The original version of Colossus is straight, and currently engaged to be married – but an alternate and gay version of Colossus appeared back in 2001 in Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics. This version of Piotr was a Russian arms smuggler – but found happiness as a hero with the X-Men. Colossus has been portrayed on film a fair few times now, but only ever as a minor character. His most recent appearance in the Deadpool film had his Russian accent spot on – so maybe his appearance in the sequel could see his sexuality explored?

    James Howlett

    Another alternate universe character here – this is a Wolverine who appeared in the X-Treme X-Men book back in 2012. This version had a few differences from the Wolverine who’s featured in the main Universe – his claws were gold, and he happened to be in a relationship with Greek God Hercules. This hairy pair were very popular with fans – and with Wolverine likely to be recast now Hugh Jackman has stepped down from the role, why not give us a gay, golden clawed Wolverine?

    Extraño

    First appearing in DC comics back in 1988, Extrano (or Gregorio De La Vega) was a fairly camp stereotype whose biggest storyline was the reveal of him having HIV. In 2016, Extrano reappeared in the DC universe as a mature, handsome sorcerer who could be a great ally for Constantine or a friend for Midnight and Apollo.

    America Chavez

    Given her popularity, it’s surprising that America Chavez hasn’t already made an appearance in the Marvel Movie Universe. First appearing in 2011, she’s a strong-willed, powerful and openly queer latino character. The upcoming animated film Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors is due to feature her, and hopefully, she’ll be pulled into the live action film universe soon enough.

    All Marvel  and DC Comics characters and the distinctive likeness(es) thereof are Trademarks & Copyright of their respective companies. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  • A Marvel superhero has just come out as gay

    A Marvel superhero has just come out as gay

    Hurrah people… we’ve got our very own gay Marvel super hero, but which one?

    (C) Marvel

    Union Jack (human name: Brian Falsworth) has come out as gay, very subtly by telling Black Widow that he’s just not into her, because he bats for the other side  – and oooo he’s British as well.

    After confronting Union Jack about why he hasn’t come on to her, he responds

    “No offence, you’re not my type,

    “I’m telling you I’m gay.”

     

    Union Jack has been a character from the Marvel stable since 1976 – and is a playable character in the Marvel Avengers Academy a mobile game which features teenage versions of Marvel’s super heroes.

    However it has been pointed out that Union Jack was in a relationship wth Destroyer (human name: Roger Aubrey) in Earth 616 – which makes them the first chronologically gay characters in Marvel Comics.

    Who knew!

  • COMMENT | The Iceman Cometh…Out of the Closet

    Those of you with any connection to the geek world or the gay world, and especially those in the inner circle of the gay-geek world, will have seen that Marvel recently released one of its longest running characters from his hiding place in the closet.

    Superstar writer Brian Michael Bendis revealed in All-New X-Men that the character of Bobby Drake, the man of Ice that we all know and love, is secretly gay.

    Unintentionally outed by fellow X-Man Jean Grey, the current version of which is much younger and has less control over her telepathic abilities, when she coaxes him into finally admitting to himself and to her that he is gay.

    There was a lot of adverse reaction to Iceman’s coming out throughout the geek world; not so much opposing gay characters but opposing changing existing characters to make them gay.

    The insinuation that Iceman would wear spandex even when he wasn’t fighting crime seemed more like sacrilege to a character that many of us geeks have been reading about for years.

    Not the First Gay on the Page
    This is not the first time that a major comic book publisher has changed a well-established character to make them gay. The original Green Lantern Alan Scott was reintroduced as gay in DC Comics’ “Earth Two” series. And even though we applaud DC for not hesitating to recreate this 1940s classic character as a ring-bearing mo, it was an alternate universe version of the original in a rebooted DC universe, which allowed the writers to take a lot of liberties in changing the characters. (I mean the Gay Green Lantern ended up not even

    However the fact that Iceman, a character who has been around since the X-Men were first published back in 1963, has come out as gay adds new depth to these characters.

    In an ideal world we all would be honest with our friends and family, and ourselves, from day one about our homosexuality. It wouldn’t be an issue we struggle with or anything that we would be ashamed of. In the real world that is rarely the case, and Iceman’s struggle and flat-out denial of his latent homosexuality represents a very honest real-life struggle that we all will have dealt with at some point in our lives.

    Add to this Iceman’s background as an underachiever, a class clown that has a tendency to goof off rather than admit to the scope of his full potential, and you have a character that a lot more of us can relate to.

    More Minorities
    The inclusion of more minorities within the comic book world is incredibly important, not just to have gay characters, but also characters of other ethnicities and the occasional female super hero.

    The ever-growing success of the Marvel Studios movies has made it awkwardly obvious just how aryan the creators of these comics were. Fair enough most of these characters were created in the 50s and 60s, when women, black people and gay people weren’t just considered minorities, they were thought of as being inferior, barbaric and a crime against humanity. And while some may still feel like that today, it is thankfully no longer acceptable to say so.

    In fact this is an aspect that the writer addresses when Iceman comes out. (Quick catch up: these younger X-Men have been brought into the present time period from the past and so there are duplicate older versions of them that they have encountered… simple right?)

    When the young Iceman wonders why his future/current self isn’t gay, young Jean Grey suggests that being gay back in their original time would be difficult, or even impossible, and that being in the current time period Iceman will find people much more accepting and understanding. Iceman even considers being Bi for a moment or two before conceding to being a full-blown gay.
    having a lantern because of these changes. So he’s basically just an old gay who wears a green cape. There are plenty of people like that you can meet in real life).

    Why Iceman Needs to be Gay
    Every gay geek out there will know of and probably love Northstar, Batwoman and Wiccan as representatives of LGBT characters in comics.

    However the fact that Iceman, a character who has been around since the X-Men were first published back in 1963, has come out as gay adds new depth to these characters.

    In an ideal world we all would be honest with our friends and family, and ourselves, from day one about our homosexuality. It wouldn’t be an issue we struggle with or anything that we would be ashamed of. In the real world that is rarely the case, and Iceman’s struggle and flat-out denial of his latent homosexuality represents a very honest real-life struggle that we all will have dealt with at some point in our lives.

    Add to this Iceman’s background as an underachiever, a class clown that has a tendency to goof off rather than admit to the scope of his full potential, and you have a character that a lot more of us can relate to.
    More Minorities
    The inclusion of more minorities within the comic book world is incredibly important, not just to have gay characters, but also characters of other ethnicities and the occasional female super hero.

    The ever-growing success of the Marvel Studios movies has made it awkwardly obvious just how aryan the creators of these comics were. Fair enough most of these characters were created in the 50s and 60s, when women, black people and gay people weren’t just considered minorities, they were thought of as being inferior, barbaric and a crime against humanity. And while some may still feel like that today, it is thankfully no longer acceptable to say so.

    In fact this is an aspect that the writer addresses when Iceman comes out. (Quick catch up: these younger X-Men have been brought into the present time period from the past and so there are duplicate older versions of them that they have encountered… simple right?)

    When the young Iceman wonders why his future/current self isn’t gay, young Jean Grey suggests that being gay back in their original time would be difficult, or even impossible, and that being in the current time period Iceman will find people much more accepting and understanding. Iceman even considers being Bi for a moment or two before conceding to being a full-blown gay.

    All of this is a huge part of the struggle young gay men make when discovering their homosexuality. How many of us look back to when we were younger, in school or in any environment in which it would have been all-but impossible to come out as gay. Times have changed (for the most part) and the freedom to be openly gay is growing so much that even 50 year old comic book characters are comfortable coming out of the closet.

    Iceman’s movie counterpart Shawn Ashmore has even publicly commended Bobby’s decision to come out of the closet, tweeting his congrats to Bobby and not shying away from the changes in his on-screen persona.

    With fellow gay Bryan Singer still in charge of the X-Men movies franchise, we may even get to see a different side to Ashmore if he makes any further appearances as Iceman in future X-films.

    A Step in the Right Direction
    Comic books and sci fi books are an escape for those of us not quite coping with the real world; this is why it holds such appeal to so many gay people. Whether it’s our homosexuality or our social awkwardness that makes us an outcast, having these characters and stories gives us a way to escape the difficulties of reality during childhood that often follows us well into our thirties.

    Programming their readers from a young age to see American white heterosexual men as the champions and everyone else as either victims or villains is a sure-fire way to screw us up. Having lived life as a chubby, gay, geek, I for one would have loved to have seen more gay characters (or even any gay characters) in comics when I was growing up. It would have shown me that the answer wasn’t always found by a straight guy; that being straight isn’t the only way to be strong and be a hero; that being gay could be a part of your character and not something you read comic books to escape from.

    Things will be difficult for Iceman as he comes to term with being gay while at the same time fighting to save the world from evil mutants, but the real battle will be in the heart of the older Iceman. Knowing that his younger self has fully admitted that he is gay he will have to either admit how he’s secretly felt all these years, or bury his head even further into denial. A choice that plenty of closeted men have to face in the real world every day.

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

  • COLUMN | Gaying It Up The Marvel Comics Way

    The Marvel Now initiative was launched with the specific aim of re-launching their entire line bringing fresh ideas and voices to familiar titles.

    Part of this was to bring diversity and address the inequality balance in the line. Traditionally the core audience for American main stream comics has been an adolescent white male; however the popularity of Manga and the success of the films over the years have seen a subtle shift in the audience. Comics are no longer the exclusive domain on the geek. Alongside the publicity from the X-Men same-sex marriage and the boycott from Christian Group “one million moms’”, Comics are now increasingly geared towards LGBT readers and Marvel Now has embraced this across the line.

    The company has published Young Avengers since 2005. The concept of the team are teenagers picking up the legacy of established characters. Hulking and Wiccan have been front and centre of the team since its inception and gradually introduced as a couple. They have continued to function on the team and forming a core part of the team being portrayed as any other couple in a mainstream comic book. The series received a revamp as part of Marvel Now and a new teammate Prodigy joined the team. He was a character previously part of an X-Men offshoot title.

    Since appearing in Young Avengers he has kissed Hulking during a moment where they both thought they were going to die saying that “he has always wanted to do that” and coming out as bisexual in the next issue. This revelation is a big step for a number of reasons. Traditionally any LGBT characters on teams have been in the minority, by the end of the current series almost all of the team had either stated that they were not straight, had experimented or were curious.

    FF is a series that follows a replacement team for the Fantastic Four while the traditional team are on a voyage across time and space. The Team are teachers in an academy for students mainly consisting of children inspired by villains. There are a collection of moleoid children, minions of the mole man. In a recent issue one of the children, Tong, revealed to his brothers that he was in fact transgender and wished to be referred to in that way. She now wears a dress over her FF uniform to mark her identity. The only reaction from this was from team leader Antman, when he was told what was happening he remarked “oh, good for her” and returned to his conversation.

    As part of the remit for Marvel Now task was to introduce more female led books. She-Hulk, Black Widow and Captain Marvel all feature in their own series and Fearless Defenders charts the rise of established character Valkyrie trying to put together a team of “shield maidens” to defend Asgard.

    The start of the series introduced Dr. Annabelle Riggs, an archaeologist from a Viking dig. Annabelle kissed Valkyrie during battle and made it clear that she was attracted to her. As the story unfolded Annabelle died but found herself sharing a body with Valkyrie. The outcome from this is that we have a lesbian character not only as part of a team of women but co-leading them. Before the series ended a new character was introduced as a love interest for Annabelle.

    The Spider-Man series has long since been known for its supporting cast as well as its main character. The main series feature Peter Parker working in a think tank of geniuses. His boss Max Modell was featured in a time travel storyline, where his watch was a key part. They took the opportunity of Max showing his watch to Peter and remarking that his partner Hector gave it him as an anniversary present. What I liked about this is that it was so subtle that I missed it the first time round. Hector has since appeared as a solicitor representing Max through the series and into “Superior Spider-Man”.

    Marvel is taking great strides at the moment in introducing LGBT characters; the step seems to have been taken to represent sexuality as part of a character and not just a gimmick to boost sales. Other established characters such as Northstar, Karma, Rictor and Shatterstar continue to keep their roles within the X-Men line of books which have long since carried a metaphor about being different and “hated and feared” by society.

    However it is noticeable that Marvel does not carry a solo title featuring a gay character. DC comics have “Batwoman” which has been a commercial and critical success. Marvel series to feature LGBT characters have been restricted to limited series for Quasar and the poorly conceived “comedy” Rawhide kid.

    I believe that the next step would be for Marvel to introduce a “Northstar” title. Being part of the X-Men universe and the main stream media attention from his weddings mean that he is already known to a large section of fans and recognition from non-comic book readers.

    Aside from being the first gay hero, he is a strong, confident, sometimes arrogant-gay man. He is a celebrity within the Marvel universe already thanks to a previous sports career and public image. He is happily married which is somewhat of a departure from both comic book marriages. Of course the storyline needs to be stronger than the fact that he is a gay mutant, perhaps for someone who usually works as part of a team, it may be interesting to focus on him now being solo and the fact that he does not hide behind a mask.

    The creative team is key, as with the Carol Danvers’, “Captain Marvel” series, the writer Kelly Sue DeConnick is a talented and brilliant female writer for the flagship female character. They care about the character and have been able to build a strong and loyal fan base within the female audience.
    If the gay comic book community were to embrace the series it could certainly build a good solid audience.

    And yes, I’m available