Lookg Back at the Mistreatment of Marvel's First Gay Comic Superhero

MARVEL COMICS HOSTS FIRST GAY WEDDG ‘ASTONISHG X-MEN’
MARVEL'S FIRST MAJOR GAY CHARACTER DERV A STAND-ALONE COMIC
NORTHSTAR: MARVEL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY HERO
ALPHA FLIGHT #105-106 (1992): NORTHSTAR IS GAY
GAY HERO: NORTHSTAR COM OUT OF CLOSET -- COMIC-BOOK FIGURE REVEALS HOMOSEXUALY
LOOKG BACK AT THE MISTREATMENT OF MARVEL’S FIRST GAY COMIC SUPERHERO

MARVEL COMICS HOSTS FIRST GAY WEDDG ‘ASTONISHG X-MEN’

The wrer and one of Marvel's first openly gay edors discs 'Marvel's Voic: Pri,' the origal X-Men, Northstar, and more! * alpha flight northstar gay *

PodstsPublished June 29, 2021The wrer and one of Marvel's first openly gay edors discs 'Marvel's Voic: Pri, ' the origal X-Men, Northstar, and more! The wrer, edor, active birr, and Harvard alum was associate edor at Marvel Comics om 1990-1996, and one of Marvel's first openly gay edors. Most notably, Cooper was the associate edor of the landmark issue ALPHA FLIGHT #106, where Northstar out as gay, beg the first openly gay Super Hero the Marvel Universe, as well as troducg Victoria Monti, the first openly lbian character for Marvel.

As he pots out to host Angélique Roché, his iend Kelly Corve, "who [he] hat for all eterny bee he beat [him] by jt a few months as the first openly gay edor at Marvel, " alerted him that an assistant edor job was openg up and knew about his dream of workg for Marvel Comics. Now, never md that DC had had openly gay characters before .

MARVEL'S FIRST MAJOR GAY CHARACTER DERV A STAND-ALONE COMIC

* alpha flight northstar gay *

Never md that the pennt ics had openly gay characters. That was seismic for Marvel to have an openly gay Super Hero. The people wrg ics, like me, are eher gay themselv or have gay people their liv.

NORTHSTAR: MARVEL’S FIRST OPENLY GAY HERO

Marvel's first major gay hero has an awome power set and has been a member of the X-Men, although he has never had his own tle. * alpha flight northstar gay *

There are gay people who we are workg si by si wh. Back 1992, Marvel Comics ma headl by revealg that Northstar, a Canadian superhero associated wh Alpha Flight and the X-Men, was gay.

“When gay marriage beme legal New York State, raised obv qutns sce most of our hero ri New York State.

Northstar is the first openly gay character ics and he’s been a longterm relatnship wh his partner Kyle so the big qutn was – how would this change his relatnship?, ” says Marvel Comics edor--chief Axel Alonso. “Here are two people, tryg to live their liv – mutant and gay, black and gay – empowered their own ways, but also ge-dwellers, ” says Liu. The tensns will rm Liu’s Astonishg X-Men stori gog forward, but Alonso says the uple will also have to nont homophobia om Northstar’s teammat.

ALPHA FLIGHT #105-106 (1992): NORTHSTAR IS GAY

Issue #106 is the one where Northstar stggl wh his sexualy and then out as gay. We'll get to that a sec. First, Madison Jefi and Diamond Lil are gettg married, and there's a Christmas ver. They have their bachelor/bachelorette parti. That's basilly issue #105. Of note: The… * alpha flight northstar gay *

Marvel's first major gay hero has an awome power set and has been a member of the X-Men, although he has never had his own tle.

His character was tend to be gay sce his ceptn, but was not explicly revealed to be so until 1992's Alpha Flight #106 (by Stt Lobll and Mark Pacella). Northstar officially me out as homosexual 1992, years after his character ially buted. A fight ensu between Major Mapleleaf and Northstar, who exclaims to the stranger that he don't need to be lectured on the plight of homosexuals, as no one knows them better than he.

Durg this time perd, the disease was misunrstood, and Northstar addrs this by explag that is not exclive to gay people.

GAY HERO: NORTHSTAR COM OUT OF CLOSET -- COMIC-BOOK FIGURE REVEALS HOMOSEXUALY

In a way, the Major is pleadg wh Northstar to e his stat as a superhero and ex-Olympian to be an advote and reprentative for homosexuals. Durg his time wh the X-Men, Northstar beme the mentor of Anole, a gay teenage mutant wh reptilian powers who later beme a member of the Young X-Men alongsi another gay teen, Graymalk. Northstar was the first major character to be openly gay the Marvel Universe, and he was also part of the first same-sex marriage picted by the publisher.

Northstar havg his own seri (possibly set at an earlier time when homosexualy was ls accepted) uld do a lot of good for people alg wh their own inti.

That issue is Alpha Flight #106, the first time a mastream ic hero “me out” as gay! Marvel’s “Don’t Say Gay” Policy. In the 80s, a number of creators wanted to tackle the emergg reali of “Homosexual Liberatn”.