Marvel's 'Eternals': How Gay Superhero Phastos Came to Be - Variety

Contents:

• MARVEL’S FIRST GAY SUPERHERO DEFEATS EVIL, MAK HISTORY ETERNALS TRAILER
• 15 OPENLY GAY MARVEL CHARACTERS THAT MIGHT BE COMG TO THE MCU
• WAR EPTS OVER NEW MARVEL BLOCKBTER’S GAY SUPERHERO
• MARVEL INTRODUC A NEW GAY SUPERHERO: CAPTA AMERI
• MARVEL REPORTEDLY DEVELOPG NEW MCU MOVIE STARRG OPENLY GAY HERO
• HOW ‘ETERNALS’ ESTABLISH THE MCU’S FIRST GAY SUPERHERO AND SAME-SEX COUPLE A MOVIE: ‘IT’S LIFE-SAVG’
• MARVEL REVEALS FIRST GAY ‘CAPTA AMERI’ NEW COMIC SERI
• MARVEL ANNOUNC FIRST GAY CAPTA AMERI
• THE GAY SUPERHERO ‘ETERNALS’ IS ‘WHAT AUDIENC HAVE BEEN WAG FOR,’ SAYS GLAAD (GUT COLUMN)

MARVEL’S FIRST GAY SUPERHERO DEFEATS EVIL, MAK HISTORY ETERNALS TRAILER

The Eternals trailer offers the brieft of glimps at Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), the first gay superhero a major Hollywood anchise. Dcribed as an “telligent ventor” an acpanyg summary, the character will reportedly break ground by sharg the film stud’s first onscreen gay kiss wh his hband, played by out, gay Lebane actor Haaz an terview, Sleiman said the climactic smooch was an emotnal moment on set, pecially given s importance to LGBTQ+ reprentatn. When Jordan’s Green Lantern buted 1959, Stt was relegated to an alternate universe and, over the s, he’s retired, returned to crime-fightg, been tossed limbo, bee an elr statman, and been rebooted as a young gay crimefighter on yet another alternate Earth.

15 OPENLY GAY MARVEL CHARACTERS THAT MIGHT BE COMG TO THE MCU

This year, Green Lantern Alan Stt returned to his roots as an olr WWII-era hero who has “walked this Earth for a long time, much longer than should have been allotted,” as he said March’s “Infe Frontier” #0.In the same issue, penned by bisexual wrer Jam Tynn IV, the gray-haired rg-slger out as gay to his adult children, the superhero duo Ja and Obsidian. We are jt fully-fledged superhero, who have an arc outsi of our transns.”Capta Ameri"The Uned Stat of Capta Ameri" ic book verMarvelIn June, Marvel’s “The Uned Stat of Capta Ameri” miseri hs stor, troducg rears to a variety of everyday people om all walks of life who’ve taken up the mantle of Capta Ameri to fend their muni.One is gay teenager Aaron Fischer, “the Capta Ameri of the Railways,” scribed a release as “a fearls teen who stepped up to protect fellow naways and the unhoed.”Joshua Tjillo, who wrote Fischer’s but, said he is “spired by hero of the queer muny: activists, lears and everyday folks phg for a better life.”Trans artist Jan Bazaldua said she really enjoyed signg the character.“I am happy to be able to prent an openly gay person who admir Capta Ameri and fights agast evil to help those who are almost visible to society,” Bazaldua said a statement. Avengers: Endgame gave the first openly gay character the Marvel Cematic Universe, but left a lot of fans (who have spent the last wag to see a gay superhero jo the Avengers) pretty unrwhelmed.

Here's a selectn of openly gay Marvel characters who serve their time to she the MCU.

WAR EPTS OVER NEW MARVEL BLOCKBTER’S GAY SUPERHERO

While many fans hope that Marvel Studs ntu to diversify the superhero they brg to live-actn, Eternals recently took a signifint step forward by prentg Phastos as part of the first openly gay superhero uple the MCU.

MARVEL INTRODUC A NEW GAY SUPERHERO: CAPTA AMERI

Iceman had been fightg alongsi the X-Men the ics for s before he stunned dienc by g out as gay, but fans quickly accepted his sexualy.

Wh Marvel Studs hopg to fix the X-Men film anchise after acquirg om Fox, this uld be a good ll for the MCU’s first gay character. Viv’s sexualy hasn’t been nfirmed the ics, but she's kissed Ironheart and was strongly suggted that she’s eher gay or asexual when she said, “an attractn to boys is nowhere wh me.

” The MCU uld easily portray the character as gay.

MARVEL REPORTEDLY DEVELOPG NEW MCU MOVIE STARRG OPENLY GAY HERO

There was speculatn that Hercul would be a lead  The Eternals when Marvel announced that the film would star a gay lead, but the reference was stead to Phastos. Phyla-Vell was first intified as gay when she admted to and acted on her attractn towards Moondragon.

HOW ‘ETERNALS’ ESTABLISH THE MCU’S FIRST GAY SUPERHERO AND SAME-SEX COUPLE A MOVIE: ‘IT’S LIFE-SAVG’

In any discsn of who will be the first openly gay superhero the MCU, ’s important to mentn the first openly gay superhero Marvel Comics. Northstar was a landmark character for ic book history bee he was one of the first gay superhero, the first to e out a Marvel book, and 2012, he beme the first character to have a same-sex weddg a mastream ic.

Phastos may be half of the first openly gay relatnship the Marvel Cematic Universe, but Negasonic Teenage Warhead was part of the first gay superhero uple all of superhero cema several years earlier. The two shared the first gay kiss between major characters a Marvel ic back X-Force #45 while Rictor was huntg for Multiple Man New England.

MARVEL REVEALS FIRST GAY ‘CAPTA AMERI’ NEW COMIC SERI

Rictor has also dated women the Marvel Universe, such as Wolfsbane and Boom Boom, but he stated X-Force #20 that he always knew ep down that he was gay.

MARVEL ANNOUNC FIRST GAY CAPTA AMERI

The new Aquaman who appeared Young Jtice: Outsirs was also nfirmed to be a gay character 2019, ScreenRant reported at the time, and a wrer for DC Comics said durg an terview wh Comisy 2016 that Wonr Woman is bisexual.In the summer of 2019, CNN reported Valkyrie beme the first LGBTQ character to appear a Marvel movie Thor: Love and Thunr. Marvel Comics' first superhero to e out as gay was Northstar, a move the Tim praised an article published early 1992.

The Marvel Cematic Universe (MCU) was fairly slow troducg LGBTQ+ characters —though seeg as even the most chaste reprentatns of queer love get the films banned some untri, you n see why they would be Strange and The Multiverse of Madns actually breaks the rerd for the most lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and/or queer characters an MCU property wh three. However, seeg as two of them do not talk, and one never mentns their sexualy out loud, clearly there is still some work to be done when to LGBTQ+ MCU is of urse fairly sexls general, but any mentns of queer sexuali have tend to be very brief, the better to allow Disney to easily cut out the scen more homophobic markets.

"Grievg man"Avengers: Endgame ma the mistake of tmpetg that had the MCU's first gay character before the film me out.

THE GAY SUPERHERO ‘ETERNALS’ IS ‘WHAT AUDIENC HAVE BEEN WAG FOR,’ SAYS GLAAD (GUT COLUMN)

Phastos is also the anchise's first out gay superhero, and the pair share the anchise's first gay kiss (and one of the few kiss general the MCU) his partner Ben do not get much screen time, his stg mak a bold statement. Actor Haaz Sleiman is an out gay man himself, and was born the Uned Arab Emirat.

Actor Haaz Sleiman, who me out as gay 2017, plays character Ben “Eternals” who is the hband of superhero Phastos. “Eternals” also hosts the most diverse lp of any Marvel movie, cludg not only a first openly gay fay, but actors of many different ethnic backgrounds and the first af superhero.