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

Contents:

• GAY CHIK!- LGBT SUPERHERO
• LOOKG BACK AT THE MISTREATMENT OF MARVEL’S FIRST GAY COMIC SUPERHERO

GAY CHIK!- LGBT SUPERHERO

The moment marked a major turng pot for queer X-Men fans, wh s of subtext, hts, and unnfirmed tent fally g to un before rears' ey.Mystique(Image cred: Marvel Comics)Unlike Kty Pry, her fellow mutant Mystique's sexualy has been open - if not specifilly, verbally nfirmed - for many years, owg to her marriage to pregnive mutant Dty, as well as her relatnships wh characters of other genrs.Out and proud as both a mutant and as a bisexual/pansexual person sce long before many fans for whom queer reprentatn has bee much-need aspect of their ic book experience, Mystique is one of Marvel's - and ic books' - origal queer ins.Incintally, Mystique was -created by Chris Claremont, who also -created Kty Pry, and who veloped a strong reputatn for rporatg queer them and characters to superhero ics for s.Aquaman/Jackson Hy(Image cred: DC)Though he buted as Aqualad, half-Atlantean Jackson Hy has graduated to the mantle of Aquaman - which means that one of DC's flagship characters will be a queer Black man, somethg almost unthkable a mastream ic even jt a few years ago.Jackson - a fan-favore character sce his simultaneo but DC ic books and on the Young Jtice animated seri - has bee somewhat emblematic of the rise of characters wh queer inti morn ic books, now g full circle to the role of Aquaman as one of DC's most unique legacy characters.Alan Stt(Image cred: DC)The origal Green Lantern Alan Stt has been ic books sce 1940, but 's only been sce 2012 that he's been out as a gay man. Though this revelatn first took place wh an alternate Alan Stt DC's Earth 2 tle durg the 'New 52' era, the mastream DC Universe versn followed su 2021, g out to his children Ja and Obsidian.Intertgly, Alan Stt's son Obsidian has been out as a gay man sce 2004, beatg his dad to the punch and reflectg a rare, but very real experience shared by many rears who have multiple fay members - even parents - who are queer.Loki(Image cred: Marvel Comics)Beg magil nature has lent Loki the abily to take on many different forms and those forms display many different forms of attractn. While Loki has been a longtime villa and difyg villas as queer n be problematic, the character's recent hero turns have ma him one of ic books' most popular and intifiable queer hero.Northstar(Image cred: Marvel Comics)Jean-Pl Bebier buted 1979 at a time when both the Comics Co Authory and Marvel's edor--chief Jim Shooter were opposed to openly gay characters, acrdg to thor Shirrel Rhoas 2008's A Complete History of Amerin Comic Books.

Creator John Byrne has explaed that Northstar was wrten as gay om the get-go, "even if I would never be allowed to say so many words the ics themselv."Dpe not utterg the words "I am gay" until 1992's Alpha Flight #106, Northstar has long been accepted by X-Men fans and ic book fans at large who picked up Byrne's nods as one of the first nonilly gay superhero sce his ceptn.

Endurg Civil Wars, Secret Invasns, Origal Ss and every event between, openly-gay wrer Allan Heberg created the pair 2005's Young Avengers #1 and remd rears that Marvel's "world outsi your wdow" clud more than jt the fns of love that had been portrayed to that pot.The two also enabled other wrers to create more realistic portrayals of sexualy their team books as evinced by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's Young Avengers volume that also featured queer characters Miss Ameri, Prodigy, and Loki.Recently, Wicn and Hulklg were married as part of the Empyre crossover.Coagula(Image cred: DC Comics)There are very few out trans characters superhero ic books, but when transwoman wrer Rachel Pollack took over the res on Doom Patrol om Grant Morrison, she aimed to shift the foc. Coagula, a superhero wh the abily to agulate liquids and dissolve solids at will.Inially rejected by the Jtice League, Coagula found a home wh the Doom Patrol, though she's rarely been seen recent years.Iceman(Image cred: Marvel Comics)In 2015’s All-New X-Men #40, the younger Bobby Drake was psychilly outed as homosexual by Jean Grey, retroactively makg the foundg member of the X-Men Marvel's hight-profile queer mutant. While Jean Grey's vasn of Bobby's privacy was problematic bee he did not choose to e out on his own, makg one of Marvel's olst characters gay is notable the way ream past and future stori.

LOOKG BACK AT THE MISTREATMENT OF MARVEL’S FIRST GAY COMIC SUPERHERO

Bisexual wrer Jam Tynn IV’s recent work on the character reaffirmed Constante’s fluid attractn and helped expand the kds of stori that queer superhero characters n be expected to be a part of.Midnighter and Apollo(Image cred: DC Comics)Created as analogs of Batman and Superman, Apollo and Midnighter were among the first openly gay superhero ic books and were certaly the most visible gay superhero uple the late '90s and early '00s. The se you are about to enter ntas ntent that is homoerotic and graphic nature.

If you are unr the age of 18, offend by gay ntent, or superhero peril, TURN AWAY NOW!