In ntemporary ics, there is much more queer reprentatn than the past. While not perfect, there are tons of ic seri wh progrsive, gay ...
Contents:
- A CHRONOLOGY OF GAY COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS
- 5 THGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE MCU'S FIRST OPENLY GAY SUPER-POWERED CHARACTER
- LOOKG BACK AT THE MISTREATMENT OF MARVEL’S FIRST GAY COMIC SUPERHERO
- HOW DC REEMED THEIR FIRST OPENLY GAY SUPERHERO
A CHRONOLOGY OF GAY COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS
A new trailer nfirmed that Eternals will feature Phastos, a gay character played by Brian Tyree Henry, who's married wh a kid. Never heard of him? You're not alone. * first openly gay comic book character *
Fan NewsThe Evolutn of Extraño, DC's First Openly Gay SuperheroBY: Alex Jaffe.
For over fifty years, not a sgle openly gay superhero uld be found on DC’s pag. One of the dividuals was Gregor De La Vega, a gay Pevian stage magician who cintally shar his surname wh Zorro.
But his wake, many characters even olr than he beme open about their own inti as gay men. A queer thor himself, Orlando felt was time to brg back DC’s origal gay character om limbo to help celebrate DC’s first ic headled by an openly gay uple.
5 THGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE MCU'S FIRST OPENLY GAY SUPER-POWERED CHARACTER
* first openly gay comic book character *
Mastream ics have had more than their fair share of homosexual subtext almost sce their ceptn — look no further than Wonr Woman’s all-female homeland of Paradise Island or Bce Wayne’s overly fortable relatnship wh his ward Dick Grayson. In honor of the news that Archie ics troduced s first openly gay character last week, here’s a look back at the evolutn of open homosexualy mastream ic books.
NorthstarIt’s not exactly a stretch to see the anti-mutant bigotry found the world of the X-Men as a thly veiled metaphor for homophobia — mutants are lled “homo superr, ” after all.
It’s strange, then, that the first openly gay major character the Marvel stable hails om the Canadian super-team Alpha Flight. Although some of the scen centerg around their relatnship seem a ltle tone af by today’s standards, Midnighter and Apollo broke new ground as the first ma characters of a mastream ic to publicly portray a gay Pied PiperThe Pied Piper, a mic-themed Flash rogue wh a hypnotic flute, is one of the first openly gay supervillas to not be played for lghs — we’re lookg at you, Estraño. Later renamed the X-Statix, the team boasted a roster featurg no fewer than three gay characters: a mutant wh the power to alter his abili by changg the lor of his sk, an Emem pastiche who uld alter his nsy, size, and shape by manipulatg his own subcutaneo fat, and a werewolf.
LOOKG BACK AT THE MISTREATMENT OF MARVEL’S FIRST GAY COMIC SUPERHERO
Rawhi KidUnfortunately, not all portrayals of gay characters ics are posive on — not by a long shot. In the ntroversial 2003 miseri Rawhi Kid: Slap Leather, wrer Ron Zimmerman treated the readg public to a rebooted Rawhi Kid whose sexualy amounted to nothg more than a sprgboard for tired, stereotypil gay nuendo.
Hulklg and WicnAs members of the Young Avengers, Hulkg and Wicn had the honor of beg the first openly gay teenage uple wh their appearance. Durg the ial n of Young Avengers 2005, each issue featured s letters sectn a bate ncerng the propriety of a gay uple the pag of a mastream ic book.
This distctn is all the more ironic nsirg that, when Batwoman was first troduced 1956 as Kathy Kane, Bce Wayne’s girliend, she was sentially a lerary beard for a character that had famoly been acced of homosexualy by the lik of Sctn of the Innocent thor Freric QutnRenee Montoya was origally troduced as an (ostensibly) straight policewoman Batman: The Animated Seri, but received a new sexual orientatn when she ma the transn om the small screen to the paneled page.
HOW DC REEMED THEIR FIRST OPENLY GAY SUPERHERO
The existence of homosexualy ics has long been ferred but only recently embraced. In the '50s and '60s, was illegal ( the Uned Stat) to be gay, so was nsired taboo and part of the unterculture. It wasn’t until the '70s and '80s that ic book creators began troducg characters that uld be scribed as havg gay ‘tras’ whout outright clarg them as LGBT.
Required absolutely no mentn of homosexualy until they lifted that ban 1989, and as the untry beme more progrsive s unrstandg and acceptance of the LGBT muny, creators ntued to buck the system and troduce pellg characters that were relatable to more people. In an early issue story-arc, Constante go to the fense of several homosexuals who are beg preyed upon and ends up takg a severe beatg for his effort.