Gay marvel comics
Marvel’s first gay superhero is an amalgamation of straight assumptions. Northstar was introduced in 1979 as the first homosexual character in the superhero genre. Unfortunately, the Comics Code Authority censored scripts that were explicit on the matter of his sexuality. For years writers employed subtext to leave hints for their audience to pick up.
Besides men coming in and out of his home, or lingering shirtless in the background of panels, Northstar was coded through the distinct perspective of how straight men typically view gay men. As Ben Bolling points out, he was portrayed as vain, sarcastic, and reckless, but more interestingly, he was given a backstory full of poverty and abandonment. While this is a common background in action/adventure drama, it parallels tightly with sociological work on the queer society in the tardy ’70s. Material appreciate the documentary Paris is Burning exists as a reminder that the homosexual community was viewed as an economically suppressed class for decades.
In the ’80s Northstar’s creator left his flagship and the subsequent journalist, Bill Mantlo, mind he could publicly discuss Northstar’s sexuality by killing him off through a long
Northstar is often called the first same-sex attracted superhero, although he wasn’t allowed to come out until 13 years after his debut. But he was almost certainly the first mainstream superhero deliberately (albeit subtextually) depicted as queer, he was Marvel’s first gay superhero, and his coming out in 1992 was a landmark event, as was his eventual wedding to his husband, Kyle, 20 years later.
I will begin with this disclaimer: I am not going to do justice to this subject in the cosmos I have here. Scholarly papers hold been written about Northstar’s history and significance; there are decades of blog posts, letter columns, zines, and newspaper articles, not to mention the comics themselves. This profile could very adv be a guide — and I hope someone writes it someday so I can interpret it. But in the meantime, here’s the condensed version:
Jean-Paul Beaubier, AKA Northstar, was created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, and he first appeared in X-Men #120 (April 1979) as a member of the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight, along with his twin sister Jeanne-Marie Beaubier (Aurora). He didn’t really obtain a personality beyond “French-Canadian” until Alpha Flight got their own book in 1983, wh
Queer Heroes in Marvel Comics
Often, the only perspectives that kids earn on the world are from the people in their lives and the media they consume, and if the people in their lives are all vertical and cisgender, media is the only chance they have of accessing LGBTQ+ stories.
Enter: Marvel movies!
Kids love them, families watch them, and the comics lay a great groundwork for LGBTQ+ visibility that could be easily applied to films.
But the LGBTQ+ potential in the Marvel Cinematic Existence (MCU) is not being realized. Loki and an unnamed bloke from a support group in “Avengers: Endgame” were the only officially LGBTQ+ characters until the “Eternals” movie came out. Back Group Man only has one line and is never seen again. Loki was confirmed to be bisexual in one line from his recent Disney+ display, and only confirmed to be genderfluid on a glorified nature sheet that has less than three seconds of screen period. Phastos, from the new Eternals movie, is canonically gay and has a husband and kid. He and his husband actually kiss on screen, which is a groundbreaking first for the Marvel movies. Sadly, Eternals is ranked as the third worst MCU movie ever.
10 Best Marvel Comics To Read For Pride
Historically, thanks to the Comics Code Authority, open celebration of queer characters was not allowed in mainstream comic books, especially at massive companies like Marvel. However, the CCA expired more than a decade ago and since then creators have transitioned from including queer-coded characters like Northstar to openly queer heroes like Hulkling, Deadpool, and Gwenpool.
RELATED: 5 Great Gay Manga To Read During Pride Month
Readers celebrating Event Month are looking for the best LGBTQIA comics. Marvel's mutants and outsiders are part of comics' larger mosaic and they've come a long way in recent years. Some of Marvel's greatest heroes celebrate Pride, and while representation is great, it's good to see that they're no longer defined purely by their homosexual identities. Comics are still growing in this regard but Marvel's come a long way.
10 Children of the Atom
A much-loved, short-lived miniseries, Children of the Atom features the budding romance between the genderfluid Cyclops-Lass and haughty lesbian Gimmick. Lasting only six issues, this influential ser