Young (Gay) Avengers

[WillParkinson]

http://www.afterelton.com/bgwe/3-28-08

A comic from Marvel. 2 of the characters, Hulkling and Wiccan, are gay. This page has a few panels from it.

[Cheap_Trick]

1. Really good comic

I read it for about the first 8 or 9 issues, but it had a problem coming out (no pun intended) on time. Hulking is not only gay but a Skrull(not that there's anything wrong with that) as well, the son of Captain Mar-vell and a skrull princess.

[Creideiki]

2. Marvel's got a history of being pro-gay

From the wink-nod of the general mutant population and the "mutant plague" storylines to Alpha Flight and Northstar. I've always gotten the impression that Stan Lee "gets" the gay community.

[Toasterlad]

6. Not Always That Way.

Back in the 80's, Marvel's official policy was "There are no gay characters in the Marvel Universe". That's a direct quote from the then-editor-in-chief, which a Wikipedia entry on Northstar* attributes to Jim Shooter, although I seem to remember reading at the time that it was said by Shooter's successor, Tom DeFalco. In any case, while I'd already largely quit collecting comics by then, hearing that turned me off Marvel comics for a good long while.

*obliquely gay as written by creator John Byrne, then swiftly de-gayed after Byrne left the book, and now, apparently, openly gay in his newest incarnation.

[galledgoblin]

8. 80's Northstar... I think he kind of set gay rights BACK

it was pretty bad, writers kept adding parts to his story that were so over the top stereotypical and offensive. I think at one point he and his sister were confirmed to be Norse fairies?!

Chris Claremont was much better at quietly writing gay characters. you could point to the fact that mystique and destiny were villains, perpetuating the whole "lesbian relationships = OMG TROUBLE" stereotype, but he also wrote (intentionally or not) other relationships in between heroes. again, I point to Storm and Yukio or Storm and Callisto.




...you have no idea how pissed I am that she's suddenly married to the Black Panther...

[BillSam]

10. You can say that again

I remember a Moon Knight story in (I think) "Marvel Premiere" in the 80's or thereabouts where they had a gay character who was referred to as a pansy. Moon Knight got on his radio and told an associate to get the pansy as he ran outside. "You can smell him by his perfume," he said. It was written by a Doug Moench. I wrote a letter to Marvel and got a reply from somebody, who said my letter would be forwarded to Moench. Never heard from him (no surprise). This may have been twenty years ago but it was still the 80's, not the 50's, and Gay Rights had asserted itself by then.

"Pansy" is an old term but it still pops up in reference to gays now and then. I guess some stupid people think it's not as offensive as fag or fairy. It is.

[DarkTirade]

3. There's a list online of the known gay characters in comics.

http://www.gayleague.com/gay/characters/index.php

My favorate? The lesser-known http://www.gayleague.com/gay/characters/display.php?id=132">Apollo and Midnighter from The Authority.

I mean, one look at them and all you can see is Batman and Superman. Seriously, one guy is all light and goodness and he's all-powerful and gets his energy from the sun and he can fly... the other wears all black and is much more cold and calculating and he depends on fighting skill rather than sheer power. Tell me that isn't Batman and Superman right there. :)

[mondo joe]

4. They're great also because they're so unapologetic, and in no way

torn or unhappy about being gay.

[DarkTirade]

5. That too. :)

And they're just plain cute together.

[galledgoblin]

7. Wiccan's name was changed shortly after he and Hulkling hooked up

used to be Asgardian, and the editors in reality and the characters within the comic itself decided it'd be best to change the name to avoid the tasteless jokes.

Runaways has a particularly interesting pairing, an open lesbian and a Skrull (an alien shapeshifter) who changes gender casually.

usually you need to look at the b and c list characters for open bisexuality and homosexuality; as many shippers may devote themselves to some of the relationships (personal fan of Storm/Yukio), most remain subtext.

in general, close relationships, both homosexual or heterosexual, don't fair well in comics. Marvel just broke up Mary Jane and Peter Parker/Spider-Man in a rather convoluted way that no one really can follow... check out http://www.unheardtaunts.com/wir/women.html for more on how many relationships end up.

[galledgoblin]

9. just fyi, Hulkling will probably have a big role in Marvel's upcoming big line-wide crossover

http://comics.ign.com/articles/863/863032p1.html