Gay characters in comic books
Every Single Comic Book Personality That Has Been Retconned To LGBTQ+
Comic book publishers have made it a habit of changing their characters sexuality in recent years and we are going to list them all out for you.
So let’s get to it.
Part 1
1. Iceman
Iceman first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #1 back in 1963. It was rather clear he was interested in women by Uncanny X-Men #7 when he flirted with a coffee bar waitress named Zelda.
Zelda would not be the only female, Bobby Drake would demonstrate interest in. In Uncanny X-Men #52, he shares his feelings for Polaris.
In fact, Drake would travel on to have passionate relationships with a number of women including Kitty Pryde, Mystique, and Magma.
However, in 2015 Marvel Comics and writer Brian Michael Bendis made Iceman lgbtq+ in Uncanny X-Men #600.
This came after a younger version of Iceman was made gay in Brian Michael Bendis’ All-New X-Men #40.
2. Star-Lord
Peter Quill was first introduced in Marvel Previews #4 in 1976. In that first appearance it’s made pretty remove that he is intimate with one of the women who “welcome” him to NASA’s training center in Houston.
By Marvel Preview
The complex history of Marvel and DC’s queer characters
It’s Parade Month, so let’s take a bit of a profound dive into the complicated history of queer comic manual characters and the “Big Two” publishers, Marvel Comics and DC Comics.
I started reading comic books in the early 90s, with my very first comic book purchase being Avengers #345 (Part 5 of “Operation: Galactic Storm”). At 14 years old, I fell in love with Marvel Comics. I began collecting every team comic there was: Uncanny X-Men, Avengers West Coast, New Warriors, Fantastic Four, etc. Eventually, I branched off into DC Comics with Justice League of America, Legion of Super-Heroes, and yes, even Young Heroes in Love. However, it wasn’t until I picked up an issue of Image’s Gen13 that I actually saw a superhero who was part of the LGBT community. Sarah Rainmaker was beautiful, gorgeous, and bisexual. And I was in awe.
As a burgeoning member of the LGBT community myself, I was ecstatic to find a hero who I saw a brief semblance of myself in. However, it also made me wonder why there weren’t any gender non-conforming characters in any of the Marvel or DC Comi
15 Influential LGBT Comic Book Superheroes
Ever since the Comics Code Authority (C.C.A.) was established in 1954, comic book creators have been limited in their ability to depict LGBT characters as successfully as drug employ and other controversial topics. In the '50s and '60s, it was illegal (in the Combined States) to be gay, so it was considered taboo and part of the counterculture. It wasn’t until the '70s and '80s that comic guide creators began introducing characters that could be described as having gay ‘traits’ without outright declaring them as LGBT.
RELATED:15 Muslim Characters In Comics You Should Know
The C.C.A. required absolutely no bring up of homosexuality until they lifted that ban in 1989, and as the country became more progressive in its understanding and acceptance of the LGBT community, creators continued to buck the system and launch compelling characters that were relatable to more people. Here are 15 powerful LGBT characters who appeared in comics before the code was finally abandoned.
15 JOHN CONSTANTINE
John Constantine is a cynical, witty and absolutely ruthless anti-hero who will perform anything to secure h
I think that all superheroes should be queer by default. I can’t imagine being a superhero with unique abilities and organism attracted to one gender. That sounds so boring. I indicate, think about it. If you could throw planets or raise buildings with your bare hands, why would you limit yourself to one gender? Hell, why limit yourself to one species?
Don’t get me wrong, I feel the same about aliens and gods, too. It feels like making characters straight as a default does them a disservice. It’s also one of the reasons I am reading more manga these days. Manga doesn’t feel as limited as most American comics. With manga, I can find almost anything I am in the mood for. But with American comics, it often feels that some publishers are reluctant to force mainstream queer characters who are in queer relationships on-page and not as a plot device. As a viewer and fan, you can always tell which character feels more developed than others. Right now, my favorite comic book show with Gay representation is HBO Max’s Harley Quinn. It’s funny, it’s same-sex attracted, it’s violent, and you gain a few life lessons along the way. But this should be the standard