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PKPride 09: The State Of Gays In Mainstream Comics

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Pride month is almost over, but I can't let it go by without some discussion of what's happened to all the LGBT heroes and villains in mainstream comics this year. Here's some updates on the major gay characters that had their lives changed for better or worse this year. Hold on to your spandex folks!

I'm sure I'm forgetting some (although in one special case I am postponing my discussion a few days), so please let me know if you can think if a character I missed who has been on the page in this last year!


Shatterstar and Rictor
You may have noticed the image above. This one is hot off the presses! In issue #45 of X-Factor, Rictor and Shatterstar, who have been rumored to be a possible couple since their X-Force days, have reunited. And boy did they reunite! After freeing Shatterstar from some kind of mind control, Rictor plants one on him. Props to gay comic blog Heroes & Hunks (NSFW) for bringing this one to my attention. Hopefully this is the start of a long relationship or at the very least a torrid one-night affair with lots of detail.

Moondragon and Phyla-Vell
This couple is in the midst of some drastic changes at the moment. Moondragon, until recently, was actually dead, killed by Ultron as she tried to protect Phyla. Recently, however, Phyla and Drax the Destroyer were able to travel to realm of the dead and rescue her. The cost was high, however. Phyla lost the Quantum Bands, and has since gained mysterious new powers as the avatar of a being named Oblivion, an aspect of death itself.

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Wiccan and Hulkling
Yet another couple! Wiccan and Hulking are still dating and still alive unless I've missed something recent. They, (and the rest of the Young Avengers), teamed up with the Runaways during the Secret Invasion event. In fact, they were the first on the scene, although they got quickly trounced and had to regroup. Wiccan also joined forces with Speed, his long lost brother, in a search for the Scarlet Witch, whom he believes could be his mother. The last appearance I can find is Wiccan learning from Dr. Strange that he is a candidate for the next Sorceror Supreme.

wiccanhulklinggoodbye.jpg

Apollo and Midnighter
Apollo and Midnighter are worse off. To say the Wildstorm universe was going to shit would be a massive understatement. The world ended. Reality doesn't seem to obey it's own rules anymore. There's no power, technology doesn't want to work, and when it happened, the Carrier crashed into London, merging with it and becoming something... different. Apollo can only meet with Midnighter in brief intervals, as the layer of smog covering the world affects his powers. I'm a bit behind on the Authority at the moment, but last I heard, Apollo had actually gone missing and his teammates assume the worst. We'll find out where he went in July, it seems.

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Ultimate Colossus and Ultimate Northstar
I think this is the last couple. (I swear, I can't think of any more). These two were the focus of some controversy last summer when it appears that Ultimate Northstar had died. In fact, however, he had just been severely injured and left in a wheelchair due to an overdose of the drug Banshee. Colossus, inconsolable when he thought his boyfriend was dead, fought Wolverine and got his heart cut out. (it got put back). Not much has been seen of the two since, but in my interview last year with Ultimate X-Men writer Aron Coleite, we were told that they would be safely out of the way of the Ultimatum event, which seems to be the case so far.

Scandal
Scandal is still recovering from the loss of her lover Knockout, but is no longer a complete mess and pulled herself together enough to help the team in their recent misadventures against the godfather-esque 'Junior'. In the process of these events, Scandal has obtained a "Get Out Of Hell Free" card that was created by Neron. The card is thought to be destroyed, and I think we can all guess at her motives for keeping it secret. Here's to hoping Knockout will be back sometime in the next year!

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Ramsey Spencer
Son of Kate Spencer, aka Manhunter. He is current only about 7-8 years old, but at the end of the Manhunter series, we learn that in the future he will be gay and have superpowers, as well as be in a relationship with another young hero. We don't know much more about this and it will probably be a while before learn anything, with the cancellation of the series.

Obsidian
Also getting less time on the page with the loss of Manhunter, Obsidian is in a relationship with Kate Spencers assistant, and also has ties to the JSA through his father. He hasn't been in anything major recently, however.

Pied Piper
The former villain Piper was thought to be killed on Apokolips, but we learned last summer that he somehow survived, and reappeared in Central City to enact revenge on a few of the other rogues, and help kill Inertia. Piper has since apparently turned himself in to the police.

Anole
Currently living in San Francisco with the rest of the X-Teams, and assisted in fighting the Skrulls. Has joined the Young X-men after initially telling Northstar he wanted nothing to do with the X-men last year.

The 'Sgt. forgot some because it was like 2am when he finished' section

Karma
Moving along with the X-men to San Francisco, Karma recently helped capture members of the Hellfire club who mutant-bashed Pixie.

Greymalkin
Making waves this last year was the story of Graymalkin, a young mutant who lived in the frontier days and was buried alive when his father found out he was gay. Graymalkin's X-gene kicked in and kept him alive, transforming him into a grey skinned mutant whose strength and resilience increases in darkness. He was released when the school was destroyed (the school is built on Graymalkin land) and followed the X-men to San Francisco, where he has become friends with Anole.

The Question (Renee Montoya)
The Question fought against Darkseid in Final Crisis and had her own miniseries where she worked to track down the 'Crime Bible'. She will be regularly featured in Detective Comics, starting in issue #854.

Batwoman
Batwoman didn't get much page time this year, but was in Final Crisis (she was infected with the anti-life equation). She will however, be taking over the lead in Detective Comics #854, essentially making it the new ongoing Batwoman book.

11 Comments

KC said:

Don't forget about Karolina and Xavin in Runaways!

Jon said:

So happy about Rictor and Shatterstar.

fanboi said:

Great Article! Thanks for the mention!

Don't forget Karma is now running with her old New Mutant buddies again.

ougeoman said:

Ah, I do love Peter Allen David and what he's been doing with X-Factor. It's still my one true must buy series.

g_whiz said:

I've never read it but, I hear Scott Pilgrim's gay roomie Wallace Wells, of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is worth a mention.

g_whiz said:

And recent Summer crossover blitzes in Uncanny have us with all mutants on deck to face the Dark Avengers. Which means...4 openly gay mutants (Northstar, Karma, Anole and Graymalkin) in one book! There's an idea for a limited series somewhere...maybe.

Also, when Northstar was re-introduced in Uncanny it seemed he and one of his tech guys were very close, and possibly dating.

starri said:

Hulkling and Wiccan have appeared in Paul Cornell's current Dark Reign: Young Avengers where a new, more H.A.M.M.E.R.-like group of teens want to try usurping the mantle.

Sgt. Sausagepants said:

Oh trust me, I haven't forgotten Northstar.

I'm working on something.

Nexus said:

Hm, having just gone through X-factor, it strikes me that the kiss seems to be 100% Shatterstar.
It'll be interesting to see how Rictor reacts to it next month.
Never liked Shatterstar in the least, little psychotic moron, and him turning out gay or bi isn't about to change that.

Romanticide said:

No mention of Karolina?(Runaways) :(

imasupermuteant said:

MAN! This is making me so sad that I haven't had the money for comics in like... a year and a half. I've been waiting for Ric/Shatty my entire life! >_

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"Oh Lois, you SO don't want to know!"

Comic of the Week

Northstar's Boyfriend Coming In January! You guys may recall I was a bit cranky about Northstar and his lack of lovin' about a year and a half ago. In fact, at the time, I issued a challenge to Marvel to get him a kiss by June 2009 or I would declare him not really gay. I have not forgotten about this. However, when the X-men moved to San Francisco this year, we were teased with the existence of what looked to be Northstar's boyfriend (and manager), so I delayed judgment until we could see more. Since then, Northstar hasn't had a lot of major appearances, as there have been about a thousand major crossover events in the Marvel universe in the last six months, and each one tends to disrupt the normal storyline for most books, including the many X-books. So I waited. Our patience seems to have been rewarded! Artist Tim Fish revealed on his blog that his upcoming story in Nation X #2 (which comes out in Jan.) is a story about Northstar, and will feature Kyle, his boyfriend in an 8-page story. I'm not sure if an actual kiss is in it, but it's implied that there is some lovin' going on. Check out some sketches of Northstar, Kyle, and Aurora below, and we'll keep you up to date when we get closer to Jan. NATION X #2 1/6/10 [TimFishWorks]...

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