Superheroes have always been about breaking down barriers - and we're not just talking about punching through brick walls. If it's been a while since you touched a comic book, you might be surprised at the heroes who are openly gay these days.
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00:00Superheroes have always been about breaking down barriers, and we're not just talking
00:04about punching through brick walls.
00:06If it's been a while since you've touched a comic book, you might be surprised at the
00:09heroes who are openly gay these days.
00:12When the X-Men were first introduced in 1963, the team consisted of Cyclops, Beast, Angel,
00:18Marvel Girl, and Iceman.
00:20Over the years, Iceman evolved a number of different looks and even had a few relationships.
00:25But it wasn't until a storyline in 2015 when a time-displaced, teenage version of Iceman
00:30was introduced that psychic Jean Grey discovered he was gay.
00:34Since the Iceman we'd all been reading since the 1960s never indicated this was the case
00:38— except maybe once — the characters had a talk.
00:41It was revealed that Iceman couldn't cope with being both a mutant and gay, but since
00:46he had to deal with his powers openly, he suppressed his own sexuality to the point
00:50where he refused to even think about it.
00:52After talking with his teen self, Iceman was able to come to terms with his feelings,
00:57and the character is now openly gay.
01:00The Canadian mutant known as North Star is a member of Alpha Flight and has had numerous
01:04appearances in the X-Men comics over the years.
01:07He's also Marvel's first openly gay character.
01:10In fact, in issue 51 of Astonishing X-Men, North Star marries his husband.
01:15Though not as popular as the X-Men, Alpha Flight was a team of mutants who operated
01:19north of the border in Canada.
01:21North Star serves as an integral member of the team and has a variety of powers including
01:25superhuman speed, flight, and the ability to fire photonic blasts of energy.
01:30He and the rest of the team were created by legendary writer John Byrne in 1983, who at
01:36first didn't want to create the team as two-dimensional nobodies to counter the X-Men.
01:40In order to alleviate his own misgivings, he created more fleshed-out backgrounds for
01:45the characters, which included making North Star a gay character.
01:48Unfortunately, North Star's sexual orientation could only be hinted at for years, since editorial
01:54policy at the time forbade characters from being homosexual.
01:58You are probably familiar with Batgirl, the alter ego of Barbara Gordon, but Batwoman
02:02actually predates her by a few years.
02:05She was introduced in the mid-1950s as a love interest to Batman, in order to counter rumors
02:10that Batman was gay.
02:11Seduction of the Innocent, a book written by psychiatrist Frederick Wertham, had called
02:16comics into question for their influence over children, and in particular called out
02:20the characters of Batman and Robin, suggesting their relationship was a homosexual one.
02:25Batwoman ended up being axed as a character midway through the 1960s, only to be resurrected
02:30again in 2006.
02:32This time, she was given a new twist and was reintroduced as a gay character herself, in
02:36an effort on DC's part to offer more diverse characters for their readers.
02:41Released in the late 1980s, Richter made his way through a number of X titles, including
02:46X-Factor and X-Force, as well as The New Mutants.
02:49His mutant power involves generating seismic energy, which is basically directing earthquakes
02:54at stuff.
02:55In 2009, Richter shared a kiss with fellow X-Force member Shatterstar, the first ever
03:00in a Marvel comic book.
03:01Since that time, the character has been an open and out gay man.
03:05The relationship between Richter and Shatterstar proved to be so popular and well-done that
03:09writer Peter David won a GLAAD Award for the portrayal of their relationship in the pages
03:14of X-Factor.
03:16Even casual Marvel fans may have heard the word Grey Malkin pop up now and then.
03:20It's the name of the street where Xavier's school for gifted youngsters was built, as
03:24well as the name of Cable's space station.
03:26And since 2008, Grey Malkin has also been a mutant with the young X-Men.
03:31How'd he get his name?
03:32His family owns the land on which Xavier's school was built, and the street was named
03:36after him.
03:37As it turns out, though, the character is over 200 years old, and was caught by his
03:41father as a teen experimenting with another boy.
03:44Enraged, his father beat him unconscious and actually buried him alive on the land that
03:48would one day become Xavier's school.
03:50Fortunately for Grey Malkin, his mutant powers activated and saved him from death, putting
03:55him in a kind of hibernation until the present when he was freed and eventually became a
03:59member of the young X-Men.
04:01One of the new X-Men, Anol's mutation is a number of lizard-like abilities to match his
04:05scaly appearance, including the ability to crawl up walls, a prehensile tongue, and adaptive
04:11camouflage.
04:12The character was introduced with hints that he might be gay, given his closeness to his
04:15mentor Northstar.
04:17It was later confirmed as a real deal by the comic's writers.
04:20Anol has since been praised for being openly gay while not making every storyline revolve
04:24around that particular aspect of his life.
04:26He's gay, but he's also a superhero, so he does superhero things that aren't affected
04:30by his sexuality.
04:32In other words, despite looking like a lizard, he's just a normal guy.
04:35One of the coolest characters in recent comics history, Angela was originally created by
04:40Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane to be part of Image Comics' Spawn universe.
04:44However, after a lawsuit over rights, a court ordered that Angela should revert fully to
04:49Gaiman, who has since sold the character to Marvel.
04:52Angela was originally a warrior from Heaven sent to fight the Hellspawn.
04:55Once she joined the Marvel Universe, she ended up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, of all
04:59Until she has to run off with Odin's baby to protect it after finding out she, too,
05:04is an Asgardian, and the daughter of Odin.
05:07Accompanying her is Sarah, her companion, friend, and lover.
05:11Deadpool is played straight in his movie, but writers and the man in red himself, Ryan
05:16Reynolds, have openly acknowledged Mr. Poole is actually a lot more fluid in his sexuality
05:20than that.
05:21Reynolds described Deadpool as pansexual, but don't take it from him.
05:25Here's Deadpool co-creator Fabian Nieseyser explaining the merc's sexuality.
05:29He can be heterosexual one day, and a few days later, he can believe 100 percent that
05:34he's not.
05:35Deadpool is ready to have fun with anyone from moment to moment.
05:38Reynolds has gone on record saying he loves this aspect of the character, and hopes that
05:41in the sequel, the character could have a boyfriend, just because it's another way Deadpool
05:45breaks the boundaries of traditional superhero roles.
05:49If you're not familiar with the inner workings of the comic book world, there's a fair chance
05:53there are more LGBTQ-plus superheroes out there than you realize.
05:57From the big screen to the small, to the panels themselves, here are some of the LGBTQ-plus
06:02superheroes out there saving the world for all of us.
06:06In 2017, the hit movie Thor Ragnarok revitalized the Thunder Gods franchise with a new brand
06:12of irresistible humor, and a huge gladiator battle with the Hulk, of course.
06:16Among the new characters introduced in Ragnarok was the tough, unapologetic binge-drinker
06:21Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson.
06:23She reprised the role as one of the leaders of New Asgard in 2019's Avengers Endgame,
06:29eventually being named leader of Asgard at the end of the film, and fans will be seeing
06:34her again in 2021's Thor Love and Thunder.
06:37"...the Lord of Thunder sends his best."
06:43"...the revolution has begun!"
06:45Valkyrie's sexuality isn't addressed in the theatrical versions of either Ragnarok or
06:50But shortly after Love and Thunder was announced at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios
06:56confirmed Valkyrie would be the MCU's first openly LGBTQ-plus superhero, and this would
07:03be addressed in the 2021 sequel.
07:05Thompson even said Valkyrie was bisexual as early as 2017, lining the character up with
07:10her comic book counterpart.
07:13Ragnarok had originally highlighted Valkyrie's sexuality, but this scene was sadly left on
07:17the cutting room floor.
07:18Unfortunately, the comic book version of Valkyrie on which Thompson's character is based is
07:23no longer around.
07:25That hero, Brunnhilde, was killed by the dark elf Malekith in the line-wide event War of
07:31the Realms.
07:32The role of Valkyrie has since been taken up by Jane Foster, who Natalie Portman portrayed
07:36in the first two Thor films, and who is also set to appear in Love and Thunder as Thor
07:42herself.
07:44Marvel Studios has made some truly unforgettable superhero films in the past decade, and while
07:48opinions will always vary, the uneven quality of the X-Men franchise and the failure of
07:54the last couple of Fantastic Four movies meant that a lot of fans were very happy when Disney
07:59acquired Fox Studios in 2019.
08:01Still, there's at least one important landmark the Fox films hit before Marvel, producing
08:06a movie featuring Marvel's first on-screen same-sex couple.
08:10In 2018's Deadpool 2, it's revealed that Negasonic Teenage Warhead is in a relationship with a
08:16young X-Men member named Yukio.
08:19Not a lot is shown of their relationship, but the duo joins Wade and the rest of the
08:23heroes in the film's climax.
08:25The pair appear just in time to save Colossus from Juggernaut, and later contribute to the
08:29latter's less-than-pleasant fate.
08:33Curtis Holt, played by Echo Kellum, has been an openly gay man since his first appearance
08:37on The CW's Arrow, but he wasn't always a superhero.
08:42Holt has appeared regularly on Arrow since its fourth season, though initially he was
08:46content to be the guy in the chair, coordinating things from Oliver Queen's Arrowcave and generally
08:52hacking into whatever needed to be hacked into.
08:55But after he's attacked by street thugs in the show's fifth season, Curtis asks Oliver
09:00to train him for some more hands-on work.
09:02Borrowing the ring name of his favorite wrestler and using his ingenious gadgets to help fight
09:07crime, Holt becomes Mr. Terrific.
09:10But Holt's time as a vigilante doesn't come without cost.
09:13Later in Arrow's fifth season, Curtis' husband Paul leaves him after discovering his hidden
09:18crime-fighting life.
09:19Fortunately, love finds Curtis once more in the form of Star City police officer Nick
09:24Anastas.
09:26Holt has since given up crime-fighting, but still helps Team Arrow in a guy-in-the-chair
09:30capacity when they need it.
09:33Presumed drowned after the wreck of the Queen's Gambit, Sarah Lance barely survives and is
09:38taken prisoner aboard the ship Amazo, property of the mad scientist Dr. Ivo, who trains Sarah
09:45to become his assistant.
09:47After reuniting with her former lover Oliver Queen and being presumed drowned a second
09:52time, Sarah is rescued by Nissa Al Ghul of the League of Assassins and recruited into
09:57the secret organization of Silent Killers.
10:00Nissa and Sarah soon become lovers.
10:02I've had better greetings.
10:04I'm sorry, I just, I didn't know what you were going to do.
10:08To be honest, neither did I.
10:10Sarah has had both male and female partners since returning to Star City on Arrow.
10:16She has also become one of the regular characters on Legends of Tomorrow and took over the captain's
10:21chair of the series' central time and spaceship, the Waverider, and is currently in a long-term
10:27relationship with Ava Sharp, a genetically-engineered clone from the 23rd century.
10:33The fourth season of The CW's Supergirl made a huge stride in LGBTQ representation by introducing
10:40TV's first transgender hero.
10:42I am both human and alien, and I am a trans woman.
10:48Nia Nall, also known as Dreamer, is a trans woman of mixed human and alien heritage who
10:53inherits her powers, which include being able to see the future after her mother's
10:57death.
10:58Nia's mother Isabelle was from the planet Naltor and used the title of Dreamer before
11:03Nia.
11:04Naltorian Dreamers are women of extraordinary abilities, including often receiving precognitive
11:09visions in their dreams.
11:11A Naltorian Dreamer's power passes to her daughters, so when Nia's mother dies, Nia
11:16is initially confused about the Dreamer's abilities beginning to manifest in her because
11:21she wasn't biologically born female.
11:24It soon becomes clear that Isabelle always knew it would be Nia, and not her sister Maeve,
11:28who would inherit her powers.
11:30Sadly, while Nia's family has appeared to be accepting toward her transgender identity
11:34so far, the revelation that Maeve won't inherit her mother's abilities causes a lot of ugliness
11:40to come out.
11:41Meanwhile, Dreamer has been a close friend and ally to Supergirl since obtaining her
11:45abilities, and has also enjoyed a somewhat rocky romantic relationship with Supergirl's
11:49ally from the future, Brainy.
11:52The CW's Arrowverse consists of a vast multiverse of various alternate realities.
11:57One of those realities is Earth-X, where the Nazis won World War II.
12:02The Earth-X alternates of Arrowverse's heroes tend to be villains serving the Reich on Earth-X,
12:07such as Overgirl instead of Supergirl, and Dark Arrow rather than Green Arrow.
12:12In the 2017 CW crossover Crisis on Earth-X, characters from The Flash, Arrow, Legends
12:18of Tomorrow, and Supergirl are brought to Earth-X.
12:22Most are freed from a concentration camp by the Freedom Fighters, made up of the Rey and
12:26Leo Snart, also known as Citizen Cold.
12:29It soon becomes apparent that Rey and Leo are in love, and that their relationship made
12:33them a target of the Nazis.
12:35In season four of The Flash, the heroes ask for Snart's help in transporting a metahuman
12:39to Argus.
12:40Upon arriving on Earth-1 and reuniting with his old comrades, Leo is met with cheers and
12:45congratulations when he announces that back on Earth-X, he and the Rey are planning to
12:50get married.
12:52The first time the bisexuality of John Constantine, whose name should be pronounced Constantime
12:58— if you're talking about the comics version...
13:00"...John Constantine?"
13:01"...Constantine."
13:02"...Is it?
13:03I don't care."
13:04...is brought up in 1992's Hellblazer No. 51, and the reveal doesn't come with a lot
13:12of fanfare.
13:13Speaking of how he doesn't maintain many long-term relationships, Constantine's narration reads,
13:19"...girlfriends, the odd boyfriend, they all have the nasty habit of walking out on me."
13:24Neither the 2005 film Constantine nor the 2014 TV series of the same name make any mention
13:31of Constantine's bisexuality.
13:33But when Matt Ryan's version of Constantine became part of CW's Arrowverse, his bisexuality
13:39was explicitly addressed.
13:41Constantine becomes a recurring character on Legends of Tomorrow in the show's third
13:45season, and he is depicted in romantic situations with both men and women.
13:50He and Sarah Lance have a one-night stand, and later it's revealed that he and Time Bureau
13:54goofball Gary have had some kind of brief fling.
13:58"...Yeah, Constantine let me down easy, too.
14:01Said it was about the balance of good and evil."
14:03Years earlier, Constantine was also in a relationship with a male bartender named Desmond.
14:08In fact, Constantine is plagued with guilt over memories of his old lover, who he was
14:13forced to send to Hell in order to banish the demon Neron from Earth.
14:18When the DC Universe streaming service revived the Young Justice animated series, it included
14:23the reveal that the show's new version of Aquaman was in a same-sex relationship.
14:28Oren, the original Aquaman you may be more familiar with, retires from all things super,
14:33and Kaldor, formerly Aqualad, assumes the name Aquaman, as well as the leadership of
14:39the Justice League.
14:40In Young Justice Outsiders, Kaldor is depicted as being in a same-sex relationship with the
14:46Atlantean, Wind.
14:49It isn't clear whether Kaldor identifies as gay or bisexual.
14:53In earlier seasons of Young Justice, Kaldor is shown to have romantic feelings for female
14:58characters.
14:59In particular, while using the name Aqualad, Kaldor holds a torch for Tula, also known
15:03as Aqua Girl, and is heartbroken when she gets involved with his best friend Tempest.
15:08It could be that he's bisexual, or that in those earlier instances he hadn't yet come
15:12to accept his sexuality.
15:14For a long time, it was one of DC Comics' worst-kept secrets that Harley Quinn was both
15:19bisexual and in a non-monogamous relationship with fellow Gotham City antihero Poison Ivy.
15:26They'd been friends and more in comics, cartoons, and even video games for years, trading innuendo
15:31and hints all the time.
15:33But for a long time, there was no official word on the pairing.
15:36But then Harley Quinn writers Jimmy Palmiati and Amanda Connor confirmed Harley and Ivy's
15:41relationship status in 2015, and fans got to see the pair share a kiss in 2017's Harley
15:48Quinn 25.
15:49Harley was understandably devastated when Poison Ivy died during the 2018-2019 DC miniseries
15:56Heroes in Crisis.
15:57Thankfully, by the end of the series, it's shown that Ivy had prepared for the potential
16:01of her death by creating a plant-based clone of herself, who then goes on to team up with
16:05Harley in the Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy miniseries.
16:09Like Harley Quinn, Renee Montoya made her first appearance not in the comics but in
16:13the 90s cartoon Batman the Animated Series.
16:16But it would be over a decade before the former Gotham detective would become a bona fide superhero.
16:22Montoya's first appearance in the comics was in 1992's Batman 475, in which she is introduced
16:28working with Harvey Bullock inside Gotham's Major Crimes Unit.
16:32She then stepped into the spotlight in 2002 with Gotham Central, a comic focused on the
16:37Gotham City Police Department.
16:38Fed up with the force's corruption, Montoya quits the GCPD and falls on hard times.
16:44She drinks habitually and loses her girlfriend Daria.
16:48The vigilante Vic Sage, also known as The Question, then recruits Montoya during the
16:52Series 52 to help him fight the criminal organization Intergang.
16:57By the time that series is over, Sage has succumbed to cancer, and Montoya has taken
17:01up the mantle of The Question.
17:03Despite a few revamps and reboots here and there, Montoya has remained The Question in
17:07the comics.
17:08More recently, Montoya has helped Superman's wife in the espionage thriller miniseries
17:13Lois Lane.
17:14Rosie Perez brought Montoya to life in the 2020 film Birds of Prey, and remaining comic-accurate,
17:20her character was indeed a lesbian.
17:23America Chavez is a lesbian raised by a gay couple, and she's also one of Marvel's most
17:28powerful superheroes.
17:30She's super strong, she can fly, she has super speed, and she's nearly invulnerable.
17:35And when her series America launched in 2017, she became the first LGBTQ-plus person of
17:41color to lead her own ongoing title in the history of Marvel Comics.
17:46Originally known as Miss America, based on the character of the same name from the 1940s,
17:50the present America — the character first appearing in the 2011 miniseries Vengeance
17:55— Chavez gained a lot more attention as a member of the Young Avengers and during
18:00the 2015 line-wide event Secret Wars, when she was part of the all-female A-Force.
18:06Along with her solo series, America joined the Ultimates and eventually became the team's
18:11leader.
18:12More recently, she was part of a new incarnation of the West Coast Avengers, led by the group's
18:16founding member, Hawkeye.
18:18The heroes Hulkling and Wiccan enjoy one of the longest-running same-sex relationships
18:23in comics.
18:24They were introduced in Young Avengers 1 when both the heroes seemed to be younger versions
18:28of the classic Avengers lineup, whose origins were shrouded in mystery.
18:33What's particularly interesting is the actual characters these two were based on.
18:37Hulkling, as his codename suggests, looks like a younger and smaller version of the
18:41Hulk.
18:42Wiccan, on the other hand, goes by the name Asgardian when he's introduced, suggesting
18:46a connection to Thor.
18:47So it was particularly interesting to base these two young gay men on heroes who are
18:52known to regularly beat the tar out of one another.
18:55But in the end, neither Hulkling nor Wiccan prove to have any significant connection to
18:59these classic Avengers.
19:01Hulkling's physical appearance is due to his mixed Skrull and Kree ancestry and has nothing
19:06to do with gamma rays.
19:07Wiccan, meanwhile, eventually learns that he's one of the twin sons born to the mutant
19:12Scarlet Witch and the android hero Vision.
19:15Hulkling and Wiccan have never strayed far from the spotlight of Marvel Comics since
19:19their introduction.
19:20Both recently appeared in the 2019 Deathsad miniseries, and Wiccan is one of the members
19:26of the new Team Strikeforce, which includes a number of occult-themed or otherwise non-traditional
19:31heroes, such as Blade, the Winter Soldier, and Angela.