Thread: Outing Superheroes

So the subtext has always been around. Everyone who's ever seen the old spandex BAM! POW! Batman tv series knows there's something "gay" about the whole superhero gig. Tights, huge rippling biceps, little boy sidekicks, the need to live as your "alter ego" so people don't burn you at the stake...

Those of you who aren't in the GLBT community might not know this but: queers love comics. There's something about the "superhero" experience that speaks to the closeted homosexual. We all secretly want to kick ass... but for glbts, the misunderstood mutants of X-men are fabulous analogies for what a lot of us go through every day.

Well it seems like the comic companies have caught on...

But did they really need THIS MANY gay superheroes???? O_o;

Superheroes don't really need to come out of the closet in order to speak to us. And the last thing we want is a bunch of lame ones tossed in the corners to make us feel "included".

Well check it out:
Category:LGBT superheroes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That's right kids, Sixty-TWO (+16 supervillains!)

Superheroes are being outed all over the place!

Did you know Batwoman's gay now? Well she is. So is Catwoman!

The Coolest
-Apollo & Midnighter (Stormwatch Authority "lifepartners" who's creators were pretty much the last folks to figure out why they were always looking at each other like that. Apparently they're not only out of the comics closet, but married now and have adopted an incredibly hot daughter. O_o; )
-Creote (Birds of Prey... the Soviet Op hottie who seems to be harboring a secret flame for his partner, Savant. No "super powers", just skills... and no reservations whatsoever about breaking both of this chick's legs)
-Karolina Dean (Runaways. I love my alien lesbians to have an approachable girl-next-door quality... helps if they're gorgeous too, I suppose)
-Northstar (X-men. Alright... so he's not the best, he's not even all that cool--but he's pretty much the first positive gay character to get a decent chunk of lines in a comic book ever. And for that, he's cool.)
-Desire (Sandman. Desire is fabulous... he/she/it is the brothersister from hell and the completely insane up-for-anything lover we'd all kill for. The leather catsuit is fabulous, as are the snide comebacks)

The Lamest
-Anole (X-men, the completely disposable gay teen x-man who sticks to walls. Go away, Anole.)
-The Rainbow (X-Force... He's "The Rainbow" for godsakes...!!)
-Coagula (Doom Patrol, a tranny who coagulates liquids >_< ... DC comics, you can stop any time now... seriously... stop)
-Comet (Supergirl... Supergirl's HORSE is a lesbian... I officially hate you DC comics!)
-Extrano (Millenium. The ultimate malicious gay stereotype -- flaming, limp-wristed and mincing, and infected with HIV during a fight >_<; Have I mentioned that we hate you DC?)

The moral of the story: Diversity is lovely and all... but if the only way you can include a minority group (asian, hispanic, gay, lesbian, transexual, black, futanari, etc) in your comic is to create the lamest throwaway character ever or attempt to breathe controversy into an already-established character that's gotten stale: don't bother. We can live without one-in-ten... as long as there are at least a few that don't suck. DC, I'm talking to you.

Just like Dumbledore -- it takes more than the "he's gay" press release to make us care.

Good characters are good characters reguardless of their sexuality. Maybe the point should be that it doesn't MATTER what sexuality, gender, or race you are--not that every super hero team needs to look like they were assembled from "It's a Small World" ride rejects with backstories involving genetic disease, AIDS, domestic violence and inner city gang-wars O_o;

Let's just get back to the focus on tights and secret identities. That's gay enough for everyone.

Gay League - CHARACTERS