Well, come now – they’ve got killer gym bodies, they like showing em’ off in spandex, and oft times they employ equally hot sidekicks. Some superheroes GOTTA be playing for our team. For those of you who are not comic book geeks like me, DC Comics revamped their entire line of comic books this year and basically started from scratch. Every series got a new #1, and the reboot meant that creators could do whatever they damn well wanted without being chained by continuity. One of the changes was to add a gay hero called Bunker (ugh, not winning points with that name) to their longtime Teen Titans hero group. That’s him up there in his civilian identity, and in costume fighting the re-imagined Robin…while wearing purple footies. Oh dear.
Says Teen Titans writer Scott Lobdell:
His real name is Miguel Jose Barragan. He was raised in a very small Mexican village called El Chilar. He was very loved by his family and the village as well — and they were as accepting of his homosexuality as they were to his super powers when they first manifested. To that end he grew up in an angst-free environment. He was born out of the closet and so he has a very refreshing outlook on life.
Teen Titans artist Brett Booth also added that Bunker (whose power appears to be have something to do with pink armor, oh dear) was created to be flamboyant from the get-go:
We wanted to show an interesting character who’s homosexuality is part of him, not something that’s hidden. Sure they are gay people who you wouldn’t know are gay right off the bat, but there are others who are a more flamboyant, and we thought it would be nice to actually see them portrayed in comics. Did we go over the top, I don’t think so.
Makes sense to me. We’re a pretty varied community. And if you weren’t aware, Bunker isn’t the first superhero in a mainstream comic to be gay. There’s more than a few now, and two of em’ are (or were, not sure in this new DC universe) married! Check out Manhunt’s Gay Superfriends Roll Call after the jump!
Northstar is a French-Canadian Olympic skier and member of the X-Men. He’s superfast. (Marvel Comics)
Wiccan and Hulkling are a young gay couple who can cast spells and shape-shift, respectively. They’re also members of the Young Avengers. (Marvel Comics)
Obsidian controls shadows, and has a hot outfit. He’s also occasionally evil but dates a district attorney so it all balances out. (DC Comics)
Shatterstar (redhead, he wields a sword) and Rictor (the guy he’s kissing, can create earthquakes) were hinted at having a relationship on the DL for years until writer Peter David finally acknowledged it for reals in a title called X-Factor. (Marvel Comics)
Apollo and Midnighter are based on Superman and Batman, and they’re fully in love. In fact, they were the first gay superheroes to be married in a comic book. Hopefully, they stay that way. (DC Comics)
http://www.gayleague.com/
nice!!!!!!!!
You forgot the new Question…..but then again she’s a les…but still counts I mean.
Fantastic!! I may start reading comic books again! (lol)
Sorry, I need to be a nerd here. Give me some space.
Northstar’s primary abilities are the creation and manipulation of light, super speed is just a side effect of that.
And I’m surprised Daken isn’t on here – he’s Wolverine’s son and has all his abilities minus the adamantium skeleton. He’s bi and pretty overtly bi at that. I figured someone would have dug him up given the Hugh Jackman fetish.
Daken’s got more powers than just aping his daddy’s set. He can also manipulate ‘pheromones,’ making his flexible sexuality even more fun. He was able to turn on Johnny Storm/the Human Torch with minimal effort, for instance.
Also, while that may have been true at some point, Northstar’s powers are always focused on his superspeed. The extra light powers only ever really appear in conjunction with his schizoid/twin sister, Aurora.
Never apologize for being a nerd 😀
I, too, am a nerd and I always thought that Northstar’s power WAS superspeed and the generation of light was just an in-concert with his crazy sister thing.
I did miss Daken, my bad.
I am off to get a life now.
Tazmanian Devil (DC)..Blue Jay (DC)..Element Lad “circa 88-90?”(DC)…blue Starman(DC)
And for the ladies Question & Batwoman…Shrinking Violet & Lightning Lass..Capt Maggie Sawyer of Metropolis PD all DC
:::sigh::: it does my heart good to be reminded from time to time that i am NOT the only gay geek…
Ok this may not make sense to you if don’t speak spanish but I’m mexican and the fact that the new gay superheroe is from a village called “El Chilar” is HILARIOUS….why? you can see that the name of the village come from another word and the word is “chile” and chile is one way to call the dick over here…so when I read it I was like …. 😀 seriously!!!? hahahahaha
hopefully the story r better then their name and costumes i find it a joke really when a guy kisses u that how his power works it shame they cant have cool power and be gay and the costume r a lil old fashion tights really we r in 2011 let see hoodies and jeans on r superheros
why exactly is he Mexican? Oh, wait–there are no “normal” out gay guys from the US. Gotcha!
weak.
@jj345: I guess if Dan Didio have to hold his nose and plunk down a ‘minority’ character, might as well make it really count in the affirmative action scale. LOL
Not by a long shot! A lot of this was from memory. J. Harvey <—– big ole' queer geek.
Ah, forgot those guys…
You called??
Since Northstar is here then shouldnt Colossus be here as well… since in one of the universes they r together or was that just a brilliant dream… hee hee
Colossus is my fav Superhero… so hopefully i didn’t make it up? 😀 x
@Nico: No, Piotr was crushing hard on Logan in Ultimate. You didn’t dream that one up.
I can’t believe no one remembered the Pied Piper from The Flash.
Bad comic nerds.
One more nerd comment: Northstar was a member of Alpha Flight, not the X-Men.
Thought I’d add a shout out to another recent, super-powered gay couple in the DCU – Gravity Kid and Power Boy from the Legion Academy.
http://tinyurl.com/6bbmcf2
Actually, he joined the X-Men later….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northstar
Here’s my big question for fellow ‘Legion of Superheros’ fans – which incarnation of Shrinking Violet and Lightning Lass, since there have been 3 (or 4… 5?) reboots of that universe, and I’m quite possibly out of touch with the current incarnation by a few months.
It was in what’s generally referred to as “v4” or “five years later” that Shrinking Violet and Lightning Lass were lovers.