Ever since President Obama came out in support of gay marriage earlier this month, a groundswell of support for gay marriage has surged throughout the nation and especially in the world of entertainment. Even stars like Jay-Z and T.I. have followed suit and shown support. And now, it looks the X-Men are doing the same.
In Astonishing X-Men #50, which hit newsstands on May 23, the openly gay mutant hero, Northstar, proposed to his longtime boyfriend, Kyle Jinadu. And what makes the moment even more unique, is that they are a gay interracial couple, with Northstar being white and Kyle being black.
Next month, the two will marry in grand scale with issue #51 dedicated to their wedding and a super hero guest list as big as any comic nerd’s collection.
But many in the comic book world know that such a move will be met with both accolades and disapproval.
“Whenever you tell a story that touches upon an issue people are passionate about, you open yourself up to controversy and some very heated comments, both supportive and critical,” said Marvel’s editor in chief Axel Alonso. “But as long as we continue to tell good stories, with nuanced characters from different walks of life, we feel that we’re making our comics accessible to the widest possible audience.”
Though Marvel notes that their big same-sex wedding issue comes at a perfect time, with President Obama recently coming out in support of gay marriage, but they claim that they had the idea to wed Northstar and Kyle since New York first legalized gay marriage.
“Most of our characters reside in New York, and our stories always work best when we reconcile them against the real world, so it raised some questions,” said Alonso.
This isn’t the first time Marvel has worked to diversify their characters and storylines. Last year, the comic book titan introduced Miles Morales, the half-black, half-Hispanic Spider-Man to fans.
And for Marjorie Liu, the writer for Astonishing X-Men, putting a realistic spin on superheroes and shining a light on the stories of oppressed groups is more than just a political or creative move. It’s personal too.
“I know what it means to be in a situation where the world looks down on two people in love,” Liu said. “My father is Chinese and my mom is a white American, and they married at a time when mixing race was almost always discouraged.”
“The prejudice my parents faced was very real, and hurtful. So it’s not a far leap for someone like me to relate to the controversy about gay marriage — two people who are in love, who want to be together.”
And like in the real world, Liu says that the fictional wedding won’t be without it’s own drama.
“As for the ceremony … well, what wedding ever goes off without a hitch?” she asked.
We commend Marvel for continuing to stay abreast with the times and being brave enough to push the envelope with its stories. And Northstar and Kyle aren’t the only gay characters on our radar.
Check out some of our other favorite gay characters below. – nicholas robinson
