Tyler

londonundergroundtales:

Marvel’s first openly gay character, Northstar, is engaged to be married to his boyfriend Kyle. This is the first gay marriage in Marvel history.

It’s things like this that make me proud to be a comic book reader. I found a comment online addressing this incredible milestone, and I couldn’t agree more with what he/she says:

“…Marvel has long been at the forefront of social issues, advocating for civil rights long before many other forms of media were. Stan Lee deliberately wrote X-Men to speak to those who were disenfranchised, whether they were black, immigrants, gay, or former soviet farmboys who can turn into steel. This is completely in keeping with Marvel’s history, and quite frankly X-Men is the perfect comic for it. Don’t write this off as a publicity stunt; while Marvel is certainly going to get some publicity for this, artists and authors pour their hearts and souls into their work, and for those involved in this project, this is likely an important issue to them that is allowing them to express fully their desire for what they consider a more equal America.

This is a complex issue where people are trying to learn to respect one another while still working through religious ideals and spirituality, all while some less scrupulous individuals manipulate our feelings for their own gain. Everyone’s identity is being challenged on this one, and a happy resolution is coming, but it’s still going to take more and more work.”

I’m actually looking forward to seeing what happens in this issue (Astonishing X-Men #51) because I kind of half-expect the Brotherhood to bust in somewhere during the service and be all, “We support your rights to love and marry whoever you want, but you are still X-Men so we will fight you!”

Also, DC just announced that one of their “iconic characters” will be coming out of the closet very soon— a character we haven’t seen since the New 52. Is this a marketing ploy to try and play catch-up? When was the last time we saw Wally West?