Not sure whether Shatterstar is bi or gay, but I do remember Rob Liefeld flipping his shit when Peter David put him in a relationship with Rictor in the pages of X-Factor, and that is enough to actually make me like this character now.
11. John Constantine
John is canonically bi, but I’ve always felt he’s more of an “anything that moves” kinda guy, so don’t stand so, don’t stand so close to him.
John is still the greatest comic character ever formed and I miss the original Hellblazer a lot.
10. Anole
I read Skottie Young’s run on New X-Men 100 million years ago. The only things I really remembered were that Pixie and Anole were the two standout characters, and I honestly couldn’t say why. My memory is awful. Um… Anole looks cool and was kinda fun to draw.
9. The Question
So there’s usually a backlash against “legacy” characters. New faces behind the masks of established characters, particularly when those newer characters could be derogatorily labeled as “diversity hires” of sorts. For me, the only one I dismiss is Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle, but just because Ted Kord got ground into the fucking dirt in order to make that happen. Not in my household, friends.
I do truly think the best one has been Renee Montoya taking over as The Question. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Vic Sage version (in most iterations), but I thought the transfer of the mantle was done brilliantly and deftly. The most disappointing part about it is that Renee really never got to shine in the role, and… um… does she even exist now? Even as just Renee Montoya, GCPD? I know she was in the Birds of Prey movie, but that’s not comics, which is all I care about (seriously, I think I’m done with live-action superheroes. But that’s a rant for another day).
Patreon Reward: Pippi Longstocking
I asked the patron if she’d be okay if I made it weird and creepy. I hope I pulled it off.
8. Batwoman
I honestly don’t have a ton to say.
6. Apollo
Listen, I know Warren Ellis has been cancelled for being a creep. It’s kinda not surprising that he’s a creep. Sadly. But, he’s still a guy I think we should respect the work he did at the top of his game. Among those, The Authority essentially redefined superhero comics for nearly a full decade, and we’re still seeing the ripples from its influence. I’d like to the think that the creation of Apollo and Midnighter, and the nonchalant “no big deal” way they were outed inspired the creation of many of today’s LGBTQ characters, and that for some maybe less-than-open minded comic fans of the time (possible myself included), it was kind of a revelation, like “oh, this is fine. Totally fine.”
It didn’t hurt that Apollo & Midnighter kicked a ton of fucking ass. The (at the time) WildStorm Universe version of Superman & Batman, a loving couple who didn’t mind murdering the absolute fuck out of everyone who needed a good murdering. Their intro in StormWatch was one of the best storylines of that series after Ellis took over, and when he transformed the book into The Authority, they became the highlight of that series too.
And then Mark Millar happened and carried the book and team forward with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer with racist and homophobic tendencies, ruining all those characters forever.
Every Apollo (and Midnighter) costume has sucked since the start of The Nu52. But I do kinda like the sun rays coming off the symbol, so I combined it with his old costume. Gave him a haircut too. Long hair is so 1998.
5. Northstar
Oh, Northstar. Where to start? Not the first gay superhero to come out, but perhaps the first to be created AS gay? At least according to legend. John Byrne, in a seriously rare moment of progressiveness – who had created Northstar and the rest of Alpha Flight as basically punching bags for the X-Men – decided to make Northstar a homosexual as he had to eventually give Alpha Flight lives and personalities to carry their own book. While Marvel EIC Jim Shooter wouldn’t allow an out gay character, Byrne and subsequent creators hinted and danced around it without ever full-on revealing it.
Then there’s Alpha Flight #106.
In an absolute over-the-top, early 90s, cheesy, ham-fisted way, written by a legendary scumfuck of the comics industry, drawn by the worst of the Liefeldian clones in worst Liefeldian way, Northstar finally comes out.
It’s kinda glorious.
So Northstar is arguably the most famous superhero coming out story, and the first that got major media attention. It was a huge deal in 1992. Definitely not the best, though.
I actually really like Northstar. Oddly, I was reading Alpha Flight when this comic was released, but because it became so hard to find and sold-out all over, I never got a copy, and I basically stopped reading Alpha Flight (this was at a time where my LCS was actually just the convenient store around the corner from my parent’s house, and my subscriptions/pull-list were whatever they had available. About once every 2-3 months, I maybe could convince my dad to drive me to a comic shop for an hour or so, as long as there was a bar nearby).
But I loved his arrogance and shittiness. He’s definitely a mutant who was one solid agreement away from joining the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. But he was still heroic and compassionate. Just a real asshole about it though. I never understood the pointy ears, though, until I realized something that FUCKING NO ONE TALKS ABOUT!
He’s Zan from the Wonder Twins! Aurora is Jayna! They’re the fucking Wonder Twins! John Byrne spoofed the Wonder Twins! Why does no one talk about this?! Ugh!
4. America
Don’t know much about her, but I read the recent America Chavez: Made in the USA and it’s a “your whole life is a lie!” plot. Which is not great for even the most well-established of characters, and kinda worse for characters barely a decade old. Anyhoo. I like the simplicity of her look, she’s Puerto Rican, and she was enjoyable in the Dr. Strange 2: The Strangening.