Which gay or lesbian character should get a solo on-going post-SECRET WARS?

[teamhawkeyes]

"They work better in team books" makes no sense when the characters have never been given a shot at a solo. And good creative team can make a good solo with whatever character. Lazy, lazy argument.

I would love a Wiccan/Hulking or Cullen Bloodstone book, but my vote went America Chavez. But I think having to pick one is stupid. I want them all to have books.

[ed2962]

I actually think that heroes like Karma, Chavez, and Billy and Teddy and maybe Bling could have pretty decent runs under different companies. Marvel's business model is slightly different from DC's ( or was) and smaller companies don't necessarily need huge returns. So, they won't automatically get cancelled after a year.

I think Northstar's biggest stumbling block might be people who aren't familiar with the character thinking he's just another Flash.

[Factor]

I think Marvel should launch at least 3 new LGBT series in the "All-New All-Different" MU.
One could be Hyperion. Yes, he hasn't actually been outed as gay yet, but I think Hickman could have been hinting at it. He basically wrote Thor and Hyperion as a gay couple, adopted Savage Land kids included. Sure, most read it as a bromance, but I think there was something more to it. Marvel probably won't make Thor bi, but I definitely can see them exploring Hyperion's sexuality. The fact he was included in the teaser makes me hopeful.
Ms. America is almost an obvious choice. The character has been getting a lot of buzz online and seems to be a fan-favorite. Her attitude, coupled with her awesome powers and supporting cast could make this work.
I also LOVE the idea of the Icemen book. Two versions of the same guy from different generations dealing with their sexuality together has so much potential. I can see it having a similar tone to Hawkeye. It would probably need a gay writer, though. The book needs to have a writer that truly understands the struggles of gay men or it has the risk of becoming and stereotyped mess.

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Allan Heinberg?

[Factor]

The guy writing Midnighter also seems to be pretty good (and is probably more available than Heinberg).

[Kieran_Frost]

Never a fan of this line of thinking.

When a character has never had an opportunity to stand alone I find it premature to say they work better in a team setting.
And establishing pre-existing characters as solo stars is not much different than creating new characters wholesale. It's only a matter of moving the characters outside of the bubbles they currently reside in.

QUOTED FOR TRUTH!!!! No-one has any data to say a lesbian or gay on-going won't sell, because they've never tried it. Batwoman sold really well. Did Midnighter debuted well?

Daken would be much better than any listed because he fits the action super hero genre better than any of the above. He has a life.

Daken's bisexual, not gay.

Also, I disagree with the "these characters can't carry their own solo" argument, imo under the wing of a competent writer, most characters can get away with an interesting solo. Whether it sells or not is a different story. It could be a hit like Ms. Marvel or a good book with low sales like Magneto.

Agreed. It's a lazy way of dismissing the issue.

I think there's a powerful psychological horror aspect to Karma that's rarely been touched upon. Essentially, her power is to take away a person's free will, which is a major violation of one's self. There's been plenty of demonic possession stories, villain possession stories, etc, but a story where the protagonist is the possessor is unmined territory, in my opinion. There's an inherent moral conundrum here-- how can one be a hero when the means for that heroism is essentially a personal violation of self? What leads Karma to make such choices, what impact does it have on the victim, how does it play out on the mental plane, etc. are interesting themes to explore in a comic. (Obviously, I'm thinking about a more mature book here.) It's not typical superhero faire.

In addition, there's her background as the child of a East Asian crimelord, which, in itself, is a fertile and relatively unexplored theme for a N American superhero comic. There's body dysmorphia issues, which can be played out as she views herself through others' eyes. This is all before we even touch on her sexuality.

Obviously, you'd need a tremendous creative team that could pull all of this off. Personally, I think the writer most suited for the job would be Josh Dysart, judging from his work on Harbringer and Imperium (and, to a lesser extent, Unknown Soldier, as he will do his research to insure that East Asian aspect is accurate and not insulting like he did with the African conflicts in US). Bill Sienkiewicz would be ideal as the artist, but also artists like Enrique Breccia, Leo Manco, Ashley Wood would be good choices.

Some further thoughts on a Karma series:

The name "Karma" itself references a system where the good one does is balanced against the harm one does. I'm not sure if Chris Claremont had this in mind when he chose the name, but it is a perfect description of the dichotomy built into the character-- doing harm (violating one's self) to do good. The name itself implies major moral questions and themes, so you shouldn't walk into the Karma book expecting your usual cookie-cutter story.

The model for the book would be Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo's Enigma, a classic comic not just consider one of the best LGBTQ superhero books, but one of the finest superhero comics ever. Enigma asked big questions and played with big themes, identity being the most prominent. It wasn't content with easy answers or solving problems with a punch. Marvel hasn't had a book with that kind of ambition in a long time (arguably Milligan's own X-Force/X-Statix).

Also, I think it gets back to a staple of Marvel's philosophy-- that heroes with inherent contradictions are the most interesting heroes. Matt Murdock violates his oath to uphold the law everytime he puts on the costume and fights crime as Daredevil. Spider-Man and the X-Men sacrifice their lives for a world that has no use for them. Bruce Banner tries to create a weapon of mass destruction, then has to live with the consequences when he himself becomes the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. Ben Grimm is the idol o' millions, but can't accept himself for what he's become. Carl Lucas is done wrong by society, but then fights for justice as Luke Cage. Karma, in my opinion, has the potential to be a slightly darker take on the kind of inherent contradictions that Marvel built its name on.

In any event, it would probably only last eight issues, and its ceiling is to become a cult classic.

LOVE BOTH THESE POSTS!!! You really need to write a Karma on-going

Well damn, now I want to write a Karma series.
Awesome ideas, FanboyStranger.

Ain't that the truth!

And, just curious, but when did they announce that Bobby was gay? Or is he bi? I'm confused here?

All New X-men #40, Bendis outed 05 Bobby as gay. It remains to be seen if adultBobby is gay; look to Uncanny X-men #600 for the answer.

[Kieran_Frost]

O'k here's the gist of ANXM #40...

http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/a...w.jpg~original

Jeen didn't intentionally read Bobby's mind.

I still smile so much reading this; Bendis did such an amazing job on that story. Really, REALLY proud of him, and proof you don't need to be gay to "get it".

[Zartan's Brother]

I voted for Wiccan. I'd like to see a book that focuses on Wiccan and some of the other younger magic users in Marvel learning the ropes. The Midnight Grandsons, if you will. I'd be most interested in Wiccan and Nico Minoru. Given how many magic users in Marvel never get featured, it's be a great chance to show readers the state of the greater Marvel Mystical Universe through the eyes of two relatively inexperienced characters.

[Kieran_Frost]

As an additional note, her first story ended with her absorbing her own brother. This has never been followed up on. At all. He was really never even mentioned again. So a Karma series could also use that. Have him manipulating her from the inside to make her do bad things and eventually bring him back. It would be even more psychological thriller stuff - in addition to Karma questioning her subduing the identities of others, she'd also be dealing with occasional lapses of her own identity, adding some symmetry.

Ohhhhhh... you know the more people throw out ideas for Karma, the more I love the idea of her getting a solo series. These all sounds fascinating.

I'm glad to see that someone remembers Freedom Ring, I wish that Marvel would bring him back. There was a lot of controversy when Marvel killed him. GayComicGeek did a great analysis on the character: https://youtu.be/PL21WJXruNQ

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Such a huge waste; I hope he comes back. I am happy Kirkman acknowledged how (in hindsight) it was very wrong to kill him.

"Frankly, with the SMALL amount of gay characters in comics in general, and how unfortunate the portrayals have been thus far, whether intentional or not—I completely understand the backlash on the death of Freedom Ring, regardless of my intentions. If I had it to do all over again... I wouldn't kill him. I regret it more and more as time goes on. I got rid of what?[sic] 20% of the gay characters at Marvel by killing off this ONE character. I just never took that stuff into consideration while I was writing." ~ ROBERT KIRKMAN

Moondragon is bi. Phyla-Veil is a lesbian.

Ah, thank-you for the clarification.

Billy is one of my favorite characters, but he really doesn't need a solo. Well, nobody needs a solo but I'd be more interested in reading Ms. America's. She's a relatively unexplored character who we still don't know very well, whereas Billy monopolized the last Young Avengers series and the Children's Crusade as well.

Mayyyyybe Children's Crusade, but not Gillen's run. Billy is barely even in 1/3 of it (and doesn't appear in 1/4 of the series at all). Gillen balanced the cast really well; giving everyone some time to shine. Kate probably got the least BUT she had Hawkeye/swings-and-roundabouts.

I'm curious: what did you think of it? I've followed the character for years, and I thought it was an excellent first issue and probably the best thing done with the character since the original Authority ongoing. (It also felt like a great '80s indie action comic like Grimjack or Grendel: Devil's Legacy, which is a good thing, in my opinion.) I'm wondering how a reader experiencing the character for the first time feels about it, though?

I knew nothing about the character. I wasn't confused, thought the lady at the start I assumed was a villain before Midnighter met her later. I enjoyed it a lot; it was VERY user friendly. I'm definitely picking up the next issue.

I would definitely bring his family back into the mix as supporting characters. Him coming out to his parents, especially his dad, is an opportunity for ethos that will happen sooner than later regardless of whether or not he gets a solo post-SW. Seeing how regressive his father his, I wouldn't be surprised if that man is closeted as well, like Chris Cooper's character from American Beauty. If Bobby helps Drake Sr. come to terms with that and help him accept himself, it would be incredibly deep and a first for superhero comics.

Regading mutant allies, I wouldn't mind if they use Teen Jean (girl sells comics), some of the New X-Men like Pixie, Trance, Indra, Bling! or No-Girl, or new characters altogether. We don't see platonic friendships between gay characters often in superhero comics so we could see Anole as a BFF. The rest of the O5 could be semi regulars. Stevie Hunter would be a cool non-mutant ally that they could use.

I guess the villains should reflect the themes of the series. A young gay mutant exploring and experiencing his world and new outlook on life needs bigots like the Purifiers and William Stryker for conflict.

Love all these ideas! Esp. the Chris Cooper comparrison. As for villain, I wouldn't want his main foe to be gay hating (that is a little too much on the nose). I think Ms. Sinister would be pretty awesome for Iceman. I would happily see Iceman travel to Russia and kick some ass! OH! Have a Russian villain, Omega Red? LOVE IT!!!

[baltiroo]

I would LOVE a Karma series - or really anything with her in it. She has so much going on for her - tragic, emotional and super heroic beats that truly give her a great wealth of stories should Marvel decide to capitalize on it.

Miss America would be an obvious choice and an interesting one too. I think the idea of an Ice Man/Men book is interesting and has the potential to really grapple with super heroics and internal gay drama as well. I do remember seeing that Marvel recently copyright(ed) Northstar and that a few people speculated that it was in anticipation of an ongoing and/or mini for him (presumably when Secret Wars concludes). I'm all for more representation in comics as it gives a better demographic for the actual reading population.

[James Hunter]

I have voted for Miss America Chavez but I admit my opinion is influenced by the rumours floating around that she's going to have a solo series anyway! personally I'd love to read a Destroyer series (especially if Aubrey had other members of the Invaders or V-Batallion as supporting cast) or an Anole series I'm just not convinced they'd sell!

Cheers.

James.

[Punisher007]

Ok sorry if this is an obvious question, but would the current Angela book count? They seem to be REALLY implying something between her and Sera (the other female angel).

[Dark Soul # 7]

The world needs a comic that chronicles Miss America Chavez' journey of punching.

[Garbledarber]

My top choice is a solo for Wiccan. I'd like to explore him as more of a solo character independent of Hulking but a team up with both of them would be good too. I'd also read Iceman, Miss America, Alone, Bling! And Northstar books.

[Holt]

I have voted for Miss America Chavez but I admit my opinion is influenced by the rumours floating around that she's going to have a solo series anyway! personally I'd love to read a Destroyer series (especially if Aubrey had other members of the Invaders or V-Batallion as supporting cast) or an Anole series I'm just not convinced they'd sell!

Cheers.

James.

Wait Destroyer was gay?