LGBT+ Marvel Characters Discussion

[Dermie]

Wasn't it because Abnett didn't want to write him as bi that Alonso made the claim that 616 Herc was bi? I don't remember any hints in his book

No. After the book was announced but before it was launched, someone asked a question online about whether Herc's bisexuality would be acknowledged in the book, and then Alonso put his foot in his mouth with the mistaken comments about Herc not being bi and assuming the person who asked the question was getting confused with the gay Hercules from Pak's X-TREME X-MEN. This created a lot of backlash over the alleged straight-washing of Hercules...but it was just Alonso speaking without knowing what he was talking about.

In one issue of Abnett's HERCULES book, Herc's landlady--who was trying to help Hercules' change his ways and be taken more seriously as a hero rather than the 'drunken fratboy' of the Avengers--made rules about things he was not allowed if he was going to stay in the apartment, and one was "no girls!". One of Herc's friends chimed in with "Or boys. Let's not be bigots", acknowledging that Herc swings both ways.
That run also prominently featured a queer supporting character: Tiresias, an oracle of Greek mythology who was born male but whom the gods turned into a woman and is now both.

[Beetle]

A single vague line is not going to make up for that bullshit from Alonso, that is not acknowledgement. That's literally nothing

Especially since it doesn't come from Hercules himself and he doesn't acknowledge it one way or another

[Drops Of Venus]

Noh/Herc is really not a couple that I would expect on canon, and it's not even something I think it's meant to last, but honestly, just the acknowledgement of the queerness of those characters is a win. SPECIALLY Hercules, a character that's been historically straightwashed on most pop culture adaptions. JUSTICE, I SAY! Justice!

Me to Al Ewing right now:



No Marvel writer is doing it like him, truly.

[Dermie]

A single vague line is not going to make up for that bullshit from Alonso, that is not acknowledgement. That's literally nothing

Especially since it doesn't come from Hercules himself and he doesn't acknowledge it one way or another

I didn't say it made up for Alonso - I'm just acknowledging that it happened. To be fair, it wasn't Abnett's job to make up for Alonso's screw up. He was just going about his business writing his book; he had nothing to do with the mess that Alonso stirred up.

I wouldn't call it "nothing" though - it is an on-panel acknowledgment that Hercules has sexual history with males as well as females. Herc did acknowledge the comment as well, saying that it wasn't helping the situation.

Absolutely it was only a brief nod, which is why I am very grateful that Ewing is now making it explicitly clear. But its still more than any other writer except Pak had done prior to that to acknowledge it on-panel for 616 Herc.

[Snoop Dogg]

No one can deny Herc's sexuality

We needed Noh-Varr to do it

[Crimz]

Personally I think they might confirm he's bi around the time that the Fantastic Four join the MCU. Considering that Marvel is finally starting to give us LGBT characters in the MCU and that the Fantastic Four could use some minority characters, I highly doubt Disney/Marvel is going to launch a new franchise that focuses on a group of all heterosexual/all white people, it seems like that would be time to do it and synergize with the movies. Just me speculating though.

The MCU version will definitely change things up in some way, but that's still a while away. Plus we don't know how they'll do it, they might change it so that they are not all white which means that the comic versions won't change to reflect that. Johnny being revealed as bi before the film is better than waiting for the film to come out and trying to synergize with whatever happens there.

[Ticomat]

The MCU version will definitely change things up in some way, but that's still a while away. Plus we don't know how they'll do it, they might change it so that they are not all white which means that the comic versions won't change to reflect that. Johnny being revealed as bi before the film is better than waiting for the film to come out and trying to synergize with whatever happens there.

I agree. Especially if he's going to already be out when they come to the MCU. They'd need to start laying the groundwork, so it doesn't feel like it's coming from nowhere to people who aren't paying attention. Also, there's bound to be some controversy around it if it happens, because of how bigoted a lot of comic-book nerds can be, so I'd rather it happens when he's still just in the comics, since not only there'd be more assholes if he was suddenly out in the MCU, I'd even say it's less likely for them to risk outing him and have the controversy in the first place if they can avoid it, while he'd HAVE to be out on the MCU if he came out on the comics, considering that'd make a much bigger controversy.

[djoki96]

It seems like recently all of Marvel's "ambigously" bi heroes have been getting their sexualities truly established and/or acknowledged/reaffirmed.

Tommy with David, Mystique calling Destiny her wife and an on-panel kiss, now Noh-Varr and Hercules, which is a two for one.

And, outside of the X-Men, Black Cat.

[Wiccan]

And, outside of the X-Men, Black Cat.

Oh what happened with her, I haven't heard?

[MasterOfMagnetism]

The MCU version will definitely change things up in some way, but that's still a while away. Plus we don't know how they'll do it, they might change it so that they are not all white which means that the comic versions won't change to reflect that. Johnny being revealed as bi before the film is better than waiting for the film to come out and trying to synergize with whatever happens there.

I get that, I just think that if they were going to have him come out as bi for reasons that have nothing to do with MCU synergy then they would have done it by now.

I agree. Especially if he's going to already be out when they come to the MCU. They'd need to start laying the groundwork, so it doesn't feel like it's coming from nowhere to people who aren't paying attention. Also, there's bound to be some controversy around it if it happens, because of how bigoted a lot of comic-book nerds can be, so I'd rather it happens when he's still just in the comics, since not only there'd be more assholes if he was suddenly out in the MCU, I'd even say it's less likely for them to risk outing him and have the controversy in the first place if they can avoid it, while he'd HAVE to be out on the MCU if he came out on the comics, considering that'd make a much bigger controversy.

I feel like the groundwork already has been laid, especially with his relationship with Daken.

[djoki96]

Oh what happened with her, I haven't heard?

She's shown in a relationship with a girl in one of the flashbacks to the days when she trained under Black Fox in her own comic.

Before that, she was implied to be bisexual way back in the 90s.

[AndersonHoran]

by @callmekitto

[Dermie]

I feel like the groundwork already has been laid, especially with his relationship with Daken.

The problem with the Daken relationship is that it has yet to be referenced or acknowledged outside of Daken's solo book. Now that Daken is appearing regularly again in the new X-FACTOR book a reference to it there would be helpful, but the place where it really needs to be acknowledged is the FF book.

[Hypestyle]

.... so has anyone seen the lgbt relationship depicted in the New Mutants movie?

[Drops Of Venus]

.... so has anyone seen the lgbt relationship depicted in the New Mutants movie?

I honestly totally forgot about that, with all the mess surrounding this movie. It sucks that we finally got a Marvel movie with queer protagonists, and it was pretty much dead on arrival. I just hope Disney won't see this as an excuse to not try harder in other Marvel movies.