LGBT+ Marvel Characters Discussion

[MasterOfMagnetism]

I just saw Eternals and I loved it. It really sucks that people are trashing this movie so much, a lot of the criticisms of it are way overblown imo.

Anyway while the gay character, Phastos, wasn’t as significant as I hoped the first gay superhero in a superhero movie would be it was still refreshing to FINALLY see a gay superhero on the big screen.

[Confuzzled]

Angelina praising Marvel for refusing to cut Phastos's scenes with his husband in Gulf countries

TBH while encouraging, how much do Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar donate to Hollywood's box office anyway? Now if Disney decides to skip China and/or Russia instead of cutting those scenes, then that would be truly commendable.

[Captain M]

I was so so so so so so happy that Turkey has not censored or cut the movie.

[Husk]

In an ensemble movie, I'd say they did quite well with Phastos. They did well with all of their added diversity since they almost all played a role in the core plot.

[Dermie]

In an ensemble movie, I'd say they did quite well with Phastos. They did well with all of their added diversity since they almost all played a role in the core plot.

I agree. spoilers:

Phastos really does a lot of the heavy lifting in this movie. His technology was essential to Sersi being able to save the day, and he was the one who beat Ikarus and kept him contained after Druig and Makkari had fallen and Thena was occupied with Kro.

end of spoilers

[Drops Of Venus]

I'll only watch Eternals next weekend, but I'm looking forward to it! I'm glad that the response to the gay couple has been positive (well, except for the homophobes' response lol) so far. The film has an uphill battle, between the critics and the bans... but hopefully it'll still be successful enough for Disney to continue to bet on more queer representation.

Angelina praising Marvel for refusing to cut Phastos's scenes with his husband in Gulf countries

TBH while encouraging, how much do Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar donate to Hollywood's box office anyway? Now if Disney decides to skip China and/or Russia instead of cutting those scenes, then that would be truly commendable.

I'm not russian so I can't confirm 100%, but the movie made it to the country with an 18+ rating, so I'm assuming this means it was uncensored there, since they have a law that forbids LGBTQ content to be exhibited to minors.

As for China... the movie was likely already getting banned there, but I will say that Disney's response to the Middle Eastern countries already potentially burns some bridges between them and countries like China. The latest couple Marvel movies were already not making to China, and now Disney is openly refusing to cooperate with more conservative international markets. China could see that as a sign that Disney is not a good ''political ally'' anymore, and that could lead to more ban on Marvel movies in the future. The relationship between China and western countries isn't the best right now, so Disney taking that stand against the culture of other countries doesn't really make things better for them. It's a risky move.

[Psy-lock]

I'm not russian so I can't confirm 100%, but the movie made it to the country with an 18+ rating, so I'm assuming this means it was uncensored there, since they have a law that forbids LGBTQ content to be exhibited to minors.

Rocketman also had a 18+ rating here, but all the gay scenes were still cut despite them being integral to the plot.

[Drops Of Venus]

Rocketman also had a 18+ rating here, but all the gay scenes were still cut despite them being integral to the plot.

Well, I didn't know that. I guess we'll have to wait for someone who watched Eternals there to confirm it, then.

[Psy-lock]

Well, I didn't know that. I guess we'll have to wait for someone who watched Eternals there to confirm it, then.

I can confirm now that nothing was cut

[Dermie]

The Week In Gay:

Amazing Spider-Man #78 - Black Cat appears in this issue

Deadpool: Black, White & Blood #4 of 4 - Obviously this anthology book stars Deadool, and Doop appears in a story by the Allreds.

Eternals #7

Excalibur #25

Strange Academy #13

The Thing #1 of 6 - Hercules makes an appearance.

Edit: I forgot to mention the digital-only Infinity Comics had Hulkling & Wiccan #2 and Deadpool: Invisible Touch #5

[Hypestyle]

is there a mini series with a teamup with several of the lgbt characters?

[Dermie]

is there a mini series with a teamup with several of the lgbt characters?

Depends on what you're asking. Is there a Marvel miniseries that has been specifically about LGBT superheroes teaming up? No. The closest has been a story in the first MARVEL'S VOICES one-shot with an LGBT superhero Pride parade.

Have there been miniseries or team books that have teamed up several LGBT characters? Yes. The most recent incarnation of Guardians of the Galaxy was heavily LGBT. Same for X-Factor. So was the last roster of the Young Avengers, and a few others.

But there has not been a specific gay team-up in the Marvel Universe yet along the lines of the JLQ at DC.

[Dermie]

The Week In Gay:

There were actually no physical books this week with any LGBT characters appearing!

Hulkling & Wiccan Infinity Comic #3 at least gave us some LGBT Marvel content this week.

[Drops Of Venus]

So... anyone got the feeling that Kingo might be queer too in the MCU? I'm talking about two scenes in particular: the first one where he confronts Sprite about her feelings for Ikaris; he starts the conversation by saying he'd keep staring at him too the same way Sprite did. He knew of her feelings for him, so that felt like a pretty suggestive thing to say. And then later on, when he sees Dane for the first time, his first reaction is to say he looks cuter in person. So, nothing too solid... but those two moments were the closest thing to an expression of sexuality he had in the movie, so I thought it was interesting that both were towards men. I really hope we get him (and Eros) being queer. It's the least they can do to make up for the Sersi/Makkari erasure so they could have two straight couples instead.

[Dermie]

So... anyone got the feeling that Kingo might be queer too in the MCU? I'm talking about two scenes in particular: the first one where he confronts Sprite about her feelings for Ikaris; he starts the conversation by saying he'd keep staring at him too the same way Sprite did. He knew of her feelings for him, so that felt like a pretty suggestive thing to say. And then later on, when he sees Dane for the first time, his first reaction is to say he looks cuter in person. So, nothing too solid... but those two moments were the closest thing to an expression of sexuality he had in the movie, so I thought it was interesting that both were towards men.

Interesting idea. Its certainly a possibility. He and Ajak were basically the only two of the 10 main Eternals that didn't either get paired off with someone or express a clear interest in someone in this movie.

Now that you bring this up, the fact that he keeps presenting himself to the public as his own son, grandson, etc, to hide his immortality and keep his movie career going raises an interesting question -- who are the women that supposedly gave birth to his various new identities? Even if Kingo has been romantically linked to real women throughout the decades, at some point those women would realize he isn't aging and they'd be able to confirm that he doesn't actually have kids, etc. Unless he has a string of dead wives that he's murdered to keep his secret, but that would be an unwelcome dark twist for the character.

Is Kingo just making up imaginary wives who value their privacy so much that the public never sees them or learns their identities, and never see the "sons" until they are fully grown and shockingly identical to their father? The immortal who pretends to be his own descendant is a common notion for stories with immortal characters, and it was clever idea at one time but the logistics of it in today's society of social media and lack of privacy is rather sketchy--especially for someone living as high profile a life as an actor.

In any case, yes, I think there is definitely room to establish Kingo as being bisexual at least based on what was and was not shown in this movie.

I really hope we get him (and Eros) being queer.

Absolutely I hope the MCU Starfox is portrayed as queer. The 616 version has already at least implied it, so it would be true to the source material--and it might help deflect from some of the "Eros is a sexual predator" bashing from the anti-fans who try to mis-portray what was actually established in the comics.

Given Harry Styles' LGBT advocacy and his ambiguous approach to sexuality and gender norms in his personal life, I expect he'd eagerly embrace portraying Eros as bisexual.

It's the least they can do to make up for the Sersi/Makkari erasure so they could have two straight couples instead.

I wouldn't put it like that. Although the Sersi/Makkari relationship is apparently a significant relationship of their past it is also a relatively recent retconned addition to their backstory--the Sersi/Black Knight relationship has been a more significant aspect of her comic book history (at least in terms of her time as a superhero). As for making Ikarus her Eternal lover for the movie, that was important for the plot twist with Ikarus' character later in the movie, since his emotional connection with Sersi was a big part of how the climax played out. Even if they were to have used Makkari in that role instead of Ikarus (or made Ikarus a woman instead) I don't think we would have wanted that sort of villainous plot twist to be happening in one of the MCU's first big screen same-sex couples.