LGBT+ Marvel Characters Discussion

[Dermie]

The Week In Gay:

It was a light week for new comics in general, but still a significant one for the LGBT characters...

INCOMING! - this one-shot was dropping clues and setting up plot points for several storylines and events coming up next year in various titles. In particular it positions Hulkling at the centre of the upcoming EMPYRE event! We also get appearances by Wiccan, Viv, and Mister Sinister (he's been confirmed as bi now, hasn't he?).

That's all I've got. Does anyone know if there was any LGBT content in either SPIDER-HAM or DR STRANGE: SURGEON SUPREME #1?

[nandes]

The Week In Gay:

It was a light week for new comics in general, but still a significant one for the LGBT characters...

INCOMING! - this one-shot was dropping clues and setting up plot points for several storylines and events coming up next year in various titles. In particular it positions Hulkling at the centre of the upcoming EMPYRE event! We also get appearances by Wiccan, Viv, and Mister Sinister (he's been confirmed as bi now, hasn't he?).

That's all I've got. Does anyone know if there was any LGBT content in either SPIDER-HAM or DR STRANGE: SURGEON SUPREME #1?

This isn't meant as a dig against you (sorry in advance and I really appreciate you for doing this weekly) but it's more of a particular pet peeve of mine when people try to fit Mr. Sinister into any kind of non-hetero sexuality for being "flamboyant" when at most he's a self obssessed misogynist whose idea of a perfect society was made of no women and million copies of himself... I guess what I mean is that Mr. Sinister is a great character to read and all but I personally wouldn't consider him as any sort of LGBT+ representation

[Holt]

I'm hoping Viv doesn't get murked in Outlawed.

[legion_quest]

This isn't meant as a dig against you (sorry in advance and I really appreciate you for doing this weekly) but it's more of a particular pet peeve of mine when people try to fit Mr. Sinister into any kind of non-hetero sexuality for being "flamboyant" when at most he's a self obssessed misogynist whose idea of a perfect society was made of no women and million copies of himself... I guess what I mean is that Mr. Sinister is a great character to read and all but I personally wouldn't consider him as any sort of LGBT+ representation

He wants Gambit.

[Sutekh]

He wants Gambit.

But does that make him gay, or just human?

[Beetle]

But does that make him gay, or just human?

It makes him someone with tragic taste

Like Rogue

[Drops Of Venus]

This isn't meant as a dig against you (sorry in advance and I really appreciate you for doing this weekly) but it's more of a particular pet peeve of mine when people try to fit Mr. Sinister into any kind of non-hetero sexuality for being "flamboyant" when at most he's a self obssessed misogynist whose idea of a perfect society was made of no women and million copies of himself... I guess what I mean is that Mr. Sinister is a great character to read and all but I personally wouldn't consider him as any sort of LGBT+ representation

To be fair, you just described a lot of cis gay men with that statement, LOL. Not saying Sinister IS queer, but those characteristics certainly don't make it impossible for him to be. And yeah, the idea that a villain is queer coded because of flamboyance is rather problematic, but it IS a trope that has existed for ages. There is like an entire subgroup of cartoon villains that fall under that trope, from The Lion King's Scar to Powerpuff Girls' Him. I think it's a byproduct of a historical lack of proper LGBTQ representation, which only really started to change in more recent times. In the particular case of Marvel, I wouldn't mind Sinister coming out as queer because I think there is enough positive and prominent LGBTQ representation in other stories that balance things out. But if he was the only kind of queer character... yeah, that would probably be another story.

[Sutekh]

To be fair, you just described a lot of cis gay men with that statement, LOL.

Reminds me of Sebastian Shaw, actually. Likes to wear hosiery and lace, and hangs out with a bunch of other dudes in brocade and wigs, but is a straight up misogynist, for all his airs. (Whether or not he's bi is another question. I'm not sure he counts as any, since he's only 'attracted' to cruel displays of power over others, it seems, and not necessarily gender.)

[nandes]

To be fair, you just described a lot of cis gay men with that statement, LOL. Not saying Sinister IS queer, but those characteristics certainly don't make it impossible for him to be. And yeah, the idea that a villain is queer coded because of flamboyance is rather problematic, but it IS a trope that has existed for ages. There is like an entire subgroup of cartoon villains that fall under that trope, from The Lion King's Scar to Powerpuff Girl's Him. I think it's a byproduct of a historical lack of proper LGBTQ representation, which only really started to change in more recent times. In the particular case of Marvel, I wouldn't mind Sinister coming out as queer because I think there is enough positive and prominent LGBTQ representation in other stories that balance things out. But if he was the only kind of queer character... yeah, that would probably be another story.

I agree that Sinister possibily being queer isn't necessarily problematic - and god knows I've enjoyed tons of stories featuring the despicable gay stereotype - it's mostly that I think it's weird trying to fit Sinister into the role of the malicious queer villain when it doesn't have much in common with the character shown on the page from what I read of him. Sinister, at least as written by Gillen (which seems to be the definitive portrayal nowadays), is so self-invested that it's odd to even think about him being *attracted* to someone else

[Dermie]

This isn't meant as a dig against you (sorry in advance and I really appreciate you for doing this weekly) but it's more of a particular pet peeve of mine when people try to fit Mr. Sinister into any kind of non-hetero sexuality for being "flamboyant" when at most he's a self obssessed misogynist whose idea of a perfect society was made of no women and million copies of himself... I guess what I mean is that Mr. Sinister is a great character to read and all but I personally wouldn't consider him as any sort of LGBT+ representation

No worries -- I honestly wasn't sure, which is why I asked. The flamboyance is part of it, but I thought there had also been scenes in recent years where it was at least implied...but I could easily be misremembering.

I know in Rosenberg's UNCANNY run Sinister made a comment about having sexual fantasies about Captain America...but it was actually Mystique disguised as Cap, so Sinister commented that he must have subconsciously known it was her. That one kind of goes either way - he admitted to a sexual fantasy about a man, but he justified it as being a woman disguised as him.

[Sutekh]

Sinister, at least as written by Gillen (which seems to be the definitive portrayal nowadays), is so self-invested that it's odd to even think about him being *attracted* to someone else

It would seem completely on-theme for him to have clones of himself for that very purpose.

[Anduinel]

Iceman and Christian Frost were shown to have, at the least, a FWB situation going on in Marauders #5 today.

[Drops Of Venus]

Iceman and Christian Frost were shown to have, at the least, a FWB situation going on in Marauders #5 today.

I haven't read the issue yet but I saw some panels and BOBBY WAS WEARING CHRISTIAN'S FREAKING ROBE! There's no way they're not fucking. I can obviously totally get behind this, as I've been shipping this even before I knew it was a possibility.

[BroHomo]

Iceman and Christian Frost were shown to have, at the least, a FWB situation going on in Marauders #5 today.

I haven't read the issue yet but I saw some panels and BOBBY WAS WEARING CHRISTIAN'S FREAKING ROBE! There's no way they're not fucking. I can obviously totally get behind this, as I've been shipping this even before I knew it was a possibility.

didnt get why he was in the robe and not iced up lol

[Sutekh]

didnt get why he was in the robe and not iced up lol

Pretty much exactly to show off that the two were banging, I imagine. Bobby has zero reason, otherwise, to be wearing someone else's robe and not be iced up. Whether he's flaunting in-character, or just meta for the readers (and that scene might not even happen inside the comic itself), it's show and tell. Visual storytelling at it's best. We don't need the words. (Or anything tacky and explicit.)