Who has Iceman been pining for all these years?

[NewMutant]

Iceman should fall in love with Northstar.

Likely crush on Colossus, Angel, Gambit.

Cannonball is a bestie that he finds attractive.

Beast just is a bestie.

[Vegan Daddy]

I ship Iceman and Wolverine. Considering his massive daddy issues, Bobby definitely likes older, hirsute men.

[marhawkman]

Why are Emma and Mystique not on this list?

[Fokken]

I didn't realize it was multiple choice so I went with Cannonball. Carey's run on XMen made me want them to be a couple. Also, who doesn't like a big hunk of country hotness? Anyone have the panels where either Sam carrying Bobby or Bobby carrying Sam? It was so tender and sweet.

Also, Gambit is a solid choice.

Nah.
Bobby was pretty anti-Gambit, on Rogue's behalf back when they roadtripped together back in Uncanny 319(?) to visit his folks. He was pretty adamant about Rogue not letting Gambit off the hook for keeping his marriage/wife a secret all while stringing her along.

I'll confess I was very much shipping he and Sam for the length of Carey's run, for sure.
But that ship has sailed.

[Anduinel]

Snatched from that other thread:

[Confuzzled]

If Iceman got involved with Daken it would be mindblowing and sexy.

Also kind of groundbreaking and subversive. We have the fun straight boy fantasy relationships like Peter Parker/Black Cat and the more sexay Batman/Catwoman, but there is something so refreshing about having the gay equivalent of that and subverting the tropey "good boy/bad girl" or "good girl/bad boy" concepts.

[Confuzzled]

Well, I think JP was crushin' on him a bit, but not sure if it ever seemed reciprocated or not. However, now it may be a different story, BUT... he's married - oh, the DRAMA!

a little drama never hurt anyone and it would be good to see northstar in an X book!

The idea of hooking up Bobby with Northstar has a lil bit of the offensive T'Challa/Storm stench for me. Not as insulting but still, think it's just trite at best. Kyle's presence in the equation would make things tackier.

[Anduinel]

The idea of hooking up Bobby with Northstar has a lil bit of the offensive T'Challa/Storm stench for me. Not as insulting but still, think it's just trite at best. Kyle's presence in the equation would make things tackier.

Yeah, not a particular fan. Even aside from my doubts about them being compatible personalities, I don't think it'd do good things for either character or Marvel's PR to have Northstar go from Marvel's First! Gay! Marriage! to leaving his husband to pursue a brief former crush just because Bobby came out.

[legion_quest]

Yeah, not a particular fan. Even aside from my doubts about them being compatible personalities, I don't think it'd do good things for either character or Marvel's PR to have Northstar go from Marvel's First! Gay! Marriage! to leaving his husband to pursue a brief former crush just because Bobby came out.

But it would, potentially, be realistic.

A marriage shouldn't be sacrosanct if it doesnt suit the story for it to be. As I've pointed out before, when couples aren't both super, they dont tend to last anyway.

If dumping Kyle meant a more prominent gay couple on panel and used monthly, I'm for that over a marriage that is barely mentioned or seen....

[Anduinel]

But it would, potentially, be realistic.

A marriage shouldn't be sacrosanct if it doesnt suit the story for it to be. As I've pointed out before, when couples aren't both super, they dont tend to last anyway.

If dumping Kyle meant a more prominent gay couple on panel and used monthly, I'm for that over a marriage that is barely mentioned or seen....

If Marvel wanted a gay couple consistently in public view, they've had ample opportunity, and not just with Northstar and Kyle. But they haven't made that a priority; it's been up to individual writers to pursue. Hell, they're not even that great with long-term promotion of single LGBT characters. In this case, it'd likely be more like what happened with Jeffries and Diamond Lil when Jeffries started having a thing for Danger; the existing relationship gets sacrificed for something allegedly more interesting, the run ends, that the new relationship gets ignored until it's undone off-panel because the next writer isn't interested in it.

[Confuzzled]

But it would, potentially, be realistic.

A marriage shouldn't be sacrosanct if it doesnt suit the story for it to be. As I've pointed out before, when couples aren't both super, they dont tend to last anyway.

If dumping Kyle meant a more prominent gay couple on panel and used monthly, I'm for that over a marriage that is barely mentioned or seen....

That's a pretty sad way to settle for compromised representation in my opinion. And it comes at the expense of an LGBT POC who Marvel shamelessly used to publicize a story.

Also, the only couple with both supers that last for decades are of the "King and Queen" variety like Aquaman/Mera and Blackbolt/Medusa or a unique case like Reed/Sue where their entire franchise is founded on their relationship.

[Fokken]

You're assuming a lot. If Marvel wanted a gay couple consistently in public view, they've had ample opportunity, and not just with Northstar and Kyle. But they haven't made that a priority; it's been up to individual writers to pursue. Hell, they're not even that great with long-term promotion of single LGBT characters. In this case, it'd likely be more like what happened with Jeffries and Diamond Lil when Jeffries started having a thing for Danger; the relationship gets sacrificed for something allegedly more interesting that then itself gets ignored until it's undone off-panel.

True.
With the rising popularity of all things Avenger, an argument could be made that Wiccan and Hulking are the prominently recognized "gay couple". Then again my own personal biases could be subconsciously fueling that proposal and if that's the case, my humblest apologies y'all.

But that seems to be the tricky line with writing gay characters.
If you don't immediately give them a love interest, well then their "gayness" is being ignored.
If you write the character as exploring his/her options with multiple partners, then the fear is the message being sent ABOUT the "community", I imagine. I think that's why so many gay characters are quick to have found their respective soul-mate-forever-luvah to dodge any possible backlash and satisfy the coveted "gay quotient". Alternatively, they are wallpapered (Karma) or their "gay behavior" is written as morally questionable or vilified (Daken).

I don't envy (but I do often admire-- Ewing, Gillen, Heinberg, David, to name a few) writers who brave the subject matter --particularly when said writer(s) can be so easily chastised or ridiculued for misrepresentation and/or "pandering"

[Anduinel]

True.
With the rising popularity of all things Avenger, an argument could be made that Wiccan and Hulking are the prominently recognized "gay couple". Then again my own personal biases could be subconsciously fueling that proposal and if that's the case, my humblest apologies y'all.

No, I think it's entirely fair to say that Wiccan and Hulking are Marvel's most prominent gay couple. They're not that well known to the public (yet; I think it's just a matter of time before they graduate to higher profile other-media appearances), but I think they're the most consistently showcased within the comics.

But that seems to be the tricky line with writing gay characters.
If you don't immediately give them a love interest, well then their "gayness" is being ignored.
If you write the character as exploring his/her options with multiple partners, then the fear is the message being sent ABOUT the "community", I imagine. I think that's why so many gay characters are quick to have found their respective soul-mate-forever-luvah to dodge any possible backlash and satisfy the coveted "gay quotient". Alternatively, they are wallpapered (Karma) or their "gay behavior" is written as morally questionable or vilified (Daken).

Yup. Plus I honestly think a lot of it just plain boils down to the fact that most of Marvel's writers and editors are straight and aren't entirely comfortable exploring same-sex attraction. Where having, for example, Scott and Emma kiss, flirt, or loll half-naked in bed together is something that probably seems only natural, the same actions for a homosexual couple might be viewed as gratuitous. After the 2011 Alpha Flight series, I recall Fred Van Lente grumbling about how he and Pak practically had to arm wrestle their editor every time Northstar and Kyle kissed because said editor felt it was "too much" or similar phrasing. But there was nothing on panel that would have been blinked at if it had been a heterosexual couple. So even a monogamous couple is just too edgy sometimes (which probably also feeds into the whole thing about why promiscuous characters tend to be on the villainous side of things). So it'll be a refreshing change of pace if Grace does have Bobby date around a bit.

[Confuzzled]

LGBT writers like Orlando, Tynion, Bennett and hopefully Grace can afford to be more risque and show more complicated LGBT relationships as there would be a lower chance of backlash over misrepresentation in their cases. Kind of underlines why representation matters not just on page.

As for accusations of pandering? Eh, that will always be there from folks who are annoyed that they aren't the ones who are pandered to. The irony.

[legion_quest]

That's a pretty sad way to settle for compromised representation in my opinion. And it comes at the expense of an LGBT POC who Marvel shamelessly used to publicize a story.

Also, the only couple with both supers that last for decades are of the "King and Queen" variety like Aquaman/Mera and Blackbolt/Medusa or a unique case like Reed/Sue where their entire franchise is founded on their relationship.

Eh, something is better than nothing. I dont see the point of a limiting relationship that wont get used over the chance for one that might mean more page time.