Gay Marriage In The Comic Book World

Marvel Comics is once again showing its support for diverse characters in its comics. The comic book giant’s first openly gay character, Northstar in Astonishing X-Men, is going to propose to his longtime partner in the next issue. It will also be the first gay marriage scene in a Marvel series. Northstar, who is a Canadian superhero, has been out since 1992.

Many fans have been expecting this to happen for a while, and the Northstar storyline has been moving in this direction. Marvel Comics decided to go through with this plot line after New York State legalized same-sex unions last year. This isn’t the first gay marriage in mainstream comics: earlier this year, Kevin Keller from Archie married his long-term partner. The edition sold out.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this issue sells out like the Archie edition. Readers and comic book fanatics have been looking for a broader range of characters to identify with. Audiences aren’t only young, heterosexual, white males. There is finally more diversity in the comic book world, especially since it has typically been dominated by heterosexual storylines where the superhero wins the girl at the end.

It is awesome that a large corporation such as Marvel Comics isn’t afraid to take on storylines featuring gay characters, especially when it is such a hot button topic in the US. They are making a political statement with this character and his story, but it is a demand for equality that is needed. Northstar is a role model and I hope more comic publishing houses will follow suit by including more gay characters and storylines into their comics.

Contact the author here: kait@morningquickie.com