Comics can teach us a lot and the most important lessons are tolerance and acceptance of everything different or what some would deem strange. That’s why these comic book characters are so important. Unfortunately, superhero movies still have a lot of catching up to do.
We’re counting down some of the most iconic LGBTQ superheroes of all time.
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Wonder Woman
Diana of Themyscira has a long and storied history as a queer icon. Creator William Moulton Marston was heavily inspired by his wife Elizabeth and their polyamorous partner Olive Byrne. After Marston’s death, the two women continued his work maintaining the queer identity that is central to the character’s earliest days.
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Loki
Inspired by his origins in Norse mythology, Loki is pansexual and genderfluid. He doesn’t share human concepts of sexuality and sexual identity. Character regularly switch pronouns when referring to Loki. He is what’s known as an antihero. Loki has a villainous streak but has tried to be one of the heroes more than once.
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Midnighter
Possibly the best-known gay superhero in comic book circles, Midnighter was created as a parody of Batman, starting off in the adult-rated Wildstorm comic Stormwatch. Midnighter possesses the ability to analyze all possible scenarios before a fight begins.
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Batwomen
When Batman disappeared from Gotham, his cousin Kate replaced him as the city’s new vigilante: Batwoman! Originally introduced in 1956 to silence critics who claimed Batman and Robin were gay lovers, Kate Kane was reintroduced in 2006 as a lesbian.
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Daken
Daken has been recognised as one of the sexiest male characters in the comics.
The son of Wolverine possesses abilities similar to his father also has an extra mutation that allows him to project pheromones that cause desire in both men and women. Daken has been portrayed as bisexual, having engaged in sexual situations with both men and women. He kissed a man in Wolverine: Origins #11.
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Harley Quinn
The clown princess of crime is a salacious flirt with the boys and girls of the DC Universe. Her longtime suspected relationship with Poison Ivy was revealed as a part of the character’s canon in Harley Quinn #15. Harley Quinn’s doesn’t always fight for what’s right, but sometimes does the right thing anyway!
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Northstar
Creator John Byrne has explained that Northstar was written as gay from the get-go, “even if I would never be allowed to say it in so many words in the comics themselves.” Through his mutation, Northstar gains superhuman powers which he uses for the betterment of society. He is noted as one of the first openly homosexual superheroes in American comic books. During the A.I.D.S. scare of the 1980s and early 1990s, comic book publishers began to focus attention on the controversial issue.
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Mystique
Mystique has been romantically connected to her companion Destiny ever since their first appearance in X-Men together. Chris Claremont – creator of Destiny – had originally intended for Nightcrawler to be their biological son, but because this was 1981, Marvel prohibited the explicit portrayal of queer characters and storylines.
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Constantine
John Constantine is from the darker, more esoteric edges of the DC universe. He is a cynical, witty and absolutely ruthless anti-hero who will do anything to ensure his own survival. His bisexuality was first established as early as 1992, in a comic where he offhandedly admitted to having ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends.’
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Iceman
Iceman, was first introduced by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in issue No. 1 of X-Men in July 1963. He is a founding member of the X-Men. The character was revealed to be gay in 2015 comic when he comes out to openly gay X-Man Anole. Though that Iceman story was written by Brian Michael Bendis, who is straight, his solo series is being written by Mr Grace, who is gay.
