Superhero gay

We’ve put together this list to introduce some of the most influential gay superheroes, ranging from groundbreaking figures like Marvel’s Northstar to characters like Harley Quinn who. LGBTQIA+ heroes and villains have been making the realm of superheroes a more colorful place for over 40 years. From gay martial arts masters and lesbian detectives to badass bisexual antiheroes.

From Nico and Karolina to Angela and Iceman, celebrate Pride Month with these heroic love stories! Happy Pride, everyone! In honor of the month-long celebrations, we're taking a look at some of the most notable LGBTQ+ characters and relationships across the merry Marvel Multiverse. Here Are 11 Of The Most Important Marvel And DC LGBTQ+ Superheroes A look at the long and very queer history of some of the Marvel and DC's biggest and most well-known heroes.

On the small and big screens, as well as in the panels, here are many of the LGBTQ+ superheroes saving the world for all of us. In , Marvel Comics readers learned one of the original X-Men —. What makes someone a gay icon? Well for starters, being a woman helps, and usually a heterosexual one at that. The queen of them all, Judy Garland, embodies everything traditionally associated with the label -- beauty and poise on the surface masking a broiling sadness within.

Even to this day, being a "Friend of Dorothy" is recognizable code for gay men. Batman's sexuality and historical campiness has been a subject of debate for decades, while the X-Men 's themes of prejudice and otherness make them easy conduits for those who are marginalized in the real world. Really, superheroes in general have always made great gay icons. They're flamboyant, rebellious, dramatic, often live dual lives and nearly always struggle to fit into "normal" society.

first gay superhero marvel

So, while queer fans haven't always been able to see themselves openly or equally represented on page and screen, there have always been heroes who embody qualities they love and identify with. The original Kathy Kane first appeared in Detective Comics all the way back in Unfortunately, her crime-fighting skills were largely overshadowed by rocky romances with both Bruce Wayne and Batman separately.

Luckily, New Earth's version breathed new life into the forgotten Batwoman mantle in Kate Kane is an army brat, a formidable vigilante and a lesbian. Sorry, Bruce. For queer readers, Batwoman is both celebratory and revolutionary in comics. She's not only a prominent openly gay character, but she faced systemic prejudice during her time in the military for breaking Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and has had both good and bad relationships with women -- the former culminating in two marriage proposals.

Fierce and flawed, Batwoman is a real gay icon in both senses of the word. What's gay about He-Man? What isn't gay about He-Man. A protagonist living a double life, one of which is that of a muscle-bound, tiger-riding man dressed in fetish gear who surrounds himself with other muscle-bound men? Even before he calls upon his "fabulous secret powers," Prince Adam isn't really fooling anyone with those lavender yoga pants, furry underwear and tight shirt.

The show's mix of camp and hyper-masculinity can satisfy all tastes, and during the conservative climate of the '80s when it aired, the unmissable queer undertones would have been highly subversive had they been deliberate. Some fans even believe He-Man's battles with Skeletor hid a tragic love affair. From page to screen, Catwoman has had legions of queer fans long before she became canonically bisexual.

In the comics, her confident ownership of her sexuality and claw-sharpened attitude makes her the ultimate femme fatale; powerful, independent and just a little bit kinky. But, with her fondness for feline-themed puns, her character also comes with healthy doses of the kind of camp that makes her fit right in with the Dynamic Duo. Since the show's end and her inevitable jump to comics, she's gone through some major, and admirable, growth -- including breaking free of her abusive connection to the Clown Prince Of Crime and exploring her bisexuality more openly.

In the words of Gloria Gaynor, Harley will survive. Like Catwoman, Harley Quinn is one of the few female characters in comics who commands ownership of her sexuality, as well as managing to be both cartoonish and dangerous at the same time. Harley's appeal to those who feel like outsiders is easy to see -- she's a woman who is unabashedly liberated for better or worse and embraces her inner "freak" as a badge of strength rather than shame.

The multi-colored costumes, the choreographed movements, the teen melodrama, the theatrical villains Rita Repulsa, the show's first antagonist, was effectively a shrieking, cackling drag queen; an interpretation that was clearly mirrored by Elizabeth's Banks in the movie. Of the original team, some queer fans feel that the lack of physical heterosexual relationships on display left the sexuality's of the characters open to interpretation.