Queer Comic Book Heroes

Our intern Laine Yeager scrolled through a bunch of online listicles to bring you her top five LGBT comic book characters.

The themes that run through comic books have traditionally reflected the world in which we live, and this is certainly true when it comes to LGBT representation in comics today.

While some LGBT comic book characters have been around for decades, many comic writers have more recently ventured off the literal straight and narrow to champion queer characters.

Here’s my top five kickass LGBT comic book heroes:

Batwoman

To quell rumours that Batman was in a relationship with the Boy Wonder, American comic book publisher DC initially introduced Batwoman as a love interest for the Caped Crusader. But after a national ban on references to homosexuality was lifted by the Comic Books Code Authority, Batwoman was back, returning as Katherine Kane; a lesbian. Kane was kiced out of the US military following an allegation that she was romantically involved with a female student.

Fun fact:

When DC would not allow Batwoman to marry her partner, the creative team behind the comic left in protest. The team is now led by a queer woman.

Deadpool

In 2013, Deadpool writer Gerry Dugan confirmed in a Twitter post that Deadpool was pansexual. Pansexuality is a term reflective of those who feel sexual and/or emotional attraction towards people of any gender, including transgender, intersex and agendered. For example, Deadpool was once married to an alien hippo, and has a full-on crush on Spider-Man and both the male and female Thor.

Fun fact:

Deadpool was widely accused of ‘queerbaiting’ – the practice of hinting at, but not actually depicting, a potential same-sex relationship between characters.

Young Avengers

Young Avengers has been a queer friendly comic since its formation in the mid-‘00s. Founding members Wiccan and Hulking started out as a couple, and the 2013 reboot brought new members like Prodigy, Kid Loki and Marvel Boy who all expressed same-sex attraction in one form or another. But the greatest addition of all was team leader Miss America – a queer latin-American teen who embraces her identity from the get-go.

Fun fact:

Only one of the Young Avengers identifies as straight.

Catwoman

Everyone’s favourite cat burglar was finally revealed to be bisexual in 2015 – a trait that many fans had suspected for a long time. Recently, the growing relationship between previous Catwoman (Selina Kyle) and the current Catwoman (Eiko Hasigaway) culminated in a passionate kiss, with writer Genevieve Valentine taking to Twitter to officially announce the character’s sexuality.

Fun fact:

Ex-Catwoman Selina Kyle has a daughter called Helena to Bruce Wayne (Batman).

Green Lantern

The new Green Lantern (Alan Scott) is in a stable gay relationship. The writer behind the reboot, James Robinson, made the decision ‘without a moment of hesitation’. Green Lantern’s son in the previous continuity, Obsidian, was also a gay man.

Fun fact:

Not exactly fun, but Alan Scott’s partner Sam died in a train accident just as Scott was about to propose.

Want to know more about LGBT comic book characters? Check out gayleague.com