From Batman to Kevin Keller

In an online discussion of symbolism in superhero comic books, I recently found an interesting interpretation of X-Men -that the mutant community in X-Men can be seen as a minority group: their need to don a costume and mask to hide their identities representing the status of LGBT people. Costumes and secret identities are 'closets' in which to hide. However, other people think the tight spandex costumes of superhero are "gay": brightly coloured and exposing muscle. But to what extent is homosexuality/homophobia explicit in superhero comics?

In the mid 1950's, people started speculatig that there was a special relationship between Batman and Robin. After all, Bruce Wayne -Batman's civilian identity- is a wealthy man with no female romantic interest who chose to live a single life in his bleak manor, accompanied only by a butler and a younger boy. Many people then extrapolated a paedophilic relationship between Wayne and Robin, a suspicion which was only heightened by Frederic Wertham's Seduction of Innocence, published in 1954.

To dispel these rumours, DC Comics decided to introduce Batwoman and Batgirl as love interests for Batman and Robin in 1956. Having written Batwoman out in 1964, she was brought back in 2006 but with her civilian identity depicted as a lesbian. This denotes the inexistence of mere subtextual homosexuality for the Bat-family.

Another gay superhero from DC Comics was the rather less famous Obsidian, a member of the Justice Society of America. Obsidian is always portrayed as endeavouring to make his father accept his sexuality: in JSA vol.3 #43, Obsidian and his father have a conversation about relationships where his father is hesitant to use the term 'boyfriend'. Another time, Obsidian claims that he had been "cured" of his homosexuality by an enemy attack on him -a couple of panels later he breaks his comrades' stunned silence, saying: "Relax, folks. Only kidding. Still gay. Seriously, I wish you could all see your faces right now!" (JSA vol. 3 #40). This clearly references opinions of homosexuality as a 'disease'.

DC Comic's Wildstorm branch, which writes comics aimed at a more mature audience, featured in The Authority the couple Midnighter and Apollo. They are the first gay couple to have a wedding, and later they adopt a baby girl named Jenny Quantum. Interestingly, they were created based on the image of Batman and Superman.

The token gay character of the other main publisher, Marvel Comics, is Northstar from Alpha Flight team, and was intended to be gay since his conception. However, the company's policy was "no openly gay characters", and the Comic Code Authority prevented publications of any kind of sexuality. Therefore, the creator was only able to imply his sexuality. In the late 1980s, Northstar contracted a 'mysterious illness', signifying AIDS. Later on, his illness is stated to be due to his being half-fairy, another allusion to gay culture. This provoked a sarcastic comment from the comic writer, Peter David: "He isn't gay. He is just a faerie!"

Alpha Flight #106, published in 1992, was historic in that, for the first time, a character in a mainstream comic came out of the closer. Northstar finally said "I am gay!' during his fistfight with Captain Maple Leaf. That edition of Alpha Flight eas sold out in a week, despite the low sales the series had previously received. Subsequently there have been several storyline about his sexuality -the first dealt with his twin sister, whose shock over his sexuality caused her to develop split personality -one which accepted him and the one which did not. In the early 2000s, Northstar joined the X-Men and had to deal with homophobic treatment by Omerta, who refused to work with him until Northstar proved his superiority and became his instructor. Northstar also became a role-model for the young gay mutant, Anole. When he rejoined teh X-Men in 2010, he stated that has was not joining them as a 'token gay', but as a 'normal' mutant.

Marvel Comics also features several homosexual couples, such as the long-term lesbian couple Mystique and Destiny. Like Northstar, it was always hinted that they were an item, but the Comic Code and the company's policy did not allow their relationship to be explicitly recognised. Although both of them are villains, their relationship was always portrayed as a heartfelt one. Both of them were born in the early 20th century, but while Mystique remained young, Destiny grew old. Despite their differing ages, Mystique takes great care of her lover. Originally, the story writer intended Mystique and Destiny to be the biological parents of Nightcrawler, an X-Men member. Due to Mystique's shape-shifting ability, this could be possible if she morphed into a man for the conception. However, this idea was rejected by the company, and they were only finally confirmed as a couple in the mid 1990s. Destiny finally meets her demise while lying to Mystique in order to save her life. Her death was depicted like that of other heroes: she died in the arms of her lover.

Another Marvel couple was Wiccan and Hulkling from Young Avengers, who differ from the other couples in that they are both in their mid-teens. When they were revealed to be a gay couple, readers' opinions were divided, with the fan mail page for six editions full of both support for the characters and condemnation of 'attempts to corrupt the younger generations'. The creator, an out gay man, argued that he created these characters as role models for LGBT teenagers. Wiccan and Hulkling are written as having a 'normal' relationship with supporting parents and friends.

A third Marvel couple is Rictor and Shatterstar from X-Factors. Their first kiss (also the first gay kiss in the Marvel-verse) is featured in X-Factors vol.3 #45 and won the writer Peter David a GLAAD Media Award in 2011. Shatterstar was initially introduced as an asexual killing machine, while Rictor dated several women before admitting that he was always gay and was simply closeted before meeting Shatterstar. Rictor and Shatterstar were chosen as one of Marvel's 10 Super Couples in 2010.

Top Cow, another publisher, recently made Danielle Baptiste -a protagonist in Withcblade and Angelus- bisexual: her relationship with a girl a focal point in her miniseries. Archie Comics has introduced their first gay character, Kevin Keller, in Veronica #202. Both major and minor publishers started to recognise the desires of LGBT people to be represented in comic books, and the inclusion of LGBT people is surely only going to continue in the coming years.

(This article was originally published in [no definition] magazine, Easter 2011 under the title "From Batman to Kevin Keller: A Portrait of LGBT Characters in Comics)