Marvel announced (via The View) that Northstar will be getting engaged to his boyfriend in an upcoming issue of Astonishing X-Men (#50) and married in the next (#51).
This is a pretty big deal and we decided to go to regular guest columnist Sithbot for the reaction for reasons you’ll see as you read it.
Here’s Sithbot:
First we saw it in Dragon Age, then Mass Effect, Archie, and now finally in X-Men, same sex couples are getting their due and finally starting to cross over into the geek mainstream. If you’re wondering what I’m talking about, be sure to stop by your local comic shop early on May 23 to pick up Astonishing X-Men #50 (and put #51 on hold) where we will see Northstar propose and get married to his boyfriend, Kyle Jinadu.
Northstar has been a popular character and played integral roles in many story arcs across the Marvel Universe, as well as being the first openly gay member of the X-Men, (coming out in 1992 in Alpha Flight #106). His homosexuality had been hinted at before he was allowed to utter the words ‘I am gay’ in AF 106, and, to Marvel’s credit, they have always treated his story arcs that have dealt with everything from homophobia among mutants, unrequited love, courting other X-Men (Colossus in the Ultimate universe) and now his marriage with respect that is quite refreshing. Kudos to Marvel for taking this issue head on and reflecting real life issues in the pages of their comics and not shying away from what some may feel is controversial. Gay people get married every day, and it’s a wonderful thing to be able to see characters we know and love experiencing these same joys.
The X-Men have been my favorite Marvel comic series since I got into them as a kid. Not just because they had kick ass powers and could do a bunch of cool stuff, but because, as a gay teen, I readily identified with ther outcast status and the fact that no matter how much good they did, there was still a certain level of distrust the general public always had for them. I was really happy to see Marvel take a huge step by introducing the first openly gay comic character, Northstar, back in 1992, and it was great to see that they dealt with his homosexuality openly and honestly, and had him deal with many of the same issues we all do, regardless of sexuality.
I am extremely excited to see his proposal and marriage to his boyfriend in Astonishing X-Men #50 and #51 hitting comic shelves May 23. Too often, in film, tv and especially comics, those of us in the LGBT community have felt a bit slighted as we are still oftentimes portrayed as complete stereotypes and not as we really are. Granted, things are changing for the better a la sitcoms like Modern Family, and it’s refreshing to see Marvel take such a positive step in celebrating the lives and loves of all their characters, not just the straight ones. On behalf of all in the gay geek community, I want to offer a huge thank you to Marvel for standing up and doing such a great job representing us in your world despite the fact some might find it controversial. I’d definitely recommend putting this in your hold ASAP because if the recent issue of Archie celebrating a same sex marriage is any indicaion, these issues will sell out, and fast!
If you want to watch the women of The View discuss this (shut up…someone might) The Mary Sue has the video.