Chorus to My Hero by Foo Fighters from their 1997 album, The Color and The Shape
Well yes, faithful reader: it’s true! The picture shown is real…but only in an ALTERNATE universe/dimension… and this scene happens in Marvel’s X-Treme X-Men issue No. 10. (See the comic book news blog Bleeding Cool for more info.)
For those who don’t follow comic books or who sometimes keep tabs on their favorite comic book characters, the Hercules and Wolverine characters in this alternate universe are part of a PARALLEL dimension; DO NOT confuse them with the popular and much-loved Hercules and Wolverine of “our” universe/dimension.
Fans of these popular comic book heroes can now relax. [Sighs of relief fill the room]
Oh, and you haters of anyone gay or bisexual in fiction and non-fiction literature can relax as well. [More sighs of relief fill the room] I can already “hear” some you saying, “GAY! GAY! GAY!
Get over it and get over yourselves.
Ok! Now that the ground rule has been reaffirmed, let me continue.
In this alternate universe, both Hercules and Wolverine are bisexual men which obviously mean that while both of these men are emotional and sexually attracted to men, they also are attracted to women in the same manner.
Bisexuality is simply a special blessing given by the Creator to certain people to enjoy the benefits and pleasures of both genders; nothing more, nothing less.
I think its fuckin’ kool that Marvel took this daring step with these particular two very masculine characters. Doing so helps break down the public stereotype that most or all gay or bisexual men are effeminate. Nothing could be further from the truth! You’d be surprised at how many masculine men are gay or bisexual or how many feminine women, for that matter are gay or bisexual. And by the way: whenever you meet people, try to dismiss the general assumption that every masculine man or feminine woman is “straight” or is “100 percent” heterosexual because that certainly is not the case.
Referring back to my comment about “hearing the bigotry” of haters of gay and bisexual characters in fiction, perhaps it’s best if I gave a brief history on the more-open introduction of gay and bisexual characters in mainstream comic books, not just for the haters of gay and bisexual people but for readers who aren’t at all into comic books. (See? I try to think about the needs of everyone!)
Sexuality and Comic books (1) –
Anyway, members of the CMAA submitted comics to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to its Code, then authorized the use of their seal on the cover if the book was found to be in compliance. Nearly everyone reading this article can recall seeing that ugly black and white stamp on the upper corner of a mainstream comic book. At the height of its influence, the CCA was a de facto censor for the U.S. comic book industry.
When I say “reveal”, I mean that in reality, a part of the mythos of certain characters was modified or re-written to bring the character “up to date” (which is standard practice in general comic book writing) in order to reflect the current times.
Aside from the person who created the character (and anyone else who owns the rights to that character), I do not know who else is involved in the decision-making process of selecting exactly which character(s) is going to be homosexual, bisexual or even asexual in a series.
Finally, for decades many people just assumed that all or at least certain comic book characters were heterosexual or “straight” … just like most people in the real world tend to do regarding the sexual orientation of other real people. If most comic book readers were like me – before puberty, and later during puberty, then the sexual orientation of ANY character barely even came to mind nor did it matter much. (Ahhh, the simple innocence of just reading a comic book story without giving any regard to the ethnicity, religious, political or sexual flavoring of the characters. Those were the days!) Anyway, during puberty many males (I can’t speak for females) tend to look for certain things sexual in their comic books. This is perfectly natural.
There’s no shame in that. Keep in mind that certain art work depictions of male and/or female characters and/or related storylines do tend to trigger or enhance a male’s masturbatory fantasies.
Try to remember two important things about this statement:
- Genetically, men are wired to be sexually aroused by visual stimulation. (I’ll write more about men and masturbation in a future blog article)
- Guys who are stimulated by a male character depiction in comic books do NOT necessarily give or imply any suggestion to the reader’s actual sexual orientation. Many males (young men in particular) look at other men in comic books, magazines on television, the movies and the internet for inspiration and motivation for understanding, building and shaping their own bodies and to resemble the men featured in such media. Dads should understand this but moms need not panic should they ever notice young Tommy staring at non-sexual and non-pornographic pictures of men.
Several independent comic book publishing companies feature adult-oriented comic books for mature readers. Such comics feature heavy use of graphic language, sexual activity and/or gore, among other things. Then there are comics that feature nothing but gay and bisexual characters and story lines.
And yes; those comics are pornographic in nature as they do contain images of graphic sexual activity.
Today, there is something for just about everyone in the world of comic books – either in print, on-line or in digital format for downloading.
Northstar. In 1992, some 21 years ago, Marvel Comics revealed that Jean-Paul Beaubier, code-named Northstar of the Canadian mutant team Alpha Flight (Marvel Comics’ Canadian version of America’s X-Men) to be gay. To this day, Northstar still carries the title as being the first openly gay character in comic book history!
Over the years, there were alternate universe stories (under the Ultimate Marvel universe series) where Northstar and the X-Men’s Colossus (Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin) dated. Sometime later, Marvel featured a series featuring Northstar dating his Black boyfriend Kyle Jinadu. In 2012, Northstar married Kyle in one of the first gay and interracial weddings in comic book history! Talk about milestones!
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The Rawhide Kid. The Rawhide Kid, whose real name was Johnny Bart (but originally given as Johnny Clay) was a fictional 19-century American Old West heroic gun-fighter who was wanted as an outlaw. The Rawhide Kid debuted in the mid-1950’s under Atlas Comics, the predecessor to Marvel Comics. The comic was a 16-issue series that ran from March 1955 to September 1957. After a short hiatus, Marvel Comics took over the comic in 1960. Without any break in series continuity, Marvel ran the comic (starting from issue No. 17) August 1960 to May 1979.
The late 1960’s up to the last issue in 1979 was the period when I read and collected the comic. During the 1950’s to its last series issue in 1979, Rawhide Kid was not a gay character nor was any indication given as to what his sexual orientation might be. Remember what I said about comic book story innocence; normally that specific characteristic wasn’t given much, if any thought when I was boy/teenager. When I read the comic, thoughts of Rawhide Kid’s sexuality certainly never entered my mind.
After the end of the series, The Rawhide Kid would, over the years, would make guest appearances in other comic books published by Marvel or be featured in a miniseries. Skipping directly to 2003, the character was again “over hauled”- this time, changing his mythos to be a gay character and featured in a controversial five-issue miniseries targeted mainly for adult readers. Each comic in the series had a “Parental Advisory Explicit Content” warning label on its cover. The Rawhide Kid had become the first gay lead character to get his own comic book.
In 2006, Batwoman came out as a lesbian. In 2012, it was revealed that the original/Golden Age comic book hero Green Lantern (Alan Scott – not Hal Jordan, as many had mistakenly assumed) would be featured as a gay man on DC’s alternate universe called Earth 2. Of course, DC had to re-write certain things about Alan Scott, including restoring his youth.
DC’s former Justice League of America member Obsidian had been re-written as being the son of Alan Scott (the Golden Age Green Lantern – and prior to the rewrite of GA-GL). Later in 2006 (under new writers) Obsidian was “confirmed” to be a gay character.
There are so many “alternate universe/dimension” stories that it would take far too much time for me to explain them all here, let alone keep each of them straight AND STILL maintain your interest in this article, therefore I simply won’t discuss them. I’ll leave it up to you to do the research. Good luck with that! Seriously, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!
Readers, if you decide to do the research, remember what I said earlier about comic book publishing companies re-writing, changing or modifying a character’s origin and general mythos. Their intent is to keep a particular character alive and current with the times. I’ve gotten into a few friendly debates with my teenage son over the mythos of certain characters. I will always remember the original story lines, origin and mythos of certain comic book characters while he just knows what the storyline writers and publishers are giving in today’s comic books – as well as the movie plots for the same characters.
My son can only give me so much of an argument because he fondly recalls me telling him the origins of certain characters as I remember them, years before when he was a boy. Therefore, while he and I will always have a playful stalemate debate on this subject, he does have an exceptional advantage over some of his peers whose own fathers or older brothers never shared such original stories.
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- Never aggressively knock or argue the new or modified mythos of old characters written for today. Those story lines are written and targeted primarily for the younger generation. It is now their time to enjoy comics in their own way.
- Never say to a young reader, “That’s not the way it happened”, or “That storyline is wrong”. Instead, offer to share with them an alternative origin – the one you are already quite familiar with! Many young readers often find alternative beginnings and endings fascinating – especially if such stories are told in an exciting manner! One of the reasons I became hooked on comics (since I could first read) was because some old guy shared his knowledge of certain stories with me.
I’m not as much a collector or reader of comics as I used to be. However my love, interest and fascination of comic book characters – old and new, clean or dirty (sexually speaking) and stories written on the “what if” or the alternative platform (as with this Hercules and Wolverine gay storyline) has never diminished. It all helps me to maintain a certain attachment to my youth and I find it very refreshing that with certain characters I loved, writers are willing to keep up with the times.
He hosts the radio show, “Saturday Afternoon at the Oldies (SAO) w/The RobFather” on WTLZ-FM/KISS 107.1 which airs Saturdays, 12pm to 3pm.
The show, now in its fifth year of broadcast, features three hours of the best in classic and “old school” R&B music from the late 1960’s to the late 1990’s.
Check his blog out at http://robfatherxkeepinitreal.com/
This was such a great story. There was even a moral at the end for us “oldies”. I appreciate all the information provided in case I wanted to explore this new age of comics and their updated viewpoint of my all-time favorite superheroes. Long live the power of the imagination!