This Trailer Shows Gay Superheroes As They're Meant To Be Portrayed
I mean, being gay is basically its own superpower anyway.
While Superheroes have evolved over the years, one thing about them has remained the same: they're all straight.
Not one of the countless heroes we've seen in the Marvel and DC universe portrayed on screen in the past 10 years has been queer. Some people may think that Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes are in love (they totally are, by the way) and used that as the impetus for the #GiveCaptainAmericaABoyfriend campaign on Twitter, but the fact is that we haven't seen a queer superhero on screen yet.
That doesn't mean they don't exist though! From some lesser-known characters like Midnighter, Apollo and Pied Piper (who we did see, as a queer character on "Arrow!") to bigger names like Iceman, Mystique and Catwoman, there are plenty of characters who have been portrayed as queer at some point in the cannon. One group is working to make sure superhero fans recognize that.
The group Shape History is working with MCM ComicCon to present #LGBTSuperHeroes.
The project is dedicated to showcasing an accurate representation of queer superheroes to the big screen. The group made a trailer for a film that portrays Iceman as a gay man.
The trailer shows Iceman using his powers like the badass mutant he is...
And also falling in love, just like any other superhero does in their movies.
You can watch the full trailer and learn more about their project on their website.
While Iceman is the focus of this trailer, he hasn't been in a film since the character came out as gay in the comics.
The character came out as gay in 2015, the last time Shawn Ashmore portrayed the character on film was in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" in 2014.
He's certainly not the only gay character though—not even in the X-Men universe.
Mystique, who has been in all six of the main continuity X-Men films, has been portrayed in comics as a bisexual who is frequently in a relationship with Destiny. However, in all six movies, she has never shown any inkling that she has been anything but straight.
Catwoman is another character that has been portrayed in comics as bisexual...
However, she's always been portrayed as straight in the movies.
There is some hope! Not surprising though, it's on TV, not movies.
As I mentioned earlier, we have already seen Pied Piper on "The Flash" as an openly gay character, played by openly gay actor Andy Mientus. We also have Curtis Holt on "Arrow" portrayed by Echo Kellum, a gay man who is married (and according to my TV Boyfriend Fantasy League Ranking, he's a great husband.) While Curtis Holt right is just a great friend and employee, he'll eventually become the hero Mr. Terrific.
So, there's some hope—but still, Pied Piper and Mr. Terrific are not top-tier characters.. just yet. There's still a lot more work to be done to put gay superheroes on the map without any speculation.