March 21, 2012
Gay X-Men Hero Gets Married in Upcoming Comic
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
One of the first openly gay comic book super heroes will officially get married to his boyfriend in an upcoming issue of "Astonishing X-Men."
Northstar, who first appeared in 1979, will marry his boyfriend Kyle in an issue that hits stores in June. The event will mark the first gay marriage involving a Marvel superhero, Coombook.com reported. The website also says that Northstar first came out in a 1992 issue.
Last week, Marvel strongly hinted that a X-Men wedding would soon take place by sending out "Save the Date" notices via email, Newsarama.com noted.
Northstar isn't the first gay character to tie the knot in a comic. LGBT rights activists and comic book fans recently applauded the January issue of "Life With Archie" when the series' first openly gay character Kevin Keller married his partner Clay Walker, an African-American physical therapist.
But not everyone was pleased with gay-friendly issue. One Million Moms, which is affiliated with the ultra-right Christian organization American Family Association, criticized Toys 'R' Us for selling the Archie comic. The group's leader sent a letter to the toy store and said, "Children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage in your toy store. A trip to the toy store turns into a premature discussion on sexual orientation and is completely uncalled for. Toys 'R' Us should be more responsible in the products they carry."
John Goldwater, Archie Comic's co-CEO, responded to One Million Moms in a statement and said that the company still supported the issue.
"We stand by Life with Archie #16. As I've said before, Riverdale is a safe, welcoming place that does not judge anyone," he said. "It's an idealized version of America that will hopefully become reality someday. We're sorry the American Family Association/OneMillionMoms.com feels so negatively about our product, but they have every right to their opinion, just like we have the right to stand by ours. Kevin Keller will forever be a part of Riverdale, and he will live a happy, long life free of prejudice, hate and narrow-minded people."
