Tag Archives: X-men

Marvel Cancels “Iceman” Their Only Solo Project w/a Gay Male Lead. Are They Really LGBT Inclusive?

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Marvel may talk a good game when it comes to LGBT inclusive characters but that’s all it is.  Talk.

First there was the big hoopla over a gay character in Guardians of the Galaxy which never materialized.

Then came Thor: Ragnarok,  which boasted the same thing only to introduce the series’ first gay character, Korg who is a minor character and you have no idea that he is gay from watching the movie.  Oh and did I mention he’s a rock monster. 

Oh but that not all. To add insult to injury  they also sanitized Tessa Thompson’s bi-sexual  Asgardian warrior Valkyrie

Now Marvel Comics announced this week it is canceling Iceman, the company’s first ongoing comic with an gay-male lead. Launched in January, the comic recounted the adventures of ice-wielding  X-Men mutant Bobby Drake as he navigated life as a newly out gay superhero.

Drake was introduced more than 50 years ago in 1963’s The X-Men #1, but didn’t come out until 2015 after a time-traveling younger version of the character shared he was gay.

Iceman will conclude in March with issue 11. An Iceman: Thawing Out trade paperback compiling the comic book’s first five issues is out January 8.

As for Marvel, it  better start getting its LGBT inclusive shit together. There is such a thing as Gay Geeks and we will not be fucked with

#GayGeek – X-MEN: The Iceman Cometh OUT…… AGAIN!

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Well its finally happened.  In Uncanny X-Men #600 (re-numbered to acknowledge the landmark), X-men finally ties up several plot threads, including the question of Iceman’s sexuality.

In a previous issue, a time-traveling young version of Jean Grey read the mind of young Iceman, and basically called him ou for hiding that he’s “full gay.” which left things kind of muddles since present-day Iceman has always acted straight and dated women.  Young Bobby Drake did confrim to Jean that he is indeed gay and fans of the comic have waited 6 months for the resolution to this conundrum.

Well in No. 600, younger Bobby Drake confronts his older self and asks him about his sexual orientation. What we find out is that Iceman has been living in a closet for his entire life, and just shut that part of himself off to the world and to his teammates. There is no nature-versus-nurture situation, no time-traveling hitch; older Iceman just didn’t want to be persecuted and judged for another part of his life.

Iceman’s story is an important signal to readers and fans of the comic book series. It sends a strong message of inclusion and acceptance and the importance of embracing your true and authentic self.  Which Iceman finally does.

Issue #600 marks the end of writer Brian Michael Bedis’ storyline that follows younger versions of the original five X-Men: Iceman, Cyclops, Beast, Angel and Jean Grey.

Iceman will continue to be a gay charcter in the X-Men Universe from this point forward.

 

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Iceman confronts his older self

 

Too Adorable! Ian McKellen To Officiate Patrick Stewart’s Wedding

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Gay Geeks rejoice! Fans of Marvel’s X-Men series have always taken notice of the complex love/hate relationship of Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto in both the original comics/animated series as well as the live action movies. But the actors Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart’s real life bromance is anything but complicated. The two have been friends for ages, even so much that McKellen is slated to officiate Stewart’s upcoming nuptials later this year! Here’s more:

This is going to be one handsome wedding. Lord Of The Rings and X-Men star Sir Ian McKellen will be officiating friend and fellow actor Sir Patrick Stewart’s upcoming wedding.

McKellen made the announcement on the Jonathan Ross Show, a UK talk show.

“I’m going to marry Patrick,” he quipped on the show. Stewart, 71, will be marrying jazz singer Sunny Ozzell, 35, the two have been romantically linked since 2009.

While McKellen and Stewart play mutant rivals Magneto and Professor Xavier in the X-men films, the two are actually close friends. According to McKellen’s Twitter account the duo will be appearing in a number of plays together this year as well as in the upcoming, X-Men: Days Of Future Past.

McKellen also said it wasn’t the first time he’s married people. “I’ve done it once before with two guys having a civil partnership. I was crying my eyes out,” he said on the UK talk show. The Hollywood Reporter points out that in Massachusetts a friend or family member can officiate weddings for a one-time fee.

And no, McKellen will not be wearing his Gandalf robes for the wedding. Sorry geeks.

It goes without saying that McKellen was likely referring to Stewart when he mentioned having supportive friends when he talked about coming out and being an actor last year. Stewart has always been a supporter for LGBT rights so I’m speculating that he would return the favor and officiate for McKellen if he ever so chooses. What a great friendship.

Icon Sir Ian McKellen Talks About How Being Gay Helped His Career

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Often you hear how being an out actor is a hindrance and that it can affect movie role offers…but not every thespian feels that way and in fact feels there are benefits to being a gay actor. XMen and Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen discusses in a recent interview how being a gay actor provided an invaluable sense of self awareness that enhances acting ability:

“There was no Graham Norton on the television at that time, no gay MPs, no-one talking about gay rights on the radio. So I dealt with it my trying to cut that part of myself off, to hide myself, to choke a part of me,”

“When you are made to feel you are so wrong for being who you are, that’s what you do.

“I think that’s why so many great British actors are gay – we spent so long pretending to be straight, to be someone else, that eventually we became very good at it.”

After coming out in the 80s, McKellen wrote about how coming out helped his esteem and could possibly help give others a voice:

“I learned that coming out was crucial to self-esteem. And I accepted the argument that people who thrived in society’s mainstream and had access to the media could, by telling the truth, help others in the backwaters whose views were never sought and whom society either ignored or abused.

“An actor is more protected than most. These days I daily make this point to anyone who will listen because, when I eventually accepted it on the BBC, it changed my life forever for the better.”

Could it be true that this is what many actors feel like when they mask their sexuality? I think it makes sense that some would feel that way. But I’m sure they’re even happier when they don’t have to pretend to be someone else.

Gay Geek Couple To Be Married In NYC Comic Store On Release of Northstar’s Wedding Issue

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In honor of the release of “Astonishing X-Men No. 51,” in which X-Men superhero Northstar marries his boyfriend Kyle, the first same sex wedding in the Marvel universe. Gay geeks Scott Everhart  and Jason Welker  a couple from Columbus, Ohio, will be one of two same sex coupes tying the knot at Midtown Comics’ satellite store in the financial district of New York City.

Everhart and Welker were selected from more than 50 applicants after Gerry Gladston, one of the store’s owners, announced their search for a gay couple to be married in the store on the day of the release of NorthStars and Kyles wedding.  There were a handful of negative messages, but the supportive ones drowned them out.

“We’re proud to take this opportunity to promote equality and tolerance, which is the message of the X-Men themselves.” Gladston said.

“It’s a huge step for us as a couple, but also for us in the community,” said  Jason Welker. The men plan to have a follow-up ceremony in Ohio (where same sex marriage is not legal or recognized) for friends and family who could not make it to New York on such short notice. “My brother will be really angry with me if he doesn’t get to be my best man,”  Welker said.

A reception will follow at the Eventi Hotel in Chelsea, which is accommodating the couple, with traditional wedding music as well as some superhero tunes.

CONGRATS BOYS!

Gay Geek Alert! – We’re All Invited To Gay X-Men Superhero Northstar’s Same Sex June Wedding

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In the upcoming 51st Issue of Marvel Comics Astonishing X-Men, Northstar X-Men’s gay superhero is set to marry his boyfriend Kyle, but in the past few issues the human and powerless Kyle who’s lack of any superhero or mutant abilities has been putting a strain on their relationship.

But never fear in the current issue Number 49, the boys are back together and seem to be indeed headed to the altar for Issue 51 which will be released in June.

According to comics site Bleeding Cool, the issue ships on June 20th and the company has “secured mainstream coverage both on-air and in print, for something that has never been seen inside the pages of a Marvel comic. Not only that, but some retailers are already saving the date and are hosting special wedding events in their stores

Northstar was the first character to come out at Marvel comics and the most well-known, though there have been several openly gay characters since then. While the X-Men are currently based in San Francisco, Northstar is a French-Canadian hero and since same sex marriage is legal in Canada its a good bet that the venue will be North of the Border.

X-Men Actor Shawn Ashmore Naked! Just Another Reason To Move To Canada

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I don’t know how we missed this one. But Canadian actor Shawn Ashmore best known for his role as Bobby Drake / Iceman  in X-men, X2, and X-Men: The Last Stand dropped his trou and posed naked wrapped in a Canadian flag for England’s Cosmopolitan June 2008 edition for Everyman, the U.K.’s leading male cancer charity.

Now thats one proud and sexy Canuck!