Northstar revealed he was gay in the pages of Alpha Flight No. 106 in 1992. He was one of Marvel’s first characters to do so. Since then, numerous comic book heroes and villains have been identified as gay, lesbian or transgender. The decision to wed Kyle and Northstar in Astonishing X-Men #51 has brought with it a lot of controversy. Marjorie Liu is writing the series. She says the decision to have the pair marry was fitting, noting that the relationship between Kyle and Northstar has grown in recent years, and news from last weekend’s Kapow convention in London that DC Comics will soon re-introduce a formerly straight male character as gay, also in June. Protest group One Million Moms has taken issue with both Marvel and DC Comics over currently publicized storylines involving gay characters.
Citing religious reasons for their objections, One Million Moms wrote, “These companies are heavily influencing our youth by using children’s superheroes to desensitize and brainwash them in thinking that a gay lifestyle choice is normal and desirable. As Christians, we know that homosexuality is a sin (Romans 1:26-27).” They later further clarify their problem with Marvel and DC, saying their comics are “prompting a premature discussion on sexual orientation” between parents and children.
One Million Moms targeted the comic book industry earlier this year, in an unsuccessful attempt to get Toys R Us to stop carrying Life with Archie #16, featuring the same-sex marriage of openly gay Archie character Kevin Keller. DC’s offices have made no official comment about the controversy but Marvel provided this statement from editor-in-chief Axel Alonso: “For over seventy years, Marvel’s comics have reflected the world outside your window and Astonishing X-Men #50 carries on that tradition. We’re proud to create stories that are not only relevant to the issues facing a modern audience but that also explore these nuanced subjects in a compelling manner. We’ve planned the release of this comic for over a year but the recent discussion of gay marriage, spurred by the comments of President Obama, makes the release of Astonishing X-Men #50 even more timely. The passionate discourse between our fans on both sides of this matter shows that we’ve struck a chord with our millions of fans around the world.”
The visual written media called comics is read by people of all ages and some is appropriate for small children and some for older readers. Bringing attention to what the most other areas of entertainment call normal life choices will not be accepted by many media outlets or reported properly. In the media their are bias’ that guide the ideological way they report. Fair or not that is how it is and without a fundamentally change in society that will not change. While I am sympathetic with the Christian world view I really think the effort of One Million Mothers is not well spent. Parents of Christian families should be closely following the entertainment outlets of their children, that is what they watch, read and play on their own time and family time.
While it makes for a good news story about the official complain it just encourages more people to purchase the comics and profiting the company. Every family owes their children the time it takes to teach about the difference in people and world views. If you do this with conviction and passion your children will make the right choices in life. There is nothing easy in this but it is the right thing to do and it builds respect between parent and child. Reading comic books should be fun for the reader at Comics Talk we encourage you to read material you enjoy and if we all did that the market would take care of itself through normal sales. If the Christians are that unhappy with what is out there in comic books then produce something that is acceptable to you and Christians everywhere. make it good and people will read it. Comics and other written material reflect society itself and to change it begins with the family. Stay tuned comic faithful for more. 🙂 Walt