Comic books have come a long way since they were first introduced. Back in the early days, especially when superhero stories began dominating the medium during World War II, most non-white and non-American characters were portrayed as horrendous compounds of various stereotypes. Over the years, that slowly changed, with big publishers like Marvel and DC introducing complex and humanistic superheroes of color. Even still, members of the LGBTQ community have faced a longer road to seeing their stories told accurately on the page.
Things slowly began changing as old norms were cast aside, allowing both publishers to introduce gay characters and better represent the full spectrum of sexuality and gender. While TV has slowly followed suit, most prominently by telling one of the medium’s greatest coming out stories on Supergirl, the movies are even further behind. But with so many great queer characters waiting in the wings, we have a number of suggestions to help change that. Here are 17 LGBTQ Characters From Marvel And DC Comics Who Need To Be In The Movies.
17. Gotham City Sirens
While our list is full of plenty of characters we’d love to see brought to life on film, it also features a fair few that are already in the movies but haven’t yet been shown to be part of the LGBTQ community. At this point, it seems close to a sure thing that Catwoman and Poison Ivy will be joining Harley Quinn in the DCEU as part of Gotham City Sirens. Based on the comic of the same name, the story focuses on the three supervillains who often act more as antiheroes. Aside from highlighting a trio of morally ambiguous vigilantes, the comic pulls together three of DC’s highest-profile bisexual women.
Over the years, Selina Kyle, Harleen Quinzel, and Pamela Isley have all been shown to have fairly fluid sexualities. Even more interestingly, Ivy and Harley’s close friendship has often been shown to run much deeper. Ivy has outright confessed her feelings for Harley on the page and they’ve been shown to have more than a platonic relationship. While the Harley of Suicide Squad was shown to only have eyes for the Joker, we hope that Gotham City Sirens will properly reflect all three women’s bisexuality.
16. Angela
Angela is one of Marvel’s newer characters, but she’s already made quite an impression. After spending a good deal of time with the Guardians of the Galaxy and bonding with Gamora over their shared bloodlust, Angela was revealed to be the long-lost sister of Thor and a denizen of the forgotten Tenth Realm of Heven. When she was kidnapped as an infant and believed dead, Odin cut Heven and the Angels off and erased their name from history. With her training as an assassin by the Angels, she’s one of the most powerful Asgardians there is. She’s also deeply involved with the Loki-like Sera.
Frequently breaking the fourth-wall and possessing knowledge she shouldn’t have, Sera’s bubbly personality and obsession with pop culture make her the polar opposite of the stern and reserved Angela. Still, their love is one for the ages. From fighting witchbreed in 1602 to conquering Hel, writer Marguerite Bennett has shown that Angela and Sera’s love can conquer death itself.
As a bridge between the Guardians and Asgard, we’d love to see Angela appear in one of Marvel’s cosmic films. And if Sera isn’t by her side, it’ll be quite the shame.
15. Midnighter and Apollo
Though it’d be great to see Midnighter and Apollo pop up in a DCEU movie, they should really headline their own. Created by Warren Ellis for the WildStorm imprint in 1998, the two characters are essentially pastiches of Batman and Superman. The only difference is that instead of being just friends, they’re in a relationship.
Appearing in the comic Stormwatch and heading up the group the Authority, Apollo is a solar-power nigh-god with all the same powers as Superman. Midnighter, meanwhile, takes Batman’s near-superhuman feats and makes them a reality.
Having been physically enhanced early in his career, Midnighter has superhuman speed, healing, and strength. He’s also able to predict the outcome of battles, one-upping Batman’s eye for strategy. He even takes the subtext of Batman and makes it text by openly relishing violence and the opportunity to fight.
While their similarities to the World’s Finest might make them a tough sell, their personalities and sexuality make them a fascinating set of characters to explore and something the DCEU desperately needs.
14. Moondragon
Moondragon is one of those characters that seems just on the verge of appearing in the MCU. When we recently learned that James Gunn had cut someone major from Guardians 2, she was one of the first characters who sprang to mind. Similarly, when Millie Bobby Brown showed up on the set of Infinity War, we couldn’t help but speculate she could be playing the cosmically awesome Moondragon herself.
In the comics, Moondragon is the daughter of Arthur Douglas, the man who would become Drax the Destroyer. While his origin in the movies is different, the MCU’s Drax still had a daughter. Rather than being killed, she could still be alive, trained by either Thanos or his father (like in the comics) to possess psychic and martial arts skills. Regardless of who plays her, Moondragon’s bisexuality is a must for representation, especially if she’s paired up with fellow Guardian Phyla-Vell.
13. Wiccan and Hulkling
It’s unclear whether Young Avengers will be adapted to TV or film, but it’s coming one way or another. When it does, the team will almost certainly feature Wiccan and Hulkling. Despite the name, Hulkling isn’t actually gamma-powered. Known as Teddy Altman, Hulkling is actually a rare Kree/Skrull hybrid. As such, he possesses immense powers, including shape-shifting. He’s also currently the King of Space, so that’s cool.
His longtime boyfriend, Billy Kaplan, is just as complicated. Going by the name Wiccan, Kaplan is one of the most powerful reality-warpers in Marvel Comics. It’s even suggested that he and his brother Speed are reincarnated versions of Scarlet Witch and Vision’s deceased children. As such, they’re just two of the superhero kids we want to see in the movies, even if their origins have to be tweaked a bit.
Throughout Young Avengers and the recent New Avengers, Billy and Teddy’s relationship has been a joy to see grow and unfold, and it’s veyr possible they’ll appear in the MCU in one way or another soon.
12. Daken
Like the MCU, Fox owns the rights to a number of fascinating LGBTQ characters just waiting for their chance to jump from the pages of Marvel Comics to the big screen. Chief among them is Daken, the son of Wolverine. Introduced in 2007’s Wolverine Origin #10, Daken was born way back in 1946 to Wolverine and his wife Itsu. Sadly, Wolverine doesn’t know of his existence for a long time, as his wife was killed while pregnant. Daken’s healing factor kept him alive, however, and he later inherited his father’s super-senses and bone claws (with two on top and one coming from the wrist).
Over the years, he’s been an antihero, drug addict, and crime lord, all while proudly being fluid with his sexuality. With X-23 finally joining the X-Men universe in Logan, it would be fantastic to see a new generation of Wolverines take shape on screen, with Daken being chief among them. As a former Dark Avenger, Daken has even spent time in his father’s costume. While the story would have to be tweaked, it’d make for a great movie to see Logan’s legacy corrupted by his sociopathic son.
11. Dr. Victoria October
For now, Dr. Victoria October is still a relatively minor character in DC Comics, but that’s part of her appeal. As the DCEU continues to grow, there’s still only so many superheroes and villains that can appear. The world still needs to be populated by interesting and complex supporting characters, however, and October is a perfect addition to Batman’s world.
Created as part of DC’s Rebirth and appearing in Detective Comics #948, October is, in her words, the “foremost expert in post-human weaponry on the planet.” She also happens to be transgender. The wonderful thing about her introduction is that her gender identity flies so far under the radar, that only those more aware of trans people would notice. While having vocal trans characters in the spotlight is important, it’s equally meaningful to introduce a character whose trans identity is just as incidental as that of Batman being, well, a man.
Unlike with characters like Midnighter and Apollo, it would be quite easy for a future DCEU movie to introduce Dr. October as an ally to Batman, and him as an ally to her.
10. Miss America
Along with Wiccan and Hulking, Miss America is another guaranteed member of the Young Avengers team that should be eventually brought to life in the MCU. As America Chavez, Miss America really stretches for her superhero name. She also helped to make Young Avengers the most queer-centric superhero team (and comic book) in existence. Though she has nothing to do with the lineage of Captain America, her star-spangled attire might make you think otherwise.
Instead, she comes from a future alternate reality ruled by the monstrous magical entity the Demiurge (who Wiccan is destined to become). Gaining superhuman strength and the ability to literally smash through the walls of reality, America jumped to our world in 2011 and began fighting with the Young Avengers.
As a queer Latina raised by two mothers, Chavez represents the face of a more modern America and would offer a whole new demographic of moviegoers the chance to see themselves kicking ass on screen.
9. Iceman
The X-Men movie continuity is all sorts of confusing, but that might actually work in Iceman’s favor. As one of the original members of the team from the 2000 movie, Iceman has been played in his modern form by Shawn Ashmore. The wonky timeline, however, means a younger version could be introduced in the upcoming X-Men: Supernova. By doing so, Fox’s movies could mirror the comics where younger versions of the original five X-Men were brought to the present.
Writer Brian Michael Bendis has been able to explore the contrasting personalities of the heroes while engaging in complex philosophical discussions about fate and upbringing thanks to this conceit. More importantly, the younger Iceman was able to come to a realization years in the making: he’s gay. While this coming out has proved challenging for the young mutant, it’s been even stranger for the older Iceman to accept. After all, coming out later in life is hard enough; imagine essentially being outed by a version of yourself from the past.
With mutants being ciphers for all manner of discrimination, an X-Men movie would be the perfect place to explore a character’s sexual identity, and Iceman is the perfect X-Men to follow on that journey.
8. Wonder Woman and Hippolyta
While none of this guarantees any sexual orientation, it’s more that a culture solely focused on women and populated by them would still be a culture of humans (or goddesses) who desire intimacy, love, and sex. And as descendants of the ancient Greeks, it makes all the more sense that the denizens of Themyscira would be fluid in their sexuality. When the announcement was made, Gal Gadot voiced her support of the choice and the reasoning, so many are hoping to see this displayed on screen later this year.
7. Tong
Like Moondragon, Tong is another character we’d love to see Millie Bobby Brown play. Though a deep cut, she was one of the key characters in the run of FF by Matt Fraction and Michael and Laura Allred. The comic is an absurd romp with surrealistic visuals that explores the Future Foundation in the absence of the Fantastic Four. Instead, it focuses on Ant-Man, She-Hulk, Medusa, and a bunch of super-genius kids and their wacky adventures.
Among them, are a group of Moloids abandoned underground. One of the Moloids, Tong, soon begins questioning her identity as a male and explicitly states she is a girl inside. She is embraced by her friends and begins wearing dresses. Though her sexuality is never discussed, she marks perhaps the most outright example of a gender-questioning trans character in mainstream comics. It may be hard to work her backstory into the MCU, but we sure hope they find a way to make it work.
6. Mystique
Unlike characters who have later been revealed to be LGBTQ, Mystique was meant to be gay from the start. In fact, writer Chris Claremont originally meant Mystique’s gender and sexuality to be just as fluid as her shapeshifting abilities would imply. In his original vision, Claremont wanted Mystique and her lover Destiny to be Nightcrawler’s parents. His plan was to have Mystique morph into a man and impregnate Destiny. Marvel, however, shot down the idea, aided by the fact that the notoriously restrictive Comics Code Authority banned explicitly gay characters from appearing.
Despite what would have been one of the most groundbreaking moments of the ‘70s, Mystique was still made the parent of Nightcrawler, but as his mother instead of father. She’s also been shown to be openly bisexual over the years, as the CCA was luckily abandoned with time.
This trait has yet to be revealed in any of the character’s numerous on-screen appearances, but there’s still hope if Jennifer Lawrence returns to the franchise. In fact, there’s nothing stopping Claremont’s original vision from turning out to be true, if Fox will allow it.
5. The Question (Renee Montoya)
Renee Montoya started out her existence on Batman: The Animated Series before transitioning over to the comics as one of the GCPD’s most popular detectives. Often partnered with Harvey Bullock and assisting Batman on a number of cases, Montoya spent most of her career fighting corruption. Sadly, she became the object of Two-Face’s affection, who outed her in an effort to destroy her life and force her into his arms. Putting that bizarre logic aside, the plan fails, but the corruption at the heart of the GCPD eventually drives Montoya to resign.
She later takes up the mantle of the Question, after being trained by Vic Sage, the original man in the faceless mask. As the basis for Rorschach from Watchmen, Question gives Batman a run for his money as the World’s Greatest Detective. Though a version of Montoya appeared on the first season of Gotham, she’s yet to return. Still, both the detective and the Question would make a perfect ally and counterpart for The Batman in one of his upcoming theatrical adventures.
4. Batwoman
Whether Montoya appears in a Batman movie or not, we sure hope she eventually gets paired up with Batwoman. Beginning in 2006, DC introduced the world to Kate Kane, a queer woman and the newest Batwoman. While attending military college, Kane is forced to either admit she’s gay or quit, and chooses the path of honesty and a civilian life. She soon meets police officer Renee Montoya, and the two begin a relationship. Another fateful encounter sees her take down a criminal just before Batman arrives on the scene. Mirroring the original Batgirl’s origin, Kane becomes obsessed with the idea of the costumed vigilante and puts her military training to use by becoming Batwoman.
Over the years, she’s become one of the most high-profile LGBTQ superheroes and her fascinating story would make for a great movie all on its own. Adding in supporting characters like Montoya, perhaps fighting the Gotham City Sirens, DC could create an action-packed, queer superhero blockbuster with plenty of name recognition and star power. Barring that amazing dream, we’d love to see Kane pop up in a solo Batman movie and join forces with the Dark Knight.
3. Loki
Tom Hiddleston has been amazing as Loki in the MCU. There’s a reason why the character is continually brought back to face Thor and the Avengers, after all. But on the page, he’s even more nuanced than he’s ever been allowed to be on the screen. Often mistakenly said to be the God of Lies, Loki is really the God of Stories. As such, his adventures have seen him switch between just about every alignment, all while hopping through time, dimensions, and different genders.
Loki’s been just about every age, existed in multiple forms at the same time, and even killed versions of himself. He’s been a Young Avenger and an Agent of Asgard, and is even responsible for Odin adopting his younger self. He’s a swirl of contradictions and complexities, and Marvel would be wise to give Hiddleston a solo movie where Loki’s full range of personalities, preferences, proclivities, and powers could be fully explored.
2. Northstar
Marvel introduced the first mainstream gay character to comics in 1979 with the debut of the mutant Northstar. Of course, he wasn’t allowed to truly be gay until 1992. It may seem hard to imagine now, but the reality of Northstar’s sexuality (and even a plan for him to have AIDS) were continually shot down throughout the ‘80s. Like Mystique, Northstar was created by Chris Claremont. His powers include superhuman speed and strength, light manipulation, and flight, and he’s yet another mutant Fox could use to explore sexuality.
In 2012, he made history again when he married his longtime partner in (and on the cover of) Astonishing X-Men #51. Historically, he’s also been a key member of Alpha Flight, which Simon Kinberg recently stated was owned by Fox and being eyed for a film adaptation. We can’t imagine Northstar not being included in the group, and it’d be wonderful to see his wedding reproduced in the closing moments of the film.
1. Deadpool
Deadpool’s sexuality has been making a lot of waves lately. Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds has talked openly about how he views the character’s sexuality and expressed his desire for Wade to have a boyfriend. While his seemingly committed relationship in the movies with Vanessa might seem to make this a problem, it also provides an opportunity. Being in a relationship with a woman, doesn’t negate Wade’s sexual fluidity, and he could easily be shown to be attracted to men or to have been previously in a relationship with one.
In the comics, Deadpool’s sexuality was never outright stated. While he’s been in relationships with several women (and even had a daughter with one), fans have often wondered about his full range of preferences given his comments and attitudes. As one of Marvel’s most open-minded (or perhaps mindless) characters, it’s certainly no stretch to view Deadpool as pansexual (in the words of writer Gerry Duggan), something co-creator Fabian Nicieza essentially confirmed when he said Wade was all sex and no sex at the same time.
The sex montage from the first movie proved that Vanessa has no problem upending norms, so we could even see her and Wade in an open or polyamorous relationship. Regardless of how Fox feels about the move, Reynolds essentially willed Deadpool into existence, so if he really wants Wade to have a boyfriend, he’ll likely get one.
Which LGBTQ characters from Marvel and DC do you want to see in the movies? Let us know in the comments!
