Gay superhero in Astonishing X-Men to get married to his partner
The Marvel comic-strip, X-Men, is to feature its first same-sex wedding, as an openly gay superhero proposed to his boyfriend in an issue that went on sale this week.
The current issue of Astonishing X-Men, No. 50, sees Jean-Paul Beaubier, whose alter-ego, Northstar, can move at super-human speeds, proposing to his partner of three years, Kyle Jinadu.
Their wedding will be featured in the next issue, out on 20th of June, Marvel Comics has confirmed. The comic-strip first broke ground by announcing that Northstar, a character in the series since 1979, was gay back in 1992.
The BBC reports that some retailers are already planning their own wedding parties in order to celebrate the forthcoming wedding.
The editor-in-chief of Marvel, Axel Alonso said in a statement: “The Marvel Universe has always reflected the world outside your window, so we strive to make sure our characters, relationships and stories are grounded in that reality.”
He added: “We’ve been working on this story for over a year to ensure Northstar and Kyle’s wedding reflects Marvel’s ‘world outside your window’ tradition.”
However, there might not be a happy ending for the couple, as the wedding announcement carries the following ominous message: “Will their path to wedded matrimony in New York City be smooth, or are there hidden dangers around the corner?”
X-Men will not be the first comic-strip to feature equal marriage though. That credit goes to DC Wildstorm’s The Authority, in which Apollo and the Midnighter got married. Meanwhile, Marvel’s rivals, DC Comics, have revealed that a major established character in one of their comic-strips would soon be revealed as gay.
