Here's the article from the Huffington Post:
Original 'X-Men' Character Iceman Confirms He's Gay
The character was one of the original five members created in 1963.
The mystery of "X-Men" member Iceman's sexuality has finally been solved.
A teenage version of the iconic character, displaced in time, made the surprise revelation in All-New X-Men #40 which was released in April. The plot line raised questions about the character's present-day self, who presented himself as heterosexual -- until now.
In Uncanny X-Men #600,
which hits newsstands on Nov. 4, the young Iceman, or Bobby Drake,
comes out officially as a gay man while confronting his older self.
Gay and lesbian characters are becoming increasingly visible in the comic book universe. In 2012, Marvel Comics announced that its first openly gay hero, Northstar, would marry his longtime civilian boyfriend, Kyle Jinadu, in an issue of Astonishing X-Men.
Iceman's coming out, however, is noteworthy given that the character was one of the five original "X-Men" members, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963.
Marvel Comics Editor Daniel Ketchum told The Huffington Post that he was particularly proud of the new issue, calling Iceman's character just another example of how the franchise has always strived to reflect "the human experience."
"As a young person reading comics, starved to see my own life experience reflected on the page, I remember thinking it seemed only possible for that to happen as a one-off story relegated to a D-List character," he said. "I don’t know that I would have believed it if I was told that years later, this story would be presented in the flagship 'X-Men' title, featuring an A-list character who has been a mainstay of the franchise since the beginning."
A teenage version of the iconic character, displaced in time, made the surprise revelation in All-New X-Men #40 which was released in April. The plot line raised questions about the character's present-day self, who presented himself as heterosexual -- until now.
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| Panel from Xmen #600. Credit: Marvel Comics |
Gay and lesbian characters are becoming increasingly visible in the comic book universe. In 2012, Marvel Comics announced that its first openly gay hero, Northstar, would marry his longtime civilian boyfriend, Kyle Jinadu, in an issue of Astonishing X-Men.
Iceman's coming out, however, is noteworthy given that the character was one of the five original "X-Men" members, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963.
Marvel Comics Editor Daniel Ketchum told The Huffington Post that he was particularly proud of the new issue, calling Iceman's character just another example of how the franchise has always strived to reflect "the human experience."
"As a young person reading comics, starved to see my own life experience reflected on the page, I remember thinking it seemed only possible for that to happen as a one-off story relegated to a D-List character," he said. "I don’t know that I would have believed it if I was told that years later, this story would be presented in the flagship 'X-Men' title, featuring an A-list character who has been a mainstay of the franchise since the beginning."