Spandex in the Closet

Dreaming up a suitable alliteration for someone I know isn't all that easy! Such is the case for the Legal Beagle. Obviously very much into law and yes, just a tad nutty - hence the term! But I've been going through Legal Legumes, Nutty Nates and Prancing Peanuts to no avail. Even found myself thinking of Cycling Cashew at one low point.

And I'm a lil afraid that he's gonna sue for defamation if I use the wrong terms of endearment :)

But he still saw fit to send me inspiration by talking about gay heroes today. Made a claim that gay heroes are indeed few in number - a fact that I had to refute. We actually have more. At least more than the days when we had to rely on suitably horrific scenarios of Batman putting the moves on his teenage sidekick Robin.

Or wondering what Clark Kent did with Jimmy Olsen during their break time.


Love that dare not speak its name? Fear not!
Surprisingly these days we actually do have a handful of gay superheroes in spandex- though a number of them seem to be in dire straits. From the controversial media-whores in the Authority - the inimitable Midnighter and his blonder beau Apollo - who break down the closet door with a bang to the quieter gay boys who slip out of the closet with us barely noticing such as Wiccan and Hulkling in the Young Avengers.

About time the publishers realized that gay fanboys make up quite a number of the readers. Enough of pandering to the drooling adolescent teenboy fan base by introducing nubile lezzies in love ( holy Batwoman! ), it's time to push some of the boys out of the closet as well. After all, who else would empathize with the masked heroes who feel different and alien, having to hide their true faces from the rest of the world? Sound familiar?

But just take a look at what's been happening with Wiccan and Hulkling - these two fledgling spandex heroes who are dating one another. For those who wonder whether their histories would be retconned later in more puritanical times, take heart that it's spelt out real clearly what their relationship is.


No doubt about it. They're in love!
Boyfriend. Now that isn't the comics I was brought up with.

And I'm glad.

Then again now that Robin's all grown up, I wouldn't mind hitting on him as well.