Slowly but surely, the LGBTQ population is getting more representation in Hollywood, particularly in the superhero genre. In the past, those who were queer in Hollywood were forced to be closeted for years, sometimes their entire career. A famous example of this is Rock Hudson, a prominent actor in Hollywood’s Golden Age whose agents frequently had to quash rumors of his homosexuality. Even upon his death in the '80s, there was a stigma attached to being gay, particularly in the context of the AIDS epidemic, the disease Hudson died from.

Now we’re in a time where LGBTQ people are playing superheroes -- some of them even get to play out superheroes. The significance of this cannot be stressed enough. When marginalized communities are better represented -- women, people of color, the LGBTQ community -- the easier it will be for children of these communities to find stories that speak to them and help them navigate their own identity. The major comic book companies, DC and Marvel, have ushered in the era of the queer superhero on TV and in film.

The CW

Arrowverse

The CW network did for television what Marvel did for films. The Arrowverse is a shared universe of superhero shows -- Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow -- who once a year have an epic crossover event. The CW, which obviously works with DC characters, is killing it when it comes to openly out LGBTQ actors playing out characters.

The CW’s success with this makes sense considering they cater to younger audiences who are generally more open in their sociopolitical views. Additionally, younger audiences could be struggling with their own queerness, making it all the more important that an actor like Ruby Rose is cast as Batwoman.

Ruby Rose’s casting as Batwoman, a lesbian superhero, is the latest news out of the CW machine. Rose came out as a lesbian when she was young, at the age of 12. Ruby Rose also knows what it’s like to struggle with gender nonconformity and identifies as genderfluid. She has been open with telling her story, which is something young people need. However, her casting as Batwoman prompted a backlash, driving Ruby Rose to quit Twitter.

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Thankfully, Nicole Maines has not yet been driven off Twitter. At Comic-Con International in San Diego this year, the CW announced that Maines, a transgender woman, will be playing Dreamer, TV’s first transgender superhero, on Supergirl. According to Variety, the show’s producers worked with DC Comics, GLAAD and members of the transgender community to “show the whole spectrum of humanity, and that everyone can be a hero.”

Lest we forget, the CW already has a number of queer characters and actors who play them. Wentworth Miller and Russell Tovey are also out actors who played an out couple in The Flash as Citizen Cold and The Ray. In last season’s crossover event, “Crisis on Earth-X,” the two characters shared a kiss, and, later on The Flash, Cold announced his intention to marry The Ray. After the giant Nazi-filled mess that was Barry and Iris’s wedding, it’s nice to have another Arrowverse wedding to look forward to.

Worlds of DC

Ezra Miller's Flash

Speaking of The Flash, Worlds of DC has Ezra Miller as their Flash. Miller had brief cameos as The Flash in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. In last year’s Justice League film, Miller had much more screen time as the high-energy, K-pop loving Barry Allen.

Ezra Miller spoke about his sexuality in a 2012 interview with Out Magazine, describing himself as “queer.” As far as major motion pictures go, Miller’s presence in Worlds of DC is significant. If plans go through for a Flashpoint film, he will be the first openly queer actor to lead a superhero film.

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Worlds of DC, however, has had a lot of upheavals in their slate of upcoming films. News of Flashpoint has stalled. Considering how poorly Justice League fared at the box office, DC may be looking to build up their individual heroes first before doing more ensemble stories like Flashpoint.

While we hope that Ezra Miller does get to lead his own film and make that first for the LGBTQ community, we also hope that DC brings on more out characters and actors.

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Marvel

Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok

Marvel Studios hasn’t been as obvious as the CW with their efforts at LGBTQ representation. Tessa Thompson’s character, Valkyrie, was hinted at being bisexual in Thor: Ragnarok. While Valkyrie is bisexual in the comics, for many LGBTQ people the scene in which Valkyrie is horrified at the death of another woman isn’t quite enough of an effort for representation.

Marvel Studios has had 10 years and 20 films so far to have openly queer characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kevin Feige has teased that there will be open LGBTQ characters soon, but this progress has been frustrating. Tessa Thompson just came out as being attracted to men and women in June 2018, but it hasn’t been confirmed if Valkyrie will be one of the characters Feige was referring to.

Considering how much Marvel fans love Tessa Thompson and her character, it would certainly be in Marvel Studio’s best interest to have Thompson explore more of her character’s bisexuality. With Thompson, viewers not only get more representation for LGBTQ people in general but queer people of color in Hollywood.

negasonic-warhead-yukio-header

While not a part of Marvel Studios, Deadpool 2 is a Marvel property that has also showcased various sexualities. Deadpool is a pansexual character, and Ryan Reynolds himself spoke at Comic-Con about how Deadpool’s pansexuality is something he’d like to explore more of in the future.

Deadpool 2 also has a teenage lesbian couple with Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio. Their relationship is treated as something totally normal, which it is. Their scenes together are ones where they’re hanging out and just doing things that all couples do, and Deadpool and Yukio have an adorable rapport throughout the film.

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The actor who plays Negasonic, Brianna Hildebrand, is openly gay. In an interview with People, Hildebrand spoke about how Hollywood of the past would keep her off-screen relationship “under wraps.” However, Hildebrand has assured her publicists that she is fine with her identity and would rather be open about it. As she said in the interview, “I’d rather just be like, ‘This is what it is.’”

We know that this is the future of superheroes -- openly out actors and characters finding acceptance in a genre that generally is resistant to change. Regardless of your personal views on sexuality, there are going to be queer children who need to see themselves reflected in the media they consume. Harassing actors and creators off social media is not only immature, but it does a disservice to young people who could benefit from their presence.

The Era of the Queer Superhero has only just begun, and no amount of Twitter bullying is going to change that.