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Matthew Peeler

Royston

College Writing 140

22 March 2019

Superpowered Diversity: A Necessity

Everyone loves superheroes, right? They’re the good guys with just morals and abilities in a

fictional world who protect the people and things they care about from evildoers who are

obsessed with power, destruction, and chaos.

Most of them even have cool costumes!

And the worlds, dimensions, and plains of existence within the superhero lore are endless.

Although I won’t get too into it, the multiverse is a thing in pretty much any and all superhero

franchises, so there are infinite possibilities when it comes to creating worlds and characters.

Nevertheless, having a neverending supply of fictional worlds means there is essentially a

neverending supply of superheroes, which, in turn, means that there is a superhero for any kind

of person; no matter what your interests are!

Do you enjoy a gritty hero who fights with his fists and cool gadgets? Perhaps you would be

interested in Batman.

What about a vampire hunter who possesses almost all of the powers of a vampire? Then one

should definitely check out Blade!

Maybe you’d even take a liking to have gods of specific cultures become superheroes such as

Thor or Valkyrie?
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These countless heroes encourage the people of the real world by fighting for justice, glory,

peace, and life in wondrous worlds where the impossible can happen.

So what’s not to like about them?

Over the years since the comic book superhero became a popular concept, there has been a lot of

diversity in leading heroes within various franchises when it comes to different cultures,

religions, races, genders, and more, but for some odd reason there has not been many notable

LGBT+ leading superheroes that are highly acknowledged.

Sure, there was Deadpool and Constantine represented in their own film and TV show

adaptations, but even those heroes were somewhat dampened on their involvement as individuals

in the LGBT+ community.

And only a handful of people can remember that Northstar is the first openly gay superhero

introduced by Marvel Comics, even though his story and abilities are so interesting and cool.

So what is the reason why comic industries like DC Comics and Marvel aren’t wanting to

introduce more LGBT+ leading superheroes?

Personally, I think they are worried many of their readers and viewers won’t respond well to

having a prominent LGBT+ figure take the spotlight from other popular heroes.

Although times have changed since the introduction of an LGBT+ character in comics was

thought of as taboo, it makes no sense to not have a featured LGBT+ superhero in this modern

age. We have come so far in recent years with the legalization of gay marriage in all fifty states

and the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, but there is still so much to be done to

encourage equality throughout the world.

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Growing up as a kid, I would read about and see these amazing heroes like Superman,

Spiderman, and many more, but I never really found one I truly connected with or thought of like

my own personal hero.

It wasn’t until I finally understood my own sexuality that I noticed there wasn’t a lot of serious

LGBT+ representation within any superhero franchises except for a couple here and there.

But why is it so important to have these heroes come into fruition?

The people within the LGBT+ community are oppressed by the ignorance of others and, no

matter what age or background, they need hope in something to help them know everything is

going to be alright. Having a hero that is like them in some way gives them something to believe

in when they are feeling discouraged about who they are.

If the big brand names like DC and Marvel would attempt to have LGBT+ characters in the

spotlight for a while, then they would see how beneficial this would be for readers and viewers in

the community.

Of course, there will be hate and ignorance from those against the LGBT+ community, but to

have courage and strength to even put these characters into the light will inspire so many people

to stand up for themselves and be proud of who they are.

Although in film and TV shows there are many characters from different franchises being given

a portrayal as LGBT+, such as Alex Danvers from Supergirl, Karolina Dean and Nico Minoru

from Marvel’s Runaways, and even Negative Man from the new TV adaptation of Doom Patrol,

these are only a few examples of what these industries should be doing in various types of media.
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There have also been numerous dicussions about the metaphorical representation of the mutant

superhero team, X-Men, who symbolize the LGBT+ community and their fight for equal rights.

This is a small, but not good enough, step in the right direction for creators and industries of

superheroes.

So when are they going to take a bigger step?

We, as consumers, need to voice our opinions on the matter and make them hear our interests for

more superhero diversity within the LGBT+ community.

We are no longer wanting to hide in the shadows about this problem and it’s time for us to get

the representation and heroes we deserve.

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Work Cited

“Do Superhero Films Need More Superhero Diversity?” ​ComicsVerse,​ 7 Sept. 2018,

https://comicsverse.com/why-superhero-movies-need-more-diversity/​.

Redpath, Audrey. “The Importance of LGBT Superheroes.” ​The Huffington Post​,

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 Dec. 2017,

www.huffingtonpost.com/audrey-redpath/hero-saves-the-day-why-lg_b_8130778.html​.

White, Brett. “Marvel, DC and the Current State of LGBT Superheroes.” ​CBR​, CBR, 15 June

2016, ​www.cbr.com/marvel-dc-and-the-current-state-of-lgbt-superheroes/​.