Do we have a NEW bi superhero? (Title edited as "First" is evidently not appropriate)

[icon_uk]

Remember that unlettered page from Avengers Academy

CBR has the lettered version plus more









 

Comments

[drexer]

How can something start so well and then throw the gay=molestation trope at us? Why was that needed? Specially with the way he says 'this way'.

I might be overly critical though, this is really one of those situations where I'll probably have a flip through the whole issue at my LCS.

[nomadicwriter]

It's worth reading the attached article: Gage is clearly very aware of the trope and trying to tackle it head on and talk about how being an abuse survivor can complicate a teenager's relationship with their sexuality. Which is... brave, although I've got to say I'm nervous about how successfully it will come off.

Q: Were you at all nervous about taking Striker in this direction, especially after playing him as a shameless flirt for the last 20 issues? Do you fear any negative reader response?

Gage: I wasn't worried about a backlash for him being gay. I think it's pretty clear, if you go back and read issue #5, that this is something that's been part of his character all along, not something I did to draw attention to the book or pursue a political agenda or whatever. [...] The thing I did have a little bit of concern about was that no one mistakenly think I was implying that being abused as a child somehow "made" Striker gay. Quite the opposite -- if he hadn't been abused, he may well have figured this out a long time ago. But making that clear is on my shoulders. Hopefully, I got it across in the story.

[valtyr]

It seems like that's just Striker's worry talking, and Julie will knock that assumption down. I went and read the interview with Christos Gage at the link, and he talks about how being an abuse survivor can lead people, gay or straight, to struggle with their sexuality/who they're attracted to. It's the second from last question, might be worth checking it out if you're on the fence about looking at the comic.

[whitesycamore]

You think it started well? The sentiment is noble, but the whole thing reads in the most clunky, dorky, preachy way ever.

But judging from the interview the writer is actually trying to do the molestation = sexual confusion trope, which is a separate and legitimate thing for some people.

[valtyr]

Aren't Rictor and Shatterstar bi?

I like this, though. It's nice to see them offering each other support.

[icon_uk]

I'm not sure how Rictor and Shatterstar self-identify, or if Shatterstar even has a relevant frame of reference for such things.

[darkknightjrk]

I don't know if they've said it out-loud--I only have the first trade of this run--but from interviews I've seen, PAD's described Shatterstar sorta like a Jack Harkness, which makes bi a strong possibility, and I think I've seen him mention that Richtor's relationships with women like Rhane were valid, which could go either way.

[northstarfan]

And then there are Mystique, Bling!, and Daken, who have shown an interest in both sexes.

[terrykun]

Oh Julie.... god I know what all that is like.*

"This is because you watched all that anime, isn't it?!" << Actual excerpt from my mother's reaction to me coming out as bi.




*Except for the getting super-powers from alien horses part. *envy*

[rdfox]

Heh. I'm not officially out to any family members yet (largely because I don't think it's any of their business who I sleep with!), though my brother does know I've at least experimented.

But yes, see my ventings above, I had much the same feeling regarding what she said there. Julie is now officially one of my favorite characters!

[manicferret]

Bi woman here, and yeah, I appreciate the sentiment that they're trying to get across but yeah, a bit preachy and clunky in the Special Episode kind of way. I won't pass judgement on the "molestation=gay" until I see the continuation, Julie's reaction and so on The writer does seem to be genuinely trying to be respectful at least if you go by the article

As for first bi characters, I think Mystique counts, as does Rictor and Shatterstar, and so does Daken. probably more as I remember having read a great blog post on the issue. I'll see if I can find it.

[icon_uk]

Mystique is an unusual case, being able to modfy her gender at will. She has had relationships with both genders and quite possible in all gender combinations possible (The only one I wouldn't be sure about would be male/male and that's only because I don't recall seeing it rather than it not being something she'd enjoy) and thus able to function as male or female as the mood takes her.

I'd forgotten about Rictor, who probably would identify as bi (but I couldn't tell you if he has so, wouldn't want to pigeonhole him that way), and Shatterstar quite possibly wouldn't understand the question.

Daken (and Mystique) also aren't superheroes in my assessment on them.

Making a hero bi has a different "feel" to it than making a villain bi IMHO, as it would be possible to imagine a writer (in a less enlightened time) simply making a villain bi to make them appear less "normal" and more "perverse" (and I hasten to distance myself from such a POV as you might imagine!)

[eyz]

Wasn't Grace bi as well? :P
(...Grace... Grace Choi remember? from the Outsiders - the good ones!)

She did swing both ways, she was with Arsneal for quite a while and then with Black Lightning's daughter Thunder.

Anyway, that's how I remember it~

[akodo_rokku]

Yes. Though as she put it, "I have sex with men. I have *relationships* with women."

[biod]

The Incredible Hercules is bi.

[flidgetjerome]

Starman Mikaal Tomas used to identify as bisexual, including a pretty nice scene where he gently corrected Jack Knight after Jack referred to him as "my gay blue brother".

It rather broke my heart when Robinson revised him to gay. "Bisexuals just haven't picked a side yet" is another trope that really needs to die.

[salinea]

"Bisexuals just haven't picked a side yet" is another trope that really needs to die.
Motto.

[filthysize]

This is awesome, but it's quite hilarious that there is a bi girl whose superpower is flying around making a rainbow.

[valtyr]

Well, the lesbian in Runaways is made of rainbows, so.

[lieut_kettch]

Icemaiden (Sigrid Nansen) is bi as well.

[lieut_kettch]

Now that Julie's back on the East Coast, has she managed to reconnect with Alex and Franklin over at the Baxter Building?

[dewinged]

I think there's an upcoming FF issue with a Pack reunion.

[nyadnar17]

This is real talk. I have a bi relative and she deals with the same crap. Glad to see it addressed.

Also glad to see the whole molestation/gay thing addressed. I know it could be handled badly, but so far I have enough faith in the author to give the handling of this very real concern/misconception the benefit of the doubt.

[stolisomancer]

Beyond the rest of it, this really makes me wonder what Jack and Katie Power are up to these days.

[crabby_lioness]

They're supposed to show up for Christmas at the Baxter Building.

[brooms]

I was skeptical, but this is reassuring. It reads very PSA, but it's way better than mishandling the issue and falling back on the trope (which would be so easy).

I think I really like Gage as a writer, tbh.

[crabby_lioness]

Gage notes that he did extensive research on sexually abused teens as part of a TV-writing gig, but never got the chance to use it there. Now he's pulling it out, and he's been setting it up since the beginning. Constant self-doubt goes a long way towards explaining Striker's spectacular run of bad choices, more so than just teenage-itis.

Also, this sequence is a nice shoutout to the old Power Pack/Spider-man sexual abuse handout from late 80s. As awkward as it was, it was a step in the right direction.

[blackruzsa]

I think it comes off really well, sensitive, even. In the first place, you can't expect him to go through an experience like that without being affected at all. I can't judge yet, but I do appreciate that they're addressing it carefully as opposed to cliched.

[shadowpsykie]

yeah i think that when its an issue like this, and it IS a sensitive issue on many fronts, approaching it carefully is the best way to do it.

it may come off as "preachy" or "very special episody" but it would be SO easy to piss alot of people off if it was handled differently.

also reading it, alot of it kinda comes off as "Matter of fact" "Look i like PEOPLE not genders" and yeah lots of gay people and straight people and lesbian people often do tell Bisexuals to pick a side. (honestly you think people who live in a world where cosmic forces, androgynous higher beings, sexy gods and anthropormorphic aliens someone being bisexual would be pretty much a non issue. :)

[long_silence]

I don't know. This feels kinda heavy handed to me. They both just come off as mouth pieces for Gage. They're pretty much spouting what Gage said in that article verbatim. It doesn't feel like a real conversation between teenagers.

Like that part where Striker says that he's thinks he's gay or how he only ever hit on girls who'd never flirt back. He just says it so matter of fact, there's no hesitance or embarrassment or anything, there's no real emotion there, no subtlety. And the art isn't really helping in that department.

[crabby_lioness]

Striker is not known for hesitance or embarrassment. This is the boy who posted a vid to youtube of himself and his classmates beating up the man who beat up Tigra -- and then proudly showed it to his teachers.

But I'm not sure it would register to him at this point in his life as something to be embarrassed about. He did what he was "supposed to" -- propositioned girls. When some took him up on it, he followed through as he was "supposed to" -- had sex with them. The fact that he did what he was culturally "supposed to" (at least to his adolescent eyes) is not what's causing him problems. It's the fact that he did what he was "supposed to" and felt like crap afterwards.

[nyadnar17]

*shurgs* until I see someone handle the topic better Gage is a winner in my book.

[northstarfan]

It's a depressing sign of how adversarial my view of writers at the Big Two is when I get hearts in my eyes over one who'll actually say "If I fuck up handling this sensitive topic, it's on me" instead of implying that the fault is with the overly sensitive reader.