First the president embraced gay marriage, and now some perhaps even more powerful people are doing so: The X-Men. In next month's Astonishing X-Men #51, Canadian X-Man Northstar will tie the knot with longtime boyfriend Kyle Jinadu, Marvel announced today, with a preview in Rolling Stone. Northstar, aka Jean-Paul Beaubier, was the first openly gay superhero, coming out of the closet back in 1992.
"When gay marriage became legal in New York state, it raised obvious questions since most of our heroes reside in New York state," Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso explains. "Our comics are always best when they respond to and reflect developments in the real world." But not everyone in the Marvel universe will be OK with the union. "We'd be doing the story a disservice not to reflect the controversy around it," Alonso says. "At least one of Northstar's team members is going to turn down the invitation." (More X-Men stories.)