LGBTQ+ Superheroes

Pride isn’t a sin

Madame Vastra:“Good evening. I’m a lizard woman from the dawn of time. And this is my wife.”

Doctor Who “The Snowmen” (Season 7, Episode 6)

The world is slowly growing tolerant. Each year, more people open up about who they are. There are still problems from bigots and people stuck in their ways, but the majority accept all people as they are. The same is true in fiction. 

We’ve already counted down six LGBTQ+ Superheroes, but there are plenty more where they came from. So who are the next five? Let’s find out.

#5 LGBTQ+ Superhero: The Doctor

Identity: Genderfluid

13th Doctor: “Come to daddy. I mean mummy! I mean… I really need you right now!”

Doctor Who “The Ghost Monument” (Season 11, Episode 2)

As you journey through life, someone might become the key that helps you unlock the door to your true identity, Our first LGBTQ+ Superhero learned about that opportunity after sixty years (or a few millennia) of traveling through time and space.

The Doctor is a Time Lord. They stole a time machine and traveled across the universe for centuries. After picking up a pair of human stowaways, they became fond of Earth and swore to protect it. The Doctor has fought off every alien menace that threatened humanity.

Regeneration allows The Doctor to change their appearance when mortally wounded. Most incarnations have presented as male, but viewers recently learned that Time Lords can alter their sex. At least three of The Doctors were women, including the first known incarnation. The Doctor uses whichever pronouns match their current body, but is likely genderfluid.

#4 Dreamer

Identity: Transgender

Kara: “So you are both human and alien.”
Dreamer: “Yes. My parents believed that humans and aliens could co-exist. And I am living proof of that. But growing up wasn’t easy. I am also a trans woman. I’m different, Ms. Danvers, but so is everybody. And I don’t know when that became such a bad thing.”

Supergirl “American Dreamer” (Season 4, Episode 19)

No one should ever have to prove who they are. They know who they are and that’s all that matters. But it’s nice if an outside entity is accepting.

Nia Nal is a half-alien living on Earth. She transitioned early in life and was embraced by her family. She developed dream powers, a family gift that only manifests in one woman each generation. While everyone accepted Nia as a woman, they had never expected the gift to agree.

Nia was hesitant to accept the powers because they caused a rift with her sister and she couldn’t control them. She met Supergirl, who encouraged Nia to embrace her powers and become Dreamer. The new hero proved popular and eventually made the jump into comics.

Dreamer has prophetic dreams and uses astral projection for spying. She eventually learned to channel “dream energy” for laser blasts, barriers, and energy chains. What’s dream energy? No idea. Maybe she’s siphoning power from Dream of the Endless?

#3 LGBTQ+ Superhero Northstar

Identity: Gay

Northstar: “Do not presume to lecture me on the hardships homosexuals must bear! For while I am not inclined to discuss it with people for whom it is none of their business, I am gay! Be that as it may, AIDS is not a disease limited to homosexuals, as much as it seems the world wishes that were so!”

Alpha Flight #106

Someone has to take the first step for things to change. Many of Marvel’s heroes support LGBTQ+ people, but a little-known hero from an X-Men spinoff was the first LGBTQ+ superhero.

Jean-Paul Beaubier is a Mutant with superhuman speed and light powers. He was a professional skier who was accused of using his powers to cheat. He became a superhero called Northstar and joined Canada’s premier superhero team: Alpha Flight.

Writers were forbidden from explicitly writing Northstar as gay, but hinted at it constantly. This changed when Jean-Paul adopted an abandoned baby who had been exposed to AIDS-contaminated blood. Northstar revealed that he was gay while fighting a supervillain and later announced it publicly to shine a light on AIDS.

Northstar later dated a coworker named Kyle and proposed. In 2012, they celebrated the first gay wedding in superhero comics. Both are still alive and together at time of writing. Even better, the X-Men resurrected Northstar’s daughter, allowing him and Kyle to become parents. Wait, a happy ending in Marvel? What new breed of madness is this?

#2 Gwenpool

Identity: Aro-Ace (Aromantic and Asexual)

Gwenpool: “Kisses on the cheek and forehead are great, they make me feel warm and fuzzy. But kissing kissing… It’s kinda gross, like two weird snakes wrestling. I really like you and I want to make you happy, but I can’t make myself want something I don’t want and I don’t want to lie to you about wanting it.”

Love Unlimited: Gwenpool #47

Gay and transgender people get most of fiction’s rainbow-colored limelight, but there are many other identities out there also deserving of love. Our penultimate LGBTQ+ superhero is a two-fer.

Gwen Poole is a Marvel fan from our world. She accidentally found her way into the comics and became a hero to avoid becoming a casualty. A superhero tailor made Gwen a pink Deadpool costume after mistaking her real name for a code name.

Gwenpool used her knowledge of story tropes and Marvel history to become a main character. Unfortunately, she struggled to remember that even goofy villains are deadly and was forced to work for MODOK. Gwenpool eventually overthrew him and became an anti-hero.

Gwenpool dated several lesser known X-Men so she would remain too relevant for writers to kill. While dating Lightspeed, Gwen admitted that she didn’t like physical intimacy. Lightspeed helped Gwen realize that she was asexual and aromantic. They have since begun a serious relationship unlike Gwenpool’s previous flings.

#1 LGBTQ+ Superhero: Superman (Jon Kent)

Identity: Bisexual

Superman: [about the S symbol] “For me, it signifies everything I hope to live up to. Today, here, right now, I want it to mean that I see you. That I am you. And that there’s no wrong way to be yourself.“

DC Pride 2022

Many of the LGBTQ+ superheroes on our list keep to the shadows. They are rebellious or don’t stand out from the crowd. We need a paragon. This looks like a job for Superman.

Jon Kent is Superman’s son. He was raised in secret to have a normal life, but eventually learned his dad’s secret and became Superboy. A convoluted story caused Jon to age to an adult offscreen. Clark Kent needed to leave Earth for a series of missions and gave Jon the Superman mantle.

The new Superman struggled to live up to his father’s reputation. He exposed his secret identity while saving a journalist named Jay Nakamura from an assassin. Ironically, Jay would have been fine because he secretly had the power to phase through objects. The two grew close because he was the one person Superman didn’t have to worry about protecting. Attraction grew into the two of them dating.

If you want to know more about the new Superman, why not check out his backstory? 

Which LGBTQ+ Superheroes do you like? Are there some who should be on our list instead? Tell us in the comments.

Jared Bounacos

Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.