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from Social Issues
Marvel Comics To Introduce Homosexual
Title Character
by Roy Waller
Marvel Comics Group has announced plans to revamp the sexual
orientation of its "Rawhide Kid" character, with the first
installment of the six-part cowboy story scheduled to appear
in February 2003.
Although "The Rawhide Kid" actually made his debut in 1955
in the wake of the success of the "Rawhide" television
series, his forty-seven year state of sexual ambiguity is
coming to an end.
Marvel, the creator of such well-known titles as "the
Incredible Hulk," "Spider Man," and "The Fantastic Four,"
has introduced overt sexuality into its story lines before,
including scenes depicting nude heterosexual couples engaged
in sexual acts.
And, the new-look Rawhide Kid is not the first openly gay
character in a Marvel publication, that distinction going to
Northstar, a French-Canadian mutant member of the X-Men
related comic book, "Alpha Flight."
What one Marvel executive proudly announced as "the first
gay Western" will highlight Rawhide Kid's stylish leather
outfit and a distinct sexual preference for men, although
Marvel's editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada, insists that the
Rawhide Kid never actually says he is gay.
However, writer Ron Zimmerman, who is scripting the story,
makes the point through various comments on the part of the
Rawhide Kid such as, "I think that mask and powder blue
outfit are fantastic! I can certainly see why the Indian
follows him [The Lone Ranger] around."
Marvel will gauge the public response to the six-month story
arc before deciding whether to continue production. If the
response is favorable, they have expressed interest in
adding a homosexual theme to other plot lines.
The obvious impact that such an avowedly homosexual
character appearing in a traditional masculine, heterosexual
role--in a comic book format aimed at children in their
formative years--cannot be overstated.
Marvel Comics has, in decades past, promoted characters who,
despite their unusual circumstances, have been able to
maintain strong, traditional marital and other familial
relationships. However, the Kid Rawhide experiment could
signal the beginning of a whole new trend in comic books
towards the promotion of "alternative" lifestyles. With
busy parents able to spend less and less time supervising
their children's recreational activities, the introduction
of a positively-presented homosexual character into a comic
book aimed specifically at young boys is very likely to fall
below the radar screen of parental concern.
Updated: 2 September 2008
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