posted
I can't belief that in this day and age we still aren't seeing at least one gay Legionnaire. Don't you think it's about time? Do you think the writers are homophobic?
[Edited title: I don't like or condone condemning people for some people's personal perceptions that might not be shared by others. Thanks!]
[ May 25, 2010, 08:15 AM: Message edited by: Nightcrawler ]
From: San Francisco | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Certainly not! The Legion has always been a step ahead of the rest of the industry in adding gay characters, as Vi & Salu, Jan Arrah, Mekt & Holt and others have shown.
If anything, the Legion has suffered from a constant need to reboot the franchise which kind of limits its ability to grow the series with new characters and diversity.
Perhaps now with a semblance of the old franchise restored and what appears to be a firm committment on DC's behalf to move the series forward without turning back, the time is ripe for a homosexual character to appear in the LSH on an ongoing basis without fear of s/he dissapearing the next time the franchise has its continuity changed?
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
(I'm personally hoping Vi & Salu emerge as the couple they were in TMK very quickly).
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
The LSH franchise as a whole is about as homophobaic as I am. And I ain't scared of no homos at ALL-- bring it ON, sissies of ALL varieties-- I'm not going to condemn you... but what you're WEARING might be target of some bitchy barbs!
Seriosuly though, so many things come into play here... the writer's wishes, the editor's wishes, the P'sTB wishes...
Sexuality was just comics taboo really in the 60s, 70s and 80s... wasn't until the grim -n- gritty 90s that this subject would or could really be on the table for mainstream DC/Marvel.
And, as Cobie states, reboot after reboot and regime change after regime change didn't exactly help LSH be able to maintain any longterm gay characters but in general I think LSH has been fairly (or at least semi) cutting-edge about it for a mainstream superhero team.
With Mr. Levitz now firmly in place and norms of the day a lot different than they once were, it will be interesting to see what happens now.
posted
With it's well-documented history of gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender characters, the Legion series is of course not an example of homophobia at work.
However - all of those characters were introduced/revealed post Five Year Gap, correct? That's therefore a loooooonnnng period of time where DC/Paul (as the team's longest writer) could have introduced a non-straight character into the universe but didn't.
Times were obviously different back then but still - the Legion really should have been on the forefront of books introducing sexual (and all sorts of other) minorities considering its progressive, futuristic setting and all. Marvel was way ahead of the ball than DC on this topic I think.
I have no idea what Paul's stance on this subject is but I hope we do see a gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender Legionnaire soon - though not at the expense of good story-telling of course (not that it would be).
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
I believe the Lightning Lord is gay idea was based on a fan slash pairing. It showed up in V4, but so did lots of fan stuff.
Element Lad is theoretically based on an old Jim Shooter letter from 1975, but if you actually read it you'll also find a reference to a threesome between Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Dream Girl. Funny how everyone ignores that part.
Ayla/Violet does seem to be legitimate.
Registered: Apr 2010
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They don't need to have a gay character to be fun reading. And that's what this LSH is about- fun reading.
From: Denver, CO | Registered: May 2004
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cleome46
or you can do the confusion 'til your head falls off
posted
I'd really like to see somebody "out" in the future. By that, I mean a couple that can hold hands, embrace, kiss, use the "L" word if it suits the story.
The trouble with having nobody like that in the future is that there are already "out" DC characters in the present continuity. What does it say that there are no LBGT characters in the future that we can discover through anything but innuendo and subtext? That same-sex attraction was just "a phase" for Humankind and in Utopia it will disappear?
Not good.
Hey, I like playing "Who is? Who isn't?" as much as the next person, but that's not a real substitute for having continuity reflect the wide range of fans and readers that really exist.
-------------------- Hey, Kids! My "Cranky and Kitschy" collage art is now viewable on flickr. Drop by and tell me that I sent you.
From: Vanity, OR | Registered: Dec 2008
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cleome46
or you can do the confusion 'til your head falls off
posted
quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: (I'm personally hoping Vi & Salu emerge as the couple they were in TMK very quickly).
I'd like that, too, but even if they were exes, I'd like for it to be okay to refer to them as such.
-------------------- Hey, Kids! My "Cranky and Kitschy" collage art is now viewable on flickr. Drop by and tell me that I sent you.
From: Vanity, OR | Registered: Dec 2008
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future king
Excuse me but can you please direct me to the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles?
posted
I think this whole thread topic is a non issue. As so many have stated above the Legion has proven that it is not homophobic in the least, given its past relationships (ie: Vi/Ayla).
The idea does not need to be forced in order to make a point either. If it flows naturally from the ongoing story, great! If not, so what? What would that prove or not prove to the fans reading a fictional, superheroic futuristic team comic anyway? Let it go people ... it's just a comic book.
From: ontario | Registered: Feb 2007
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cleome46
or you can do the confusion 'til your head falls off
posted
[snip]
Ken Arromdee:
quote:...Funny how everyone ignores that part...
If it's anything like the interview posted on this board, I prefer to ignore anything Shooter says about the characters', uh, social lives. Seriously, the guy should've taken a cold shower before giving that interview. That was WAY more insight into his mind than I wanted, Thanks.
-------------------- Hey, Kids! My "Cranky and Kitschy" collage art is now viewable on flickr. Drop by and tell me that I sent you.
From: Vanity, OR | Registered: Dec 2008
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quote:Originally posted by Blacula: With it's well-documented history of gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender characters, the Legion series is of course not an example of homophobia at work.
However - all of those characters were introduced/revealed post Five Year Gap, correct? That's therefore a loooooonnnng period of time where DC/Paul (as the team's longest writer) could have introduced a non-straight character into the universe but didn't.
I think the Vi/Ayla pairing occurred before the Five Year Gap. I had dropped the book when the Five Year Gap started.
-------------------- Five billion years from now the Sun will go nova and obliterate the Earth. Don't sweat the small stuff!
From: Boston | Registered: Aug 2003
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future king
Excuse me but can you please direct me to the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles?
posted
quote:Originally posted by cleome: [snip]
Ken Arromdee:
quote:...Funny how everyone ignores that part...
If it's anything like the interview posted on this board, I prefer to ignore anything Shooter says about the characters', uh, social lives. Seriously, the guy should've taken a cold shower before giving that interview. That was WAY more insight into his mind than I wanted, Thanks.
Cleome, I couldn't agree with you more.
From: ontario | Registered: Feb 2007
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cleome46
or you can do the confusion 'til your head falls off
posted
Hey, thanks for the agreement above, fk, but...
[snip]
future king:
quote:...Let it go people ... it's just a comic book...
I always wonder why that line is used to explain resistance to change, but never to explain why resistance to change is kind of ridiculous, given how amazingly selective it is.
There can be forty-four kajillion deaths in comics, some extremely graphic. There can be sexual assault and "fridgings," because that makes comics more "adult." But there can't be a same-sex couple kissing.
Uh, yeah.
Real nice.
-------------------- Hey, Kids! My "Cranky and Kitschy" collage art is now viewable on flickr. Drop by and tell me that I sent you.
From: Vanity, OR | Registered: Dec 2008
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