One of the founding members of the X-Men team has a secret revealed and it is none other than Iceman aka Bobby Drake.
The new issue of All-New X-Men No. 40 finally reveals Bobby as a gay character and sees him coming to terms with reality.
“There are thousands if not millions of stories of people who, for many different reasons, felt the need to hide their sexuality. The X-Men, with the conceit of time travel, give us a fascinating platform in which to examine such personal journeys. This is just the first little chapter of a much larger story that will be told.” Brian Michael Bendis, who wrote the issue, said in a statement to CNN.
i swear on my dogs, i wanted the issue to come out and just be. no press. no sensational headlines. no leaks. oh, well…
— BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (@BRIANMBENDIS) April 21, 2015
The new issue has members of X-Men team travelling to the past as younger versions of themselves with Jean Gray confronting Bobby when he calls some woman hot, as to why he called her hot when she knows the truth. Bobby does not immediately acknowledge Jean.
Iceman is popular for his roles in X-Men films as well as the 1981 animated series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. As his name suggests he has the power of cryokinesis, meaning he can create and manipulate water vapor in the air to create ice.
Previously, Bobby was shown having relationship with an Asian-American Opal Tanaka, and while the relationship lasted several years, she started to drift away from him because she didn’t feel her relationship with Bobby was right. With the turn of 90s, Marvel tried to create a romantic relationship with Rogue which was perfect for Bobby as the physical intimacy was never a problem as Rogue could not be touched.
Diversity has long been a thing for X-Men comic series, with the comic book having a black female character, Storm, that appeared in 1970s and Northstar became the first gay mainstream comic book character.
Marvel is not the only one who has been forward when it comes to the idea of gay characters. DC Comics too has had prominent gay characters in recent years. Catwoman recently came out as bisexual, and Harley Quinn is portrayed that way as well. Others also include Batwoman and the original Green Lantern of Earth 2.
