User:Ljmatasker/sandbox

Superheros characters generally perpetuate hegemonic masculinity in the way of creating a dialogue where a below average straight, white, cisgender man is able to gain superpowers. This tendency, which is rooted in pure nostalgia of “a better time”, also reflects lack of queer representation within contemporary roles for male actors. Even though the Marvel comics have recently had queer characters in print, this has not transferred over to the cinamatic adaptations. One of the prime examples is Deadpool which was released February 12th, 2016. Deadpool, or Wade Wilson, breaks the bounds of what a superhero should be and destroys any foundation a traditional superhero had. He is an antihero rooted in trying to destroy the man who gave him superpowers. But in the process ruined his looks. The running joke of “Merc with a mouth” describes him throughout his narrative as he is vulgar and  relentlessly breaks the fourth wall. While queering the narrative on the bounds of a superhero, he also identifies as pansexual in the comics. This is the only film Marvel has made about a clearly 'out' character. Yet, the film strictly adhered to a heterosexual plot line of Wilson trying to “get the girl”. By straight-washing this character, Marvel studios, owned by Fox, sticks to the heteronormative ideal of a superhero to appeal to their fanbase of straight, white, cisgender men. However, Ryan Reynolds who plays Wade Wilson has expressed the character should not be changed to become more palatable. He believes the studio needs to stay true to the character’s sexuality because representation is so important to the viewers. He states, “I certainly wouldn’t be the guy standing in the way of that...That would be great”. In addition to this there are a significant amount of characters featured in the Xmen comics that are queer, but not featured in the films. This includes, Northstar, Iceman and Psylocke.

DC Comics, film production owned by Warner Brothers Studios, has less mainstream productions out than Marvel currently does. The films they have released include reoccurring characters. The main three that were heavily capitalized on include Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman and just recently they are begining to revamp the Justice League films. DC also has many more queer characters in print than Marvel does. As well as more leniency in how they are written with modern references to gay dating applications. They even feature one of the only transgender superheros in mainstream comics. However, this is rarely shown in film. Green Lantern, film released June 16, 2011, came before the 2012 rewrite of the character Green Lantern (alter ego Hal Jordan). The new story line follows homophobic hate crimes and Hal Jordan’s sexuality. The most recent Green Lantern has been labeled as a narrative that needed to be told and a good dialogue to have opened. Yet, this story line was one of multiple alternative universe narratives that the comics allowed for. Warner Bros. was extremely confused how this would affect the film. They believed they would have to make Ryan Reynolds character gay, yet they escaped this because there are so many different reincarnations of this character. Warner Bros. has also intentionally ignored other queer characters in large franchises, such as the on going Batman series. This proves that what happens in the comics is deliberately separate from what films include as well as what they believe they can profit off of.

Another aspect of film are the actors that play the characters. Up until now, no out queer person has been cast to play a superhero. In the past, Ian McKellen (Magneto) has been cast as a super villain which solidified the “evil gay” trope. Now an out queer actor, Ezra Miller, has been selected to play the Flash in the upcoming DC film. This battles the heteronormative idea that a queer actor is not able to play a straight character.