Astonishing X-Men made mainstream headlines this summer when Jean-Paul Beaubier, a.k.a. French-Canadian speedster Northstar, married his American boyfriend, Kyle Jinadu. Well, apparently even being able to zip around at the speed of sound can’t protect you from the fickle finger of DOMA: In Astonishing X-Men No. 56, immigration officials coming knocking on the Jinadu-Beaubiers’ door.
Northstar’s saved the world many times over but, because the federal government still doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages, he wasn’t granted American citizenship when he married Kyle. It’s not clear whether the incident is just a single reference, or if Jean-Paul’s immigration status will become part of a larger story arc, as both Kyle and the agents were soon knocked unconscious during an attack on New York.
Having a same-sex wedding in the comic-book world of the X-Men is nice. Grappling with unromantic issues like DOMA and immigration reform is downright Astonishing.
h/t: Back2Stonewall
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daveusericuk
Wow! THANK YOU Marvel Comics!!! This issue isn’t just about couples in the US
It also impacts those of us living in “DOMA Exile” Americans who have been forced
to choose between love and country and move overseas just to be with our LEGALLY
MARRIED spouses. If something as big a part of pop culture as Marvel can see
how this issue is important, then there is hope that someday couples like us
will be able to come home.
2eo
It’s an age old tactic, as old as the printed word. To make society grow you have to win over the kids of the next generation.
They did this to nearly kill the KKK using Superman comics in the 1960’s, and it was the same principle then as now. Wrong ideas cannot hold up to scrutiny, and children are more honest with what they say than any adult.
Kudos marvel, well done indeed.
GayBacon
LOL awesome. I’m still waiting for a gay latino superhero…and no, he better not be a fast runner or a great swimmer -_-‘
iBLOW
@GayBacon: i think one of the Dc heroes is gay and latino
Mjl-428
@GayBacon: @iBLOW: Yeah. DC does. Brand New too. his Name is Bunker and he has the ability to create Psionic constructs. mainly brick-like hence the name.
And Marvel has at least one Gay Latino Superhero. one of them is Miguel Santos a.k.a. Living Lightning. Powers involve lightning manipulation, and flight. many people probably don’t know about him unless they used to read West Coast Avengers. he’s recently been seen Among the superhero team, the Texas Rangers.
X-Factor Member Rictor who is known to be Bi and Currently in a Relationship with Fellow X-Factor Member Shatterstar. Rictor can cause Earthquakes. and is Mexican
DC has or had another Gay Latin Superhero called Hero Cruz (Name is Greek) (Possibly Greek, Black, and Cuban mixed). He was a member of former superhero team the Ravers and his powers were that of like Ben-10. he had a hero dial which he used to transform into various heroes.
that’s all I could find
tavdy79
One minor plot hole: Northstar can fly from Montreal to San Francisco in perhaps half an hour. Even if ICE could throw him out, how do they expect to keep him out?
(Alternatively the X-Men could simply relocate to Vancouver until SCOTUS overturns DOMA.)
Mjl-428
@tavdy79: good point. and really, if you think about it, The X-Men have been bringing mutants to America, From young to adult for years. I’m pretty sure, by the time that the X-Men went Global, Xavier had to have taught his senior members how to deal with the “Illegal Alien” thing before dying anyway.