SUPER VILLAN MOMS TARGET MARVEL AND DC OVER GAY HEROES

Hot off the blistering box-office success of The Avengers, principal photography on Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 began in North Carolina this week.  I wonder of how intolerant Tar Heels feel about the movie now that Marvel Comics has announced they’ll feature a same-sex wedding in next month’s issue of Astonishing X-Men?  

As if an entire state wasn’t enough, now One Million Moms, a conservative Christian group, is launching a campaign to stop Marvel and DC Comics characters from coming out of the closet.  Earlier this week, both publishers made landmark announcements that has these super-villainous matriarchs up in arms.

The Canadian superhero, Northstar, proposed to his boyfriend in issue #50 of Marvel’s Astonishing X-Men, with the wedding scheduled for next month.  While DC, not to be out-gunned, announced they will reintroduce one of their major icons as being gay.  Speculation as to the character’s identity is running rampant among fans.

One Million Moms is an initiative of the nonprofit American Family Association, and has been identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.  They claim Disney-owned Marvel, and Time Warner-held DC, want to “indoctrate impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light.”  The group believes, “These companies are heavily influencing our youth by using children's superheroes to desensitize and brainwash them in thinking that a gay lifestyle choice is normal and desirable”

Meanwhile, numerous comic-book writers have inundated Twitter, teaming up and throwing some two-fisted jabs of their own.  Popular Marvel scribe, Dan Slott, channeled Spidey’s famous sarcasm.  “Dear @1milmoms, thank you for the boycotts. They increase sales as people buy extra copies to spite you. PLEASE boycott my book too. :-)”

Top Cow author, Ron Marz, tweeted, “Oh, cool, @1milmoms is on Twitter! The avatar looks like only one mom. But I'm sure she's homophobic enough for many, many moms!”

North Carolina may have said “No” to same-sex marriage, but when the leader of the free world says “Yes”, it’ll be interesting to see where the swing state’s loyalties lie in the upcoming Presidential Election.  One Million Moms, on the other hand, finally realized what comic book fans have known all along.  Superheroes, with their secret identities and fetishistic costumes, are gay.  But we love them regardlessly.