Editing Superhero (section)

==Minority superheroes==
In keeping with their origins as representing the archetypical [[hero]] stock character in 1930s American comics, superheroes are predominantly depicted as [[White Americans|White American]] [[Social class in the United States|middle- or upper-class]] young adult males and females who are typically tall, athletic, educated, physically attractive and in perfect health. Beginning in the 1960s with the [[civil rights movement]] in the United States, and increasingly with the rising concern over [[political correctness]] in the 1980s, superhero fiction centered on cultural, ethnic, national, racial and language [[minority group]]s (from the perspective of [[US demographics]]) began to be produced. This began with depiction of [[List of black superheroes|black superheroes]] in the 1960s, followed in the 1970s with a number of other ethnic-minority superheroes.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=832MAgAAQBAJ&q=Panther |title=The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero |chapter='Oy Gevalt': A Peek at the Development of Jewish Superheroines |first=Jennifer |last=Dowling |date=May 7, 2009 |publisher=Routledge |access-date=August 22, 2015 |isbn=9781135213930 |archive-date=September 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926162757/https://books.google.com/books?id=832MAgAAQBAJ&q=Panther#v=snippet&q=Panther&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> In keeping with the political mood of the time, [[cultural diversity]] and [[inclusivism]] would be an important part of superhero groups starting from the 1980s. In the 1990s, this was further augmented by the first depictions of superheroes as homosexual. In 2017, [[Sign Gene]] emerged, the first group of [[deaf]] superheroes with superpowers through the use of [[sign language]].<ref name="ASVOFF I">{{cite web|url=http://ashadedviewonfashion.com/2017/09/10/sign-gene-by-emilio-insolera-arrives-at-cinema/|title=Sign Gene by Emilio Insolera arrives at cinema|publisher=[[ASVOFF]]|date=September 10, 2017|language=en|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=December 14, 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171214010216/http://ashadedviewonfashion.com/2017/09/10/sign-gene-by-emilio-insolera-arrives-at-cinema/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Female superheroes and villains===

{{Main|Portrayal of women in American comics}}

Female super heroes—and villains—have been around since the early years of comic books dating back to the 1940s.<ref>Comic Book Lecture Moore, Dr. Eric. 2019. TAMUCC.</ref> The representation of women in comic books has been questioned in the past decade following the rise of comic book characters in the film industry (Marvel/DC movies). Women are presented differently than their male counterparts, typically wearing revealing clothing that showcases their curves and cleavage and showing a lot of skin in some cases.<ref name="Nicosia 2016">{{Cite thesis|title=Performing the Female Superhero: An Analysis of Identity Acquisition, Violence, and Hypersexuality in DC Comics |publisher=Bowling Green State University |date=2016 |url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/pg_10?0::NO:10:P10_ACCESSION_NUM:bgsu1476751594815625 |language=en |first=Matthew|last=Nicosia|access-date=December 7, 2019|archive-date=December 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207195351/https://etd.ohiolink.edu/pg_10%3F0::NO:10:P10_ACCESSION_NUM:bgsu1476751594815625|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Avery-Natale">{{Cite journal |last=Avery-Natale|first=Edward|date=2013-01-01|journal=Social Thought and Research |doi=10.17161/str.1808.12434|issn=1094-5830 |title=An Analysis of Embodiment Among Six Superheroes in DC Comics|doi-access=free|hdl=1808/12434|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Heroes like Power Girl and Wonder Woman are portrayed wearing little clothing and showing cleavage.<ref name="Nicosia 2016" /><ref name="Avery-Natale" /> Power Girl is portrayed as wearing a suit not unlike the swimsuits in the T.V. show ''[[Baywatch]]''. The sexualization of women in comic books can be explained mainly by the fact that the majority of writers are male.<ref name="Avery-Natale" /> Not only are the writers mostly male, but the audience is mostly male as well.<ref name="Chute, Rebecca 2016">Chute, Rebecca. 2016. "The" Pornographic Polemic": The Objectification and Inferiority of Female Comic Book Characters." ''UNBC Award for Academic Writing International Student Academic Writing Award William & Mary Wanka History'':1.</ref><ref name="Avery-Natale" /> Therefore, writers are designing characters to appeal to a mostly male audience.<ref name="Chute, Rebecca 2016" /><ref name="EMAD 954–984">{{Cite journal|author-link=Mitra Emad|last=EMAD|first=MITRA C.|date=December 2006 |title=Reading Wonder Woman's Body: Mythologies of Gender and Nation|journal=The Journal of Popular Culture|volume=39|issue=6|pages=954–984 |doi=10.1111/j.1540-5931.2006.00329.x|issn=0022-3840}}</ref> The super hero characters illustrate a sociological idea called the "[[male gaze]]" which is media created from the viewpoint of a normative heterosexual male.<ref name="EMAD 954–984" /><ref name="Wade, Lisa Professor">{{Cite book|title=Gender |author1=Wade, Lisa|author2=Ferree, Myra Marx |year=2019|isbn=978-0-393-66796-7|edition=2nd|location=New York |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |oclc=1050142539}}</ref> The female characters in comic books are used to satisfy male desire for the "ideal" woman (small waist, large breasts, toned, athletic body).<ref name="EMAD 954–984" /><ref name="Crawshaw, Trisha L 2015">{{cite thesis |type=Research Paper |last=Crawshaw |first=Trisha L. |date=August 2015 |title=Truth, Justice, Boobs? Analyzing Female Empowerment and Objectification in the Graphic Novel Genre |publisher=Southern Illinois University Carbondale |url=https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1838&context=gs_rp |access-date=2024-05-09 |archive-date=March 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330204103/https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1838&context=gs_rp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Avery-Natale" /> These characters have god-like power, but the most easily identifiable feature is their hyper sexualized bodies: they are designed to be sexually pleasing to the hypothetical [[Heteronormativity|heteronormative]] male audience.<ref name="Nicosia 2016" /><ref name="Wade, Lisa Professor" /><ref name="Crawshaw, Trisha L 2015" /><ref name="Avery-Natale" />

Villains, such as [[Harley Quinn]] and [[Poison Ivy (character)|Poison Ivy]], use their sexuality to take advantage of their male victims.<ref name="Avery-Natale" /> In the film versions of these characters, their sexuality and seductive methods are highlighted. Poison Ivy uses seduction through poison to take over the minds of her victims as seen in the 1997 film ''[[Batman & Robin (film)|Batman and Robin]]''. Harley Quinn in 2016's ''[[Suicide Squad (2016 film)|Suicide Squad]]'' uses her sexuality to her advantage, acting in a promiscuous manner.

Through the overdeveloped bodies of the heroes or the seductive mannerisms of the villains, women in comic books are used as subordinates to their male counterparts, regardless of their strength or power.<ref>Rubin, Alexandra. 2015. "The Female Superhero: Fighting Villains and Stereotypes." ''A Publication of the Critical Writing Program the University of Pennsylvania 3808 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-6221'':18.</ref> Wonder Woman has been subject to a long history of suppression as a result of her strength and power, including American culture's undoing of the Lynda Carter television series.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Boucher |first=Ian |date=2018 |title=Casting a Wider Lasso: An Analysis of the Cultural Dismissal of Wonder Woman Through Her 1975–1979 Television Series |url=https://www.popularculturereview.org/pcr-292-summer-2018.html |journal=Popular Culture Review |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=151–191 |doi=10.1002/j.2831-865X.2018.tb00237.x |access-date=March 30, 2023 |archive-date=January 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129115113/https://www.popularculturereview.org/pcr-292-summer-2018.html |url-status=live  |issn = 1060-8125}}</ref> In 2017's ''[[Wonder Woman (2017 film)|Wonder Woman]]'', she had the power of a god, but was still drawn to a much weaker, mortal male character.<ref name="Wade, Lisa Professor" /> This can be explained by the sociological concept "feminine apologetic," which reinforces a woman's femininity to account for her masculine attributes (strength, individualism, toughness, aggressiveness, bravery).<ref name="Wade, Lisa Professor" /> Women in comic books are considered to be misrepresented due to being created by men, for men.<ref name="EMAD 954–984" /><ref name="Crawshaw, Trisha L 2015" />

[[The Hawkeye Initiative]] is a website satirizing the sexualized portrayal of women in comics by recreating the same poses using male superheroes, especially Marvel's [[Hawkeye (Clint Barton)|Hawkeye]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2013-01-18|title=The battle against 'sexist' sci-fi book covers|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21033708|access-date=2020-05-15|archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806170552/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21033708|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The hilarious Hawkeye Initiative pokes fun at sexist comics art|website=Blastr|url=http://blastr.com/2012/12/the-hilarious-hawkeye-ini.php |access-date=2020-05-15|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121206221737/http://blastr.com/2012/12/the-hilarious-hawkeye-ini.php|archive-date=2012-12-06 |date=2012-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Strong Female Superhero Pose meme gets a Hawkeye reboot |website=The Daily Dot |url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/hawkeye-initiative-superhero-poses-tumblr/|date=2012-12-03|language=en|access-date=2020-05-15 |archive-date=2020-08-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807203559/https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/hawkeye-initiative-superhero-poses-tumblr/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Ethnic and religious minorities ===
{{See also|Ethnic stereotypes in comics|African characters in comics|List of black superheroes|List of Asian superheroes|List of Latino superheroes|List of Native American superheroes|List of Jewish superheroes|List of Filipino superheroes|List of Russian superheroes}}{{Multiple image
| image1            = Kismet in Bomber Comics 1.jpg
| image2            = Blazing comics 2.jpg
| footer            = Kismet and the Green Turtle: early attempts at ethnically diverse superheroes, both fought in World War II, representing underrepresented identities in the Golden Age of Comics.
}}
In 1966, Marvel introduced the [[Black Panther (comics)|Black Panther]], an African [[monarch]] who became the first non-[[caricature]]d black superhero.<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Brown
  | first = Jeffrey A.
  | title = Black Superheroes, Milestone Comics and their Fans
  | publisher = University Press of Mississippi
  | year = 2001
  | isbn = 1-57806-281-0}}
</ref> The first [[African-American]] superhero, the [[Falcon (comics)|Falcon]], followed in 1969, and three years later, [[Luke Cage]], a self-styled [[Heroes for Hire|"hero-for-hire"]], became the first [[list of black superheroes|black superhero]] to star in [[Power Man and Iron Fist|his own series]]. In 1989, the [[Monica Rambeau]] [[Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)#Monica Rambeau|incarnation of Captain Marvel]] was the first female black superhero from a major publisher to get her own title in a special one-shot issue. Before them, a few characters appeared during the Golden Age of Comics, but they are not generally considered superheroes in the modern sense, such as the characters featured in the one-shot ''[[All-Negro Comics]]'' #1 (1947),<ref>{{Cite web |last=McNeill |first=Brian |title=First all-black comic book added to VCU Libraries’ Comic Arts Collection |url=https://news.vcu.edu/article/first_allblack_comic_book_added_to_vcu_libraries_comic_arts_collection |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=VCU News |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ahmed |first=Saladin |author-link=Saladin Ahmed |title=How Censors Killed The Weird, Experimental, Progressive Golden Age Of Comics |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/saladinahmed/how-the-comics-code-killed-the-golden-age-of-comics |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250325213226/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/saladinahmed/how-the-comics-code-killed-the-golden-age-of-comics |archive-date=2025-03-25 |access-date=2025-04-23 |work=BuzzFeed News |language=en}}</ref> Waku, Prince of the Bantu, introduced by Marvel’s 1950s predecessor [[Atlas Comics (1950s)|Atlas Comics]], who starred in his own feature in the anthology series ''[[Jungle Tales]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 21, 2018 |title=Wakanda Forever: How 'Black Panther' Upholds a Revolutionary Legacy |url=https://chapelboro.com/town-square/wakanda-forever |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212215411/https://chapelboro.com/town-square/wakanda-forever |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |access-date=February 12, 2020 |website=Chapelboro.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nevins |first=Jess |author-link=Jess Nevins |date=August 18, 2004 |title=Waku |url=http://www.geocities.com/ratmmjess/waku.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040818200112/http://www.geocities.com/ratmmjess/waku.html |archive-date=August 18, 2004 |access-date=February 12, 2020 |website=ratmmjess}}</ref>'' and [[Kismet, Man of Fate]], a [[Muslim]] [[Algerians|Algerian]] hero who debuted in 1944 and is considered one of the first Muslim superheroes in comic book history.<ref>Mitchell, Kurt; Thomas, Roy (2019). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944. TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 240–241. ISBN 978-1605490892.</ref> In 1971, [[Red Wolf (comics)|Red Wolf]] became the first [[Native Americans of the United States|Native American]] in the superheroic tradition to headline a series.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/redwf2.htm |title=Red Wolf (Old West, Johnny Wakely) |publisher=Marvunapp.com |access-date=March 26, 2016 |archive-date=December 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208145822/http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/redwf2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1973, [[Shang-Chi]] became the first prominent [[List of Asian superheroes|Asian superhero]] to star in an American comic book. [[Kato (The Green Hornet)|Kato]], from the [[Green Hornet|''Green Hornet'']] franchise, had existed as a secondary character since the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kim |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Kim |date=January 15, 2011 |title=Why The ''Green Hornet''{{'}}s Kato Matters |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-kim/rethink-review-the-green-_b_809097.html?ir=Australia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924233359/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-kim/rethink-review-the-green-_b_809097.html?ir=Australia |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |access-date=August 22, 2015 |work=The Huffington Post}}</ref> [[The Green Turtle]], created in 1944 by Chinese-American artist Chu F. Hing, was originally conceived as a Chinese hero fighting against the Japanese invasion.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nevins |first1=Jess |title=Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes |date=2013 |publisher=High Rock Press |isbn=978-1-61318-023-5 |page=42}}</ref> However, Hing was prevented by his editors from making the character explicitly Chinese, so he deliberately left the hero’s identity ambiguous.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Benton |first1=Mike |url=https://archive.org/details/superherocomicso0000bent/page/153 |title=Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History |date=1992 |publisher=Taylor Publishing Company |isbn=0-87833-808-X |location=Dallas |page=153 |access-date=15 January 2020}}</ref>

[[Kitty Pryde]], a member of the X-Men, was an openly Jewish superhero in mainstream American comic books as early as 1978.<ref>{{cite book | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8aH3H7DC6BQC&q=first+jewish+superhero+kitty+pryde&pg=PA120 | title= From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books | author-link= Arie Kaplan | first= Arie | last= Kaplan | publisher= The Jewish Publication Society | year= 2008 | isbn= 978-0827608436 | page= 120 | quote= In ''Uncanny X-Men'' #129 [[cover-date]]d Jan. 1979 and on sale in late 1978, writer [[Chris Claremont]] and the artist [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] created Katherine "Kitty" Pryde, aka Shadowcat, a young Jewish girl who possess the mutant ability to walk through walls. | access-date= November 21, 2020 | archive-date= September 26, 2024 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240926162757/https://books.google.com/books?id=8aH3H7DC6BQC&q=first+jewish+superhero+kitty+pryde&pg=PA120#v=snippet&q=first%20jewish%20superhero%20kitty%20pryde&f=false | url-status= live }}</ref>

Comic-book companies were in the early stages of cultural expansion and many of these characters played to specific [[stereotype]]s; Cage and many of his contemporaries often employed lingo similar to that of [[blaxploitation]] films, Native Americans were often associated with [[shamanism]] and [[Totemism|wild animals]], and [[Asian American]]s were often portrayed as [[Chinese martial arts|kung fu martial artist]]s. Subsequent minority heroes, such as the [[X-Men]]'s [[Storm (Marvel Comics)|Storm]] and the [[Teen Titans]]' [[Cyborg (comics)|Cyborg]] avoided such conventions; they were both part of ensemble teams, which became increasingly diverse in subsequent years. The X-Men, in particular, were revived in 1975 with a line-up of characters drawn from several nations, including the [[Kenya]]n Storm, [[Germany|German]] [[Nightcrawler (character)|Nightcrawler]], [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]/[[Russians|Russian]] [[Colossus (character)|Colossus]], [[Ireland|Irish]] [[Banshee (comics)|Banshee]], and [[Japan]]ese [[Sunfire (comics)|Sunfire]]. In 1993, [[Milestone Comics]], an African-American-owned media/publishing company entered into a publishing agreement with DC Comics that allowed them to introduce a line of comics that included characters of many ethnic minorities. Milestone's initial run lasted four years, during which it introduced ''[[Static (superhero)|Static]],'' a character adapted into the [[WB Television Network|WB Network]] [[animated series]] ''[[Static Shock]]''.

In addition to the creation of new minority heroes, publishers have filled the identities and roles of once-Caucasian heroes with new characters from minority backgrounds. The African-American [[John Stewart (comics)|John Stewart]] appeared in the 1970s as an alternate for Earth's Green Lantern [[Hal Jordan]], and would become a regular member of the [[Green Lantern Corps]] from the 1980s onward. The creators of the 2000s-era [[Justice League (animated series)|''Justice League'' animated series]] selected Stewart as the show's Green Lantern. In the [[Ultimate Marvel]] universe, [[Spider-Man (Miles Morales)|Miles Morales]], a youth of [[Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican]] and African-American ancestry who was also bitten by a genetically-altered spider, debuted as [[Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man|the new Spider-Man]] after the [[List of Ultimate Spider-Man story arcs#Death of Spider-Man (#156-160)|apparent death]] of [[Ultimate Spider-Man|the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker]]. [[Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)|Kamala Khan]], a [[Pakistani-American]] [[Islam|Muslim]] teenager who is revealed to have [[Inhumans|Inhuman lineage]] after her [[shapeshifting]] powers manifested, takes on the identity of [[Ms. Marvel]] in 2014 after [[Carol Danvers]] had become Captain Marvel. Her self-titled comic book series became a cultural phenomenon, with extensive media coverage by [[CNN]], the [[New York Times]] and [[The Colbert Report]], and embraced by anti-[[Islamophobia]] campaigners in [[San Francisco]] who plastered over anti-Muslim bus adverts with Kamala stickers.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/25/feminist-superheroes-she-hulk-ms-marvel-thor | work= [[The Guardian]] | location = UK | title=Kapow! Attack of the feminist superheroes| first=Dorian |last=Lynskey| date= March 25, 2015 | archive-date= August 19, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150819145647/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/25/feminist-superheroes-she-hulk-ms-marvel-thor | url-status=live}}</ref> Other such successor-heroes of color include [[War Machine|James "Rhodey" Rhodes]] as [[Alternative versions of Iron Man#Modern continuity|Iron Man]] and to a lesser extent [[Ironheart (comics)|Riri "Ironheart" Williams]], [[Atom (Ryan Choi)|Ryan Choi]] as [[Atom (comics)|the Atom]], [[Jaime Reyes]] as [[Blue Beetle]] and [[Amadeus Cho]] as [[Alternative versions of Hulk|Hulk]].

Certain established characters have had their ethnicity changed when adapted to another continuity or media. A notable example is [[Nick Fury]], who is reinterpreted as [[Ultimate Nick Fury|African-American]] both in the Ultimate Marvel as well as the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] continuities.

===Sexual orientation and gender identity===
{{Main|LGBT themes in comics}}
{{See also|List of LGBT characters in comics}}
In 1992, Marvel [[the closet|revealed]] that [[Northstar (Marvel Comics)|Northstar]], a member of the [[Canada|Canadian]] mutant superhero team [[Alpha Flight]], was [[homosexuality|homosexual]], after years of implication.<ref>{{cite web |first=Anton |last=Kawasaki |title=Northstar |website=Gayleague.com |url=http://www.gayleague.com/wordpress/northstar/ |access-date=March 26, 2016 |archive-date=November 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141126015159/http://www.gayleague.com/wordpress/northstar/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This ended a long-standing editorial mandate that there would be no homosexual characters in Marvel comics.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hick |first1=Darren|title=The Comics Journal Performs a Public Service |url=http://www.tcj.com/3_online/f_nuremburg.html|website=The Comics Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005234302/http://www.tcj.com/3_online/f_nuremburg.html|archive-date=October 5, 2009}}</ref> Although some minor secondary characters in [[DC Comics]]' mature-audience 1980s miniseries ''[[Watchmen]]'' were gay, and the reformed supervillain [[Pied Piper (comics)|Pied Piper]] [[coming out|came out]] to [[Wally West]] in an issue of ''[[The Flash (comic book)#Volume 2 (1987–2006, 2007–2008)|The Flash]]'' in 1991, Northstar is considered to be the first openly gay superhero appearing in mainstream comic books. From the mid-2000s onward, several established Marvel and DC comics characters (or a variant version of the pre-existing character) were outed or reintroduced as LGBT individuals by both publishers. Examples include the [[Mikaal Tomas|Mikaal Tomas incarnation of Starman]] in 1998; [[Alternative versions of Colossus#Ultimate Marvel|Colossus]] in the [[Ultimate X-Men]] series; [[Renee Montoya]] in DC's ''[[Gotham Central]]'' series in 2003; the [[Batwoman#Kate Kane|Kate Kane incarnation of Batwoman]] in 2006; [[Rictor]] and [[Shatterstar]] in an issue of [[X-Factor Investigations|X-Factor]] in 2009; the Golden Age Green Lantern [[Alan Scott]] is reimagined as openly gay following [[The New 52]] reboot in 2011;<ref>{{cite news |title=Entertainment &#124; Batwoman hero returns as lesbian |work=BBC News |date=May 30, 2006 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5030518.stm |access-date=March 26, 2016 |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307084732/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5030518.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Neuman |first=Clayton |title=Caped Crusaders |url=http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1200745,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628142225/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1200745,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 28, 2006 |magazine=TIME |date=June 4, 2006 |access-date=March 26, 2016}}</ref> and in 2015, a younger time displaced version of [[Iceman (Marvel Comics)|Iceman]] in an issue of ''[[All-New X-Men]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hanks |first=Henry |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/21/entertainment/ice-man-gay-feat-xmen/ |title='X-Men' character Iceman outed as gay |publisher=CNN.com |date=April 22, 2015 |access-date=March 26, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027064456/http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/21/entertainment/ice-man-gay-feat-xmen/}}</ref>

Many new openly gay, lesbian and bisexual characters have since emerged in superhero fiction, such as [[Gen¹³|Gen<sup>13</sup>]]'s Rainmaker, [[Apollo (comics)|Apollo]] and [[Midnighter]] of [[The Authority (comics)|The Authority]], and [[Wiccan (comics)|Wiccan]] and [[Hulkling]] of the [[Young Avengers]]. Notable [[transgender]] or [[gender bending]] characters are fewer in number by comparison: the alter ego of superheroine [[Zsazsa Zaturnnah]], a seminal character in Philippine popular culture,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/32539/the-return-of-zsazsa-zaturnnah |title=The return of Zsazsa Zaturnnah &#124; Inquirer lifestyle |publisher=Lifestyle.inquirer.net |date=January 27, 2012 |access-date=March 26, 2016 |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308163125/http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/32539/the-return-of-zsazsa-zaturnnah |url-status=live }}</ref> is an effeminate gay man who transforms into a female superhuman after ingesting a magical stone. [[Desire (DC Comics)|Desire]] from [[Neil Gaiman]]'s [[The Sandman (Vertigo)|''The Sandman'']] series, Cloud from [[Defenders (comics)|Defenders]], and [[Xavin]] from the [[Runaways (comics)|Runaways]] are all characters who could (and often) change their gender at will. [[Alysia Yeoh]], a supporting character created by writer [[Gail Simone]] for the [[Batgirl]] ongoing series published by DC Comics, received substantial media attention in 2011 for being the first major transgender character written in a contemporary context in a mainstream American comic book.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kane |first=Matt |url=https://www.glaad.org/blog/batgirl-comic-introduces-transgender-character |title='Batgirl' Comic Introduces Transgender Character |publisher=GLAAD |date=April 10, 2013 |access-date=March 26, 2016 |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308173753/https://www.glaad.org/blog/batgirl-comic-introduces-transgender-character |url-status=live }}</ref>

The ''Sailor Moon'' series is known for featuring a substantial number of openly [[LGBT]] characters since its inception, as [[Japan]] have traditionally been more open about portraying homosexuality in its children's media compared to many countries in the West.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue3/mclelland2.html |title=Intersections: Male Homosexuality and Popular Culture in Modern Japan |publisher=She.murdoch.edu.au |access-date=March 26, 2016 |archive-date=March 27, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327222910/http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue3/mclelland2.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040923091132/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2003_Oct_14/ai_110809191 Anime, mon amour: Forget Pokémon – Japanese animation explodes with gay, lesbian, and trans themes – video] – Charles Solomon</ref> Certain characters who are presented as homosexual or transgender in one continuity may not be presented as such in others, particularly with dubbed versions made for international release.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-ronceromenendez/kissing-cousins-viz-wont-_b_5353859.html?ir=Australia | work=Huffington Post | title=Sailor Neptune and Uranus Come Out of the Fictional Closet | date=May 21, 2014 | access-date=August 26, 2015 | archive-date=September 25, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925005744/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-ronceromenendez/kissing-cousins-viz-wont-_b_5353859.html?ir=Australia | url-status=live }}</ref>

An animated short ''[[The Ambiguously Gay Duo]]'' parodies comic book superheroes and features Ace and Gary (Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell). It originated on ''[[The Dana Carvey Show]]'' and then moved to ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.

===Language minority===
In 2017, Pluin introduced ''[[Sign Gene]]'', a film featuring a group of [[deaf]] superheroes whose powers derive from their use of [[sign language]]. The film was produced by and with deaf people and deals with [[Deaf culture]], history and language.<ref name="ASVOFF I"/><ref name="Corriere della Sera">{{cite news|last=Trigari|first=Michela|url=http://www.corriere.it/salute/disabilita/17_settembre_12/sign-gene-cinema-arrivano-supereroi-sordi-mutanti-92d2f6a2-97cb-11e7-8ca4-27e7bbee7bdd.shtml|title=Sign Gene è il nuovo film di supereroi sordi|newspaper=[[Corriere della Sera]]|date=September 12, 2017|language=it|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=July 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705204134/https://www.corriere.it/salute/disabilita/17_settembre_12/sign-gene-cinema-arrivano-supereroi-sordi-mutanti-92d2f6a2-97cb-11e7-8ca4-27e7bbee7bdd.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Avvenire">{{cite web|url=https://www.avvenire.it/agora/pagine/sordo|title=Quando il super eroe è sordo|publisher=[[Avvenire]]|date=September 10, 2017|language=it|access-date=December 13, 2017|archive-date=October 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017090052/https://www.avvenire.it/agora/pagine/sordo|url-status=live}}</ref>