Editing Superhero (section)

===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]]''.