Over this past weekend, I finally began catching up on the fourth phase of MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movies- Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and more, as well as some of the TV shows. Additionally, I rewatched some of my personal favorites such as Iron Man, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, etc.

Something that I had taken notice of was how the newer movies had much more representation; take, for example, the new Doctor Strange movie, which showcased both a powerful queer Latina side character, known in the comics as Miss America, and referenced that her parents were two women.

This isn’t the first time I noticed Marvel’s consistent progression of inclusivity and queer representation; I remember seeing Avengers: Endgame in theaters just a few years back and being over-the-moon excited about the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene where- for those of you have yet to see the movie or even blinked and missed it- Captain America (otherwise known as Steve Rogers) is hosting a therapy group for those affected by the recent tragedy known as “the blip”. In the scene, one of the characters (of whom we never even learn the name, because his actual character is completely irrelevant to the film) mentions how he recently went out with another man. That’s it. That’s the whole scene; but yet, I saw it as such a great step. As a queer person who grew up on the MCU and Marvel comics, who’s been a fan since the very first Avengers film came out just two days before my eighth birthday, and who wanted to be a robotics engineer just like Iron Man (yes, that’s completely true; although my distaste for math has grown exponentially), a scene as simple as that meant everything to me.

The Marvel cast and production team, especially (may he rest in peace) Stan Lee– the author and illustrator of Marvel Comics- have consistently and productively used their wide and influential platform to convey “controversial” topics that many other companies are too scared to talk about (they don’t just stop at queer issues either; take Black Panther, which unapologetically discusses the mistreatment of black people and many BIPOC in America and other western civilizations, as well as the misassumption that developing countries are less-than or incapable of handling their own people and/or economics).

This, finally, leads me to the actual point of today’s blog post; the progression of LGBTQ+ characters in the MCU. Basically, who else is queer?

Firstly, let’s talk about the Thor movies as a whole; this sub-series in the MCU has more than just one openly LGBTQ+ character:

Let’s discuss Valkyrie. Played by the talented Tessa Thompson, Valkyrie is a traumatized-yet-fierce warrior who was first introduced to us in Thor: Ragnarok (which, in my humble opinion, is one of the best Marvel films to this day), with a tragic backstory about her fellow warriors who had all perished in battle. She became an immediate fan favorite due to her snarky personality, as well as her ability to promptly focus on the battle at hand (and, I mean, come on- who doesn’t love a strong female character?). Additionally, in the comics she was identified as bisexual (shout-out to my man Stan Lee) and will continue to be bisexual in the films, and even be involved in an LGBTQ+ relationship in the future (shout-out to my man Taiki Waititi).

A second openly queer character with great importance in the Thor franchise is another a fan-favorite-Thor’s brother Loki, god of mischief. Loki is not only an openly queer character, but he also falls under two different labels (man, marvel just loves to check off my list from my last post). In the comics, Loki is confirmed to be genderfluid after showcasing himself as both male and female; this also aligns with actual Norse Mythology, which describes Loki as genderfluid as well. Additionally, in the recently produced six-episode show Loki (what a creative name), there is a scene between the Loki we know and an alternative version of himself, where they are discussing past relationships. In said scene, the alternative version asks, “Must have been would-be princesses? Or perhaps another prince?” To which Loki replies, “A bit of both,” thus confirming his sexuality on the big screen. So, not only is Loki genderfluid, but he’s also bisexual! Talk about representation!

The queer characters don’t end there; many more are confirmed off-screen to be queer, such as Tim Millers, the director of Deadpool, confirming that the protagonist is pansexual- however, we have yet to see that on screen. Or even the numerous comic-only characters who have also been confirmed and shown to be queer; i.e. Wiccan and Speed from the Young Avengers franchise (the same as Miss America), Moondragon, a character who will likely soon be entering the MCU in the aftermath of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and many more.

The MCU continues to break boundaries and to show that you can be a hero regardless of how you identify; whether that pertains to race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, or anything else.