“X-Men” author Bendis: Iceman is gay
Storyline has one of the original X-Men coming out
“There are thousands if not millions of stories of people who, for many different reasons, felt the need to hide their sexuality. The X-Men, with the conceit of time travel, give us a fascinating platform in which to examine such personal journeys.”
— Brian Michael Bendis, author of “All-New X-Men” #40, in a statement to ABC News regarding the revelation that Iceman, one of the original X-Men, will come out as gay when the book debuts. In the book, Jean Grey confronts Iceman, a.k.a. Bobby Drake, about his sexuality when the X-Men travel back in time as their teenage selves. According to ABC, Jean points out that she can read minds, letting Bobby know that it doesn’t matter to her or anyone else what his sexuality is. The issue will also address why Iceman dated women later in his adult life, part of the reason why some fans are shocked at the reveal.
After the news broke about Iceman’s sexual orientation, Bendis took to Twitter to post: “i swear on my dogs, i wanted the issue to come out and just be. no press. no sensational headlines. no leaks. oh, well.” Later, in an interview with MTV News, Axel Alonso, the editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, defended the decision to use the storyline crafted by Bendis, saying “He had a good story to tell, and we think it’s worth telling.”
Image: Iceman. Credit: Marvel Comics.
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