Marvel has announced one of their "Uncanny X-Men" mutant characters is also a gay man.
According to the Huffington Post, Benjamin Deeds is slated to reveal his sexual orientation in "Uncanny X-Men #14," written by Brian Michael Bendis.
"Continuing with Marvel's rich tradition of character development and storytelling, this shape-shifting mutant can alter his appearance to mimic anyone he is in close proximity with," Joe Taraborrelli, Sr. Communications Manager of Marvel Entertainment told The Huffington Post. "The fact that Ben has come out as homosexual is just a small facet of who he is and what he is going to bring to Cyclops' select team of X-Men."
Marvel comics have been known to push the boundaries of what's "socially acceptable," and are beginning to heavily shy away from clichés and stereotypes.
Another example of would be Marvels' "Ms. Marvel" reboot featuring a Muslim teenage girl as the title heroine. In the past Muslim characters have played minor roles throughout Marvel's many comics, but few have been portrayed as lead characters in a series.
Sana Amanat, Ms. Marvel's editor, told the Associate Press the series reboot would follow Kamala Khan as she dealt "ordinary" issues and Khan's "desire to explore the Muslim-American diaspora from an authentic perspective."
Khan is a 16-year-old high school student from Jersey City, and the daughter of two Pakistani immigrants. The teen has the ability to shape shift into many forms.
"I wanted Ms. Marvel to be true-to-life, something real people could relate to, particularly young women. High school was a very vivid time in my life, so I drew heavily on those experiences - impending adulthood, dealing with school, emotionally charged friendships that are such a huge part of being a teenager,"Amanat said. "It's for all the geek girls out there, and everybody else who's ever looked at life from the fringe."
Read more about Marvel's "Ms. Marvel" reboot here.
