In recent years, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in the number of LGBTQ characters in comics and animation. Many of these characters are new ones, such as Luz from “The Owl House” and Luna Loud from “The Loud House.” However, some of them are older characters, especially from long-running superhero comics. The latter has seen some complain about “making old characters I grew up with gay,” as part of general complaining about modern media being “woke.”
As I wrote in my post about people of color cartoon characters, such changes are less about being “woke” and more that A) mainstream media conglomerates’ biggest money-makers are, well, very old (superheroes created when FDR or JFK were president, etc.), and B) media should reflect current demographics/society. That includes LGBTQ characters as part of stories, and not just as people who’re closeted, stereotypes, victims, and/or punchlines. Also, while new characters who’re LGBTQ matter, so does seeing older characters being allowed to come out. While my mother probably doesn’t know who Luz or Luna Loud are, she (like most of the general public) does recognize Velma Dinkley.
Below, I take a look at some long-running cartoon characters who’re now depicted as LGBTQ. My criteria:
- The characters went at least 20 years before being shown as LGBTQ. (Fitting “a generation grew up with these characters.”) So no recently-created characters like Luz. Also no characters shown as LGBTQ not long after their creation, such as Renee Montoya of “Batman.”
- It has to be the “main” versions of these characters, not alternate universe versions. So no Lois Lane or Supergirl from the “DC Bombshells” comic series, who’re shown to be in a relationship.
Velma Dinkley (Scooby-Doo)
First appearance: “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” (1969)
Several 2000s-era productions (the live-action “Scooby-Doo” films and “Mystery Incorporated”) tried to suggest Velma was interested in girls. However, according to their producers, such efforts were thwarted by the studio. The 2022 direct-to-video movie “Trick or Treat, Scooby-Doo” finally shows Velma as openly interested in another woman.
Bobby Drake (Iceman)(Marvel)
First appearance: “X-Men” (vol. 1) #1 (July 1963)
Bobby Drake, aka Iceman, is one of the founding X-Men, and thus has been a presence since day one. A convoluted 2015 storyline involving the “1963”-era X-Men time-traveling to the present day results in (among other things) Bobby coming out as gay. (“1963” is in quotes since, per floating timelines, the teenage Bobby by 2015 would’ve came from around the turn of the millennium.)
Tim Drake (Robin)(DC Comics)
First appearance: “Batman” #436 (August 1989)
Tim Drake first appeared in 1989, and became the third person to assume the identity of Robin.
In 2021, a storyline revealed that Tim is bisexual. This got attention in mainstream press, though the coverage also showed most of the general public is unaware there’s ever been more than one Robin.
Tom Hale (Marvel)
First appearance: Patsy Walker #1 (June 1945)
Despite not being a superhero, Tom “Tubs” Hale is one of Marvel’s oldest characters, dating to the 1940s as a supporting character in the romance comedy title “Patsy Walker.”
Most non-superhero characters DC and Marvel published have either been left in limbo or forced into the DC or Marvel Universe settings, usually by making the characters superheroes or having ties to such. Thus, Patsy became the superhero Hellcat. The original “Patsy Walker” comics were deemed as mostly fictional tales in-universe about Patsy and her friends (despite the series having a lengthy run in real life, from 1945 to 1965). At any rate, in the 2015 series “Patsy Walker, AKA Hellcat,” we learn that a now-adult Tom has moved to New York, where he lives as an out gay man running a LGBTQ bookstore (“Burly Books”).
Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy)(DC Comics)
First appearance: Batman #181 (June 1966)
Poison Ivy has been one of Batman’s enduring enemies since the 1960s. However, she’s mostly been a minor foe until the 90s, when “Batman: The Animated Series” boosted her prominence. It also gave her ties to then-newcomer villain Harley Quinn, which eventually found its way into the comics. While the duo initially were just close friends and partners in crime, they eventually got promoted to being a romantic couple by the 2010s.
Nubia (DC Comics)
First appearance: Wonder Woman #204 (January 1973)
Nubia originally debuted as the long-lost sister of Wonder Woman. Thanks to reboots, she’s become just a fellow Amazon “sister” and close ally in modern stories. Recent stories have also shown Nubia with women as lovers; she’s also appeared in DC’s annual Pride Month specials.
Julie Power (Lightspeed)(Marvel)
First appearance: Power Pack #1 (May 1984)
Julie first appeared as a member of Power Pack, a team of super-powered pre-teen and teenage siblings.
In the 2010s “Avengers Academy” series, Julie came out as bisexual. She’s dated several other heroes since that time, including Karolina Dean of the Runaways.
Nigel Ratburn (Arthur)
First appearance: “Arthur” (book series/PBS series)
Mr. Ratburn is the third grade teacher of Arthur and his friends. In a 2019 “Arthur” episode, Mr. Ratburn marries Patrick, a chocolatier. Said episode attracted plenty of attention, including a few southern PBS affiliates refusing to air the episode.
Hartley Rathaway (Pied Piper)(DC Comics)
First appearance: The Flash #106 (May 1959)
Hartley was one of the earliest foes of the second Flash, Barry Allen. After Barry’s death in “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” Hartley reformed, and became a friend and ally of the third Flash, Wally West. Hartley also came out to Wally in “Flash” (vol. 2) #53 (August 1991). To this day, Hartley’s still an ally of the Flash family, and one of DC’s prominent gay superhero characters.
Alan Scott (Green Lantern)(DC Comics)
First appearance: All-American Comics #16 (July 1940)
The oldest character on this list is Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern. Unlike the modern Green Lanterns’ rings, Alan’s ring doesn’t work on anything made of wood.
The New 52 reboot in 2011 revamped Alan as a twentysomething gay man. While the later Rebirth revamp of the mid-2010s undid Alan’s de-aging, they kept Alan’s sexuality, with the revelation he’d been closeted for decades. Fortunately, Alan’s two children, Jade and Obsidian, were supportive of their father when he told them. (Like his father, Obsidian is also gay.)
Image, left to right: “DC Pride Through the Years” (2023), art by Derek Charm (DC Comics); “Nubia: Queen of the Amazons” #1 (August 2022), art by Khary Randolph and Emilio Lopez (DC Comics); Velma Dinkley (“Scooby-Doo,” Warner Bros.)
