Posts Tagged ‘couple’

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Rob Silverman

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

By Mike McDermott

Rob is the boyfriend of Jean-Paul “Frenchie” DuChamps, the former mercenary who has served as pilot and sidekick to the superhero Moon Knight.

In addition to co-owning a restaurant called “En Table” with Frenchie, Rob also works as a physiotherapist and helps Moon Knight to train and recover from injuries he sustains while crimefighting. Rob is a supporter of Moon Knight’s violent vigilante activities, believing that “evil people should be punished for their crimes” and that they should be hurt too, “so they know how it feels”. However the friendship between Rob and Moon Knight sparked conflict in Rob’s relationship with Jean-Paul. Jean-Paul worried that being in Moon Knight’s life was too dangerous, based on his own injuries and what he had observed happening to MK’s other friends over the years, but Rob argued that he was simply jealous. Jean-Paul’s fears turned out to be justified when Rob was savagely beaten into a coma by enemies of Moon Knight. This prompted Jean-Paul to come out of retirement and join Moon Knight in battle again to take revenge against the attackers. Rob has since
recovered from his injuries.

First Appearance: Moon Knight vol.6 #3 (2007)

© and ® Marvel Comics. All rights reserved.

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Alpha Flight: Following The Northstar

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011

By Dyl Martinez

An overview of the new #0.1 preceded by a brief retrospective of the team book that brought us comics’ most famous gay character.

A kiss, a rescue & cohabitation; all in store for Northstar and his established long-term boyfriend in this first issue of a new volume of Alpha Flight. We also see a return of all the other classic Alphas barring the pocket bear Puck; but first a bit of history for those of you not so familiar with the Canadian super team or their book.

Note: Please scroll down to the New Beginnings section if you want to get right to the sections discussing Jean-Paul and Kyle.

The birth of a dream

Mystery, mysticism and lives worthy of any TV soap opera were the raison d’être for Alpha Flight of old. The first incarnation spun off from a Wolverine back-story in Uncanny X-Men #120 from 1979 and was created by the much-admired John Byrne. It lasted 130 issues from 1983 to 1994 and introduced us to a number of staple characters in the lives of a super team managed by a secretive Canadian government department “H” tasked with protecting the country from paranormal and super-powered enemies. We had the upstanding and rigid Guardian, his friendly wife and team engineer Heather who later became Vindicator, the mystical and world-weary Shaman, the shapeshifting demigoddess Snowbird, a fun-loving scientist in Sasquatch, and the flying speedster twins Northstar and Aurora. To this roster from the X-men issues Byrne added, in the first issue proper, the aquatic alien Marrina and the diminutive bearish acrobat Puck.

That first volume is the classic which most Alpha Flight fans hark back to filled with drama and ripping yarns. If you’ve never read those I do recommend them; those of you like me with a penchant for the bizarre served with a slice of boreal mysticism and whiff of S&M may get a kick out of classic villains like the Dreamqueen, run-ins with the X-Men or the various spirits and other maniacs the team face off with. It also includes Northstar’s coming out in Alpha Flight #106.

Apart from the classic team members others worth mentioning might include Madison Jeffries who if you’ve been reading the X-Men recently will know as a member of the X-Club and his ex Diamond Lil who was recently murdered by Dazzler’s sister. As I said; just like Dallas or Dynasty.

Then in 1997 came a second volume that only lasted 20 issues to 1999 and centred mostly on some new characters with only a couple from the original team; it dealt with some shenanigans in the workings of department “H” and possibly got bogged down in intrigue rather than giving the fans an equal measure of action.

Reinvention continued in volume three which only involved Sasquatch from the classic line-up. I actually enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek interpretation but even with guest appearances by all the classic Alphas it failed to get past 12 issues running from 2004 to 2005.

Death of Heroes

The ultimate insult to Alpha Flight fans came in 2006’s New Avengers #16; half of the classic team (Guardian, Vindicator, Shaman, Puck) were killed at the hands of an out-of-control mutant called The Collective. There was a huge outcry from fans which was only made worse when some Marvel writers began to refer to any senseless deaths in comics as ‘doing an Alpha Flight’.

In order to appease fans 2007 came with a 5-part miniseries entitled Omega Flight that included two former Alphas (Sasquatch and Talisman) and a handful of Americans! That short-lived team soon fell apart.

The lives of the remaining living teammates were full of more soap opera fabulousness. Marrina, wife of Namor the Submariner, was driven insane by Norman Osborn (yes, the Green Goblin) during the Dark Reign crossover and her estranged husband was forced to kill her in order to protect the X-Men. Snowbird meanwhile had a fling with Hercules (during her stint in the God Squad – yes really!), Northstar joined the X-Men (for a second time, after being brainwashed and dying) and Aurora had therapy (with a delightful appearance in Dark X-Men: The Beginning after the same brainwashing as her brother).

Then came Chaos War, a major cross-over centring on Hercules that gave Marvel the chance to visit a variety of pantheons and related constructs. Most of our deceased Alphas (Guardian, Vindicator, Shaman, Marrina) joined their living ex teammates in the Chaos War: Alpha Flight one-shot, the upshot of which meant all of them bring brought back to life as a gift from the gods.

Our remaining deceased Alpha, Puck, was last seen in 2011 in a Wolverine storyline helping his old mucker escape from hell, literally; everything points to his impending resurrection in the next few weeks.

Which brings us to the present. Alpha Flight 0.1 represents a jumping on point for new readers of the Canadian super team in the ‘point one’ tradition promoted this last year by Marvel, as well as giving long-term fans a brand new chance to enjoy their heroes in this 8-issue maxi series.

New Beginnings

The story in #0.1 begins with a loss of electricity across the whole of Quebec. We get to see our heroes respond to a summons to deal with the threat at the dam and in doing so we have a lovely series of vignettes into the every day lives of our protagonists. I don’t wish to spoil the storyline so I will avoid too many details, but Pak  & Van Lente have done their research on the characters and their personalities and reactions shine through brilliantly and are spot-on with their classic portrayals from Byrne’s era, augmented by an updated cynicism and edginess which was a joy to read. The art from Ben Oliver et al is crisp and works well with the story giving appropriate hints of nostalgia and realising an obvious affection for the characters.

Our villains of the piece are the armoured terrorist Citadel and a certain young purple lady who Alpha Flight fans will be overjoyed to see again. Interestingly, and intriguingly for the future of the story, there are hints that something is not right in the state of Canada and our felons may not be quite as felonious as it seems…

Of particular interest to this forum is the appearance of Northstar and his boyfriend Kyle.

Introducing Kyle

Kyle was first seen in Uncanny X-Men #508 when Northstar was most recently recruited into the X-Men. Wolverine visits Canada in order to recruit Jean Paul into the team. We get a cameo from Aurora who we find out is running his extreme wintersports organisation called Team Northstar. Jean Paul argues he’s not interested in being the X-Men’s gay mascot and Wolverine admits a gay teammate would be good for the X-Men’s PR, but they’re desperate for a speedster as they were recently defeated by a “twenty year-old kid on a Ducati bike”. We see some friendly teasing between Northstar, his then unnamed companion and Wolverine as they discuss the idea before Northstar acquiesces.

Kyle reappears in Nation X #2 in a story entitled “LDR” which explores Northstar’s difficulty in keeping a work/life balance; not only does he have to keep his personal life on track in the face of challenges to his new base of operations with the X-Men in San Francisco Bay, he also needs to deal with a long distance relationship as Kyle is still living back in Canada. That story was the first time we have Northstar being truly affectionate with anyone in the character’s long history rather than his usual portrayal as an arrogant prima donna. We see Kyle having a good relationship with Northstar’s sister and the culture shock of experiencing first hand the day to day lifestyle of a superhero when he takes a vacation to visit Northstar in the X-Men’s base. We have some scenes in a bedroom (as opposed to bedroom scenes) and lots of hugging. The closing shot of the pair holding hands and Northstar promising to visit Kyle in Canada rather than subjecting him to the madness of the X-Men boded well for their story to continue.

Back to the New Beginning

And thankfully continue it does in Alpha Flight #0.1 with Northstar and Kyle together in their hideaway apartment in Montreal as Northstar responds to a summons for aid. We have a sweet exchange between the pair followed by Kyle being adamant in joining his other half in the fray in order to fulfil his job as PR rep for Northstar & Aurora’s company.

Interestingly we find out that Northstar has refused to rejoin Alpha Flight due to issues with department “H” when he has a meeting with Guardian on the way to the incident; a barb at corporate largesse and a questioning of Alpha Flight’s mandate ties in well with his recent X-Men membership and their disillusionment and distrust of the world at large after mutants have been virtually exterminated.

Inevitably Kyle is embroiled in the incident and Northstar makes a comment to Guardian to take care in vanquishing their foe as Kyle would be caught up in the crossfire. While the remark was of course unnecessary as Guardian would naturally be careful with any civilians being involved, it nevertheless added a bit more realism and gave us a further clue if we needed it that Northstar’s relationship with Kyle is much more than just a fling.

Later as Alpha Flight celebrate their victory Northstar is significantly missing as the team poses for photographs. We find him at the disaster scene looking for Kyle amongst the casualties. Their reunion is wonderfully apt. As a parting note, Northstar’s throwaway line of not caring about politics and forgetting to vote in the election does not harbour a peaceful time for Canada’s superheroes in the issues to come.

I for one can’t wait for issue #1 to find out what’s going on and how this affects Northstar, how we get Puck back on board, why Marrina has become oddly xenophobic and, reading the teasers for this storyline, who the traitor is in their midst…..

Alpha Flight #0.1 is out now and Alpha Flight #1 is released on 15th June 2011.

Follow Dyl on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/mutantraccoon

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Ernest Cole

Monday, May 16th, 2011

Cole is a book editor at Queendberry Publishers of London and his most important client is Wilson Taylor, author of the extremely popular Tommy Taylor series of books based on his son, which are in a similar vein to the Harry Potter series. The elder Taylor disappeared at the height of his popularity which is why Cole is utterly surprised the morning when Annie, his secretary, presents him with a manuscript for a new novel, “Tommy Taylor and the Emerald Telescope”.

The next time Cole is seen again is close to the release date of the Taylor book. He and his secretary are airing some heated opinions regarding the book. She accuses him of having no shame in printing the book that they both know from its hackneyed style was not written by Taylor. Cole remains convinced the book is the answer to inject high sales and generate income in light of Amazon’s price setting policies.

Security is very tight the night before book’s public release. Coles is heading unloading of boxes of the volume at a Foley’s bookstore after hours when he places a phone call to his lover Gil. The conversation is brief; Cole simply says he’ll have to stay all night to supervise and some teasing comments between the two men. Shortly after ending the call, an assassin named Pullman, who is working for the mysterious Mr. Callander, confronts Cole and tries to beat some secret information from him. Later, two security guards find him beaten. Cole refuses to have an ambulance called, and insists on going through with the book release. It’s wildly successful due to an event that plays out in front of crowds involving Tommy  Taylor, his father, and Pullman.

Art by Pter Gross. From The Unwritten #15

Cole is first seen in issue 2 of The Unwritten and his sexuality is shown in #15.

© and ® Mike Carey and Peter Gross. Published by Vertigo/ DC. All rights reserved.

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Pionic Man & Head Dollie

Monday, February 21st, 2011

The Pionic Man and Head Dolli have a connection in that each of them were used by Henry Hewitt, founder of Hewitt Industries, who used his industrial resources in an experiment to recreate Firestorm, thus giving birth to Firehawk. Due to a successful cloning experiment to repair his body, Hewitt went on to create a series of clones that he dubbed DOLLIES, which referred to the successfully cloned “Dolly the sheep”. Working behind the scenes, Hewitt created “accidents” at various nuclear test sites across the world in which he placed his DOLLIES fitted with devices to siphon and contain any released energy for his own purposes.

Dr. Julius Hastur was in charge of one such test at the Large Proton Collider Facility at Lowrance University. Hewitt’s plan went awry when Firestorm, who was touring the college campus in his Jason Rusch identity, stepped in to avert disaster. Though unknown at the time, Hastur was trapped inside the facility during this event, and Firestorm’s transmutation powers inadvertently bombarded Hastur’s body with radiation, turning his mass into pions, short lived, sub-atomic particles. Hastur is disoriented and in extreme pain when he emerges later that night, and quite susceptible to Hewitt’s offer to help with a containment suit in exchange for fighting Firestorm. The hero takes a gamble by turning the containment suit into helium and using a STAR Labs device to hold his pionic form.

The DOLLIES first appear in #23. Four are dispatched to abduct Jason, whom they secure in their surprise attack. In turn, they’re surprised by Lorraine Reilly who turns into Firehawk and engages one clone who distracts her long enough for the others to speed away with Jason, and thus unknowingly causing an explosion since the pair must be within one mile proximity of the other to remain stable. This same clone attained a level of self-awareness (and speech) from the fight with Firehawk, a fact that piques the curiosity of “The Pupil”, a former intellectual thorn in Martin Stein’s side and villain du jour who’s “borrowed” the DOLLIES from the still secretive Hewitt. This particular DOLLI asserts will when he prevents the Pupil from inflicting pain on Gehenna, Jason’s girlfriend, during an attempt led by Firestorm to rescue Stein. He continues to protect her during the fight and disappears when faced by Firestorm.

A phrase tossed out during another fight between the DOLLIES and Firestorm leads Stein to believe there may be a connection with the Pionic Man. After some discussion, Stein builds a new containment suit and with Firestorm and Firehawk on hand, the former scientist is released into it. He rushes forward, unexpectedly hugging Firestorm and thanking him for the imprisonment which led to an intense self-reflection (he had been quite unhappy in his human life). In appreciation, he informs Stein every thing he knows about his unknown benefactor. It’s sufficient intel to lead them to Hewitt Industries, and of course, the obligatory confrontation between Firestorm and crew and Hewitt in his guise as Tokomak.

The last time Pionic Man is seen is in the company of the rogue DOLLI (now calling himself Head Dolli) as the sit at a New York diner discussing the woes of apartment hunting. They’re joined by Firestorm and we learn that Head Dolli approached the Pionic Man during the fight at Hewitt’s lab and persuaded him with the logic that “…one needn’t jump straight into every civil war or crisis that comes along” so the pair left and began “[to make] plans for a quieter, more sedate life.” Firestorm asks them: “Is this a ‘Brokeback Mountain’ thing, or a ‘Felix and Oscar’ thing?” to which Pionic Man exclaims “What a rude question!” Gehenna interrupts the conversation before more can be said. They appear in a few more panels and disappear; the book is canceled with the following issue. Hopefully they found happiness and a great, yet reasonably priced apartment!

Pionic Man appears first in Firestorm #14 (vol 2). Head Dollie first appears (as an anonymous cyborg) in Firestorm #23 (vol 2). During a fight with Firestorm in #16, Pionic Man recounts spending a summer in France with a young undergraduate student named Giselle, who then dumps him. While no longer referring to himself as Hastur, the Pionic Man gives no indication he thinks of himself as genderless, in spite of the Ken doll anatomically correctness of his containment suit. As a clone of a man, it can be presumed he has some genitalia. How or if they express themselves sexually is left to the imagination. While not explicitly stated by either character, I believe inclusion for both is warranted based on my reading.

© and ® DC Comics. All rights reserved.

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Piper

Friday, February 11th, 2011

Formerly known as the Pied Piper and a member of the Flash’s (Barry Allen) Rogue’s Gallery. Hartley Rathaway was born deaf, but his wealthy parents paid for costly medical procedures to ultimately restore his hearing. When he could finally hear, a whole new world was opened up for him – and he became enamored by music and the science of sonics, much to his parents’ chagrin. Bored by other pursuits, Rathaway put on a ridiculous looking costume and decided to become a criminal – just for fun. Ultimately, he retired from crime, and became a trusted friend of Barry Allen’s successor, Wally West. Rathaway “came out” to the usually conservative West, who has surprisingly been very acceptive to his friend’s sexual orientation. Piper now channels his energies into championing gay rights and aiding Central City’s homeless. He has a current boyfriend named James.  James’ current status in regards to Hartley is something I can’t recall.

Piper was one of a cast of recurring characters in the year long, weekly Countdown (later Countdown to Final Crisis) series. He and Trickster had been implicated in the murder of Bart Allen at the time in which he became the Flash after Wally’s disappearance. Others in the Rogues’ Gallery doubted their avowed return to crime, forcing them to prove their loyalty through extortion and subsequent murder of a rich man through some hypnotically induced order on Piper’s part. Appearances were deceiving as Piper discretely made some special allowance to keep the man alive, and Trickster saw through the ruse.

They became an unlikely and reluctant pair on the lam from the Rogues, police, and superheroes and the situation becomes more literal when they’re cuffed together at the wrist after being captured by Deadshot (who’s working for Checkmate) as part of the effort to send all villains off-world. What follows is what seems to me a poorly executed attempt to put Piper and Trickster in a “bro-mantic” light as they continue their efforts to fight and escape various heroes and villains out to get them. Most of Piper’s part in the story is forgettable, as is the case with other events and characters from both reader and publisher viewpoints.

Of the few notable incidents was the story Piper recounts as his few days of survival on the run in the desert becomes dire. Piper began to lose touch with reality after Deadshot killed Trickster, and he was forced to carry and drag the body along until he finally came to the awful realization he had to sever Trickster’s hand from his dead body in order to survive a little longer. The trauma and stress have gotten to Piper and he acts as if Trickster is still alive, and tells how he first realized he is gay while watching a teenaged Rod Lauren play a character in the 1960s cult sci fi movie “The Crawling Hand“. This segues into what Piper mistakes as a portent of a “light at the end of the tunnel” death experience as a Boom Tube opens in the sky above.

Transported by the Boom Tube, Piper finds himself on Apokolips, always a harrowing experience. This time the danger is much worse as the planet and its people are under attack by Brother Eye. In a nutshell (because I don’t plan to re-read this mess of a storyline) Brother Eye is intent on neutralizing inhabitants to take over. Basically, Piper falls into Desaad’s clutches, which has been the sadist’s plan from the start as he apparently discovered and now reveals to Piper that he holds the Anti-Life Equation. One would’ve preferred an explanation of how Hartley became, according to Desaad, a “rare human vessel for the Anti-Life” rather than the simplistic statement that Piper’s abilities were related to his being said instrument.

In any case, while Darkseid and Solomon, the rogue Monitor, continue their grand game of chess with human and meta human players and Apokolips is burning, Desaad shouts at Hartley to play his flute  as the means to defeat the Omac which is threatening their lives. Desaad is blasted by the Omac, hurtling his body away, while Hartley prepares to die, only to surprisingly be taken prisoner. Piper escapes during an attack initiated by a number of the other main heroes, only to fall again into Desaad’s clutches, who forces him to play his flute and “Let the music flow through [him]! Unleash the Anti-Life Equation…” Piper’s making his last stand though and instead causes Desaad’s apparent death by head explosion. Not backing down, Piper’s next tune seems to drive away Brother Eye and then to hasten or be the sole cause for the explosions wracking Apokolips.

Hartley’s fate is a mystery till Countdown’s finale when he finally resurfaces in an alley way on Earth and he’s quite happy to be greeted by a small pack of rats.

He’s next seen in the 3 part Rogues’ Revenge mini series that sported a “Final Crisis” trade dress. The remaining Rogues have decided to retire in the aftermath of Bart (Impulse/ Kid Flash/ Flash #4) Allen at the hands of the rogues’. This plan is soon aborted when they discover a group of new villains are taking their places with the blessing of villain-du-crisis Libra. While these two groups are playing off each other, Hartley is busy lifting old pal James Jesse’s last will and testament. Jesse was the original trickster and had reformed like Hartely. The will was important for the information it contained about the rogues’ tech, safe houses, family members, etc. — everything Hartley would need to take the Rogues down them down and clear both his and Jesse’s names — written in (wait for it!) invisible ink. Piper’s appearance in #2 is even briefer as he simply observes Inertia (the villain ultimately responsible for Bart’s death) and Zoom, the reverse-Flash training and plotting against the Rogues as well.

Zoom and Inertia (now calling himself Kid Zoom) attack the Rogues for their own reasons and Hartley, who’s been hiding, jumps into the fray and uses his super duper tuning fork to create vibrations to immobilize the villains. He begins to take out his anger physically on them and is in turn surprised by a trident spike through his shoulder, courtesy of Libra who wants to punish the Rogues himself for refusing to join his super criminal network. Piper lies bleeding on the ground while all hell breaks loose between the Rogues, Libra, Zoom and Kid Zoom. The younger Zoom as he races like a crazed berserker seems on the verge of defeating them all until Hartley, using the harmonics of his flute, causes him to stand still abruptly, thus providing a perfect target for a five way killing blow dealt by the Rogues. Captain Cold confronts Hartley by calling him an accessory and threatening to spread this info if Piper doesn’t leave the Rogues alone. Piper’s only response is to turn away his face. Cue exit.

Using his uncanny knowledge of sound, Piper has created an array of sonic weapons, including a melodious flute which could enthrall all save the Piper himself with it’s strange notes. He has assisted the Flash (Wally West) on many occasions with various hearing and sound devices, and other technological wonders.

Piper (AKA Hartley Rathway) first appeared in Flash #106 (volume 1) and is revealed to be gay in Flash #53 (volume 2). After reforming himself, Hartley became a social activist and worked for the FBI though he never gave up his equipment or costume.

© and ® DC Comics. All rights reserved.

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Queering The Legion

Saturday, February 5th, 2011

Giffen riffing on Kirby

A few months ago (October 20th, 2010 to be exact) Paul Levitz teased Legion readers with a two panel scene hinting at the return (or re-establishment?) of the relationship between Vi and Ayla. It may not have gotten a lot of attention because Phil Jimenez drew some serious man candy in the second story with a modern Grell inspired costume on Legion Academy recruit Gravity Kid. And his rendition of fellow recruit Chemical Kid and Legionnaires Ultra Boy, Lightning Lad and Timber Wolf are drool worthy too.

The tease became solid confirmation this week in Legion of Super Heroes annual #1 by Levitz and artist Keith Giffen. When last seen in Legion #6, the women were on their way to Imsk for the holidays. In the annual their ship has been violently pulled from space near Orando by the Emerald Eye and its new host, a young woman who was forced to be the sex slave of Duke Pharos. Found unconscious by the Empress, Vi and Ayla awake to find themselves imprisoned, which doesn’t prove to be an obstacle in the least. What does prove to be dicey is facing down this new Empress. Even when Sun Boy, Sensor Girl, and Gates arrive in the palace (got to love Gates’ teleportation!) containing the Empress is a huge challenge. Motivated by love and concern for Ayla’s welfare, Vi shows she’s not to be underestimated by using her ability to sever the connection between the Eye and the woman. Of course, this is comics so there’s a hint of something troubling in Vi’s future, and I think the possibility will be make for a good story and character development.

Major props to Levitz for giving back the Vi – Ayla relationship to readers and to Giffen for his artistic input. The way I see it there are two challenges ahead for Levitz and the Legion artists. One is easy. Continue developing Vi and Ayla as a couple. The other less so: create a gay male Legionnaire. The idea isn’t without precedent. Just see here, here, here, and oh, here, too. Bonus points if the character isn’t chronically single or doesn’t fall in love with a straight male character. Double bonus points if the boyfriend is a superhero too though it isn’t necessary. I think Levitz is up to the challenge.

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Nigel Clowes

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

Thanks to the "anonymous" pic contributor!

Contributed by Michael McDermott

Nigel was a member of the covert paramilitary organization called the V-Battalion, assembled at the end of the second World War to quietly deal with threats to world peace. He served under the command of Roger Aubrey, the Mighty Destroyer.

Recently, Aubrey stepped down as head of the V-Battalion and retired in order to deal with his clinical depression, caused in part by his unresolved grief for his lover Brian Falsworth (Union Jack II) who had been killed in a car crash decades earlier. After Roger retired, he and Nigel became romantically involved. Nigel helped Roger to overcome his depression and move forward with his life.

However, they were unable to leave the life of action behind them entirely. When the Thin Man assembled a new team ofInvaders, Roger offered his services to the group on a part-time basis. Nigel and Roger were also present at a gay andlesbian pride festival when it was attacked by Nazi vampires who were members of the Axis Mundi superhuman terrorist organization.

Roger has since returned to his former position as head of the V-Battalion. Whether or not Nigel also returned to his previous post is unknown. Nigel was last seen with Roger attending the funeral for Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch.

Although writer Allan Jacobsen intended Nigel to have been a member of the V-Battalion, that background detail was never actually confirmed on-panel. However, it is implied in Nigel’s conversations with Roger about his work with the Invaders and the V-Battalion, since Roger would not be likely to discuss the workings and memberships of top-secret covert organizations with a civilian.

Creator’s Comments: The intended back story is that Nigel worked with the V-Battalion, and that while working they became good friends–something Roger Aubrey had precious few of. I always assumed he was a tactitian or something like that. He would’ve been one of those background guys who was sitting at a computer console on the bridge of the V-Battalion’s big ship (the Vanguard).

Nigel is an easy-going speak-your-mind type, and outed Roger very early in their dealings. Although the two never shared a physically intimate relationship, they became quite close, as Nigel was the one person Aubrey could truly openly share his feeling with. The relationship was ultimately strained to breaking by Roger’s obsessive quest for justice and inability to come to terms with his personal life.

Frustrated, Nigel eventually retired, and returned to private life as a Professor of Literature in the UK.

Their relationship re-ignited when Roger himself retired, and finally sought out “the one that got away”. Nigel represents Aubrey’s decision to out himself, and finally live the life he always dreamt for himself and his deceased partner Union Jack.

As a member of the V-Battalion, Nigel served as one of the many tactical support technicians on the bridge of the Vanguard,  so Nigel likely has certain tactical and/or technical expertise. It is also possible he has had training for hand-to-hand combat or weapons use, but that is unconfirmed.

Nigel first appeared and is shown as gay in New Invaders #4. See the Destroyer & Union Jack II entry.

© and ® Marvel Comics. All rights reserved.

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Black Cat

Saturday, January 1st, 2011

Art by Ron Frenz

Contributed by Ronald Byrd

The daughter of infamous cat burglar Walter Hardy, Felicia Hardy decided to follow in his footsteps and trained herself to become an expert combatant and thief, the Black Cat. Early in her career, she became attracted to the super-hero Spider-Man, and she eventually joined him as a lover and a fellow crime-fighter, earning amnesty for her past misdeeds. However, their relationship had several problems; Felicia was more enamored of Spider-Man’s costumed persona than she was of his true identity, Peter Parker, while Spider-Man felt that costumed crime-fighting was too dangerous for a non-superhuman. To compensate, Felicia acquired super-powers from a mysterious source who turned out to be the Kingpin of Crime, one of Spider-Man’s deadliest enemies, a revelation which further complicated matters, as did the revelation that Felicia’s new bad-luck power might eventually kill anyone in her vicinity, including Spider-Man. Felicia intended to end her relationship with Spider-Man to save his life but, unaware of this, Spider-Man himself broke off the relationship due to their personal differences.

Following the breakup, the thrill-seeking Felicia returned to crime but took to donating her ill-gotten gains to others. Meanwhile, Spider-Man underwent a string of misfortunes as a delayed effect of his association with her; sorcerer Doctor Strange cured Spider-Man by altering Felicia’s powers, removing her bad-luck power but giving her additional abilities in return. Felicia renewed her relationship/partnership with Spider-Man on an irregular basis but finally departed for Paris, France; when she returned some time later, she learned that, as Peter Parker, Spider-Man had married another of his long-time girlfriends, Mary Jane Watson. Felicia began dating one of Parker’s friends, Eugene “Flash” Thompson, as a way of ingratiating herself into Parker’s life and eventually wrecking his marriage, but she developed a true affection for Thompson and abandoned her scheme. She was also robbed of her remaining super-powers by a device of the criminal Chameleon, but, undaunted, she began a career as a private investigator, at times finding herself on both sides of the law, as it seems she wanted all along.

By about fourteen years in the future (or on a present-day alternate Earth where time has proceeded differently and everyone is thus some fourteen years older than on Marvel-Earth, accounts vary), Felicia’s detective agency has achieved worldwide success, and it is known that during the intervening years she married Eugene Thompson (currently a coach at Midtown High School) and bore him two children, Gene and Felicity. However, she has also divorced him, apparently because she fell in love with Diana, formerly a contract operative for her agency. Felicity disapproves of the relationship, possibly because she regards Diana as an opportunist out for Felicia’s wealth; it is not known how her son reacted. Felicia apparently maintained the costumed identity of the Black Cat at least until her divorce and gave it up not long after, but no further details of her later career are known; her abandonment of her costumed identity is another sore point with her daughter.

As of the timeframe of “Spider-Girl,” Felicia and Diana have known each other for nearly six years, although it is not known how long their relationship has been a romantic one. Felicia, Diana, and Felicity move from Paris to Forest Hills, a suburb of New York which is also the home of Peter Parker, who in this timeline remains married to Mary Jane Watson and has a daughter, May, who herself has superhuman powers and fights crime as Spider-Girl; Felicity also adopts a costumed identity, the Scarlet Spider, and attempts to convince Spider-Girl to accept her as a crime-fighting partner, thus furthering the connections between the two families.

For a time, the Black Cat possessed two separate sets of super-powers; the treatments given to her by the Kingpin augmented her strength and agility and enabled her to, either consciously or subconsciously, psionically alter probability fields so that those around her experienced bad luck. After Doctor Strange removed the latter power, her abilities mutated further to grant her even greater strength and agility, as well as the ability to form her hands and feet into claws. In the mainstream Marvel universe she lost this second set of abilities some years ago and again became a non-powered human; whether or not she might have regained or retained these powers in the alternate timeline of “Spider-Girl” remains to be seen.

In her prime the Black Cat was, even without super powers, a highly trained athlete, martial artist, and thief; she usually traveled via a grappling hook swing-line which could also serve as a tightrope or a wall-scaling device. Whether or not she has retained these talents in her late thirties/early forties is unclear, although as the head of her detective agency she presumably remains a skilled investigator.

Felicia Hardy/ Black Cat first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #194. Though Felicia’s bi-sexuality has been primarily established in the alternate timeline of Spider-Girl (Spider-Girl #45 & #47), there was a scene in the Spiderman/Black Cat mini in which she said, “It’s been so long since I’ve had a boyfriend … or a girlfriend”. Director of a private investigation firm; formerly cat burglar, adventurer, private investigator. Felicia lives in Forest Hills, New York.

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Tara Algren & Bethany Flynn

Saturday, January 1st, 2011

Art by Bart Sears

Contributed by Ronald Byrd

Tara and Bethany, a interracial lesbian couple who are both writers for the Midnight Sun tabloid, are turned into vampires by the recently resurrected Dracula. Oddly, when Dracula clashes with the vampire hunter Blade and vampiric challenger Aaron Thorne, the two women do not join the fray and, in fact, apparently slip away unnoticed. It is not known what became of them.

Tara and Bethany possess superhuman strength, the ability to change shape into bats or mist, invulnerability to most forms of physical attack, and other such abilities common to the vampires of the Marvel Universe.

The women are shown to be lesbians in Blade the Vampire Hunter #2

© and ® Marvel Comics. All rights reserved.

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The Bonds of Love

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Review by Fred Towers

J.M. Snyder
Amber Quill Press

Vic Braunson has a special kind of problem ~ his lover, Matt DiLorenzo, somehow imbues him with enhanced superpowers every time they have sex. It’s something Vic has learned to live with in the years they’ve been together, and something he won’t let stand in the way of their relationship. Matt hates the powers, however, particularly when they put Vic in danger, but what can they do?

When Vic stops an armed robbery at a local convenience store, his picture appears in the morning paper. Later that day, Matt receives a phone call at work from Jordan Dubrowski, a guy he knew in high school. Jordan was his first, in every way ~ it was through him that Matt discovered his ability to transfer superpowers to his lovers. Jordan had a taste of those powers, and after reading about Vic’s role in the hold up, he’s decided he wants those powers back. But Matt is in love … and Vic won’t let him go without a fight. Still, Jordan will stop at nothing to get what he thinks rightly belongs to him…

This novel is a gay erotica superhero story with plenty of action in the bedroom as well as in the streets. Vic saves the day, but when his picture ends up in the paper, the real intrigue begins. He has to save his relationship from being torn apart by Matt’s ex-lover.

For action adventure readers, there is plenty of intrigue and action to get their hearts pumping. They can live vicariously through the superhero adventure. This action adventure superhero novel takes the superhero novel to the next level. It doesn’t close the door on the relationship behind the hero.

The erotica reader will enjoy the sex scenes between Matt and Vic, but they will get more than their crotch throbbing. They’ll be on the edge of their seats wanting more. Snyder writes strong characters, plots and moves from the bedroom to the streets with ease. I believe all readers who enjoy erotica, action, and more will enjoy this gay novel. I highly recommend it, especially to the gay superhero geeks like me.

This review was originally published by Fred Towers at his blog, fredtowers.blogspot.com, and is published here courtesy of the author.

Visit the Vic and Matt website and Amber Quill Press.

Purchase this book from Amazon or search for other sellers with the ISBN: 978-1-60272-202-6

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