‘Deadpool 2’ Is Shaping Up to Be the Queerest Mainstream Superhero Movie of All Time
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Who knew an amoral mercenary could be so danged lovable? Whether he’s dancing alongside Celine Dion or getting pegged, we’re big Deadpool fans. And while the Deadpool franchise has already been relatively queer — after all, Deadpool himself is pansexual — we’ve just gotten word that there are even more queer characters in Deadpool 2. We previously reported on Shatterstar, but in a first for mainstream superhero films, there’s an actual homosexual relationship in the movie, too.
Of course, there’s going to be some minor spoilers in this article; nothing earth-shattering, but if you want to go in to Deadpool 2 completely blind… well, you probably didn’t even click on this article in the first place. But just in case, you might wanna turn back now.
G’wan! Get!
Now that everyone’s been properly warned, we can get to the meat of the story.
According to GLAAD, one of the breakout characters from the first film comes out, and introduces her girlfriend. That’s right, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, played by Brianna Hildebrand, is LGBTQ — and she’s dating fellow superhero Yukio, played by Shioli Kutsuna.
This is a change from the last Marvel movie, Avengers: Infinity War, which had an immense number of characters — none of whom were LGBTQ. In contrast, Deadpool 2 has quite a few canon queer characters. In addition to Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Yukio and Deadpool himself — though we still don’t know if Deadpool will get to act on his pansexuality on-screen, even if Ryan Reynolds is game — there’s also Shatterstar, who was created as an asexual character, though was later written as bisexual and polyamorous.
The queer characters in Deadpool 2 aren’t the only queer characters to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Out news anchor Thomas Roberts appeared as himself in The Avengers and Iron Man 3, for example. But these are the first canon queer superheroes who actually get to have a relationship.
In Thor: Ragnarok, Valkyrie and Korg are both LGBTQ in the comics, however, this aspect of their characters was erased in the film, as was Ayo and Aneka’s relationship in Black Panther. Likewise, DC’s Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman erased Harley Quinn’s and Diana’s bisexuality.
The queer characters in Deadpool 2 are definitely a great start — and just makes us love the Merc With the Mouth even more — but hopefully Deadpool 2 will pave the way for more queer representation.
