In honor of LGBTQ Pride Month, I have put together a list of some of the most famous characters in nerdom history, as well as a few others, who fall under (or once did) the ongoing list of LGBTQ characters in comics and video games!
A small warning: there may be some spoilery stuff in here, so if you see a character from something you're familiar with, no worries! Just skip ahead. And, please, everyone hide your spoilery comments under a proper cut tyvm ~Anthony Prince, Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony"In my day, gay guys used to be lonely, needy, and lost... now they're all in relationships!"Anthony Prince, nicknamed 'Tony', is the non-playable deuteragonist in Rockstar Games'
The Ballad of Gay Tony, which is the 13th release in the
Grand Theft Auto series. An addict of painkillers and cocaine, Tony is an absolute mess in both his private and professional life; he is a 50-year-old nightclub owner with many failed clubs, an additional bonus history of failed relationships, and has links to organized crime. The pressure he feels from mob bosses has him constantly turning to his main bouncer, Luis Lopez (the main/playable character of the game), whom he has a father/son-like relationship with.
Tony is the only homosexual character in the game who participates in armed combat, and he is also the only character in the series whose name is in the title of one of the games.
Renee Montoya (previously: a.k.a The Question), DC Comics"Dios mio! Just give me a minute of privacy, okay, Harv? I promise I'll let you know if we have hot lesbian phone sex, okay?"Renee's first appearance was in Batman: The Animated Series, and didn't actually enter the comic book world until Batman
#475 in 1992. Her character's development and origins were explored in a much richer detail in the comics, which is why she makes this list under a comic book character!
Renee Montoya is a cop under the Major Crimes unit in Gotham City, taken in by commissioner Jim Gordon after she graduated the police academy at the top of her class. She is a headstrong Hispanic woman who grew up in a gang-littered neighbourhood, where she developed an enthusiasm for justice. Like many characters in comics, Renee is an example of one having gone through several variations of her own history.
Whether she was discharged from being a marine corp officer for the military under their strict 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy at the time, or Two-Face publicly outing her as a lesbian, subsequently leading to conflicts with her religious Dominican parents - her sexual orientation being made known and leading to some downfalls in her life is something her stories have in common with eachother. Some may also know her as The Question.
+ A special shout-out to Kate Kane a.k.a Batwoman, whom Renee was in a romantic relationship with. Kate has a termination from the military due to her sexual orientation tied to her origins as well.
Hank McCoy (a.k.a Beast), Marvel Comics X-Men"You didn't notice me rambling on about women, did you?"And here we have a hidden gem, lost amongst the many earths of comics. Back in 2009, Marvel published
Exiles Vol. 2, which is a continuation of
New Exiles.
In this version (Earth-763) of Hank McCoy, he was in a homosexual relationship with Simon Williams, also known as Wonder Man. He also took his increased mutation to a whole other level, where he is bigger and more feral - both physically and mentally.
Beast and Wonder Man took part in a fight against M.O.D.O.K; Wonder Man was fatally wounded in this battle, which lead to Beast going berserk and attacking the enemy in a fierce rampage.
Ellie and Riley, The Last of Us"We fight... for every second we get to spend with eachother." -RileyAlso apart of the prequel comic,
The Last of Us: American Dreams, Ellie and Riley are young teenage badasses who have known the post-apocalyptic world nearly their entire lives. In
The Last of Us: Left Behind, before the events of the main game, the two are shown to be very close friends who protect eachother.
Riley reveals to Ellie that she has joined the Fireflies and they head out. Near the end of their journey, before they were supposed to part ways, Ellie tells Riley to stay. Riley agrees, and
Ellie allows her enthusiasm to take over and she kisses Riley. She immediately apologizes after pulling away, to which Riley assures her there was nothing to be sorry for. Though, Riley did not survive, she was the one who calmly encouraged Ellie to "be poetic and lose our minds together" when they decide what they should do after being bitten.
Evelyn Crawford (a.k.a Starling), DC Comics Birds of Prey [New 52]"Ohh, please tell me it's Wonder Woman!"Perhaps one of the few great things to come out of DC Comic's New 52 run, Ev Crawford is an ex-spy, tattooed smarty-pants who was a member of the Birds of Prey, alongside Dinah Lance and recurring members (Katana, Batgirl, Poison Ivy, Strix), before
the wrong writers took over betraying her team and helping Mr. Freeze. Ev is a new character with a mysterious past that never had the chance to unfold;
her relationship with a woman named June was referred to in panels in issue #5, but it was never touched up on before this run of the Birds of Prey was canceled.Agent 355, Vertigo Comics Y: The Last Man"I can't believe you're NOT a virgin."Pronounced three fifty-five, and sometimes referred to as 'three fifty',
Agent 355 was a bisexual badass-trope-filled agent who was part of a mysterious United States agency. She was in charge of protecting Yorick, the last man on earth, on a mission of hope to restore mankind.
Birdo, Super Mario Bros. 2"Catherine appears to be Yoshi's girlfriend... or does that mean boyfriend?!" -Mario Kart: Double Dash‼Sometimes referred to as 'Catherine', the famous Birdo was originally marketed as a pink cross-dressing male dinosaur. The little detail of the sex of the character was later changed for the American version of the game, however, and Birdo has been marketed as a female ever since.
He has been a subject of controversy since Japan included the SMB2 manual description in the photo above. Despite the US's efforts, Japan is frequently stating, and widely accepts, that Birdo is, in fact, male. However, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, she is described as "a pink creature of indeterminate gender", following up with being referred to as an "it". Whether or not the character merely enjoys dressing and presenting himself as a stereotypical female or actually identifies as a woman is lost in translation.
Raven Darkholme (a.k.a Mystique), Marvel Comics X-Men
Flea, Chrono TriggerMale... female... what's the difference? Power is beautiful and I've got the power!A magician, Flea is a boss in Square(Enix)'s
Chrono Trigger.
Outwardly, he appears as female, but identifies as male. When the party encounters him, Frog tells everyone to keep their guard up, as the magician "is no ordinary woman". Flea is taken aback by his comment, replying with "what the...?! Hey, I'm a GUY!"
Diana of Themyscira (a.k.a) Wonder Woman, DC Comics"I should add that I don't have a girlfriend either."The most iconic on this list, Comicosity published an interview with Wonder Woman writer Greg Rucka in September of last year to confirm that
Wonder Woman is 'obviously' bisexual. This became a headline that blew up and sparked discussion amongst those who aren't avid Wonder Woman readers;
many people looked passed the fact that Themyscira is a no-mans-land where 'gay' doesn't exist. Wonder Woman herself has referred to this many times in the comics, and has even told Superman that there is no such thing as 'gay marriage' in her country, "it's just marriage."
Comic Vine //
Meet Tony Prince //
Meet Renee Montoya //
Birdo Facts //
"Male... Female... What's the difference?" //
Greg Rucka says Wonder Woman is 'obviously' bisexual