By Ananya Nrusimha
Iceman, a founding member of the superhero team known as the X-Men, was revealed to be gay in the latest issue of All-New X-Men. The comic book deal with the adventures of the five original X-Men as time-displaced teenagers who have been transported to the present day in the aftermath of a comic book event last year. Despite its unconventional premise, the series has had a positive critical reception and is fairly popular among fans.
In the most recent issue, a younger Jean Grey confronts a younger Iceman about his sexuality, revealing his sexual orientation to both himself and the reader. This announcement was met with some controversy, as Iceman has had romantic heterosexual relationships in the past. Some readers saw the announcement as a cheap ploy to sell issues. Others were concerned that the announcement carried overtones of ‘bi-erasure,’ a phenomenon where bisexuality is ignored or looked over in society. The fact that only the younger, time-displaced Iceman has acknowledged his sexuality could also complicate matters; his older counterpart had had a romantic heterosexual relationship as recently as last year. Despite the controversy, it is important to note that Brian Michael Bendis, the writer of All-New X-Men, is an acclaimed veteran comic book writer with a long list of accolades under his belt. Iceman’s announcement isn’t the first controversial creative choice Bendis has made – the premise of All-New X-Men was also initially met with a lot of controversy.
