New Issue Reveals X-Men Iceman is Gay, Outed by Jean Grey

By Cheri Cheng - 22 Apr '15 14:22PM

In the new issue of All-New X-Men, the Marvel comic series deviates from the old comic and movie versions of Iceman by making his character gay.

In the upcoming issue, Iceman, aka Bobby Drake, will reportedly be outed by telepath Jean Grey. The series will not only address the prejudices that these young superheroes face for being mutants, it will also explore the issue of homosexuality and how that can isolate a character.

The series follows the younger versions of the X-Men, who have been transported to the future to fight alongside the older versions of themselves.

"There are thousands, if not millions, of stories of people who, for many different reasons, felt the need to hide their sexuality. The X-Men, with the conceit of time travel, give us a fascinating platform in which to examine such personal journeys," All-New X-Men writer Brian Michael Bendis explained in a statement according to the Wall Street Journal after finding out the pages were leaked. "This is just the first little chapter of a much larger story that will be told."

Bendis was not too happy about plotline getting leaked early. The issue goes on sale Wednesday.

In the leaked pages of the upcoming issue, Grey travels back in time and reads young Iceman's thoughts, subsequently finding out that he was gay. Grey then travels back to the present and tells Iceman about what she learned.

When Grey tells the younger Iceman about how the older version of him is straight, he responds by saying, "Maybe he couldn't handle being a mutant and gay in a society that had issues with both, and one is easier to 'put away' than the other."

This version of Iceman is no doubt a part of Marvel's effort to diversify their superhero universe with female, minority and LGBT characters.

In 2011, Marvel's Spiderman was altered. In that version, Miles Morales, a Black-Hispanic teenager, takes over as Spiderman after Peter Parker dies. Earlier this year, Catwoman, Selina Kyle, officially came out as a bisexual woman in Catwoman #39.