Just 'cuz...
For no good reason, a years-old message-board post I dug up regarding Northstar. Enjoy. Or not.
GhostInTheDark: This is Marvel we're talking about. They don't do anything to please anyone but themselves, and their own intentions. They wouldn't make Colossus gay, just to appease the gay community.
They got Northstar for that! -=ducks and runs from Jean-Paul=-
Me: *snort!* *snicker* BWAHAHAHAHAHA! *sniffs, wipes away tears of mirth* Whee...!
Dude! If Marvel were trying to appease the gay community, Northstar would be the absolute last character to pick. This is 616 Northstar's history, in a nutshell:
TPTB: Byrne, Alpha Flight is tenuously connected to Wolverine and Wolverine sells books. Write a series for them.
Byrne: What? NO! *sigh* Fine. I have an idea...
Northstar: Allo! I'm an thrice-orphaned, insecure, snarky, political terrorist asshole! And... John Byrne says I'm gay.
Byrne: Ha! Make me write a second-rate X-Men knock-off, will you? ACC THAT, mother fuckers!
Jim Shooter, EIC: THERE ARE NO HOMOSEXUAL CHARACTERS IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE! NONE!
Mantlo: I have an idea!
Northstar: I am now suffering from a disease that appears to be progressively attacking my immune system, but it is not AIDS. Everyone knows that only gay men get AIDS and that would be impossible because there are no homosexual characters in the Marvel Universe. In fact, the reason I'm getting progressively sicker is because...I'm a fairy. A half-elf to be precise. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be written out of the series for thirty issues or so.
Fans: What the shit is this?!
Lobdell: I have an idea!
Northstar: Allo, again! It turns out I'm not really a half-elf and that itty bitty -- not gay -- babies can catch AIDs in the Marvel Universe. Oh, and I'M THE FIRST GAY MAINSTREAM SUPERHERO! Now I have to go do not much of anything for the next eight years or so, though I may try suicide at least once...
(up)Chuck Austen: I have an idea!
Northstar: We meet again. I'm grumpy. AND GAY! And I'm teaching at Xavier's BECAUSE I'M GAY! And I'm chasing a man who has no interest in any plans I might have for him BECAUSE I'M GAY and gay men chase anything with a cock. I also think that Gambit has "spicy hot Cajun buns". Did I mention that I'm gay?
Editors: Hey, Austen. Tone down the fag.
DeFillipis and Weir: Um...we have an idea that involves Northstar actually providing guidance as a teacher and not shouting that he's gay every five seconds.
Editors: Shut up! And by the way, never tell anyone that Anole is gay!
Millar: I have a fuckin' idea!
Northstar: And now I'm dead. And now I'm a brainwashed zombie...filled with angry gay man syndrome. And now I'm going to be written out of the books again.
...
Yeah. I don't think Northstar is a good example for how enlightened and very PC Marvel has become.
----------------------------------
To another commenter:
Max, I'm very much aware of Alpha Flight's history, Northstar's in particular. My response to GhostInTheDark was exaggerated for comedic effect.
But in response to your footnotes:
Yes. Being gay was, in Byrne's mind, Northstar's distinct characteristic from AF vol. 1 on out. Byrne was also not particularly happy to be shoved at writing what he considered to be, at best, a Canadian knock-off of the X-Men and he never felt afterward that Alpha Flight was very good work. Hence combining these two things to make the joke that Byrne started slipping subtle hints that Northstar was gay into the book -- and making not so subtle remarks to fans re: "...it's not the Indian or the queer..." in regards to who was supposed to die in AF #12 -- just to make editorial shit themselves.
(Interestingly enough, Byrne has also remarked that he's gotten enough feedback from LGBT fans about how they related to Northstar that he figures creating the character was one of the few things worthwhile about his run on Alpha Flight.)
Editorial was displeased with Mantlo hitting people over the head with things Byrne had at least provided a double-layer of meaning for. They threw their hissy fit about no homosexuals existing in Marvel comics, and basically strong-armed Mantlo into taking the penultimate, double-sized issue of his storyline in which Northstar was intended to die of his mysterious wasting disease (ugh) and re-writing it at the last minute. We got...half-elves. It was a 180. It was ridiculous. That pretty much on its own made it funny (and quite sad, really). Pausing to add those details in mid-rant...less funny. A joke is rarely improved for having to be explained. So I opted for the more removed, dude WTF?! POV there to keep the flow. It puts more blame than is strictly fair on Mantlo, but the man's writing was suck from start to end and I don't doubt that his original ending for Northstar would have been more of the same. I feel no guilt.
Glad you otherwise approved.
BTW: The most often cited canon evidences for Northstar being gay in the Byrne era are:
AF# 7 - Veiled hints at Raymonde helping Northstar through his adolesence and Northstar's utter shock that Raymonde could possibly have a daughter.
AF #8 - Aurora's accusations when she and Northstar argue and she expresses outrage at the hypocricy of someone like him casting shadows on her love life.
AF #10 - In Northstar's origin story, Mac remarks how Northstar never seemed very interested in the women who flocked to his celebrity status.
AF #18 - Heather calls Northstar at his home in Laval. Another man answers the phone then calls Northstar over to talk to her.
AF # 21 - Northstar's close relationship with the butch and boyish circus owner Clementine and Aurora's surprise at seeing her brother tied up next to a woman later.
AF #24 - Despite the fact that the two often quarreled and even came to physical blows, Northstar protests that he doesn't hate Sasquatch. Later, when the team thinks that Sasquatch may be irrevocably dead, Northstar is seen wearing an expression of pained grief, also at-odds with the pair's history of bickering. Northstar is also the first one to reach Shaman's side to steady Bochs, allowing Shaman to attempt reviving their team-mate that much quicker. This is commonly read as Northstar's interference in Sasquatch and Aurora's relationship being of jealousy on two fronts -- desiring Sasquatch and being unable to have him while at the same time resenting his place in Aurora's heart -- rather than just the one that more obviously shows in the comics.
Technically, X-Men/Alpha Flight: The Gift took place in the Byrne era, though Claremont was writing. Again, we get utter shock that Northstar could possibly work well with a woman -- because being gay is all about disliking women, not being attracted to men -- and Rogue making comments about how much she understands Northstar, as well as reassuring him that she's not looking for anything like commitment or romance out of him when she asks for a dance. And, of course, the 'GAH! Get it OFF of me!' face Northstar pulls when a de-powered Rogue kisses him.
Alpha Flight #1 was pretty light on subtext compared to all of that.
GhostInTheDark: This is Marvel we're talking about. They don't do anything to please anyone but themselves, and their own intentions. They wouldn't make Colossus gay, just to appease the gay community.
They got Northstar for that! -=ducks and runs from Jean-Paul=-
Me: *snort!* *snicker* BWAHAHAHAHAHA! *sniffs, wipes away tears of mirth* Whee...!
Dude! If Marvel were trying to appease the gay community, Northstar would be the absolute last character to pick. This is 616 Northstar's history, in a nutshell:
TPTB: Byrne, Alpha Flight is tenuously connected to Wolverine and Wolverine sells books. Write a series for them.
Byrne: What? NO! *sigh* Fine. I have an idea...
Northstar: Allo! I'm an thrice-orphaned, insecure, snarky, political terrorist asshole! And... John Byrne says I'm gay.
Byrne: Ha! Make me write a second-rate X-Men knock-off, will you? ACC THAT, mother fuckers!
Jim Shooter, EIC: THERE ARE NO HOMOSEXUAL CHARACTERS IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE! NONE!
Mantlo: I have an idea!
Northstar: I am now suffering from a disease that appears to be progressively attacking my immune system, but it is not AIDS. Everyone knows that only gay men get AIDS and that would be impossible because there are no homosexual characters in the Marvel Universe. In fact, the reason I'm getting progressively sicker is because...I'm a fairy. A half-elf to be precise. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be written out of the series for thirty issues or so.
Fans: What the shit is this?!
Lobdell: I have an idea!
Northstar: Allo, again! It turns out I'm not really a half-elf and that itty bitty -- not gay -- babies can catch AIDs in the Marvel Universe. Oh, and I'M THE FIRST GAY MAINSTREAM SUPERHERO! Now I have to go do not much of anything for the next eight years or so, though I may try suicide at least once...
(up)Chuck Austen: I have an idea!
Northstar: We meet again. I'm grumpy. AND GAY! And I'm teaching at Xavier's BECAUSE I'M GAY! And I'm chasing a man who has no interest in any plans I might have for him BECAUSE I'M GAY and gay men chase anything with a cock. I also think that Gambit has "spicy hot Cajun buns". Did I mention that I'm gay?
Editors: Hey, Austen. Tone down the fag.
DeFillipis and Weir: Um...we have an idea that involves Northstar actually providing guidance as a teacher and not shouting that he's gay every five seconds.
Editors: Shut up! And by the way, never tell anyone that Anole is gay!
Millar: I have a fuckin' idea!
Northstar: And now I'm dead. And now I'm a brainwashed zombie...filled with angry gay man syndrome. And now I'm going to be written out of the books again.
...
Yeah. I don't think Northstar is a good example for how enlightened and very PC Marvel has become.
----------------------------------
To another commenter:
Max, I'm very much aware of Alpha Flight's history, Northstar's in particular. My response to GhostInTheDark was exaggerated for comedic effect.
But in response to your footnotes:
Yes. Being gay was, in Byrne's mind, Northstar's distinct characteristic from AF vol. 1 on out. Byrne was also not particularly happy to be shoved at writing what he considered to be, at best, a Canadian knock-off of the X-Men and he never felt afterward that Alpha Flight was very good work. Hence combining these two things to make the joke that Byrne started slipping subtle hints that Northstar was gay into the book -- and making not so subtle remarks to fans re: "...it's not the Indian or the queer..." in regards to who was supposed to die in AF #12 -- just to make editorial shit themselves.
(Interestingly enough, Byrne has also remarked that he's gotten enough feedback from LGBT fans about how they related to Northstar that he figures creating the character was one of the few things worthwhile about his run on Alpha Flight.)
Editorial was displeased with Mantlo hitting people over the head with things Byrne had at least provided a double-layer of meaning for. They threw their hissy fit about no homosexuals existing in Marvel comics, and basically strong-armed Mantlo into taking the penultimate, double-sized issue of his storyline in which Northstar was intended to die of his mysterious wasting disease (ugh) and re-writing it at the last minute. We got...half-elves. It was a 180. It was ridiculous. That pretty much on its own made it funny (and quite sad, really). Pausing to add those details in mid-rant...less funny. A joke is rarely improved for having to be explained. So I opted for the more removed, dude WTF?! POV there to keep the flow. It puts more blame than is strictly fair on Mantlo, but the man's writing was suck from start to end and I don't doubt that his original ending for Northstar would have been more of the same. I feel no guilt.
Glad you otherwise approved.
BTW: The most often cited canon evidences for Northstar being gay in the Byrne era are:
AF# 7 - Veiled hints at Raymonde helping Northstar through his adolesence and Northstar's utter shock that Raymonde could possibly have a daughter.
AF #8 - Aurora's accusations when she and Northstar argue and she expresses outrage at the hypocricy of someone like him casting shadows on her love life.
AF #10 - In Northstar's origin story, Mac remarks how Northstar never seemed very interested in the women who flocked to his celebrity status.
AF #18 - Heather calls Northstar at his home in Laval. Another man answers the phone then calls Northstar over to talk to her.
AF # 21 - Northstar's close relationship with the butch and boyish circus owner Clementine and Aurora's surprise at seeing her brother tied up next to a woman later.
AF #24 - Despite the fact that the two often quarreled and even came to physical blows, Northstar protests that he doesn't hate Sasquatch. Later, when the team thinks that Sasquatch may be irrevocably dead, Northstar is seen wearing an expression of pained grief, also at-odds with the pair's history of bickering. Northstar is also the first one to reach Shaman's side to steady Bochs, allowing Shaman to attempt reviving their team-mate that much quicker. This is commonly read as Northstar's interference in Sasquatch and Aurora's relationship being of jealousy on two fronts -- desiring Sasquatch and being unable to have him while at the same time resenting his place in Aurora's heart -- rather than just the one that more obviously shows in the comics.
Technically, X-Men/Alpha Flight: The Gift took place in the Byrne era, though Claremont was writing. Again, we get utter shock that Northstar could possibly work well with a woman -- because being gay is all about disliking women, not being attracted to men -- and Rogue making comments about how much she understands Northstar, as well as reassuring him that she's not looking for anything like commitment or romance out of him when she asks for a dance. And, of course, the 'GAH! Get it OFF of me!' face Northstar pulls when a de-powered Rogue kisses him.
Alpha Flight #1 was pretty light on subtext compared to all of that.