But at the same time, what about the way he came out? @minstrel and @Wreybies (and anyone else on the b-side of the kinsey scale), do you think the best way to find out you're gay is to have a psychic tell you?
Well, the only people who would be "finding out" in that manner would be everyone but yourself. You would already know, no matter the system of negation, pretense, or obfuscation. It's not a thing you can hide from yourself. If the comic is making out that the psychic is giving Bobby Drake info of which he's not already in possession, then this is just poor writing.
That brings up the question of what would happen if you had refused to pay her for her prediction. Would her head explode, or would the fabric of reality simply unravel?
I think its more implied she just read his thoughts and feelings as opposed to making him find out.....or well that's what it seems like.
No, see, that's the kind of shit that makes me have thoughts about assault and battery. Firstly, I repair to my original argument that if Bobby is gay, Bobby is gay. Period. End of. If he's not, he's not. Same deal. The argument about his future self not being able to deal with being gay and a mutant plays into the idiocy that gay is a choice... for fuck's sake. I get so tired of people (not you, Jack, the person who wrote this) holding on to that argument. You can "put it away" all you like, you're still fucking gay. I could never touch another man for the rest of my days, I'm still gay. If the train of logic being presented in this comic had a face, I would punch it clear through to the occipital bone and then 7 inches further.
See? That's why I wanted your perspective on it. I do think you're reading too much into the text though. I think young Bobby is saying that being a closeted gay mutant was easier than being out and a mutant. Especially because future Bobby is living in the 1960s (long story) where being a homosexual was much, much less acceptable than being a mutant. To quote another time traveler: The only thing more stupid or irrelevant than past me is future me.
Ahhh I see what you mean and I totally agree. In my previous long post something just felt off about how it all was done .....like not 'real'. That's why I felt as though this was more of a marketing angle and then pointed out more or at least what I felt were more positive homosexual characters or at least done better. Iceman wasn't ever originally shown to be gay.....or at least not that I ever saw but others have disagreed on that. I haven't read through enough X Men mythos to get a full read on that It just feels like something they more made up on the fly as opposed to putting much thought into it. Not to say a character couldn't be retconned as gay....for example Pied Piper is a good example of a character coming out down the line or well I think it was done better this for its time anyway. This seems.....forced.
I'm gonna have to agree with Wrey here. Stuff like who you're attracted to, you just know. You don't need some psychic to tell you that. If I were Iceman, I would've said, "No shit, and you're a woman! Oh, and the sky is blue! We live on a planet called Earth that's the third planet from the sun in a galaxy called the Milky Way. We breath air. Got any more patently obvious things you'd like to say, Miss Sherlock Holmes?" But yeah, things like that you just know.
I may have read it wrong but... In the comic it didn't seem like she was telling him he was gay as in revealing anything new to him. It was more about her pointing this out while pointing out that future him is apparently straight. Or upon rereading it maybe not. But the last panel confirms that he knows that he is gay. I mean he literally days "yeah... I know" right after she says he's more full gay(uh... Really?) She was pointing it out because whatever happened leading up to this probably had her bring it up or... Actually it sounds like he is trying to do what future self is doing. He is hiding in the closet. Sounds like he is trying to deny this and she forced him to admit it. Sorta seems like he was putting his hopes that he really was straight by pointing out future self is seemingly straight. Only you know she sorta dashes this by more or less confronting him about it. Leading to the very end where it looks like he is a bit bitter about having to confirm it to her Well maybe not bitter. Maybe just really upset about that he can't really try and deny the truth any longer. Or... Screw it I don't know. To wreybies maybe I am completely off here but it seems like it's more that future Bobby is just trying to create the illusion he is straight. There does seem to be a difference between claiming and perpetuating the idea one is straight and actually being straight. He isn't so much choosing to be straight as you are or you are not. He is just choosing to act like he is. Does seem like there is a difference. Then again maybe there isn't. At the very least it's a very thin line that if it isn't handled right makes the difference meaningless and only perpetuates the idea that being gay is a choice. Unless of course future Bobby is straight... I mean if they create a mutant with such abilities... It would solve some problems that comes with doing something like this. But that seems like a bad move. Besides it's far more interesting if he was just trying to perpetuate the illusion. Anyways I really don't care if he is gay or straight. Characters sexual orientation ranks pretty low on things I care about them. It's not going to make me like them anymore or any less. It's just not important to me.
As a gay man, I'm all for an A-list LGBTQ hero. As a comics fan, I was flabbergasted when I read about Iceman. It would be one thing if this was an AU situation, but this is essentially the canon Iceman, brought forward in time. I read someone's "if you look back, it makes sense" justification, and, no, it doesn't make sense, unless you really want it to. Honestly, it feels like something the writers did for the sake of shaking things up. Although, if they really wanted to make a splash, they'd out Wolverine.
