Deadpool: The World’s First Pansexual (-ish) Superhero

As readers of this site will know, I make no claim to having all (or any) of the knowledge when it comes to comics. So I rely on my friends and the media to inform me about things like this.

Deadpool first appeared in comic books in 1991 and was played by Reynolds in the 2009 movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine. An erratic, disfigured mercenary in a tight red suit, Deadpool is a wise-cracking antihero who often breaks the fourth wall and whose super-ability is an accelerated capacity for healing. The comics show the character propositioning Spider-Man and flirting with both genders; recent trailers and a fireside promotional further suggest the movie will follow suit.

In August 2015, the character’s co-creator, Fabian Nicieza said: “Deadpool is whatever sexual inclination his brain tells him he is in that moment. And then the moment passes.”

Nicieza also suggested that fans’ feelings of ownership of the character led them to try to pigeonhole his orientation. “I’ve been dogged with the DP sexuality questions for years. It is a bit tiring. He is NO sex and ALL sexes. He is yours and everyone else’s. So not dismissive, but rather the epitome of inclusive.”

~ http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/06/deadpool-ryan-reynolds-character-pansexual-superhero-tim-miller-director-marvel

Now that’s all fine and well to say, but if you’re gonna say this, you need to present the evidence that something approaching alternative sexualities are going to be included, and from the trailer, it looks pretty hetero to me.

The occasional flirtation does not represent sexual diversity. Give us a makeout, or a sex scene! Give us something tangible. Otherwise it feels like he’s being promoted as sexually edgy when in fact nothing is being risked.

In X-Men: Apocalypse, Quicksilver Goes Looking For Daddy

Evan Peters spoke to Details magazine and shed some light on his character’s role in the next X-Men flick, Apocalypse.

“The story is that my character is searching for his father and wants to find him,” Peters said. “It starts there and then he jumps on the X-Men train and gets sucked up in this whole Apocalypse madness: He tries to stop him from destroying the world.”

To be clear, Quicksilver’s father isn’t some new character. He’s almost certainly Magneto. That’s who he was in the comic books, and an off-hand remark in “Days of Future Past” all but confirmed that he was in the movies as well. This jibes with the official synopsis of “X-Men: Apocalypse,” which says that a powerful, ancient mutant named Apocalypse will recruit Magneto to his side.

~ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/evan-peters-x-men-quicksilver_5638fdd4e4b00a4d2e0c1917

In case you need a reminder as to why Quicksilver’s appearance, though brief, in Days of Future Past was the best scene in the whole movie, check out the clip above. I’ve been a fan of Evan Peters ever since watching the original season of American Horror Story, and loved watching him kill it as Quicksilver the first time around. More screen time = better. Plus, Oscar Isaac is playing the villain?? I’m not sure what could make this next X-Men installment better.

The Dark and Secret Lives of Superheroes

Drugs? Check. Physical and sexual abuse? Check. Misogyny? Check. Who knew that so many superheroes had hidden histories of trauma? (Those of you comic fiends that know all the stories, that’s who. And thanks to the above video, the rest of us do too.)

Jessica Jones Trailer Looks Badass

This trailer is extremely exciting for three reasons:

1. The story looks great
2. I think the lead actress is hot
3. They use my fave Of Monsters and Men song from their newest album
4. Last but NOT LEAST, the villian is played by none other than the Tenth Doctor, aka Barty Crouch Jr., DAVID TENNANT!!! That sexy fucker is going to be mind-controlling and whatnot in an evil evil way? My body temperature just skyrocketed.

This show starts Nov. 20 friends!

Coolest Parents Ever Make a Gender Bending Superhero Cake

My twin daughters asked for a Hulk Princess Cake for their birthday and my wife made it happen. http://t.co/7ekuT5Uivr. Proud Poppa here.

— Brian Elton (@_b_ri_) September 15, 2015

If only more parents could have this much chill around gender stuff. Nice one!

#WhereIsBlackWidow

Sexism in comic franchise merchandising? Shocker.

Whoever runs Where’s Black Widow on Twitter knows what’s up. Describing the search for Black Widow on “Avengers” merchandise “like Where’s Waldo, but with more misogyny,” the account holder has taken it upon herself to keep fighting this good fight. Of 88 official “Ultron” products, we counted six that include Black Widow.

~ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wheres-black-widow-twitter-marvel_55bf956ce4b0d4f33a0366f4?kvcommref=mostpopular

You can follow the Where’s Black Widow? Twitter page – ‘It’s like Where’s Waldo, but with more misogyny’ –  here: https://twitter.com/whereisnatasha

Harpy on Hitfix.com has a great message for Disney:

You don’t have to scrub out all traces of masculinity for ladies to to watch superheroes punch robots. They’re already watching. Just like dudes are already watching a young Queen learn to control her ice powers. Girls don’t want to date superheroes, they want to BE superheroes. And boys don’t need to learn to minimize the impact of women’s accomplishments from a lunchbox. ~ http://www.hitfix.com/harpy/disney-excludes-black-widow-from-age-of-ultron-merchandise

For those of you averse to the commercial bullshit, try Etsy instead!

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/204751701/black-widow-avengers-art-vintage?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=black%20widow&ref=sr_gallery_2

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/DiagonAlleyCrochet?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Icy Villains – Separated at Birth??

The Frost Giants from Thor:

The Night’s King from GoT:

‘Too Many Marvel Movies’ – a Fangirl’s Lament

This animated video is kick-ass for a lot of reasons. One, it shows an all-kinds-of-diverse fangirl club whose chairperson is called ‘Headmaster’. Two, its walls are adorned with Doctor Who posters and its members wear garb from various fandoms – Star Trek, GoT, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc. Third, the Headmaster spanks the group with the FOMO paddle to force them to agree to go watch Ant Man. As someone who just last night refused an invitation to go see it, this video is giving me pause to consider the ramifications of my decision.

Mad Max Meets Adventure Time

Well these are fun.

Artist Ryan May of City of Pyramids has created a great series of illustrated mashups that merge characters from the newly released film Mad Max: Fury Road and the popular Adventure Time television series. Prints of each illustration are available to purchase from his online store. ~ http://laughingsquid.com/illustrated-mashups-of-characters-from-mad-max-fury-road-and-adventure-time/

Comic Con 2015

If you read this regularly you’ll notice I’ve been absent for the past few weeks, due to my visit to a magical and far-away universe where I rode a unicorn and played the lute with my centaur friends.

Anyhoo, Comic Con just happened in San Diego, and here’s a fun video of people bringing their cosplay A-Game. (Costumes of note: a fellow Red Viper; the terrifying clown from American Horror Story; and a spot-on Walter Sobchak from The Big Lebowski).

Also out of Comic Con: trailers for things we may or may not be interested in. I’m loyal to my love of Heroes, and so am stoked for Heroes: Reborn, and of course there’s Star Wars. The Suicide Squad just looks mean… I know I’m seeing the clips out of context, but I can’t watch someone being tortured (possibly electrically?). Here are a few in case you missed them:

http://bgr.com/2015/07/13/comic-con-2015-best-trailers/

Andddd then there’s season 9 of Doctor Who, the trailer of which has me eager to get through season 8 already! And nerd crossover bonus: who joins the cast but our favourite assassin-in-training, Arya Stark – er, I mean, Maisie Williams!