Gay superheroes...

Latest news headline: Stan Lee to create first gay superhero.

Say what? If you look up 'first gay superhero' on Wikipedia, you get Extrano at DC, from 1988. And what about Northstar, a superhero so gay he had a press conference about it, but never had a boyfriend? At least he had the good taste to think Gambit was cute.

There are so many gay superheros, there are websites devoted to listing them. And the bi ones. And the trans ones. Remember Paradox, the bisexual shape-changer? I loved him. Her. Whichever. So obscure, he's not on Wikipedia. And the subject shouldn't ignore Apollo and Midnighter, who are not just gay, but a dramatically gay couple. In my favourite era of Legion of Super-Heroes, Element Lad was gay, as were Lightning Lass and Shrinking Violet.

Considering that the 'first gay superhero' phrase doesn't even specifically refer to comic books, I'm not sure the first gay superhero wasn't Achilles, from three thousand years ago.

I love media hype. And I hope Thom Creed is a raging success.

Writer's Block: True Crime

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The murder of Conrad de Montferrat, King of Jerusalem in 1192. Popular speculation is that Richard the Lionheart had him killed; I think that's nonsense, as Richard had too much to lose and too little to gain. I think it was Henri de Champagne, who stood to gain the widow and the kingdom.

Other favourites: the murder of William II of England, a gay king probably killed by his brother.

The murder of Thomas Becket in 1170 isn't exactly a mystery, but it's a fascinating case of political conflict and friendship gone wrong. All the more in that Henry II is my favourite English king.

The fate of Louis LVII was a favourite mystery, too, but I think it has now been settled with the disinterrment of his bones and examination of DNA evidence.

I'm also interested in deaths of Xerxes of Persia, and of Attila the Hun.

Modern murders tend to interest me less, except in fiction.

Question meme...

From becky_h:

Ask me seven questions. Not just any seven questions though. No, to keep it interesting, use the seven questions as per below - just copy and paste the following, replace the blanks with something you want to know/ask (e.g. 3. Donkeys or sandcastles and why?), anything you want, personal, silly, surreal or deep, comment away and I'll answer honestly as I can!

1. What do you think of _____________ ?
2. When did you last ____________?
3. __________ or ___________ and why?
4. What did you ______________?
5. What's your favorite ______________?
6. How would you ______________?
7. Who would you most like to ________ ?

Writer's Block: Tricky Questions

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Curiosity and concern. It usually means something is happening.

Writer's Block: Back to School

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In real life, High School was a prison I was only too happy to escape and never want to return to. But in fiction... it's a different story.

1. Hadleigh Heights in The Mrs Bradley Mysteries:, "Night At the Opera". Because the place was in the 1920s, an era I love. And because all the beautiful girls were either messing about with each other or with their music teacher, played by David Tennant. Okay by me.
   
   
2. The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning or Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in X-Men. I'd be mutant, and meet other interesting mutants, and my teachers would be cool people like Scott Summers, Emma Frost and Storm.

(no subject)

From fannish5, January 2: List your 5 favorite unrequited love stories.

I don't like unrequited love stories. But... yeah, there are some.

1. Doctor/Martha, in Doctor Who. I'd have preferred it to be requited. (And in my interpretation, it was, though secretly.)
   
   
2. Lucie Manette/Sydney Carton, in A Tale of Two Cities
   
   
3. Jack/Gwen, in Torchwood. All that UST, denied.
   
   
4. The protagonists in The Lute Player by Norah Lofts. I tended to love her novels when I was young, but this was was particularly heart-breaking: the Duchess loved Blondel the Minstrel, and Blondel loved Queen Berengaria, and Queen Berengaria loved her husband Richard the Lionheart, and Richard loved Blondel... and never the twain shall meet. It made an impression.
   
   
5. Supergirl and Brainiac 5. I'm not sure it was unrequited. I'm not sure what it was. But it was fun.

Torchwood: Ten Reasons Why Captain Jack is a Superhero..

I see Captain Jack Harkness as a superhero. He isn't billed as such, but he acts like a superhero, and has the characterists and/or abilities of others. His powers aren't innate, but that's nothing unusual in the superhero community - in fact, it's a characteristic he shares with many established superheroes. I posted these comments earlier today in chatting with 51stcenturyfox. On thinking it over, I thought I'd elaborate here.

Reasons for considering Captain Jack a superhero:

1. He has powers: healing powers. He can recover from any wound. This is the same power as Wolverine, minus the claws. I was going to say he was prettier than Wolverine, but that's only true of comic-book Wolvie - Hugh Jackman isn't bad either. This comes with the power to not age at all, or to age very slowly.
   
   Other powers include:
   
   
   • the power to revive after death
     
   • the power to make certain aliens glow yellow when he kisses them
     
   • marksmanship and general physical prowess
     
   • the ability to absorb vast quantities of Abaddon's energy
     
   • the ability to resist alien mind-probes (in "Greeks Bearing Gifts")
     
   • the ability to stay underground for two thousand years - and to remain frozen for another century.
     
   • he doesn't sleep
     
   • his beard and hair don't grow, even over centuries
     
   • if 'charm' can be listed as one of Gambit's superpowers (and it is), it's a power Jack has for sure - along with the long coat
   
   
2. He has a collection of alien tech which he can adapt to his use as necessary. This puts him in the class of heroes who use alien gadgetry, like Professor X of the X-Men or Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. Carrying a humumgous big alien gun, he looks like Cable.
   
   
3. He has knowledge of the future and future technology - information that other humans don't possess. He can jury-rig and engineer hybrid gadgets using scraps of alien tech. He also has unusual knowledge of the past, of alien races, of elementals (like the fairies), and of secret or paramilitary organizations like UNIT.
   
   
4. He has the ability to travel in time (when his vortex manipulator works) and to teleport (ditto).
   
   
5. His 'vintage military' style is a kind of costume - a distinctive outfit which he wears consistently any by which he can be recognized.
   
   
6. He never reveals his true name.
   
   
7. He has a team, which he trains in his methods for his purposes.
   
   
8. He lurks and broods on rooftops like Batman, Nightwing, Spider-Man, Gambit, or Nightcrawler.
   
   
9. He has his own special headquarters - underground. Including an Invisible Lift and a pet pteranodon. No giant penny, but a giant fountain instead. Running water.
   
   
10. When he can, he hangs out with the other superhero of his universe - the Doctor.