X-Treme X-Men, the Marvel comic featuring well-known alternate versions of iconic characters from parallel dimensions, had implied for some time that the bisexual demigod Hercules and James "Logan" Howlett, the Wolverine of another universe, once had a romantic relationship.
However, according to Bleeding Cool, the comic's most recent issue, X-Treme X-Men #10 moved beyond flirtatious hints and placed the couple's softer side front and center depicting the two men kissing in a passionate embrace.
"We were our worlds' greatest heroes," Logan says in the issue. "And the day we slew the worst monster who ever threatened the Dominion of Canada ... We revealed our love."
However, this is not the first time a mainstream comics company has served up an alternate version of an iconic character sailing the same-sex seas. Marvel's Ultimate universe included an out-and-proud version of the X-men's Colossus, while DC's Earth 2 currently features the adventures of the publisher's only gay Green Lantern.
Though DC has recently come under heavy fire for hiring antigay advocate Orson Scott Card to write an upcoming issue of Adventures of Superman, both the comics publisher and its Marvel-ous competition have been applauded for their inclusion of LGBT characters by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
DC's Batwoman and Earth 2 have both been nominated for the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, while Marvel's historic Astonishing X-Men #51, depicting the wedding of Northstar and his husband Kyle, has landed on the list of nominees as well.
Across universes near and far, LGBT visibility in mainstream comics is soaring higher than ever before.
