Comic book writer Jonathan Hickman, who has helmed the X-Men line through their popular relaunch over the last two years, has finally discussed the range’s queer subtext and Marvel’s oversight. The last two years have seen the mutant race transformed, with heroes and villains alike welcome on the living island of Krakoa. There, the mutants have created a new civilization – one that often rejects human norms.

The mutants certainly seem to have rejected human patterns of relationship at least – but, curiously, this has typically been done quietly. A plan showing adjoining bedrooms suggested Cyclops, Wolverine and Jean Grey were in a polyamorous relationship, but it’s never been openly discussed. Meanwhile, after years of queerbaiting Kate Pryde finally kissed a girl – but that scene happened in a comic published in September 2020, and the apparently-experimental kiss hasn’t been followed up on at all. It feels as though Marvel’s writers are being extremely careful not to develop this particular theme.

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Jonathan Hickman has been responsible for the current wave of X-Men books, although he’s departing now that X-Men: Inferno has wrapped up. Hickman spoke to the Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men podcast ahead of his departure and directly addressed the apparent queerbaiting.

“So, in regards to what we’re allowed to show on the page, obviously we serve a lot of masters – we serve Disney, and Marvel, and we have our own editorial group, and we have our own proofreaders group. I like to think that we push it as far as we possibly can. I like to think that we have creators who want to tell stories that are very important to them as creators, and I think the most that I can do – and I feel like the most that I did while I was there – was, I support them wholeheartedly. And if I have to talk to the bosses for them, or with them, I’m happy to do that and… I think, for the most part, we’re moderately happy with what we’ve gotten on the page, and moderately happy with the process. There are times when people are totally happy with how it went, that’s just life in the corporate lane as far as I’m concerned. We don’t own any of this stuff, we do the best job that we can.”

It’s a fascinating comment, suggesting that behind every subtle hint, every nod and every kiss there has been a lot of debate involving Marvel and Disney. The key lies in Hickman’s final comment, “We don’t own any of this stuff,” which explains why companies like Marvel and Disney are perhaps reluctant to commit to these ideas. Comic books are traditionally quite conservative, with publishers believing there’s a sort of core concept that lies at the heart of their characters and their worlds; if writers change them too much then they risk causing lasting damage. This attitude has been responsible for some of Marvel’s worst mistakes, such as the controversial “One More Day” story that reset Spider-Man because editors believed his marriage had moved him too far away from that core concept. The same logic is likely behind Marvel’s reluctance to allow their writers to commit to a polyamorous relationship between Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Wolverine, for example; because once that’s happened, it can’t be airbrushed out of continuity so they can go back to their old love triangle under a later writer.

There’s irony to this conservatism with the X-Men, though. Mutants have represented themes of diversity and tolerance; if any Marvel franchise should embrace queerness, it’s the X-Men. Meanwhile, the Hickman era is founded on such massive retcons and conceptual rewrites that it’s already difficult to imagine a satisfactory way to bring back the old status quo. Hopefully Marvel and Disney will see the positive reception their queer subtext is receiving, and allow it to become text at last. And hopefully it won’t be long before Kate Pryde gets another kiss – perhaps with her fellow X-Men member Magik, revealed to be pansexual by a similar line of dialogue that hasn’t been explored.

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Thomas Bacon
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Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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