With The Amazing Spider-man 2 out this week, we couldn’t help but think – where are all the qu-heroes? We run through our top five!

NORTHSTAR

It’s been tough going for Jean-Paul Beaubier, aka Northstar. Although he was first introduced into Marvel’s X-Men in 1979, and always intended to be a gay character, restrictions and censorship at the time meant that Northstar had to stay firmly in the closet. It wasn’t until 1992 that the super-mutant stated, “I am gay” and became the first out comic book hero. In 2009, he settled down and it was revealed that Northstar was in a relationship with Kyle Jinadu. The pair went on to tie the knot in Astonishing X-Men issue #51.

BATMAN 

Is one of the most iconic superheroes still in the closet?

Okay okay, Bruce Wayne’s creators over at DC Comics have never specifically stated that he is gay, and he has had many a ladyfriend in the past, but that doesn’t stop gay fans from hoping. Dating as far back as the 50s, Batman is rife with gay innuendo and an abundance of camp (I’m looking at you, 1960s live action series).

BATWOMAN

Now we know Batwoman loves the ladies. Originally appearing  as a love interest for Batman in the 1950s (beard, anyone?), the new-look Batwoman (aka Kate Kane) was reintroduced in 2006 as a rich socialite by day, and badass crime fighting lesbian by night. She hasn’t settled down yet, but Kane had longstanding relationships with several women including Gotham police detective Renee Montoya.

XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS

There is a reason why mythological superheroine, Xena (portrayed by Lucy Lawless in the TV show) has become the biggest lesbian cult icon. There is no doubt that Xena and her sidekick Gabrielle were totally gay for each other. While the show, and subsequent comics, were littered with intentional lesbian subtext – it wasn’t until lead actress Lawless confirmed it in an interview.  She said, “It wasn’t just that Xena was bisexual and kinda liked her gal pal and they kind of fooled around sometimes, it was ‘Nope, they’re married, man’.”

THE ORIGINAL GREEN LANTERN: ALAN SCOTT

As a part of DC’s reboot of original characters in 2012,  they revealed their latest gay character, Alan Scott.  While not gay in the Golden Age, the younger, more handsome Green Lantern was reimagined as a gay man. Series writer James Robinson said that DC bosses signed off on the idea “without hesitation” and that “Alan Scott is super-heroic, he’s super gallant, he’ll die for the earth, he’ll die for its people, he’s everything you want in a hero. His sexuality is incidental.”