In 1983, the narrative of a former lover being murdered and thus spurring the superhero to action and emotional eruption was already a comics cliché. The narrative caption tells us: “And Raymonde had led him out of that dark fear, into the bright clear light of self-acceptance.” When Raymonde is later murdered, Northstar snaps with blind rage. He also references the secretive nature of his relationship with Jean-Paul: “Then you have not really told your sister all about me, after all, Jean-Paul? I thought that would have been odd.” In the story, written by Byrne, Raymonde comments on Northstar’s good looks.
Northstar’s sexuality first surfaces in Alpha Flight #7 (1983) when he meets up with “an old friend” named Raymonde who is strongly hinted to be a former lover. That’s why I created Northstar - I felt the Marvel Universe needed a gay superhero (even if I would never be allowed to say it in so many words in the comics themselves), and I felt that I should create one, rather than retrofitting an existing character.” Validation through storytelling
The population of the fictional world should represent the real world. “There needs to be gays in comics because there are gays in real life. (Marvel)īyrne described the impetus of Northstar’s sexuality: Marvel’s first gay superhero emerged from the X-Men series.
