We always knew that the Deadpool movies did things that no other superhero films had done before, usually in terms of breaking the fourth wall and making crass jokes. But it turns out that Deadpool 2 has broken new ground in a surprising way that we weren’t expecting – mostly because it should have been broken a long time ago. Of course, we’re referring to the fact that the X-Men universe sequel features the first ever LGBT romance in a comic book film.
Brianna Hildebrand’s moody adolescent mutant – and winner of the Best Superhero Name Ever competition – Negasonic Teenage Warhead will be revealed to have a girlfriend in the form of new character and fellow young X-Man Yukio (as played by Shioli Kutsuna). Believe it or not, in the reams of Marvel and DC movies that have come before, no other hero has been confirmed to be LGBT yet, so this is a pretty significant moment.
That being said, with all the other characters vying for attention here, and the generally fast paced, action-oriented nature of the plot, Negasonic and Yukio don’t exactly get a lot of screentime together and at no point do they even share a kiss. This is a little disappointing, but the fact that Deadpool 2 went so far as to at least feature some explicitly LGBT characters is still a big step in the right direction.
Interestingly, the sequel also includes a celebrated LGBT hero from the comics, but it’s not Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Instead, Shatterstar will also turn up in the film as a member of the Merc with the Mouth’s X-Force team, as played by Iron Fist‘s Lewis Tan. In the source material, Shatterstar develops romantic feelings for his teammate Rictor. Maybe if Rictor appears in X-Force, this connection will be explored as well.
Either way, congrats to the Deadpool 2 production team for doing something that no other superhero movie had the guts to do before. Let’s just hope that the MCU and the DCEU will quickly follow suit.