Two of the most iconic LGBTQ+ mutants get an epic cosplay treatment from artist Michael Hamm, as the X-Men Northstar and Iceman unleash their immense potential in stunning X-Men themed photographs.
Marvel's Merry Mutants are famous for their use of the "mutant metaphor," a way of using stories of mutant oppression and discrimination as allegory for the real world oppression caused by racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other oppressive ideologies. Both Northstar and Iceman are two examples of established Marvel characters who came out as gay long after their introduction, and have served to increase the representation of queer people in comics, helping to pave the way for the current Krakoan Era which has seen the X-Men become queerer than ever before.
Jean-Paul Beaubier, a French Canadian mutant called Northstar, is famous for being the first out gay character in Marvel Comics. His sexuality was hinted at for years but he was not allowed to come out because of Marvel's homophobic editorial standards at the time. The powerful X-Men member, who has superhuman speed and flight and incredible light-based powers often associated with his twin sister Aurora, was finally allowed to come out in a 1992 Alpha Flight story—by writer Scott Lobdell—famously screaming "I AM GAY" at a man who dared to question his passion when a young baby he cared for died of AIDS. Northstar's coming out, which would have been intrinsically political at the time regardless, was indelibly tied to the AIDS crisis. Since then, Jeal-Paul has married his human partner Kyle Jinadu in Marvel's first same-sex wedding in 2012. Michael Hamm (@michael.hamm.cosplay), a talented queer cosplay artist who has done several cosplays such as X-Men's Gambit, the Teen Titans' Terra, and fan-favorite gay Young Avenger Wiccan, recently unveiled his iconic Northstar cosplay. His Northstar cosplay not only shows off the mutant's classic black and white costume but includes his signature "elf ears" as well as some epic photo-shopped electricity, showing off how powerful Northstar can be.
Northstar and Iceman Make For The Perfect X-Cosplay
Michael Hamm looks shockingly similar to Northstar's portrayal in the comic books, and the gorgeous photograph, taken by Shaun Simpson (@shauntheshooter), looks like it could be taken right from an X-Men movie poster. Thankfully, Northstar is not the only LGBTQIA+ X-Men icon that Hamm has cosplayed. Hamm posted his own takes on the X-Men Fox franchises Iceman, played by Shawn Ashmore, as well as Bobby Drake from the comics. Iceman was "accidentally" outed by a time-displaced Jean Grey back in 2015, which made a huge splash in the news seeing as Bobby Drake was one of the original 5 X-Men. Since then, his queerness has been a major part of his character growth and identity formation. While technically Bobby being queer was a "retcon" to the character, there were many hints throughout the character's entire publication history that revealed that he was not interested in women. So, when he finally came out, fans were not too surprised. Michael Hamm's Iceman cosplays are well done, and the costumes look just like Bobby's from the X-Men movies and his comics appearances. Hamm's cosplays pay a wonderful homage to a legendary X-Men character who has recently been used by Marvel to provide a beautiful argument for why marginalized identity representation in comics matters.
Both Northstar and Iceman are two of the X-Men's most iconic and powerful mutants, who also happen to be members of the LGBTQ+ community, and Michael Hamm's impressive cosplays are the perfect way to honor these awesome Marvel Comics characters and increase the queer representation in both comics and cosplay.