In Queer Superhero History, we’ll look at queer characters in mainstream superhero comics, in chronological order. First up: Extraño!
Seeing the modern Gregorio so happy and confidently badass is an absolute joy — not to mention the wonderful fact that there are so many younger queer heroes for him to mentor these days, in sharp contrast to his lonely beginnings. But I have to admit I have a lot of love in my heart for the original Extraño too, who may have been subject to frequently clumsy execution, but was also warm, wise, and charming. The true victory is that we have both, and all the many characters who came after, whose profiles I am very excited to share with you.
I’ll end with one final note on Gregorio that made me smile when I saw it: as of this writing, the Wikipedia entry for Extraño states, under “Powers and Abilities”: “Extraño is amazing and fabulous.”
Yes, he is, anonymous Wikipedia editor. Yes, he is.
If you have any interest in comics history (or just miss Scans Daily), you owe it to yourself to read Jess Plummer, who frequently deep dives into comics stuff I've never heard of and has me loving another character/story by the end.
