Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, gay, lesbian, lgbt, LGBTQ, marvel, secret love entertainment, Secret Wars

When Secret Wars: Secret Love Lost Its Lesbians

Published Fri, 21 Aug 2015 09:00:04 -0500

Last updated Fri, 21 Aug 2015 15:55:08 -0500

Secret Wars is Marvel Comics big event crossover for the summer. Lots of titles cancelled and replaced by books set on the Battleworld, made of of various different parallel dimensional realities. So lots of different versions of familiar – and unfamiliar – Marvel characters living side by side, ruled over by the God Doom.

And it's not as if Secret Wars has been too shy about LGBTQ representation, what with Runaways, teases in Planet Hulk and (I understand) upcoming issues of Siege.

But when the light hearted Secret Love Secret Wars oneshot was first announced on Marvel.com it read like this,

Editor Emily Shaw divulges just some of the clandestine tenderness in store for readers, including Michel Fiffe's take on Daredevil and Typhoid Mary from Karen Page's perspective; Felipe Smith's interpretation of what happens when Robbie Reyes and Kamala Khan perchance to meet; as well as love among the ruins with writer Jeremy Whitley on an America Chavez/Kate Bishop romance.

But was rapidly amended to,

Editor Emily Shaw divulges just some of the clandestine tenderness in store for readers, including Michel Fiffe's take on Daredevil and Typhoid Mary from Karen Page's perspective; Felipe Smith's interpretation of what happens when Robbie Reyes and Kamala Khan perchance to meet.

So what happened to the story between Kate Bishop and Ms America Chavez? Or as one poster responded

AMERIKATE!

Jeremy Whitely wrote,

Some of you who have asked about it may notice it has already been changed. The original story which was connected with my name was an error. So, just so you know, you will not be seeing and America Chavez/Kate Bishop story from me in this book. I will still have a story in this book which I will be happy to talk about more when I know what I can say about it, but all I am able to say is that the article was a misprint and that there is nothing untoward or sinister that resulted in the story being discussed and not being made, simply that it was a miscommunication between Marvel and Marvel.com.

You should still totally check out this book because I still have a story in it and it's still going to be awesome…it's just not that story.

He wrote the Danny Rand/Misty Knight story that appeared.

But it wasn't a misprint, it was copy left over from an earlier description of the book that did include such a story written by him. In the end, there were no same-sex couples in the romantic anthology comic.

There has been some commentary that there is only meant to be one version of Chavez in the multiverse, so there can only be one on the Battleworld, which was her appearance in A-Force was that, which will lead to her appearance in upcoming issues of Siege.

Of course, God Doom created an entirely new 616 for the Ultimate Universe to clash with… he could have thrown another Chavez or three into the mix if he wanted. And indeed versions of her have been noted in appearing in other Secret Wars titles.

There really isn't anything that suggests the story was cancelled because the characters were gay. But it is just unfortunate that this would come to light alongside certain other stories at Marvel. It gives the impression that Marvel isn't trying – whereas DC Comics is.

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