Joe Locke Joins the Ranks of MCU’s Gay Actors & Characters as Queer Representation Grows
Now that the release of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is behind us, MCU is continuing full steam ahead with the upcoming release of ‘Agatha All Along.’ The show is set to be continuation of ‘WandaVision,’ a part of the trilogy along with MCU’s ‘Vision’ project, and will see Agatha Harkness escaping her imprisonment and reclaiming her powers by walking the Witches’ Road.
Judging by everything we’ve seen so far Joe Locke’s character, Billy Kaplan will be instrumental in this task. He is set to be an important character in the MCU, partially due to being the driver behind Agatha’s quest and partially due to his potential connection to the Scarlet Witch.
However, Joe Locke’s character is important for one more reason, in terms of LGBTQ+ representation in the MCU, as Kaplan is bound to join the ranks of other Queer characters.
Locke is one of the few openly LGBTQIA+ actors portraying a queer character in the MCU, joining Tessa Thompson, who plays the bisexual Valkyrie, and Brianna Hildebrand, who plays the queer Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the ‘Deadpool’ movies. While the MCU features several LGBTQIA+ characters, including Phastos (‘Eternals’), Loki, Sylvie, and Korg, the actors playing these roles have not publicly identified as queer.
It’s not going to stop there however as more Queer characters are bound to join the ranks. ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ star Shea Couleé is set to become the first non-binary actor in the MCU with their role in the upcoming ‘Ironheart’ series. Michaela Coel joined ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ to portray the queer hero Aneka, and ‘The Marvels’ teased a potential relationship between Captain Marvel and Valkyrie.
As queer representation in the universe grows, the vitriol toward the cast and the crew grows as well. Ever since Phase 4 kicked up new more liberal themes in the shows and movies alike, there has been a significant drop in viewers and MCU movies no longer seem like sure box office hits.
Locke, whose show is yet to premiere on Disney+ recently commented that his character and by extension himself, is already experiencing backlash from fans:
It was like, ‘Oh, why has Marvel done this campy gay stereotype?’” It really annoyed me because I was like, ‘You can’t ask for authentic casting and then be upset if you have a camp character.’” I’m fully aware that the Marvel fandom is far less nice than the ‘Heartstopper’ fandom. There’s going to be a lot of people that just hate everything about the character and everything about what I’ve done with it, and I just have to be OK with that. Marvel fans are very open with their opinions. But they’re not in a Marvel show, so—” I’m doing the one thing that they really wish they could be doing. Sorry!
What do you think regarding Queer representation in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!
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