Gay superheroes come out after Barack Obama's marriage announcement

Jean-Paul Beaubier, aka Northstar, a Canadian with piercing blue eyes and silver-streaked black hair who can move and fly at superhuman speeds, will propose to his longtime boyfriend Kyle Jinadu in the issue, "Astonishing X-Men #50"

The public debate about gay marriage in the US has spilled into the superhero world, with two of the biggest comic book groups following Barack Obama’s lead by supporting same-sex unions.

By Mark Hughes, New York

Marvel Comics has announced that Northstar, the only openly gay superhero in American comics, will marry his long-term partner Kyle in a forthcoming issue.

One image from next month's edition shows Northstar proposing to a visibly shocked Kyle, while another shows the happy couple at an altar surrounded by their super friends and family, including X-Men’s Wolverine.

Not to be outdone, DC Comics, Marvel’s biggest rival, has announced that one of its established characters, previously thought to be heterosexual, will be coming out as gay.

DC has not said which of the characters it will reveal as homosexual, meaning it could be Batman, Superman or even Wonder Woman.

Axel Alonso, the Marvel Comics editor-in-chief, said that the decision to legalise gay marriage in New York state in July 2011 prompted Northstar’s proposal. He did not say why it had taken nearly a year for the Canadian superhero to pop the question.

Mr Alonso told Rolling Stone magazine: "When gay marriage became legal in New York State, it raised obvious questions since most of our heroes reside in New York State.

"Northstar is the first openly gay character in comics and he's been in a long term relationship with his partner Kyle so the big question was – how would this change his relationship?

"Our comics are always best when they respond to and reflect developments in the real world. We've been doing that for decades, and this is just the latest expression of that."