NEW YORK — An issue of “All-New X-Men” is making a major change to one very popular Marvel character. In the pages of “All-New X-Men” #40, which will be released Wednesday, April 22, it’s revealed that Bobby Drake — better known as Iceman, a character played by Shawn Ashmore in the movies — is gay.
Pages from the issue, which is written by “Powers” creator Brian Michael Bendis, have leaked online, showing a younger version of Drake being outed by Jean Grey in present day. In the current “All-New X-Men” story, the younger Drake has come from the past to help the team.
What’s interesting about the revelation is that adult Iceman is living his life as a heterosexual, something the younger version of the character doesn’t quite understand. “How can my older self not be, but I am?” he wonders.
That’s surely a question that will be addressed in future issues of the comic, before Bendis ends his stint writing “X-Men” in May.
While he’s happy with the story being told in the comics, one thing Bendis doesn’t like is the fact that the pages were leaked.
At least he can take heart in the fact that the attention the leak is receiving is largely positive, as evidenced by the early response, including posts he’s replied to on Tumblr.
“I am looking forward to people actually reading the entire issue in context and not just a scanned page or panel or two,” he responded to one fan who thanked him profusely in advance. “Oh, Internet.”
Later, he elaborated further to another:
“This is a very unique story because one character, from a different time and a somewhat limited worldview, is reading another character’s mind. This is in no way the traditional ‘coming-out’ story if there even is one, there is also this big chunk of time travel weirdness involved.
“None of this is a statement about all things to all people. But it does give us a unique perspective that I thought was worth approaching. This is Bobby’s story. Nobody else’s. Some will find connection to it, others might not.”
