12 LGBTQ Comic Book Characters Ready For Live-Action Adaptation

Since the dawn of the Age Of The Superhero Movie we’ve seen mutants, aliens, a thunder god, cyborgs, a talking raccoon and even a sentient tree. And while Black Panther, the female Captain Marvel, and Wonder Woman are all set to headline their own movies, bringing the diversity of the main roster up somewhat, there is still a lot left to be desired.

For a start, we are still sorely lacking in the representation of LGBTQ characters in our superhero entertainment. 

The Avengers have assembled for two huge films already but not one character who displays anything but "straight" orientation has been introduced. Likewise for the X-Men team, which has grown with new characters in every movie, with mutants whose diversity is startling, but still doesn't stretch as far as their sexuality. The Justice League is set to unite in an upcoming movie and they show no sign of introducing a queer or transgender character either.

DC, Marvel, Fox and Warner Bros are ignoring an opportunity to reach out to a large untapped audience. The people making these films and television shows want to make money and you make money by reaching large audiences and endearing yourselves to them. 

The first franchise to seize this opportunity and present a LGBTQ superhero for the screen will be set to win the support and fandom of an ever growing community. And in this batch of characters, there's more than enough potential for a big screen presence.

Kate Kane was brought into the bat family back in 2006 during the year long 52 series. She was expelled from the military for her sexual orientation which could make for some solid social commentary if they wanted to take a more serious tone with her story. Kate is inspired by the Dark Knight’s crusade and trains under her father and various combat experts all over the world before stepping into the spotlight as Batwoman.

That is a pre-written story line for the first season of a television show. Think Netflix's Daredevil but all over the world and with a sexy red-head. The character also got media attention when she proposed to her longtime girlfriend, police officer Maggie Sawyer. 

The upcoming DC movies have already hinted at their version of Batman having at least one past crime-fighting ally, why not another? There is also a Supergirl series with vague connections to her male counterpart set to premiere on CBS this fall, Batwoman could easily fall into a similar television slot. 

She could be the darker sister show to Supergirl. 

Casting Options

High profile actors and actresses are jumping into superheroes left and right. Someone even as high profile as Jessica Chastain has said, "The problem is, if I do a superhero movie, I don’t want to be the girlfriend. I don’t want to be the daughter. I want to wear a f*cking cool costume with a scar on my face, with fight scenes. That’s what I’d love." 

That sounds like Batwoman to me.