Originally published on AfterElton.com.
Science fiction offers a number of explicitly gay and bi female leading characters, leading transgender and/or gender-fluid characters, peripheral gay and bi male characters, and male leads who are hinted at being gay or bi. Think Willow, Tara and Kennedy (Buffy); Inara (Firefly); Admiral Cain and Number Six (Battlestar Galactica); Karma, Destiny and Mystique (X-Men); Jadzia Dax (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine); and Desire, Hazel, Foxglove and Wanda (Sandman).
Many lead male characters would qualify as bi or gay, requiring either their own expressed awareness of their sexual identity or significant enough mention by others. Think Boone Carlyle (Lost), who was posthumously mentioned to be bi; Albus Dumbledore, outed outside the pages of Harry Potter; Angel and Spike (Buffy) acknowledging an unexplained past sexual relationship; and Jekyll and Hyde (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), both implicitly gay or bi.
But even allowing for the broadest possible definition of “science fiction”, and even expanding the search across TV, film, comics, and video games, this isn’t an easy list to compile. One assumes that the folks behind the sci fi genre, depending on their audience of mostly young straight guys, are consequently timid about fronting their stories with lead gay men, yet comfortable offering lesbians, bi women, and trans characters who mostly have an “excuse,” e.g. alien physiology, shape-shifting, body swapping. Where are all the gay men in this often progressive and thought-provoking genre that otherwise so freely explores social issues in its safely buffered fantasy context?
Dear Star Trek, thanks for forty years of nothing. Yours truly, the Gays.
After scouring decades of major franchises and lesser-known titles, we came up with the following list of the greatest gay and bi male characters. Great characters are defined by the virtues of being unique, fascinating, and greatly significant. In the interest of making these qualities the true DNA of the list, we ignored qualities like fan favorites, sexiness and best gay representations.
#10 - Andrew Wells (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; TV & comics)
Barely qualifying is Andrew from the Buffy and Angel TV series and the current Buffy comics. Surprisingly, the famously gay-friendly series gave us this consistently inuendoed gay (or bisexual?) character, who, despite a wealth of references to his crush on fellow villain Warren and lack of interest in sexy Slayerettes, never quite acknowledges his own awareness of his sexuality, which is also seemingly ignored by the other characters. The geek-turned-villain-turned-good-guy scores points for delivering a lot of the best lines, turning what could have been a standard clichéd geek archetype into a three-dimensional and genuinely likeable queer sidekick. In its first printing, this list was picked up by fansite Whedonesque, where Joss Whedon himself weighed in on the controversy:
“Andrew’s sexuality is always on the cusp of self-awareness because Andrew is stunted emotionally and because it’s hilarious.”
Character Rating 9/10
Significance Rating 2/10
Originality Rating 5/10
#9 - The Cluracan (Sandman; comics)
1989 saw the birth of Neil Gaiman’s extraordinary and historic comic series, The Sandman, which aside from being a critical success and the only comic book to ever make the New York Times Bestseller List, was revolutionary for its time in its presentation of multiple positive LGBT characters. In addition to leading lesbian and transgender characters, The Cluracan was a frequently recurring minor character, though he scores big points for being endlessly fun and uncompromisingly gay in all his appearances. Based on the clurichaun, a drunk leprechaun of Irish folklore, this literal faerie and dashing rogue of Queen Titania’s court frequently indulges in his twin favorite pastimes of drinking and having sex. But, the principle theme of the series is that of storytelling and stories-come-to-life, and the Cluracan can spin a yarn like nobody’s business. Give him a couple drinks and he’ll entertain for as long as he’s conscious, charmingly admitting his own narcissism and tendency towards embellishment.
Character Rating 10/10
Significance Rating 4/10
Originality Rating 6/10
#8 - Parthenon, aka Dan Williams (Who Wants to Be a Superhero?; TV)
The gay contender in Season Two of Sci Fi Channel’s competitive reality series, Who Wants To Be A Superhero scores big points for being a real guy who managed to survive a long time in a reality show based on a genre that is historically not gay-friendly. Hopes were not high following the ousting of season one’s gay entry, Levity, in the pilot episode. Parthenon winning the chance to call his partner, and seeing this paralleled against a straight woman doing the same, was an awesome site to behold. Unfortunately, the character is a little heavy on the clichés: archaeologist finds ancient gauntlet whose gemstones provide superpowers. Tights and cape ensue. While we love the big P’s generous and benevolent character, he’s gotta work out some better catchphrases than “Bling’s my thing” and “Rock on.”
Character Rating 5/10
Significance Rating 7/10
Originality Rating 3/10
#7 - Ianto Jones (Torchwood; TV)
Alas poor neglected Ianto. Any other sexy bisexual character on national television would be a gay household name, but the competition’s tough when most of the cast, including the lead, are also bi (not to mention sexy). Ianto’s role at Torchwood is intriguing; in addition to playing receptionist and chief coffee brewer, Ianto is also the clean-up guy who neatly disposes of alien kills and covers up team activities to keep the public and authorities from learning about Torchwood’s creepy and occasionally distasteful secrets. Early on we learn that Ianto has a nasty secret in the form of a half-Cyberman (evil cyborg) girlfriend that he’s keeping in the sub-basement of the Torchwood HQ. Needless to say, things don’t work out so well in the most bloody sense imaginable, and Ianto takes on a much less lethal sexual relationship with studly team leader Captain Jack Harkness.
Character Rating 7/10
Significance Rating 5/10
Originality Rating 7/10 Read the rest of this entry »
We haven’t talked much about Dollhouse, Joss Whedon’s upcoming series starring Eliza Dushku, since a very early episode of the vlog. Now that the WGA strike is over, there has been more preliminary news.
I’ll be waiting for the June TPB publication of 
jaceaguar on 
Lee on 
eric on 
RockJonny on 
