To celebrate Pride Month, Marvel has their annual Pride issue and this year’s is, without a doubt, one of the best. Marvel United: A Pride Special #1 contains four different stories which features different LGBT+ characters in the Marvel Universe. The Creative teams & their stories are:
“Who We Are” – Al Ewing(writer). Kei Zama(penciler/inker). Brittany Peer & Irma Kniivila(colors).
“Good Night, Blue Rose” – Wyatt Kennedy(writer). Bayleigh Underwood(penciler/inker). Irma Kniivila(colors).
“The Bolter” – Zoe Tunnell(writer). Federica Mancin(penciler/inker). Tamra Bonvillain(colors).
“My Buddy” – Anthony Oliveira(writer). Pablo Collar(penciler/inker). Michael Wiggam(colors).
VC’s Ariana Maher(letterer).
Lucas Werneck(cover).
Published by Marvel Comics
“Who We Are”
In the first story, “Who We Are“, we have Captain America of the Railways, Escapade, and Charlene McGowan go against the dreaded Hate-Monger who is doing what he does best, spreading hatred.
“Who We Are” delivers a powerful message to those that have felt like they’re not wanted or don’t belong because they are apart of the LGBT+ communities. It was beautifully executed, and gave Escapade more of a spotlight, which I loved as she feels so underrated.
“Good Night, Blue Rose”
In the second story, “Good Night, Blue Rose” we have Mystique, Destiny, and Nightcrawler living together as a family. Mystique and Destiny are spending time together as spouses, when they’re interrupted by a rambunctious Nightcrawler playing pirates in his room.
This leads to Mystique going to put Nightcrawler to bed, but not before he asks his parent why he can’t go to school like his sister, Anna Marie.
Of course, Mystique knows the easy answer, because he’s a blue mutant, and being that different won’t be accepted. But she has to be kind and show comfort to such a little boy. This leads to a beautiful talk from a parent to a child about how she will go to the ends of the Earth for her child. It was very heartwarming to see this kind of love come from Mystique to her child.
“The Bolter”
In the third story, “The Bolter“, our main characters are Sera and Black Cat, who happen to be going after the same diamond in their separate heists. They run into a Fear Lord that is inside the beloved diamond and he takes them down memory lane in what he calls “the inevitable embrace of regret”.
Both Sera and Black Cat go on their separate journeys of past relationships they harbour regret for, although they can both see each other’s. It’s clear the women aren’t quite over some of these past relationships, but Sera gets the hardest impact as her ex, Angela, appears. Angela and Sera didn’t just break up, Angela actually died. Black Cat gives her the comfort Angela needs before disappearing off with the diamond in her possession.
“My Buddy”
The last story, “My Buddy”, features Steve Rogers and his best buddy, Arnie Roth. Arnie has always been there for Steve, even when he was young and before he had the Captain America muscles. The two were the best of friends, and fought side by side against the neighborhood bullies, until Arnie wanted something more. Arnie wanted to enlist in the United States military just at the cusp of World War II. Steve was left alone, missing his friend, as Arnie was all around the world, missing his. Sometime down the road, Arnie and Steve met up in Melbourne unexpectedly. Arnie was so surprised by how much Steve had grown, as Steve puts it, he “hit a growth spurt”.
While the two are catching up, the base is attacked by Hydra. Steve has to change into his Captain America gear, but Arnie has no idea he’s Cap. Of course, with being best friends, is there any way to hide that? The two fight alongside each other once again, as best friends. This excitement isn’t long lived, as it’s revealed that Arnie dies, but before he died, he was denied his veteran benefits because of who he was, a gay man. As infuriating as that is, Captain America makes sure that Arnie’s death means something to his community int he most beautiful way.
The Writing
Every writer of Marvel United: A Pride Special #1 brought something very special to the comic. Each story had a message that needed to be heard by someone, and every message was beautifully told. From Escapade hearing that trans rights are human rights, to Arnie becoming a symbol of courage in the LGBT+ community, there was beauty in every story.
The writers, Al Ewing, Wyatt Kennedy, Zoe Tunnell, and Anthony Oliveira made an inspirational and loving comic that I think will be something that some in the communities will need to see. Amazing job to the writers who didn’t shy away from the hard topics and made something that’s very needed now.
The Art
There are so many artists that worked on Marvel United: A Pride Special #1, and every single one brought so much of their talent to the book. All four stories are illustrated in completely different ways, giving a different kind of depth for every story.
The one that sticks out to me the most has to be “Who We Are” with Kei Zama as the inker/penciler and Brittany Peer and Irma Kniivila handing the colors. Each one of these extremely talented artists made the story as loud and exciting as they possibly could. With the amount of detail that went into every panel, and the vibrant colors used, every panel looked like a work of art.
Final Thoughts
Marvel United: A Pride Special #1 is easily is my favorite Pride Month comic that Marvel has released. With so many inspirational messages, amazing characters, and powerful representation throughout the comic, the creative team absolutely nailed it.
Overall Grade – 10/10
Let me know what you thought of Marvel United: A Pride Special #1 in the comments below!
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This review was written by Megan from the Vigilante Vibes Podcast. If you liked my review, be sure to check out my other reviews! Let me know what you think of Marvel United: A Pride Special #1, or tell me what comics you’d recommend me trying out! Find me on my socials, and check out my Marvel podcast, Vigilante Vibes, by clicking here!
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