Tony Stark, Iron Man: Playboy forced into celibacy

Having to wear an electronic chest-device to keep his injured heart beating, ladies’ man Tony Stark could not undress without revealing he was secretly the armored superhero Iron Man.

The man who would become Iron Man, Anthony Stark was introduced by writers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber and artist Don Heck in Tales of Suspense #39 from Marvel Comics in 1963. It was established that he was not just a scientist and weapons inventor but also a high society playboy constantly in the company of beautiful women. When he got caught in a bomb blast while on a weapons test trip to South Vietnam, shrapnel entered his body close to his heart and in order to keep it from reaching his heart and killing him, Tony Stark invented the Iron Man armor which magnetically kept the shrapnel at bay and his heart beating.

In the very next issue, Tony Stark was back in his high society life, but now having to wear the Iron Man armors chestplate underneath his clothes he had to turn down the advances of a beautiful woman in order to keep the fact that he was Iron Man a secret. No longer could he go to bed with every actress and society beauty from Hollywood to Rome who were dying to marry him. He was forced to abandon his promiscuous ways and live in celibacy, but he kept on dating.

Involved in a love triangle
In Tales of Suspense #45 from 1963, Tony Stark’s life was saved by a boxer by the name of Happy Hogan who had quit his career because he was too softhearted to knock his opponents out. Tony gave Happy a job as his personal chauffeur as reward. When Happy met Tony’s secretary Kitty Potts nicknamed Pepper, he was immediately smitten with her, but she thought he looked like a Bela Lugosi movie monster and was only interested in getting to marry Tony Stark.

However, Pepper Potts was no beauty herself and was no serious competition for the Hollywood starlets Tony Stark was dating, so in Tales of Suspense #50 in 1964 she got a beauty makeover in order to gain his attention. When that didn’t work, she decided to date Happy Hogan to make Tony Stark jealous. In the next issue, Tony was aware of his jealous secretary trying to spoil his dates with other women and tricked her into a date with Happy in retaliation.

It was revealed in Tales of Suspense #54 that Tony Stark had indeed noticed Pepper Potts because he suddenly thought to himself that he would like to be with her always, but because he was secretly Iron Man, he could not be with her. And he also felt jealous of Happy’s “attentions towards Pepper” and so the love triangle went on, similarly to the one in the Daredevil comic between Matt Murdock, Karen Page and Foggy Nelson which Stan Lee also wrote. Artist Don Heck even gradually transformed Happy Hogan into a much more attractive-looking handsome man that Pepper could slowly warm up to.

Resolving the love triangle
Even though Tony Stark was in love with Pepper Potts he could not reciprocate her interest in him because of the chestplate he had to wear to keep his heart beating. Instead he tried to make her dislike him and make her turn to Happy Hogan for love instead of him. His plan backfired, however. Instead of turning to Happy, Pepper instead developed a romantic notion about Iron Man. In Tales of Suspense #74 from 1966, she wondered how she could have ever loved a cold-blooded playboy like Tony Stark and realized it was Iron Man she loved although she had no idea of what he looked like behind his mask.

In Tales of Suspense #89 the whole love triangle dilemma was resolved when both Tony Stark and Happy Hogan were hurt and it was Happy that Pepper ran to and showed concern for. Tony then resumed his playboy lifestyle to forget all about his love for Pepper Potts, but because of his chestplate one can assume that Tony Stark did not sleep with any of the many women he dated.

Two issues later, Pepper and Happy told Tony Stark that they had gotten married, leaving him free to pursue other romantic interests.

Unfit for romance?
Iron Man became the star of his own comic book series in 1968 and in the second issue, new writer Archie Goodwin introduced a new love interest for Tony Stark. Her name was Janice Cord and she was the daughter of a competitor for Tony Stark, Drexel Cord, who was jealous of Stark’s success. Drexel Cord built a robot to destroy Stark’s greatest success: His bodyguard Iron Man.

However, the robot ended up killing Drexel Cord instead before Iron Man destroyed it, leaving Janice Cord in charge of her father’s business. Tony Stark sent her flowers in Iron Man #6 offering to help her following her father’s death and she appreciated the sympathy, but she only contacted Tony Stark the following issue on her attorney’s suggestion. He wanted her to sell the business to Stark.

One thing led to another and by Iron Man #10, Tony Stark took Janice on a romantic date, but by Iron Man #14, Tony Stark was caught up in his old dilemma of whether to go for love or not, thinking maybe he wasn’t meant to form attachments because of his heart-condition. “What kind of life can I OFFER a woman, when it could cease BEATING any moment,” he wondered.

The tragic end of a love affair
Tony Stark also thought that it wouldn’t be fair to Janice to subject her to the constant danger surrounding himself and Iron Man, so maybe that’s why he decided to work his playboy charm on Madame Masque in Iron Man #19 instead. But that did not go any further than a kiss before Tony Stark rekindled his romance with Janice in Iron Man #21.

Tony had hired someone else to be Iron Man and now felt free to pursue a personal life, because surgery had made him not need to wear his chestplate all the time anymore. But in the very next issue, Tony Stark had to resume being Iron Man.

While trying to protect Janice from a rival for her affections, the Crimson Dynamo, Janice got killed in the crossfire by Iron Man’s Russian counterpart, the Titanium Man, when he attacked both Iron Man and the Crimson Dynamo in Iron Man #22.

And that was the tragic end of the love affair between Tony Stark and Janice Cord.

Romance with an ESP’er
Following the tragic loss of Janice Cord, writer archie Goodwin had Tony Stark meet his first love Meredith McCall in Iron Man #28 in 1970. They had an affair when he was just 17 years old, but their fathers had forbidden the romance and Meredith was sent to Europe to live with relatives. However, meeting her again was all in vain because she was now married to another man and Tony Stark went into a period of celibacy that lasted until Iron Man #37 in 1971.

By Iron Man #37, the series was written by Gerry Conway, and he had Tony Stark wanting to resume his playboy lifestyle and Tony called up one of his old playgirls, Marianna Rodgers. But a monogamous relationship developed between Tony and Marianne with Tony wondering in Iron Man #41 if he had finally found the woman he could love and if he could make that kind of commitment.

Marianne Rodgers was revealed to have mental ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) powers in the very same issue, and she felt that the specter of Iron Man was standing between her and Tony. By Iron Man #45 written by Gary Friedrich, she had perceived that Tony Stark was really Iron Man, but she didn’t mind, and in the heat of the moment he asked her to marry him.

Tony Stark’s employee Kevin O’ Brien was also infatuated with Marianne Rodgers and overhearing the proposal sent him into a jealous rage. Kevin O’ Brien knew Tony Stark was also Iron Man and battled Iron Man as the Guardsman in issue #46, culminating with his own death.

Exit Marianne, enter Roxie
By Iron Man #49, writer Gary Friedrich had become Mike Friedrich. Marianne Rodgers had a vision of the future where Iron Man faced an unknown foe, and she was helpless to save Iron Man as he fell to his doom into a vat of acid. She was overcome by her vision and ran away just as Iron Man needed her help to reach a power outlet to recharge the chestplate that keeps his heart beating. In issue #50, Tony Stark decided to dump her while she was still troubled by the vision she kept having again and again of Iron Man falling to his doom. The vision came true in Iron Man #51, only Iron Man managed to save himself. By issue #52, Tony Stark was back at playing playboy while Marianne was driven mad by her visions and put in a mental institution.

In Iron Man #58, Tony Stark realized that after a previous heart transplant thought failed, his body had now gradually accepted the semi-artificial heart. He could live for increasingly lengthy times without his chestplate that kept his pacemaker going. Meaning, he could now go to bed with women without revealing he was Iron Man.

When Iron Man met the villain Firebrand’s sister Roxanne Gilbert in issue #59, he was taken by her heroic anti-violence stance against her brother, so the next issue he tried to woo her as Tony Stark, only to be told off because of his past as a weapons manufacturer. This only seemed to make Tony Stark more eager to pursue Roxie as a love interest, because she was different from the women he was used to who threw themselves at him. She was a challenge. In issue #63 he asked her on a date and his persistence subsequently paid off as he gradually won her over. By Iron Man #74, she had a signed picture of him in her apartment although they hadn’t been shown kissing or doing anything as a couple yet.

Beginning with Iron Man #82, a string of fill-in writers had Tony Stark and Roxie Gilbert be at odds over Tony’s past as a weapons manufacturer and her resentful attitude about it and in #89, she moved out of the apartment he had set her up in.

An affair with Madame Masque
Writer Gerry Conway introduced Tony Stark’s new secretary, the attractive Krissy Longfellow in Iron Man #91. She was taken hostage a couple of times, by Kraken in Iron Man #93 and 94 and by the new Guardsman in #97, so there were never any hints that she harbored a secret identity until new writer Bill Mantlo took over with Iron Man #97 in 1977. He re-established Tony Stark’s dependency on the chestplate to keep his artificial heart beating while initiating a sub-plot about a shadowed woman helping out the Guardsman at Stark International, hinting that it was Madame Masque in #99 and having Krissy team-up with a thief stealing Iron Man armor in #101. This all led to the revelation in #103 that Krissy Longfellow was really Madame Masque in disguise. She was a villain with a horribly disfigured face who knew Tony Stark was Iron Man and whom Tony Stark nevertheless had romanced briefly in Iron Man #19 by writer Archie Goodwin before her apparent death. Now she was back, and in Iron Man #104 Bill Mantlo immediately had them in bed together and enjoying an intense affair. It lasted right up until Iron Man #115 and 116 where Madame Masque, also known as Whitney Frost, sided with her father, the villain Count Nefaria against Iron Man – a betrayal that naturally doomed their relationship.

Bodyguard dates Tony Stark
With Iron Man #116, co-plotters David Michelinie and Bob Layton (with scripts by David Micheline) took over the writing of the series. With the exit of Madame Masque, they wasted no time introducing a new love interest whom Tony Stark met a party in #117. Her name was Bethany Cabe and in Iron Man #121 she was depicted as a woman of action who could land a crashing helicopter and stand up to some hostile guards. She helped Iron Man out against the villain Blizzard when he interrupted her date with Tony Stark in issues #123 and 124 where it was finally revealed that this strong woman actually worked as bodyguard-for-hire. In Iron Man #126 readers met her colleague, Ling McPherson. Together they ran the Cabe & McPherson, Security Specialists agency. In the classic Iron Man #128, Bethany Cabe helped Tony Stark overcome his drinking problem and after that she was officially his girlfriend.

In Iron Man #137 to 139, Iron Man’s ex Madame Masque mistakenly had Ling McPherson beaten up by a gang of men, but it was Bethany Cabe she was really after. She had her kidnapped to use as bait for Iron Man and when Bethany Cabe confronted the jealous Madame Masque who didn’t want anyone else having Tony Stark, it was revealed that Bethany Cabe had already guessed that Tony Stark was Iron Man. When Bethany Cabe got Madame Masque at gunpoint, she decided to let her go, though, because she pitied her. Bethany Cabe decided in Iron Man #140 to not tell Tony Stark that she knew he was Iron Man.

Unfortunately for Tony Stark, a sub-plot began in Iron Man #143 that Bethany Cabe’s husband whom everybody believed to be dead was in fact still alive. She left Tony Stark in Iron Man #146 to go rescue her husband from captivity in East Germany which she succeeded at with Iron Man’s help. In issue #152 and in #153 she broke up with Tony Stark to be with her husband. Tony Stark then sought comfort with other women, like a Cindy in Iron Man #156 before Micheline and Layton stopped writing the series. Tony Stark also had a brief affair with Janet Van Dyne in Avengers #224 in 1982, but when he told her he was Iron Man, she broke the relationship off.

Back to being a playboy
With Iron Man #158 in 1982, Denny O’Neil became new series-writer and that meant a new love interest for Tony Stark. He rescued the beautiful Indries Moomji from a car crash in Iron Man #163 and was immediately attracted to her and sending her gifts in the hospital. By Iron Man #166 he confessed to being in love with her only to have her break his heart by saying she was amused by his gifts and watching him pant after her like a puppy dog, but he was stupid to think that she could love him. It turns out, she was just a chess piece in a game by businessman Obadiah Stane to drive Tony Stark into becoming an alcoholic unfit to run his business so Stane could take it over. Tony Stark then left the role as Iron Man to his pilot James Rhodes while he engaged in a playboy lifestyle, dating Matt Murdock (Daredevil)’s ex-girlfriend Heather Glenn (in Iron Man #171) amongst others.

With Iron Man #215 in 1987, David Michelinie and Bob Layton returned as co-plotters of the series with Michelinie handling the scripts and Bob Layton the inking and occasionally full art. They immediately got rid of a woman named Cly from O’Neil’s run by having her sell Tony Stark and Iron Man out to the A.I.M. organization in a crazed bid for revenge for the death of her brother. She got killed in a bomb blast in Iron Man #216.

Tony Stark re-established himself as head of the new Stark Enterprises in California to replace the Stark International company he had lost to Obadiah Stane. In Iron Man #219, it was also established he was the kind of man women would lust after when he took a jog down a beach, and whenever he came across a beautiful woman in his subsequent business dealings, the woman or him would often ask the other out for lunch. Two of those women were of particular note, Brie Daniels who crashed one of Tony Stark’s parties in Iron Man #222, and hairdresser to the rich and famous Rae Lacoste whom Tony Stark met in Iron Man #223, because they made repeat appearances in Tony Stark’s circle of girlfriends.

Fatal attraction
By Iron Man #233, Tony Stark had engaged in quite a few lunches with quite a few women when a Kathleen Dare introduced herself to him while he was on a polo playing date with Rae Lacoste. The very next issue, Kathy Dare turned up again and Tony Stark went on a date with her. In #235, Kathy Dare got jealous when she learned of Rae Lacoste and in the next issue, the tires had been slashed on Rae’s car. In #238, Kathy got jealous of another girl at a racetrack and threw a bucket of ice water at her.

Things got serious when Tony told Rae in Iron Man #239 that Kathy was jealous and possessive and the relationship was becoming uncomfortable. Rae said she herself didn’t feel threatened so long as she had her place in his life. Their date was interrupted by Kathy Dare, of course, making Tony upset with Kathy who got jealous of Rae yet again, and within a few pages, Rae got in an accident because her car brakes weren’t working.

Then Kathy started stalking Tony who found her in his bed while in Rome in #240, so in the next issue he broke up with her. In retaliation, she shot him in Iron Man #242, and he temporarily ended up in a wheelchair while she was arrested. All of Tony’s girls, including Brie Daniels, turned their back on Tony while he was crippled, except Rae Lacoste who stood by him all the way.

At a court hearing in Iron Man #248, Kathy Dare claimed she shot Tony Stark in self-defense because he had been abusive of her, but it was revealed she had been a mental case since the age of 18 and she was placed in the care of a psychiatric institution until she would be able to stand trial.

Rae Lacoste was no angel, either
In Iron Man #244, a flashback revealed a tale of romance from Tony Starks past. He had been engaged to a Joanna Nivena when he first became Iron Man, and because of his need to constantly wear the chestplate to keep his heart beating and he wanted to be a hero, she broke up the engagement because she wanted a husband and children. When Tony Stark accidentally met her again in the present, she had achieved her dream of having a family with another man.

After Iron Man #250 in 1989, David Michelinie stopped working on Iron Man and Bob Layton soon followed suit. But in 2013, they returned to the book to write four issues numbered 258.1 to 258.4 to wrap up some of their unfinished plots, including what became of Rae Lacoste. Well, it turned out the reason she stood by Tony Stark through thick and thin was because she was spying on him for his business rival Justin Hammer. Tony never found out, though, because she died in Iron Man #258.2 and it was hinted that she had also been the new Madame Masque whose identity had perplexed Tony since Iron Man #245 where former Madame Masque, Whitney Frost, was reported dead. Readers never did see the body of Tony’s former lover, though. However, Rae’s body was shown burnt to a cinder.

The one that got away
Famous artist turned writer, John Byrne started writing Iron Man with issue #258, lasting for 20 issues. He thought Iron Man should have a handicap like he once had to wear a chestplate to keep his heart beating. Now it was a little more severe, though, with Tony Stark having to wear an electro-web exo-suit to function, which left little room for romance in his life, as he was dying from a damaged nervous system.  Still, he felt attracted to his Chinese doctor Su Yin and told her he loved her completely out of the blue, but although he tried to win her over in Iron Man #272, it was revealed in Iron Man #275 she already had a handicapped husband to take care of at home and Tony Stark realized she had no use for him and gave up on trying to romance her.

When the Iron Man series was relaunched in 1998 by writer Kurt Busiek and artist Sean Chen, Tony Stark was dating a variety of women, including Countess Stephanie de la Rosa in #2 and 3, the young Rumiko Fujikawa whom he met in #4 and got serious with in #13 and the villainous Sunset Bain whom Tony had an affair with in his youth as revealed in #19. In #23, Tony Stark even kissed the now divorced Pepper Potts, but only to discover in the next issue that his feelings for her were now purely as a friend.

In #11 and 20, dead Madame Masques identified as Whitney Frost turned up again, picking up from Iron Man #245, but there was no resolution to this subplot before Iron Man got a new creative team beginning with Iron Man vol. 3 #1/2 and 26 in 2000. Instead, writer Kurt Busiek wrapped the plot in Avengers vol. 3 #31 to 34 in 2000 where it was revealed that Madame Masque had hidden away since Iron Man #116 and dealt with the world by sending out bio-duplicates and those were the ones that had turned up dead. However, new Iron Man writer Joe Quesada had Tony Stark engage in a relationship with Rumiko Fujikawa whom Tony Stark professed to love in #31.

The end of Tony Stark’s love life
The ultimate best Iron Man writers were obviously David Michelinie and Bob Layton. In a lecture given to Danish fans in Copenhagen on 29 June 2023, Bob Layton said that their two character defining runs on the title saved the series from cancellation both times. Bob Layton also revealed that the only time the now non-existent Comics Code Authority interfered with their stories was when an opened condom wrapper was lying on a desk next to a bed with Tony Stark and a woman in it. They demanded it be removed from the drawing, although it meant that playboy Tony Stark was then not portrayed as being responsible in his hedonistic pursuits.

Anyway, who better to imagine the end for Tony Stark than those two plotters, and in the 48-page one-shot Iron Man: The End from 2009, that’s exactly what they did. In that issue, readers met an aging Tony Stark in a future where he had married Bethany Cabe who was now a senator. He found a successor to be Iron Man and devoted his life to the love of his life. A fitting end, having the playboy finally settling down. Although he had sired no children, his legacy lived on with his Stark Universal company.

Iceman dated human, mutant and otherworldly girls before dating guys

Art by Joe Jusko

Although he might have been gay in his initial 1963 appearance, Bobby Drake – the X-Man known as Iceman - dated girls for more than 50 real-time years and missed out on a chance to get with the gay superhero Northstar before coming out as gay himself in 2016. And then his dating life became really entertaining. Here’s a look back at his Marvel-time love life, both with his many attractions to fellow mutant girls like Darkstar, Lorna Dane and Kitty Pryde, otherworldly girls like Mirage and Cloud and human girls like Zelda and Opal Tanaka as well as his fatal attractions to Infectia and Mystique and his first regular human boyfriends. Yes, he was the youngest X-Man, but also the most prolific in that area.

When writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby created the Marvel Comics Group series X-Men in 1963, it was separated from other superhero comics at the time by the X-Men being mutants, Homo Superior. They were born with an extraordinary gene that manifested during puberty, resulting in superpowers. In the Marvel Universe, mutants were not deviations from humanity, but instead the next step in humanity’s evolution. That’s why mutants were hated by humanity, which feared that mutants would take over the world. The X-Men’s mission was to find mutants and teach them how to deal with their super abilities, as well as to protect both mutants and humanity from the exploitation of evil mutants.

The X-Men’s teacher was Professor Charles Xavier, and in the first issue the X-Men consisted of Cyclops (Scott Summers), Beast (Henry McCoy), Angel (Warren Worthington) and the young Iceman (Bobby Drake). The latter was not impressed by new member Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) that had all the other boys in Xavier’s school drooling. “A girl… big deal!” Iceman thought to himself and strode off. And so. the scene was set for the revelation years later that he was gay, but before that, the X-Man Iceman – in his civilian identity as Bobby Drake – dated several girls before admitting to his true sexuality.

Straight double-dating and love triangle
Bobby Drake was revealed to have dated a girl named Judy before joining the X-Men when his origin was first told in back-up features in X-Men #44 to 46 by writer Gary Friedrich. Bobby Drake was living with his parents in a small town in Nassau County before moving to Westchester County, New York, to take up residence at Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. On a cruise for teenagers around Manhattan in Strange Tales #120 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Bobby Drake hit on Dorrie Evans, not knowing she was the girlfriend of Johnny Storm from the Fantastic Four. Then he got a girlfriend of his own, Zelda – a waitress he met in X-Men #7 at a coffee house in New York frequented by bohemians. Soon Bobby Drake and his X-Men teammate Henry McCoy (Beast) were hanging out at the coffee house regularly on double dates with Bobby seeing Zelda and Henry seeing Zelda’s friend Vera introduced in X-Men #19.

Writer Roy Thomas took over with X-Men #20 and kept the very straight double-dating going and had Bobby come of age by turning 18 in X-Men #32. Following X-Men #47, Bobby and Zelda’s relationship seemed to end when new writer Arnold Drake had Bobby met the girl Lorna Dane on a street in San Francisco in X-Men #49. Bobby took a liking to her and brought her to his apartment where she turned out to be a mutant herself. However, nothing serious developed between them because Lorna Dane developed an attraction to the mutant Alex Summers known as Havok instead. The triangle culminated in X-Men #66. March 1970, by returning writer Roy Thomas who had Havok ask Iceman if Lorna agreed that she was his girl – the final issue featuring new stories until X-Men #94 in 1975. In between those issues, the straight love triangle seemed to get resolved in Hulk #150 from 1972 by writer Archie Goodwin where Havok had left the X-Men following a fight with Iceman over Lorna and Lorna followed Havok to his desert hideout. Stan Lee had Iceman appear with another girl – possibly Zelda - in Amazing Spider-Man #92 from 1971 anyway.

On friendly terms with mutant ex-girlfriends
In Marvel mags cover dated February 1971 it said on the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins page: “We sure hope you caught Spidey’s recent ish #92 – the one featuring Iceman. The reason we mention it is that our chilly little cherub was such a smash hit in that yarn that we’ve been toying with the idea of giving Iceman a strip of his own. So, as soon as we can find an artist and a writer who can stand the temperature (ouch!), don’t be too surprised - !”

However, Iceman did not get his own book at that time and when the X-Men were relaunched as “the all-new, all-different” X-Men by writer Len Wein in 1975, Iceman left the team and Xavier’s school in X-Men #94. Instead, he joined The Champions in their first issue written by Tony Isabella that same year. The series lasted for 17 issues during which Iceman developed a crush on the Russian mutant Darkstar. When the team fell apart in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man # 17 by writer Bill Mantlo in 1978, Bobby declared his love to Darkstar, but she decided to return to Russia, leaving him single once again.

It didn’t take Bobby Drake long to pick up another girl, though. In the 1978 Incredible Hulk Annual #7 by writer Roger Stern, he was dating a Teresa Sue Bottoms, but upon meeting his friend, the angelic Warren Worthington, she seemed to forget all about Bobby while drooling over the Angel. In 1981, Bobby was still dating Terri in Marvel Two-In-One #76 plotted by Tom DeFalco, though.

Following his first solo feature as the hero Iceman in Bizarre Adventures #27 in 1981, Bobby Drake had a reunion with Lorna Dane – and her boyfriend Alex Summers – in Uncanny X-Men #146 by writer Chris Claremont, only to conclude that while he would always have a weak spot for her in his heart, he could finally accept that she loved someone else. He had a similar meeting with Darkstar in Marvcl Super Hero Contest of Champions #1 written by Bill Mantlo in 1982.

Falling for otherworldly girls
In 1983, Iceman joined the superhero-team the Defenders in Defenders #122 written by J. M. DeMatteis who in 1984 also wrote the very first four-issue limited series starring Iceman. In his own book at last, Iceman literally fell head-over-heels for a girl named Marge Smith during a visit with his parents in Long Island. Of course, she turned out to not be a regular girl at all, but Mirage, daughter of the otherworldly Oblivion, so of course that didn’t end well.

When Peter B. Gillis took over writing the Defenders with New Defenders #132 that same year, Iceman didn’t fare much better in love when another otherworldly being named Cloud flirted with Bobby Drake, only to be revealed as a nebula who had taken the forms of a dead straight human couple – changing between the sexes. This genderbending seemed to turn Bobby Drake off and the amnesiac Cloud left the New Defenders in #150 upon realizing what she really was. Then the book got cancelled with New Defenders #152 so that Iceman and his Defenders teammates Beast and Angel could rejoin the other original X-Men Cyclops and Marvel Girl in the new X-Factor series in 1986.

Still dating anything but ordinary girls
In X-Factor #29 written by Louise Simonson, the villainous Infectia set her sights on Iceman and practically threw herself at him in the very next issue. Iceman ignored warnings from his friend Beast that she was up to no good, but Iceman was too smitten with her to listen. When Infectia sure enough turned out to be a villainess, Beast saved Iceman from her dangerously infective kiss at great risk to himself in X-Factor #31.

In X-Factor #52 from 1990, Iceman began dating the Japanese girl Opal Tanaka who worked at a record store in Manhattan and was into Bobby Drake in his civilian identity. Like almost everyone of Bobby Drake’s girls, Opal was no ordinary girl either. In X-Factor #63 and 64 it was revealed that she was the granddaughter of a Yakuza crime lord. Bobby Drake continued to date her, though, and after having rejoined the X-Men, he introduced her to his parents in Uncanny X-Men #289 written by Scott Lobdell. However, the relationship ended in Uncanny X-Men #305 from 1993 when Bobby Drake and Opal had an argument about Iceman using her as bait to trap some villains.

Missing out on Nortstar amidst drama with past girlfriends
While many of Bobby Drake’s crushes and romantic relationships with girls, mutants and otherworldly beings seemed to be mostly platonic and didn’t go anywhere, he might have had sex with Opal Tanaka, though, because in the second four-issue Iceman limited series written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning in 2001, Bobby Drake suspected that he might be the father of a child Opal had given birth to after leaving him. It turned out that Bobby Drake wasn’t the father after all, but he had been prepared to start a new life with Opal and the child anyway.

In 2002, Iceman joined a new team of X-men in Uncanny X-Men #410 by writer Chuck Austen. When the gay superhero Northstar also joined the team in Uncanny X-Men #414, Northstar suffered an unrequited crush on Iceman because there were still no indications that Bobby Drake was gay himself. In Uncanny X-Men #425, Lorna Dane told Northstar that she had never slept with the “immature” Bobby Drake and the X-Men’s school nurse Annie Ghazikhanian had to tell Bobby Drake that Northstar was gay because Bobby hadn’t realized it on his own.

Annie Ghazikhanian was treating Bobby Drake for a secondary mutation that would leave him a man of ice permanently and the two shared a kiss in Uncanny X-Men #425. Still, Annie went for Alex Summers which made this the second time Iceman lost a girl he was interested in, to fellow X-Man Havok.

A straight love-triangle revisited
When Alex Summers broke off his wedding to Lorna Dane to be with Annie Ghazikhanian, Bobby Drake confessed to still loving Polaris in Uncanny X-Men #426 in 2003. She thought it was sweet after all these years, but it wasn’t until X-Men vol.2 #165 by writer Chris Claremont that she had recovered enough from her break-up with Havok to respond to Bobby Drake which she did by giving him a kiss under the Mistletoe at Christmas in 2004.

In 2005, Peter Milligan started his run as X-Men writer with X-Men vol. 2 #166 and gradually rekindled the 1970 love triangle between Iceman, Lorna Dane & Alex Summers. Annie had quit her job as the X-Men’s school nurse because the X-Men were too dangerous to be around, and the now single Alex Summers was interested in Lorna Dane again. In X-Men vol. 2 #173 Alex Summers confessed to Lorna Dane that he still loved her, but she rejected him to keep from hurting Bobby Drake. However, Bobby Drake was now unable to change back to his human form and was an iceman permanently, so his relationship with Lorna Dane was most likely strictly platonic.

By X-Men vol. 2 #180, Iceman could change back to Bobby Drake once more, but then Lorna Dane left the X-Men along with Alex Summers and they rekindled their romance while Bobby Drake stayed with the X-Men, single once again after having lost Lorna Dane to Alex Summers for the second time. When Lorna and Alex returned to the X-Men, Bobby Drake respected their relationship in X-Men vol. 2 #186.

Fatal attraction to a lethal MILF
In X-Men vol. 2 #188 from 2006, the book got a new writer, Mike Carey, which meant a new team of X-Men and a new love – or rather sex - interest for Iceman. It began in X-Men vol. 2 #190 when the villainess Mystique gave Iceman mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Mystique was the biological mother of X-Man Nightcrawler and the adoptive mother of X-Man Rogue. In X-Men vol.2 #193 it was Iceman’s turn to help Mystique out and in #197 and 198, they started flirting with each other and in #199 they kissed even though Mystique was supposedly a lesbian, confessing her love for the now dead Destiny to Iceman in #197.

The relationship between Iceman and Mystique culminated in X-Men vol. 2 #200 where Mystique seduced Iceman. He turned into Bobby Drake and the two of them had sex, only to have Mystique betray him and the rest of the X-Men afterwards. In #201 she told Iceman she slept with him to take him out in a strategic move as he was just too powerful a mutant, but she couldn’t remember when she enjoyed an ambush more though. This made it the second time Iceman had acted like a hormone-driven fool – the first being with Infectia – and it still wasn’t even for a man.

In X-Men vol. 2 #203, Mystique turned around and criticized Iceman’s sexual performance, though, but instead of killing him she let him off with a warning that she would kill him the next time she saw him and the two parted ways.

In the 2008 X-Men: Manifest Destiny mini-series, Iceman and the shape-changer Mystique squared off once again in a story by Mike Carey that had Mystique trying to lure Iceman to his doom by assuming the form of his former girlfriend Opal. He survived two murder attempts by her and stopped her from detonating a bomb on the San Francisco Bay Bridge. It turned out it was all her crazy way of showing she loved him. She escaped, swearing he would someday love her, but that day never came.

Iceman’s final straight romance
In 2011, writer Jason Aaron served up a new direction and a new girlfriend for Bobby Drake beginning in Wolverine and the X-Men #2 where Bobby Drake joined the senior faculty at the new Jean Grey School for Higher Learning as an accountant. In that issue, Bobby Drake followed an impulse to kiss his fellow X-Man Kitty Pryde who was a teacher at the school. Like Bobby Drake, Kitty Pryde had started out as the youngest member on the X-Men team she had been recruited for and in Wolverine and the X-Men #7, she kissed him back.

In Wolverine and the X-Men #24 from 2013, Bobby Drake went on a first date with Kitty Pryde and once they stopped trying to act like they were normal people and accepted that their lives are ridiculous, they had their greatest date ever and sealed it with a kiss. In Wolverine and the X-Men #32 they seemed to be an item, working together at the Jean Grey School and Iceman calling her “babe.”

In a storyline by writer Marjorie Liu running from Astonishing X-Men #62 to 65 in 2013, Bobby had been infected with an Apocalypse Seed that made him unleash his darker impulses, like calling his old girlfriends Lorna Dane, Opal and Annie and having them show up at a café where he was hanging out with Kitty Pryde and the recently married Northstar. Then Kitty Pryde didn’t know if her relationship with Bobby Drake was serious or not. She met with Opal to talk about Bobby Drake and how Opal felt his racist father had come between them. Then Bobby Drake talked with Opal himself about how she had lied to him about her son Robert being his just in time for Mystique to show up and take the Apocalypse Seed from Iceman. But a rift had now been formed between Kitty Pryde and Bobby Drake and in X-Men: Battle of the Atom #2 written by Jason Aaron in 2013 she quit the Jean Grey School and broke up with Iceman.

Coming out in his own series
In 2016, Bobby Drake had fallen for so many women, readers might have trouble swallowing yet another one. Maybe that’s why writer Brian Michael Bendis decided it was time for a new direction for the character and had a time-travelling young Bobby Drake confront the adult Bobby Drake in Uncanny X-Men #600 telling him he was gay? With a tear, the adult Bobby Drake admitted to being gay too. He had just repressed those feelings and done things to see if maybe he was straight. Now he admitted that he thought his X-Men teammate Angel was so hot it was annoying.

In Extraordinary X-Men #6 written by Jeff Lemire that same year, Bobby Drake came out to his openly gay student Anole. It was the first time he came out to somebody of his own volition as opposed to being confronted with it and admitting it.

In 2017, Iceman got his own ongoing series written by Sina Grace who was not only gay himself but also had a firm grasp for Iceman’s history and an uncanny ability to write engaging stories and witty dialogue. In the very first issue, Bobby Drake signed up for a dating site before confronting his ex-girlfriend Kitty Pryde in the next issue. She was running the Xavier Institute where Bobby Drake was working now. She was miffed she had to hear from another mutant that her ex was now gay, so Anole must have gossiped, but now she was no longer an angry ex but a concerned friend.

In the third issue, Bobby Drake came out in a text message for friends Northstar, the Human Torch and Spider-Man who seemed okay with it, as well as for ex-girlfriends Opal and Lorna Dane. Opal had no clue but thought it was cool and Lorna Dane figured she picked Alex Summers because a part of her had always kind of thought Bobby Drake was gay. Finally, after a failed attempt or two Bobby Drake came out to his parents in the fourth issue with his mother asking in the fifth issue if her son had been with a man. He replied: “No. Not yet.”

Iceman’s first boyfriend
At a party in Iceman vol. 3 #4, X-Man Wolverine’s bisexual son, the morally depraved Daken, asked Bobby Drake for a dance and thought Bobby Drake wanted him, but Bobby Drake really hated him because of past misdeeds and soon they were at each other’s throats, slugging it out and a feud ensued between them. So, Bobby Drake didn’t go for bad guys. What kind of man did he like?

The answer came in Iceman vol. 3 #6 where a regular human guy named Judah Miller picked him up in line for a shoe-sale while on a visit to Los Angeles. The two of them went with their friends to a club in West Hollywood where Bobby Drake and Judah danced and kissed and Judah invited Bobby Drake to come to his place so they could “talk, and stuff.” He wasn’t turned off by Bobby Drake turning out to be Iceman at all, so…

In Iceman vol. 3 #7, Bobby Drake was kissing Judah on a couch at Judah’s place, and they may or may not have gone all the way – Bobby Drake refused to tell his friends. But they probably did, because back at the Xavier Institute in New York, Bobby Drake texted with Judah who told him that he wasn’t proposing a long-distance relationship, but he’d like to keep knowing him and at the very least he had an ally in L.A. And then Bobby Drake decided to move to L.A. But the very next issue, Judah showed up in New York instead.

Still, the plan was for Bobby Drake to move to Los Angeles to be with Judah Miller and in Iceman vol. 3 #9, Bobby Drake’s friends at the X-Mansion threw him a farewell party where another gay mutant, Rictor, hit on him. However, Daken crashed the party and almost killed Iceman’s boyfriend so by issue #10, Judah Miller told Bobby Drake that his life was too insane for him, and Judah didn’t think Bobby should move to Los Angeles after all.

Kitty Pryde consoled Bobby Drake by telling him the X-Men needed him to stay with them in New York anyway and in #11 Bobby Drake did go on a date with fellow mutant Rictor, but none of them were over their exes so the date didn’t go anywhere. And then the series got cancelled.

From a one-night stand and a bad date to a boyfriend remembered
Kitty Pryde wasn’t kidding when she said the X-Men needed Iceman. In 2018, Bobby Drake had to put together an X-Men team to pick up the slack while some of the members of the Gold team served prison sentences. In X-Men Gold #23 by writer Marc Guggenheim, Iceman was talked into letting the new Pyro, Simon Lasker onto his team – a decision he certainly had no regrets about in X-Men Gold #32 where Bobby Drake and Simon Lasker had slept together in a hotel room following Kitty Pryde’s aborted wedding with X-Man Colossus. Bobby Drake reminded Simon Lasker that they had agreed it was a onetime thing, but Simon pointed out that “last night was a THREE-time thing.”

Then, later that same year, Sina Grace got another shot at writing Iceman because the trade paperback editions of his first 11 Iceman issues he wrote had sold well. In Iceman vol. 4 #1 there was no mention of Simon Lasker, though. Instead in #3, Bobby Drake got a hit on the dating site he had signed up for in vol. 3 #1 and went on a date with the guy, Carlos. And just as they got around to kissing, Iceman had to go into action against a Morlock along with his amazing friends Firestar and Spider-Man. Carlos wasn’t scared though, so after the battle Iceman dumped him for jumping into the fray for a selfie and wanting to tag him on social media.

Iceman got cancelled again after #5 in which there was a flashback to his relationship with Judah Miller. Sina Grace’s storylines from the Iceman series were wrapped up in the 2019 Uncanny X-Men: Winter’s End one-shot in which Bobby Drake got a present by mail from Judah Miller in honor of Bobby Drake’s birthday. Then Bobby Drake got warned off by his time-travelling future self against getting involved with Daken and Bobby Drake told Jean Grey off for outing his time-travelling younger self whose memories he now possessed. Those memories included a relationship with a guy named Romeo from All-New X-Men vol. 2 # 13 to 19 that ended in X-Men Blue #1 and 2. Finally, Bobby Drake wrote Judah Miller back, leaving the possibility open for them getting back together. But Bobby Drake is now single, happily gay and anything goes…

Iceman trading card by Jim Lee

Superman’s son comes out with a kiss

The writer and artist of Superman: Son of Kal-El had to get police protection when it was announced that ”Superboy” would come out as bisexual, but the controversial issue is really their choice of his boyfriend rather than his sexuality.

It created quite the media stir when DC Comics announced that Superman’s son, Jon Kent would come out as bisexual in Superman: Son of Kal-El #5 which has now been published. ”Superboy” takes over as Superman when Superman has to leave Earth for a while, but not until Superboy has brought his friend, journalist Jay Nakamura home to meet his family over a dinner that stretches from Superman: Son of Kal-El # 3 to #4.

When the new Superman becomes exhausted following an overload of his superpowers in Superman: Son of Kal-El #5, he is cared for by Jay who has a superpower himself – intangibility like Kitty Pryde, Shadowcat of Marvel’s X-Men. Jay – whose name starts with a ”J” like Jon’s, of course – points out that because of his super ability, Superman’s powers can’t affect him, and then Superman gives him a kiss that leaves both of them affected before Superman takes his leave to continue his battle for truth and justice.

It is not stated in the story that Superman is bisexual, but that’s what it said in the official statement from DC Comics and many people misunderstood the news and thought that they were talking about the original Superman, Cark Kent, but he still loves the new Superman’s mother Lois Lane in monogamous marriage. It is their son, Jon Kent, who is now Superman and exploring his sexuality. But the news still led to writer Tom Taylor and artist John Timms needing police protection and the police also had to be present at the address of DC Comics until the news and the worst wave of homophobia had subsided.

Superman’s controversial boyfriend
In a Danish Facebook group for comic book fans, the criticism wasn’t so much about Superman being bi than his choice of boyfriend who is more of a type than a beauty like Superman himself – namely the Asian Jay with pink pot hair who is a journalist like Lois Lane, of course. Couldn’t Superman have hooked up with a more masculine guy?

But Superman isn’t gay. He’s bisexual and is also turned on by the feminine and when reading the comic book, one still thinks it’s cool when Jon and Jay kiss in Superman: Son of Kal-El #5 – a kiss that has also been criticized for being without passion by the Danish comic book fans, though.

Batman’s young protégé Tim Drake, who has occasionally been his sidekick Robin, also came out as bisexual in Batman: Urban Legends #6 earlier in 2021 and when one considers all the homosexual fan linking there have been between Superman and Batman throughout the years, it might have been more brave of DC Comics if their younger counterparts, Superboy og Robin actually got together. But one can always dream of future possibilities. Meanwhile, Superman: Son of Kal-El with Jon and Jay is definitely worth checking out.

The delicious men of DC Comics

When drawn by very talented and gifted artists like Neal Adams, John Byrne, Jim Lee and Ivan Reis, the male superheroes of DC Comics like Superman and Green Lantern are sexy, but scenes of scantily clad male heroes remain rare at the company.

Although drawn handsomely, DC Comics’ male superheroes weren’t really all that sexy until revolutionary artist Neal Adams came around and worked for the company in the late sixties and early seventies. His men had clearly defined muscle tone, nipples and hair on the chest. However, sexy depictions of the male superheroes remained rare at DC Comics compared to at their competitor Marvel Comics. But when Marvel writer and artist John Byrne relaunched DC’s Superman series in 1986, he brought some of Marvel’s sexiness with him to the company. And, of course, Superman is the hottest male superhero around. He is the ultimate symbol of masculinity and is featured prominently here, followed by Green Lantern and various others. The catch is that in modern times, half-naked depictions of the male superheroes at DC remain rare, so mostly a sexy man in a sexy costume striking a sexy pose will have to do and when drawn by hot artists like Jim Lee and Ivan Reis the temperature certainly rises.

Here are some highlights from the evolution of the depiction of sexy male superheroes at DC Comics.

In Spectre #3 from April 1968, groundbreaking and innovative artist Neal Adams drew his first hot DC superhero when Wildcat in his civilian identity as Ted Grant took his shirt off and revealed his sexy body to the readers. The image of the hero stripping off his shirt would become a recurring scene in the works of Neal Adams.

A scantily clad, bare-chested Boston Brand – the trapeze-artist who would become Deadman as envisioned in all his strong masculinity by Neal Adams in Strange Adventures #211, also from April 1968.

Boston Brand had a twin brother, Cleveland Brand, who strikes a suggestive pose in a sexy Deadman costume exposing his hairy chest in this image by Neal Adams from Strange Adventures #212 in June 1968.

Green Lantern didn’t need to show skin to be sexy when drawn by artists Gil Kane and Joe Gilla like here from Green Lantern #68 from April 1969. Did he ever look more attractive when recharging his ring and reciting his sacred oath?

By 1971, Neal Adams had graduated to the big star super-heroes at DC Comics. Here is Green Lantern in his civilian identity as Hal Jordan stripping off his shirt and revealing his sexy body underneath as inked by Dick Giordano in Green Lantern #86 from 1971.

Green Lantern had a co-star in 1971, namely Green Arrow who is in his civilian identity as Oliver Queen and stripping off his shirt in this sequence by Neal Adams & Berni Wrightson from Green Lantern #84. Certainly, Green Arrow was as sexy as the top-billing Green Lantern.

 

Green Lantern #87 from 1971 served up a much better image of the shirt-stripping Oliver Queen as portrayed by Neal Adams & Dick Giordano. That Green Arrow sure was a handsome man.

The final shirt-stripping scene by Neal Adams & Dick Giordano appeared in Action Comics #425 from 1973. It was of the lesser-known hero Christopher Chance, The Human Target. And his body sure was right on target.

Jan Arrah, the only survivor of the massacre on the planet Trom, joined the Legion of Super-Heroes as Element Lad and was drawn very sexy by Mike Grell in Superboy #211 from September 1975. Years later, Jan Arrah would have a relationship with a woman who turned out to be a man in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3 #31.

Stripping out of his Green Arrow costume, it sure doesn’t look like Oliver Queen was wearing any underwear underneath it as envisioned by artist Mike Grell in Green Lantern #91 from November 1976. Yeah, he's naked!

In January 1981, DC Comics #29 proudly presented Superman as drawn by Jim Starlin and Romeo Tanghal. Jim Starlin had previously made Captain Marvel sexy at rival company Marvel Comics, and with his move to DC Comics, he brought sexiness with him as envisioned in this splash-page showing an impressively packing Superman.

With the Silver Age and Modern Age Superman looking young and sexy, his Golden Age incarnation was now a mature, but still very sexy Superman living on Earth-2. Here he is envisioned by artists Keith Pollard and George Pérez and inked by Romeo Tanghal in Justice League Of America #197 from December 1981.

Skipping ahead to 1986, the superstar artist John Byrne who also made his claim to fame at the rival company Marvel Comics, had migrated to DC Comics and more sexiness ensued. Check out his take of the granddaddy of all superheroes, Superman himself in this ad for a Legend limited series. And Superman was indeed a legend because of his impressively good looks and powerful physique - and in this Byrne drawing: A wonderful looking package making him irresistible to everyone.

In this John Byrne drawing inked by Karl Kesel of the superhero Steel from Justice League of America from Legends #1, November 1986, Steel sure filled that costume to perfection. Look at that body. Look at that package. 

Clark Kent took a shower while dreaming about being loved as dreamily and romantically portrayed by artist Jerry Ordway in Adventures of Superman #427 from April 1987.

In bed with Superman! An intimate look at Clark Kent getting out of bed as detailed by John Byrne and Karl Kesel from Superman #5, May 1987. Who wouldn’t want to have spent the night in that bedroom next to that ultimate sexy hunk of a man?

Clark Kent gets out of bed once again in a scene depicted by John Byrne and Karl Kesel. This one is from Superman #6, June 1987, and reveals that the super man sleeps wearing a pair of sexy white briefs before getting up and putting on his revealingly tight Superman costume.

At least as fit as Superman, Heracles, half-son of Greek god Zeus, started out as a bad guy who attacked the Amazons and raped Wonder Woman’s mother-to-be, Queen Hippolyte of the Amazons, but after paying his dues, the Amazons forgave him. His Marvel counterpart Hercules is an all-good man, though, even though they look strikingly alike. Here, Heracles is visualized by George Pérez and inked by Bruce D. Patterson in Wonder Woman vol. 2 #14 from March 1988.

Superman looks like a stern man who knows exactly how he wants it in this fairly simple but still sexy full body shot by John Byrne from Superman #22 in October 1988. The tight costume reveals the contours of Superman’s super strong body, almost as if the costume is painted on his naked body, making it easy to let the mind imagine him naked.

Two more DC heroes with practically body-painted costumes. Captain Atom of the Justice League International meets Jim Harper, Guardian of Project Cadmus in Superman #26 by Kerry Gammill and Brett Breeding, winter 1988/1989. Guardian has assumed a sexy masculine stance, highlighting his appealing package.

Raised as Clark Kent on a farm, Superman is still a farm boy at heart in Superman #30, April 1989, where artists Kerry Gammill & Dennis Janke have him sowing shirtless, revealing his sexy strong body and sporting a bulging package. Simply irresistible.

Like John Byrne, Kerry Gammill and Dennis Janke knew how to draw a sexy Superman. Here they have him bulging in all the right places on the cover for Superman #31, May 1989. It is easy to imagine that perfect body naked.

Action Comics Annual #2 from June 1989 was a sheer delight with a bearded Superman fighting as a gladiator in a very revealing outfit. The sexiness was provided by Curt Swan inked by Brett Breeding and Jerry Ordway inked by John Statema. Check out this handful of delightful samples:

Superman sporting a masculine beard in a sexy full-figure body-shot drawn by Dan Jurgens and Art Thibert in Adventures of Superman #455 from June 1989.

That is not what’s really going on, but any dirty mind can easily see Superman looking ready to come in the missionary position on this cover of Superman #40 by Jerry Ordway from February 1990.

Next to Superman, Green Lantern was the hottest DC superhero around. There were several Green Lanterns, but Hal Jordan was the one and only that would do, and these two panels drawn by Pat Broderick & Bruce Patterson from Green Lantern vol. 3 #1, June 1990, reveal the reason why. It is not just Hal Jordan’s suggestive grip on that shaft, but his good looks and strong hairy body, too.

Superman gets ready for action with his nice-looking package on the cover of Superman # 656 by Kerry Gammill & Brett Breeding from August 1990.

Prison sex is a gay porn sub-genre unto itself, so this image should arouse the interest of many, no less because of the full body-shot of Green Lantern sporting a sexy strong body and a nice package. The illustration is a 1991 ad for the Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II limited series and was probably envisioned and drawn by the artists of that series.

Jerry Ordway & Dennis Janke’s version of Superman was a bit rough, like as if he were a boxing champion as opposed to the elegant man presented by other artists. That take had its appeal too as witnessed in this illustration from Superman # 53 in March 1991.

An intimate and very private moment with Clark Kent in his bathroom by Bob McLeod from Action Comics # 663, March 1991.

Guest-artists Pete Krause & Keith Williams made Superman look like a firm and confident man in Superman #69, July 1992. Notice the trick of making his body look bigger and stronger by drawing his head proportionally smaller. It was an art trend that was popular in superhero comics in the early to mid-90s, oftentimes reaching ridiculous levels with huge bodies with tiny pin-prick heads. Thankfully, that fad passed quickly.

When drawn by artists Dan Jurgens & Brett Breeding, Superman occasionally looked very sexy indeed, as exemplified in these two panels from Superman #70, August 1992.

 

Following the famous death and resurrection of Superman storylines, Superman sported long hair for a while. It is all a matter of taste of course, and in Superman #95 from December 1994, artists Dan Jurgens & Mike Manley still managed to make Superman look sexy in this frog-perspective full body-shot highlighting his super package.

When DC Comics launched their new series Damage in March 1995, they used a real-life model dressed up as Damage in their advertisements for the series. And a sexy model it was too, dark and alluring and filling those tight pants nicely.

Batman and his young sidekick Robin have been the butt of many gay jokes throughout the years, and in this drawing by Rodolfo Damaggio & Robert Campanella from Batman Vs Predator III in November 1997, the couple oozes of sexual subtext with big bulges in all the right places.

Superman’s origin was retold in the 2003 Superman: Birthright limited series and the young Clark Kent looked very attractive as portrayed by Leinil Francis Yu & Gerry Alanguilan in these panels from the second issue. Who wouldn’t want to date him?

A superstar artist for a Superman. Jim Lee, who like Jim Starlin and John Byrne had risen to fame at the rival company Marvel Comics, drew the Superman book for a twelve-issue stint inked by Scott Williams and sexiness immediately ensued as in this panel from Superman #204, June 2004. Look at that body. Look at that package.

Here’s a nice bird-perspective full body-shot of Superman by Jim Lee & Scott Williams from Superman #205, July 2004.

Jim Lee & Scott Williams’ take on Superman was indeed very handsome and sexy as witnessed by these three panels from Superman #206, August 2004. Let the pictures speak for themselves.

Jim Lee & Scott Williams’ take on Superman was without a doubt the ultimate manly man as also witnessed in Superman #207 from September 2004.

As if from a beefcake magazine, Jim Lee & Scott Williams did Superman pin-up worthy justice in Superman #208 from October 2004.

Superman had an evil counterpart in the negative universe, Ultraman. Here the bad guy has travelled to the positive universe and is doing a great impersonation of Superman, filling that iconic costume out real nice according to Ron Garney and Dan Green in JLA #110, March 2005.

Ron Garney and Dan Green also drew the real Superman with an impressive body and package as seen here from JLA #111 in April 2005.

The superfast Flash also had a fantastic firm strong body when drawn by Ron Garney and Dan Green as witnessed here from JLA #113, June 2005.

Hot new artist Ivan Reis drew the DC superheroes in the 2006 Infinite Crisis limited series with inks by Art Thibert. His work showed great promise of sexiness to come as exemplified by this nice drawing of the Flash practically assuming the missionary position in the 5^th issue.

Infinite Crisis Secret Files 2006 featured a sexy Superboy drawing by Dan Jurgens & Nelson in “on your knees and worship”-perspective. Hot!

A great Superman cover by Carlos Pacheco & Jesus Merino from September 2006 with a well-drawn sexy Superman in a masculine strongman pose.

Superman even looks good when soaking wet as illustrated by Carlos Pacheco & Jesus Merino in Superman #664 from August 2007. He looks almost angelic and here to rescue you from both loneliness and despair.

Giving Superman competition for being the sexiest man around, here is Green Lantern by Jim Lee & Scott Williams from All Star Batman & Robin #9, April 2008.

Not to be outdone by Jim Lee, Ivan Reis made Green Lantern look very sexy too, here on the cover of Green Lantern #29 in May 2008.

Ivan Reis did a sexy Green Lantern again for the cover of Green Lantern #31 in July 2008 with the superhero striking a victorious pose in his classic costume highlighting both his well-defined torso and big package.

A “softer” take on Superman by Gary Frank and Jon Sibal from Action Comics #866, August 2008. His body is not that big and muscular, yet he still looks strong, masculine and super-sexy. Very nice and realistic proportions.

Ivan Reis struck back twice, inked by Oclair Albert, in Green Lantern #35, November 2008, with Green Lantern striking a couple of sexy poses in his revealing, classic costume.

Battle of the bulges. Or packages. Whichever, the Flash and Green Lantern ooze of sexiness in this image penciled by Ivan Reis for Blackest Night #0 in June 2009. It was free on Comic Book Day.

Not to forget about DC Comics’ other big superstar, the Batman, here he is sound asleep in his civilian identity as Bruce Wayne by Tony Daniel from Batman #701, September 2010.  Looks real dreamy, doesn’t he, despite all the band aids? Snuggling up next to him seems tempting.

The final image of Superman in his classic costume with the red briefs drawing attention to his crotch as imagined by Ryan Sook in a DC Universe Legends ad from 2011. The iconic costume was about to get a modern-day update.

The modern times of avoiding embarrassing sexuality-sensitive superhero readers arrived in 2011. When Justice League was relaunched with a new #1 in October 2011, Green Lantern and Superman were still the hottest guys around as penciled by Jim Lee & inked by Scott Williams but gone were the parts of their costumes drawing attention to their crotches. They were no longer “wearing their underwear on the outside.”

The legendary groundbreaking artist Neal Adams returned to DC Comics in 2011. His drawing style was now a bit more rough than his elegant style from the sixties and seventies, but still very detailed as witnessed in these stunning images of Bruce Wayne from Batman Odyssey Vol 2 #1, December 2011.

A tall and lanky and sexy Flash in his almost body-painted costume by Jim Lee & Scott Williams in Justice League #5, March 2012.

The re-imagined Superman seemed more like a Superboy than a Superman, but he was still kind of sexy when drawn by Jim Lee & Scott Williams like here on the cover of Superman Unchained #2 from September 2013.

Ending where we began – with legendary artist Neal Adams. Here is his modern-day take on Superman – arguably the sexiest man at DC Comics - on the cover of Superman: The Coming of the Supermen in 2016. Simply: Wow! Gorgeous!