Dear Marvel,

We need a new superhero. Why? Well first of all, why not? You can never have too many superheroes. But second of all, there are real people out there that possess every quality maintained by superheroes: members of the LGBT community. Just as heroes do, the LGBT society faces hardships, retains bravery, and works for the greater good of humanity. For these reasons, and so many more, we need a LGBT hero to portray these aspects to the world.

Superheroes preserve certain attributes, one of which is facing great adversity. Spider-Man was bullied, Superman is from another planet, and Iron Man… well he’s perfect, but he did overcome torture and lives with an arc reactor in his chest. The LGBT community faces similar adversity every single day. In fact, they are arguably the most discriminated-against community in the modern world. They face rejection of their individuality, exclusion, deep hatred from large public groups, verbal assault, and violence. No Marvel superhero has ever had to overcome such issues. If this isn’t the kind of hardship needed to spawn a hero, then I don’t know what is.

Yet in the face of all this disrupt, the LGBT community stands strong together, proving they also maintain the necessary bravery needed to be a hero. Imagine waking up every day with the imminent possibility of receiving strange looks, comments, and even violence. Each day they risk not being accepted, but the LGBT community holds their heads high, and I commend them for that, as should Marvel. Portraying your true self to the world is perhaps the single bravest idea, and it is something that I, as a straight white female, even struggle with. I truly admire LGBT members’ strength to be themselves and make the world accept it, and I feel this reflects sincere courage.

Finally, the LGBT community fights for the greater human good, just as superheroes do. Not only do they support each other in the fight for their humanity, but they stand up for other issues too. The LGBT community fights against issues that affect them individually, but in doing so, they are actually supporting everyone’s rights. How so? Well, they fight for a liberal America. They fight for our ability to be who we want; they fight for our happiness and in a greater sense, they are fighting for our freedom. Is there a greater cause than that to fight for?

Marvel, we have every kind of superhero: white heroes, black heroes, female heroes, disfigured heroes, nerdy heroes, and even evil heroes, all of whom have faced adversity, possess bravery, and fight for a better future. Clearly, there are real, present-day superheroes among us that deserve representation. Just because they cannot fly, doesn’t make them any less powerful than Superman. LGBT members truly are the modern superheroes, so why are they advertised as abnormal, unnatural beings? Marvel, with your help, we can advertise the LGBT community as the heroes that they truly are.

Sincerely,

Every superhero fan that doesn't live under a rock.