We interrupt our usual comic cover gag to point out all the wasted negative empty space.
The Strangers #5
Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (October, 1993)
“Dynamic Tension”
WRITER: Steve Englehart
PENCILER: Rick Hoberg
INKER: Tim Burgard
COLORIST: Rick Schmidt and Foodhammer
LETTERER: Dave Lanphear
EDITOR: Chris Ulm
Our heroes try to return to their lives, which isn’t easy since they don’t exactly have secret identities thanks to Elena. While she uses her new fame for business boosting, Zip-Zap gets some payback on the gangs, Bob tries to protect his family from the press, Hugh and Candy boost their relationship as he tries to convince her that he doesn’t mind she’s an android, and Yral finds herself alone as Spectral goes to visit a friend in the hospital, hoping to use his green flame to cure his advanced stage AIDS. Sadly, it heals the man’s body, but also boosts the AIDS and it kills him. Spectral joins the others as the nurse, now a murderous monster going by Deathwish, kills a good part of the street. Spectral’s flame does manage to overload and kill Deathwish. Hugh realizes that Spectral is gay and the man had AIDS, not cancer as he claims, and everybody shows their support for their friend.
What they got right: Deathwish is a good threat for the new team, and Elena/Lady Killer admits they’re too new to be experts but her team is better suited to dealing with an Ultra like Deathwish. Electrocute is the only one unaffected by Deathwish’s touch, but she’s still too powerful physically. Spectral has a good reason to be late, and his arrival is a good cap to the story, rather than just keeping him out to keep the obvious solution out of play. Goku could take notes. It’s also a chance to see how each of the new heroes deals with their new situation in their personal life, and Bob is still gaga for Choice. I wonder if that ever leads to anything? Guess we’ll find out, so no spoilers, please.
What they got wrong: I already mentioned the cover. How did Hugh know both that Spectral is gay and that his friend (lover?) had AIDS? Even if he guessed the former there’s no reason to assume he was lying about the cancer.
What else is there: Take notes, 2024 writers. This is how you introduce a gay character. Dave/Spectral is gay, but the story isn’t based on his being gay. Instead, it shows there are limits to at least his healing powers, that he can’t cure AIDS (and maybe he is unknowingly right about how the green flame would be unable to deal with cancer), immediately explaining why he doesn’t just heal the world with that particular power. Today, his character would be only about his being gay, he’d be some flamboyant stereotype, and being gay would be his only personality trait and be more important than his powers. Here he’s just a character who happens to be gay, and while that will have some impact on his character, especially in a 1990s comic, it’s not the most important thing about him or it wouldn’t have taken five issues and a crossover for it to be revealed. While Englehart may have wanted to have a gay member for social/political reasons, he made the character good first, and just happened to make him gay as part of his backstory, not the emphasis of his character. Thus he’s a gay hero, but not “woke” by the usual critic’s definitions. This is a multiethnic and multigender team by 1990s standards after all.
What I think overall: This is one of the series I’m enjoying from the Ultraverse right now. Looking forward to seeing more from this team.
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