Captain America and The Winter Soldier: Modern Day Gay Superheroes

With the recent rise of the Marvel Studios’ film, an increasing amount of gay and bi men are identifying with the superheroes within the movies. In particular, they appear to be identifying with the two main characters of the Captain America movies—Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes—as evidenced by the vast and ever-growing Stucky fandom which pairs the two romantically. This phenomenon can be explored by looking extensively into these pieces of fan work and interviewing the gay and bi men who are creating these pieces of fan fiction to figure out why they are resonating with these traditionally heterosexual characters. Such research offers insight into how gay and bisexual men feel they are not being accurately portrayed by openly queer superheroes like Northstar and Iceman, and it also offers the opportunity for one to understand what makes a character relatable for gay and bisexual men.