This year, the franchise welcomed its first major LGBTQ+ superhero with Tom Hiddleston’s beloved Asgardian trickster, Loki. Although the character has appeared in several Marvel blockbusters, including The Avengers (2012), Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018), his fluid gender identity and bisexuality only came to light in his recent Disney+ spin-off series.
The revelation was met with widespread acclaim due to the MCU’s tendency to centre heteronormative stories. At the Black Widow fan premiere in Hollywood, Marvel’s executive vice president of film production, Victoria Alonso, was asked if this was a sign of “queer things to come”.