Square Enix needs to let Star Lord be the bisexual king he is in Guardians of the Galaxy
When Square Enix opened with Guardians of the Galaxy during their presentation on Sunday, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that this rendition of a beloved franchise would be taking on a role of its own that’s completely separate from both the Marvel comics and films. After all, it’d be so simple to just carry on from a certain storyline in comics with the same wit and wackiness of Chris Pratt and co from the films. But no, Square Enix and Eidos Montreal have opted for something different, something new and unique.
That has me very excited and while I’m no huge fan of Marvel, I absolutely adore Guardians of the Galaxy. There’s something about a group of ragtag misfits that band together because 1) they’re all kinda awful and 2) society’s rejected them that really resonates with me as someone who’s queer. I’m sure a lot of other people can relate to that, too.
With that in mind, it’s always really surprised me at how heteronormative the universe that these characters inhabit in is. At least, in the movies anyway. Peter Quill and Gamora are madly in love, Drax might have a thing with Mantis despite calling her ugly 24/7, and Rocket and Groot are… best pals. Just best pals, though. It’s fine, I guess. But it’s always come across as a strange choice to me.
Then it was revealed to me, thanks to my dear colleague Matt Kamen, that Peter Quill aka Star Lord was shown to be in a polyamorous relationship in December last year. As Matt argues however, while the revelation that Quill is in a relationship with two people – and possibly the father of a child with the couple – is great, there’s very little chance it will matter in anything but the comics.
But if this is indeed a Guardians of the Galaxy that Square Enix will be transforming into something of their own, that does leave us with some hope. If indeed there will be parts of the comics – such as villains – is inserted into the game in a unique way, that does leave us with the question of whether Star Lord will get his bisexuality explored in this new video game?
While it’s obvious that he has love for Gamora, it’d be a complete waste if this game – which will focus heavily on a single-player narrative and Quill’s relationship with his fellow Guardians – didn’t embrace a modernized Star Lord in the same way that the comics have. We know that he has a history with Gamora – be brave and do something different. Hell, it doesn’t even need to be just Star Lord’s bisexuality – let the others embrace new things about themselves too, all whilst keeping the characters true to themselves.
Video games, particularly from AAA studios, have a very poor showing when it comes to bisexuality in men. If anyone asked you to name a bisexual male character then you’d probably only have to use one hand at a push. It’s why Square Enix needs to embrace Star Lord’s sexuality and let him be the bisexual king he truly is instead of trying to push him as a straight fuckboy.
He can still be a fuckboy, don’t get me wrong, but like… Wouldn’t it be interesting if he was kinda bi about it? Just saying.
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