Two superheroes ask the eternal question: where are all the gay superheroes? Here’s our review of Tom Paul Martin’s short film which screened at HollyShorts London Film Festival.
Superheroes are all the rage today, but we’re still quite short on queer superheroes on the big screen. Deadpool loves to joke about being gay, but do we ever see gayness being portrayed as anything but the butt of a joke?
This is something director Tom Paul Martin ponders in his short film, titled poignantly Where Are All The Gay Superheroes? The short finds two superheroes, Sterling and Meridian (played by Rory Fleck-Byrne and Imran Khan, respectively), in a rare moment of calm after defeating an enemy. Their intimate moment takes a turn when the conversation turns to their relationship and identities. Indeed, where are all the gay superheroes? Can the lovers ever express their love freely?
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Where Are All The Gay Superheroes? feels like the final act of a superhero film or perhaps the origin story of a hero finding his true purpose. Yet, it exists perfectly on its own and tells a complete story despite its short runtime and limited narrative arc. The low-budget CGI effects slightly hinder the short’s look, but ultimately, the film’s conflict doesn’t rise from the bad guys, which works in its favour.
There’s an interesting theatricality to the film, but Martin resists going full camp. Khan and Fleck-Byrne create a dynamic which convinces us that these characters have an existing relationship and we’re only witnessing one moment within it. We might still be miles away from having gay superheroes be the norm in Hollywood, but Where Are All The Gay Superheroes? proves that as long as they’re not, we’re all missing out.
