Nightcrawler and the Demonization of

Homosexuality

By J. Skyler
Sep 15, 2012 - 2:32

God hates fags. Thats the age-old proverb, right? It is the eternal
mantra that enables heterosexist and homophobic individuals to
arm discrimination and/or commit hate crimes against
members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)
community; one fueled by the belief that their hatred is not only
sanctioned by God, but inspired by Him. While most theologians
and faith-oriented laypersons do not endorse the extremism of
the Westboro Baptist Church, that same quintessential fear,
hatred and paranoia of non-heterosexuals as expressed by said
organization is often the backbone of actions taken by members
of the Religious Right across varying denominations of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. No fictional character has felt the sting of
religious bigotry more than Marvel Comics Kurt Wagner
(codenamed Nightcrawler), a devout Catholic who has
nonetheless faced persecution by members of his own faith as
well as society at large. The superficial aversion to the pious and
heroic Nightcrawler because of his seemingly demonic
appearance is no dierent than the demonization of
homosexuality and the persecution of LGBT people based upon
their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Opposition to same-sex relationships, in addition to purely
religious view points, is also perpetuated by the idea that they
violate the theory of Natural Law as described by Saint Thomas
Aquinas. Theologians who subscribe to this theory view any form
of sexuality that does not result in procreation (masturbation, oral sex, use of contraception, homosexuality, etc.)
as contrary to nature. However, as Bruce Bagemihl, Ph.D., states in Biological Exuberance: Animal
Homosexuality and Natural Diversity (2000): On every continent, animals of the same sex seek each other out
and have probably been doing so for millions of years. They court each other, using intricate and beautiful mating
dances that are the result of eons of evolution Animals of the same sex build nests and homes together, and
many homosexual pairs raise young without members of the opposite sex many creatures are transgendered,
crossing or combining characteristics of males and females in their appearance and behavior. The
counterargument of course, is that animal behavior is not always a model for civil society, as there are plenty of
species who eat their own young. The point, however, is that attempting to decry homosexuality as being against
nature is just as absurd as the notion that we can always equate animal behavior with human ethics. In a similar
vein, anti-mutant hate crimes in Marvel Comics are instigated by the idea that mutants are a corruption of nature
or a corruption of Gods Grand Design, and in some cases both. Hate groups known as the Friends of Humanity
and the Church of Humanity are known for the relentless persecution of mutants under these premises. Both
have an uncanny resemblance to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) a hate group known for promoting racial segregation
and violent crimes against ethnic minorities. Few people realize the KKK is a Protestant sect of Christianity.
Volume 1 of the Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World (2011) states, [f]irst established in the 1860s, the Ku
Klux Klan (KKK) is a right-wing white protestant American organization that seeks to preserve the purity and
supremacy of white Christian America. Jews, African Americans, immigrants, and homosexuals are regarded by
the KKK as threats to this mission, and its activists have included propaganda, protests, and violence against
these groups during its various waves of activity. Im not suggesting the KKK be taken as a legitimate Christian
organization (the very idea is ludicrous), but it is a matter of historical fact that their beliefs are based on their
interpretation of scripture, no dierent from the Westboro Baptist Church. However, in the same way we view we
clearly define the fictional terrorism and fear mongering of the Friends of Humanity and the Church of Humanity
as unsound ideology, real life hate groups should be seen as nothing more than perpetrators of hate, regardless
of whatever religious aliation they claim.
In depicting anti-mutant hate crimes by religious terrorists, Marvel
Graphic Novels and Related Publications: An Annotated Guide to
Comics, Prose Novels, Children's Books, Articles, Criticism and

Reference Works, 1965-2005 (2008) documents that in Uncanny

X-men: Holly War (2003), [t]he anti-mutant Church of Humanity
puts several X-Men, including Jubilee and Skin, on crosses in
front of Xaviers school, and leaves them for dead. The X-Men
investigate this atrocity, which leads them to Church of Humanity
headquarters. When Nightcrawler confronts a member of the
Church and reveals himself to be a Catholic priest, the church
member scos, stating you are a man of the cloth? I would find
that laughable believing Nightcrawlers genetic mutation
renders him inherently unholy. However, genetic mutation in and
of itself is not something that can be evaluated on a moral gauge,
only the use of ones powers in civil society that are the result of a
mutation. As X-Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and
Uncanny Argument in the Mutant X-Verse (2009) notes, [h]aving blue fur, pointy ears, and a tail doesn't make
Nightcrawler satanic, and the mutation that led to his fur, ears, and tail has nothing to do with his religious views.
Nightcrawlers persecution is a matter of perception, not fact. Similarly, LGBT people in the United States and
around the globe find themselves to be the victims of a negative religious perspective, one which opposes
scientific fact and one that can result in life or death situations if gone unchecked.
Organizations such as the Family Research Council (FRC), National Organization for Marriage (NOM), and Focus
on the Family (FOtF), whos names are as deceptively benign as the Friends of Humanity and the Church of
Humanity, have all been involved in anti-gay activity, but the FRC specifically has been designated as a hate
group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and with good reason. As Jamie McGonnigal reports at The
Hungton Post, [i]dentifying an anti-gay group as a hate group is based on their propagation of known
falsehoodsclaims about LGBT people that have been thoroughly discredited by scientific authoritiesand
repeated, groundless name-calling. Viewing homosexuality as unbiblical does not qualify organizations for listing
as hate groups. This is not and never has been about a disagreement of beliefs; this is about groups using lies to
disseminate hatred toward a group of people. The FRC has also financial supported the Kill the Gays bill in
Uganda, legislation that would broaden the criminalization of homosexuality, making such an oence
punishable by either life imprisonment or death, and has even gone as far as lobbying to prevent Congress from
denouncing the bill as a human rights violation. Peter Montgomery of People for the American Way stated: If you
ask me, 'Does the FRC promote hatred towards gays and lesbians?' I would say yes it does The FRC is not the
KKK. But that doesn't also mean they deserve a free ride from being called out on their hateful rhetoric." I would
have to disagree on his assessment of association thoughif even one dollar is utilized in putting a single person
to death on the basis of sexual orientation, it is no dierent than participating in a lynching under the premise of
racial purity.
Given the vast amount of time, money and endless dialog religious leaders and laypersons have dedicated to
stopping the homosexual agenda from dissolving society as we know it, one would think entire chapters of
scripture were dedicated to subject. However, there are sixexactly sixpassages of the bible (three in the Old
Testament or the Jewish Torah and three in the New Testament) that allude to same-gender sex: 1) Genesis 18:20
to 19:29 2) Leviticus 18:22 3) Leviticus 20:13 4) Romans 1:21, 26 and 27 5) I Corinthians 6:9 and 6) I Tim. 1:10. It
is worth noting that laws dictated in the Old Testament and Leviticus in particular are irrelevant to Christianity, as
the birth of Christ establishes a new covenant between God and humanity, nullifying the Jewish Biblical Laws of
the Old Testament. Therefore, any argument utilizing scripture found in the Old Testament as an argument against
homosexuality contradicts the acceptance of Christ and the practice of Christianity itself. Moreover, no one who
practices Judaism or Christianity (orthodox or not) is even remotely capable of upholding every law found in
Leviticusits a literal impossibility. The consensus among biblical scholars is that if we dismiss even one law
from the book of Leviticus on the grounds of logic or reason, we must dismiss the entire book on the same
grounds. As far as references to same-gender sex in the New Testament, I Cor. 6:9 is the only verse (in the entire
bible) that (infrequently) uses the word homosexual in modern translations (remember that the bible was
originally written in Hebrew and Greek, not Latin or English). Such terminology is adamantly refuted by biblical
scholars and linguists, as the words homosexual and heterosexual were invented by Hungarian journalist Karl
Maria Kertbeny in 1868, centuries after the bible was written and canonized.
The semantics of language aside, aversion to same-gender sex in scripture is limited to three specific acts: rape,
child molestation and prostitution. Thus, the historical and current culture war over sexual orientation has evolved
due to false equivalency. Take into consideration that when we discuss male-on-female rape, female-on-male
rape, male-on-male rape or female-on-female rape, it is simply rape. It is not a matter of sexuality, sexual identity
or even sexual attraction, but a matter of violation. Male-on-male rape is no more a matter of homosexuality than
male-on-female rape is a matter of heterosexuality. Similarly, child molestation, whether committed by an adult
male or female with a child of either sex is not defined by gender pairing, but as an act of child rape; if an adult
male engages in sexual activity with a prepubescent girl, we do not consider it heterosexuality. In other words,
we do not equate the words rape or molestation with the word heterosexuality, even in situations where the
perpetrator and victim are of the opposite sex. Conversely, history has equated homosexuality with all deviant
sexual behavior and that false equivalency is the mentality that prevents perpetuators of anti-gay myths from
seeing LGBT people as psychologically healthy, civic-minded contributing members of society. The false
equivalency of homosexuality as deviant behavior is a direct contradiction to the consensus of the American
Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association and the American Medical Association. Not only is it
a matter of scientific inaccuracy, but as Bruce Lowe, graduate of Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia,
Arkansas (1936) and of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas (1946) states, from a
religious perspective the New Testament says nothing about homosexuality or homosexuals and nothing about
same-gender sex unless that of temple prostitutes or possibly the molestation of young boys by heterosexuals. In

view of the facts set forth above, we realize there is no moral teaching in the Bible about homosexuality as we
know it, including homosexual sex (except possibly pederasty). The Bible cannot be used to condemn as
immoral all same-gender sex. The Rev. Peter Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard Divinity
School expressed the same sentiments before his death in 2011. In his study of scripture, he stated that [t]he
Biblical writers never contemplated a form of homosexuality in which loving, monogamous, and faithful persons
sought to live out the implications of the gospel with as much fidelity to it as any heterosexual believer. All they
knew of homosexuality was prostitution, pederasty, lasciviousness, and exploitation. These vices, as we know,
are not unknown among heterosexuals, and to define contemporary homosexuals only in these terms is a cultural
slander of the highest order, reflecting not so much prejudice, which it surely does, but what the Roman Catholic
Church calls invincible ignorance, which all of the Christian piety and charity in the world can do little to conceal.
The problem, of course, is not the Bible, it is the Christians who read it.
It for these reasons that the word homosexual has evolved into
a stigma and is considered derogatory to call someone as such
(take a look at a Google search for homosexual marriage vs.
same-sex marriage and observe the radical dierence in tone in
the search results). We refer to homosexual men and women as
gay and lesbian respectively, not only as a matter of respect, but
because homosexual does not accurately reflect bisexual or
transgender individuals. We also use the term same-sex
marriage over gay marriage because two men or two women
in a relationship will not necessarily identify as gay or lesbian; ex:
a gay man and a bisexual man, a lesbian and a bisexual woman,
two bisexual men or two bisexual women. Therefore, same-sex
marriage de-emphasizes sexual identity and instead focuses on
the semantics of the relationshiptwo men or two women. An
unfortunate reality, as Lee M. Jeerson Ph.D., Professor of
religion and humanities at Centre College states, is that such
critical thinking and discussions will likely never satisfy any
opponent of gay rights or of same-sex marriage to any degree.
Blind devotion to cultural misconceptions is a plague unto itself.
So what do LGBT people do, when faced with unbridled hatred
at the hands of religious extremism? In Nightcrawlers depiction,
both in print and on screen, we see very dierent paths LGBT
people may take when dealing with such relentless attempts at dehumanizing their existence. In Marvelous
Myths: Marvel Superheroes and Everyday Faith (2011), author Russell Dalton writes: In the film X2: X-Men United
(2003) Kurt Wagners faith is unfortunately portrayed as a disturbing aspect of his character. While the film does
show Kurt saying the Lords Prayer and drawing on his faith for courage to survive his trials, it also depicts him as
being overburdened with feelings of guilt. He admits to carving painful tattoos on his body as a sort of penance
for his sins. By contrast, in the comics, Kurts faith has usually been portrayed as a source of serenity and as his
motivation for loving and forgiving those who have persecuted him. Self-mutilation as depicted by Nightcrawler
is often a sign of suicidal tendencies, prompted by feelings of inadequacy, shame and a general lack of selfworth. Nightcrawler is no more responsible for his genetic mutation than LGBT people are for their sexual
orientation or gender identity, but his willingness to repent for sins he has not committed (or over compensate for
ones he has) is no dierent than LGBT people who commit suicide over their inability to change their orientation
or those who subject themselves to dangerous reparative or conversion therapy. In volume 2 of Youth,
Education, and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia (2005) James T. Sears documents that [g]iven the
unequivocal condemnation of homosexuality in [Jewish, Christian and Islamic] fundamentalist traditions, it is not
surprising that LGBT youth who have undergone years of religious training about the sinfulness and sickness of
homosexuality often experience confusion, guilt, shame, depression, and low self-esteem.
I hit puberty at age eleven, which was when I realized my sexual
orientation. I had always known I liked boys in the same way
girls normally did, but it wasnt until my physical maturation that I
really understood what the words gay and homosexuality
meant and the grave circumstance it placed me in. I knew my
relationship with my family would never be the same if they knew,
and I believed God hated me for it. Looking back, its a bit
baing just how far my own self-loathing went. I saw myself as
Gods failure, something that needed to be disposed of. Adolf
Hitler, Saddam Hussein, even Satan himself, I thought, God
might choose to show mercy to on the Day of Judgmentbut
not me. I was the one who had to suer. Over the next four years,
my depression only worsened with time and my smiles only
concealed my self-hatred. Although coming out to my friends
and peers was a positive experience, coming out to my family
and religious community was damning. Everyone told me I was
possessed by a demon, one that needed to be exorcised. They
told me God could only love me as a heterosexual man (which
was doubly troubling being a transgender woman) and that
Hellfire awaited me otherwise. For these reasons I was drawn to
Nightcrawlers character. I saw myself in him. I too, was the good

little Christian demonized by the Church I once held so dear.

Eventually, I was able to exorcise my own inner demons, but
those of self-hatred, not sexuality or gender identity. I learned to
love myself, in spite of what others thought of me.
Part of what is so awe inspiring about Nightcrawler is that even in
the face of such betrayal, he never allows his heart to harden, nor
does he return the hatred spewed at him. In the X-Men animated
series episode "Nightcrawler," when Wolverine asks him doesnt
it make you crazy? referring to the persecution he faces due to
his appearance, Nightcrawler responds: It did once, but then I
found peace by devoting my life to God. He directed me to this
place [the monastery of which he is a member] where they value
the character of my heart, not my appearance. Wolverine rejects
Nightcrawlers heartfelt plea, believing God has abandoned
mutants, much in the same way LGBT people feel God has
abandoned them. Nightcrawlers faith is tested when he is
betrayed by Brother Rinehart, who tells the townspeople that
wish to kill him that he resides in the monastery. In the ensuing
chaos, and as the Monastery burns, Nightcrawler neither attacks
nor condemns Rinehart, but simply points out such destruction
is the fruit of your labors, not mine.
In Nightcrawler, we see a reflection of civil rights leader Bayard
Rustin, the man who mentored and instructed Martin Luther King,
Jr. on the methodology of Gandhis non-violent resistance and
has become known to historians as The Lost Prophet of the Civil
Rights Movement for his noticeable absence in the public
consciousness. A deeply religious pacifist, Rustin was an
adherent to Quakerism (Religious Society of Friends), a
Protestant sect of Christianity with a focus on social equality.
Rustin was also an openly gay man in the fiercely homophobic
era of the 1950s, when homosexuality was still deemed to be a
mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association. As an
African American, a gay man and a Quaker, he saw the need for
racial, economic and LGBT equality as one in the same. In
addition to his mentoring of King, Rustin was a founding member
of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a civil
rights organization that served as the primary platform for Kings
activism. Like Nightcrawler, Rustin faced betrayal when another
member of the SCLC, House Representative Adam Clayton
Powell, Jr., threatened to expose a sexual relationship between
Rustin and King to the media, if King did not sever his ties to
Rustin. It was a bold faced lie, one sparked by his hatred of
homosexuality, one which violated his supposed Christian ethics
and one which Powell was well aware could have undermined
the entire Civil Rights Movement. In his biography I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin's Life in Letters (2012), it is stated
that the consensus of the SCLC was that the attitude towards homosexuality at that time was largely a no-win
gain in the media, that the mere public allegation [that King was having a homosexual aair with Rustin], even if
there was not a scintilla of truth to it, would take hold within a predominately anti-gay black church community.
Take. Hold. And Martin would be in a dicult position of having to prove himself innocent after having been
presumed guilty. Deeply oended, angry and sincerely hurt, Rustin did not comment on the details of Powells
threat, but in his resignation, he stated: Congressman Powell has suggested I am an obstacle to his giving full
enthusiastic support to Dr. King I want now to remove that obstacle. I have resigned as Dr. Kings special
assistant and severed relationships with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Rustin and King would
later reconcile, as Rustin was responsible for organizing the 1963 March on Washington where King delivered his
historic I Have a Dream speech. In the following decades, members of the King family, including his wife
Coretta Scott King and daughter Yolanda King would become outspoken advocates of Gay Rights issues
(Yolanda King gave a passionate speech on LGBT Equality at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Detroit Gala
Dinner in 2000, which closed with a beautiful oration of Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise"). Whenever I come across
religious bigotry, I turn to both Nightcrawler and Bayard Rustin as sources of inspiration, who following examples
set forth by Christ, undermined hatred through passivity and simply pointing out the error of peoples ways
through logic, fact, and faith.
Of course, it is not all darkness at the intersection of faith and sexuality. Since the early 1970s, faithful religious
voices have come out in support of LGBT Rights, not only as a matter of civil liberty, but as a matter of religious
freedom. Organizations such as the United Church of Christ (UCC), Integrity USA (Episcopalian), Dignity USA
(Catholic), Catholics for Equality, More Light Presbyterians, ReconcilingWorks (Lutheran), the Association of
Welcoming and Arming Baptists, and the World Congress of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Jews:
Keshet Gaavah have all worked tirelessly to establish the full inclusion of LGBT people within their respective
bodies of faith. In addition, as Edward E. Curtis states in Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History (2011),
Muslim Americans committed to challenging homophobia in Muslim America have formed several activist
groups, including the New York-based Al-Fatiha Foundation. While I no longer practice organized religion, I

continue to work with religious leaders whenever the opportunity arises to spread the message of love and
acceptance to LGBT individuals who may feel demonized by their religious communities. A friend of mine who is
a pastor at my nearest UCC asked if I had considered going into ministry after I gave a lecture on religion and
sexuality at Mt. San Antonio College. I smiled, but respectfully told her no. Like Nightcrawler, who eventual gave
up his priesthood, but not his faith, I believe my path lies outside the constraints of religious practice. I study
religion about as frequently as I read comic books; I have studied Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Wicca,
Voodoo, Taoism, Buddhism, and several others, but I dont believe there is any one path everyone must follow.
More importantly, like Nightcrawler, no one defines my faith except me.