Extraño
Encyclopedia
Extraño is a fictional gay
Hispanic
magician
published by DC Comics
. He first appeared in Millennium
#2 (January 1988), and was created by Steve Englehart
and Joe Staton
.
to take part in an experiment in human evolution. Extraño was Peruvian, from Trujillo City, South America. As a minor magician, his magical powers were heightened by the procedure, and his fellow participants gained new abilities as well. Together, they formed the superhero team New Guardians
, and took it upon themselves to fight evil wherever it lurked on Earth.
Outwardly resembling nearly every stereotype of a gay man, Extraño initially wore loose colorful garments and has a lively, jovial attitude. He refers to himself as "Auntie" and usually imparts parent-like advice to his teammates. In reality, he may be the very first openly gay superhero, a distinction usually given to Marvel Comics
' Northstar who, while coming out
a few years after Extraño was introduced, was a much more popular character who existed for ten years prior and was implied to be gay in those appearances.
Serving as the team's resident magician, he could fire blasts of energy from his hands, levitate, and perform a large number of "stage tricks,including ping-pong 'balls'" to outwit his foes. Usually playing the role of comic relief
, his flamboyant behavior was regarded as everything from funny to hateful by readers. He had an earnest sense of justice and love of life that made him popular with his teammates. During The New Guardians short run, Extraño acquired a powerful crystal skull (which seemed to greatly amplify his abilities) and a more traditional, "masculine" superhero costume, perhaps as a reaction to the comments of readers.
In The New Guardians, Extraño helped his team defeat a number of supervillain
s while trying his best to assist them with personal problems. On one mission in particular, he was attacked by an "AIDS vampire" called the Hemo-Goblin. He was subsequently confirmed to be HIV-positive but it's unclear whether he was infected by Hemo-Goblin or had already been infected prior to his introduction. Though he showed no outward signs of the disease, his infection remained a somewhat unorthodox plot point. Although the Guardians continued to fight evildoers behind the scenes even after their comic ended, their island base was attacked and swallowed up by the villain Entropy in the pages of Green Lantern
. For a time it was assumed Extraño died during this incident, but the recent reappearance of other New Guardians throws this into doubt.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
magician
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. He first appeared in Millennium
Millennium (comics)
"Millennium" was a comic book crossover story line that ran through an eight-issue, self-titled, limited series and various other titles cover dated January and February 1988 by DC Comics. The limited series was published weekly, which was a departure for an American series...
#2 (January 1988), and was created by Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart is an American novelist. In his earlier career he was a comic book writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics, particularly in the 1970s...
and Joe Staton
Joe Staton
Joe Staton is an American illustrator and writer of comic books.-Career:Staton started his work with Charlton Comics in 1971 and gained notability as the artist of the super-hero book E-Man...
.
Fictional character biography
During the Millennium event, Extraño was part of a group selected by the Guardians of the UniverseGuardians of the Universe
The Guardians of the Universe, alternatively known as the Guardians or Oans are a fictional extraterrestrial race in the DC Comics universe. They first appeared in Green Lantern Vol. 2 #1 , and were created by John Broome and Gil Kane. Here they do not reveal their existence to Hal, bringing his...
to take part in an experiment in human evolution. Extraño was Peruvian, from Trujillo City, South America. As a minor magician, his magical powers were heightened by the procedure, and his fellow participants gained new abilities as well. Together, they formed the superhero team New Guardians
New Guardians
New Guardians is a short-lived series published by DC Comics. It was a spin-off from the Millennium event,and ran for twelve issue, from 1988 through 1989, before being canceled. It is also the name of the group of characters who appeared in the series. The characters first appeared in Millennium...
, and took it upon themselves to fight evil wherever it lurked on Earth.
Outwardly resembling nearly every stereotype of a gay man, Extraño initially wore loose colorful garments and has a lively, jovial attitude. He refers to himself as "Auntie" and usually imparts parent-like advice to his teammates. In reality, he may be the very first openly gay superhero, a distinction usually given to Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Northstar who, while coming out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
a few years after Extraño was introduced, was a much more popular character who existed for ten years prior and was implied to be gay in those appearances.
Serving as the team's resident magician, he could fire blasts of energy from his hands, levitate, and perform a large number of "stage tricks,including ping-pong 'balls'" to outwit his foes. Usually playing the role of comic relief
Comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
, his flamboyant behavior was regarded as everything from funny to hateful by readers. He had an earnest sense of justice and love of life that made him popular with his teammates. During The New Guardians short run, Extraño acquired a powerful crystal skull (which seemed to greatly amplify his abilities) and a more traditional, "masculine" superhero costume, perhaps as a reaction to the comments of readers.
In The New Guardians, Extraño helped his team defeat a number of supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
s while trying his best to assist them with personal problems. On one mission in particular, he was attacked by an "AIDS vampire" called the Hemo-Goblin. He was subsequently confirmed to be HIV-positive but it's unclear whether he was infected by Hemo-Goblin or had already been infected prior to his introduction. Though he showed no outward signs of the disease, his infection remained a somewhat unorthodox plot point. Although the Guardians continued to fight evildoers behind the scenes even after their comic ended, their island base was attacked and swallowed up by the villain Entropy in the pages of Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
. For a time it was assumed Extraño died during this incident, but the recent reappearance of other New Guardians throws this into doubt.