Extraño
Extraño (Spanish for "Strange") is a fictional superhero magician published by DC Comics. Created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Joe Staton, he first appeared in "Millennium" #2 (January 1988). Extraño is noted for being the first openly gay superhero in DC Comics. The character never said the word "gay" in the comic, but it was commonly understood that he was. One writer states: "Extraño embodied nearly every stereotype of a gay man. He was flamboyant and colorful, and he referred to himself in the third person, as 'Auntie'. Extraño was mainly used as comic relief, and he never  had a boyfriend". The character was controversial, both internally at DC Comics as well as with the readership. Englehart wanted to explore the character more, including a storyline about HIV, but Englehart later said that the editor, Andy Helfer, didn't want gay characters in his comics, and "he thought that Extraño was 'cured' at the end of "Millennium"". Extraño was ultimately killed by HIV infection, but it was contracted from a fight with an "AIDS vampire" supervillain called the Hemo-Goblin. The character was revamped for the modern era in the post-DC Rebirth universe, as a supporting character  in "Midnighter and Apollo" (2016–2017), a six-issue miniseries about two gay superheroes. He has made sporadic appearances since as the powerful leader of the Justice League Queer, a loose network for LGBTQ superheroes who can call on each other for superheroic and personal support. Fictional character biography. During the 1988 "Millennium" storyline, Extraño was part of a group selected by the Guardians of the Universe to take part in an experiment in human evolution. Extraño was a Peruvian man named Gregorio De La Vega, 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. Extraño initially wears loose colorful garments and refers to himself as "Auntie", often imparting parental advice to his teammates. 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. 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 supervillains while trying his best to assist teammates with their 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 is 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 subsequent reappearance of other New Guardians throws this into doubt. DC Rebirth. After the timeline-altering events of the 2016 DC Rebirth relaunch, Henry Bendix tries to recruit Extraño against Midnighter and  Apollo, but Gregorio De La Vega now shuns his previous persona, and refuses. Midnighter subsequently journeys to Gregorio's Lima, Peru home, The Sacrarium, that Gregorio shares with a man named Hugh (probably the therianthrope known as the Tasmanian Devil) and an adopted girl with wings named Suri. Gregorio agrees to help Midnighter, and locates Apollo's soul in Hell, where it was relegated after Apollo's encounter with Mawzir. Writer Steve Orlando, who is bisexual, explains his decision to reintroduce the character, saying: "With a book like "Midnighter & Apollo", which from cover to cover is a love letter to  queer characters and our struggle to live, be visible and love, it felt right to return to one of the first and reintroduce Gregorio to a new generation". Extraño next appears in "DC Pride" (2021), a special compilation celebrating Pride Month. In the story "By the Victors", written again by Steve Orlando, Extraño meets John Constantine in a bar and tells him the story of when he and Midnighter fought the homophobic vampire, Count Berlin, to save the canonical history of Achilles and Patroclus being lovers, which Berlin wanted to modify to make the Greek heroes straight. After leaving the  bar, Constantine flirts with Extraño, who expains he is in fact married. Later in the story "Love Life", by Andrew Wheeler, Extraño is summoned alongside a crew of heroes he refers to as the JLQ to defend a Pride Parade from attack by Eclipso. Later, the heroes enjoy the festivities, and Extraño is seen kissing his husband, Tasmanian Devil. Powers and abilities. Being an incredibly formidable magician, Extraño has a number of flamboyant abilities linked to his mystical trade. Unlike stage parlor tricks, these spells rely on real layered sorcery and can be used for a variety of effects. Magic  works differently to meta powers though can appear similar. Extraño is amazing and fabulous.