The upcoming Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness film is important for various reasons, but some of those reasons go beyond “setting up the rest of the MCU” in terms of upcoming storylines and paths it could take. There are some key character debuts that are coming as well. One of them being the live-action debut of America Chavez, played by Xochitl Gomez.
Why is she important? Well, aside from being a fan-favorite character, she’s a lesbian in the comics, and many have wondered whether the MCU will “allow” that to continue. According to Kevin Fiege, it is going to happen:
“It’s important, as we always say, that these films present the world as it is, and the world outside your window, as they used to say in publishing,” Feige explained. “That aspect of America’s character is from the comics. We always want to adapt them as well and as truthfully as we can.”
He went on to touch upon other elements of her character:
“I think when people see the movie, much like it is in life, it is not any one thing that defines any one character,” Feige said. “As Xochitl said, she’s a 14-year-old girl figuring out this very traumatic element of her life, which is not the LGBTQ issue, it’s the fact that she keeps being tossed around the Multiverse multiple, multiple times. Being truthful to that and showcasing that, and that is not what the movie is about, but it is an important part of the character she becomes in the comics. We wanted to touch upon that.”
The other reason this is important is that the MCU honestly hasn’t been the best with LGBTQ+ characters. Mainly because they haven’t had any. But if they stick to who Chavez is, that could change. We’ll find out this Friday.
Source: ComicBook.com