Northstar rejoins the X-Men: Should we get our hopes up?

A bit of gay news from the land of comics: In the latest issue of Uncanny X-Men, gay mutant Northstar is recruited to re-join the team. (Thanks to Cosmiclad, Dane Hill and DigitalLux for the tip!)

 I've got a few reasons to feel wary about seeing Northstar again, the first of which being that the last time he appeared in an X-Men book he was stuck nursing a crush on Iceman (an unavailable straight guy) and he hasn't really had any really great moments since then. 

However, there are promising signs for this run. For one thing, in talking about his approach to the series writer Matt Fraction revealed that he has a fairly well-rounded view of Northstar.

He’s extremely confident in who he is and what he can do. Having someone positive and assertive is kind of nice in a team full of people wracked with angst and self-doubt... It’s seems like he’d be an adrenalin junkie and (extreme sports) would be the kind of thing he’d be into. I also want to exploit that and have that, in, of being famous. And I like that he’s an unapologetic, out-of-the-closet gay man. That’s great to write too.

It's a definite plus that Fraction doesn't see Northstar as merely "the gay mutant" though I don't want that part of him ignored, either. That's the challenge with Northstar and, most likely, why so many writers avoid using him.

However, I also found the scene where Wolverine recruits Northstar for the team promising.

So. At the moment, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic. Only time will tell if Fraction will be the one to finally figure out how to handle Northstar post-coming out. In the meantime, since Greg Land is working on the art, anyone want to guess who's the inspiration for Northstar's appearance?

And while I'm on the topic of Marvel comics, I'm curious what people think of Marvel Divas, the upcoming mini-series from out writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. The series focuses on four gay-fave Marvel heroines (Hellcat, Photon, Firestar and Black Cat) in a story that was pitched as "Sex and the City in the Marvel Universe."

Marvel Divas

Aguirre-Sacasa wrote the Wiccan issue of Young Avengers Presents, so I could see the story meeting the potential of the concept. Still, that image has me feeling a bit cynical about the series. At best, I suspect that kind of art will undercut any examination of what it's like to be a woman in the male-dominated Marvel Universe.

What do you think? Do you hold hope that this run as part of the X-Men will be better than Northstar's last gig? Does Marvel Divas sound at all interesting, or are Sex and the City homages so 2004?