In today's issue of the Astonishing X-Men comic, the mutant hero Northstar gets married to his long-term boyfriend Kyle.

Their marriage comes after the character Green Lantern was reinvented as gay earlier this month.

So why the sudden focus on gay themes in the world of superheroes?

Axel Alonso, editor in chief of Marvel Comics, explains that their characters "live in the same world as us" and that they use superheroes to "comment on the real world".

"Northstar's wedding is only the beginning of the story... we could be looking at a historical divorce issue in two years' time," he told the Today programme.

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