Yoshi Mishima

Summary: Yoshi was the first openly gay character in the Star Trek Universe and one of the first openly gay characters in all of Marvel Comics' publications. However, the sole series that he appeared in (Star Trek: Starfleet Academy) was short-lived and was canceled after only nineteen issues. As Mike McDermott notes in a biographical entry about Mishima written for the site Gay League, "Yoshi Mishima was the first ever openly homosexual human in the Star Trek Universe. He was portayed as a smart, brave, caring young man who was a capable leader, a skilled officer, and an effective fighter." Yoshi's character was created by the writer Christian Cooper. More than 20 years later, Cooper received an enormous amount of press coverage when he was harassed by a racist woman who objected to him walking his dog. Writing for Mother Jones, Dan Spinelli explains, "In addition to being one of New York’s best-known birding enthusiasts, Cooper was, I learned, a pioneering comics editor. He created the first queer characters in the Star Trek and Marvel fictional universes. Two decades before he was falsely accused of threatening a woman in Central Park (and then refused to aid police), Cooper became one of the first openly-gay editors at Marvel. He was one of the company’s few Black creators, too."

Database Links: Gay League, Comic Vine

Important Issues: It is revealed that Yoshi is gay in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy #17 when a teammate asks him about his boyfriend.