Tomb Raider writer Rhianna Pratchett also famously declared once that part of her “would’ve loved to make Lara gay.”
Ever wondered whether or not a certain video game character was queer or not? If not, you’re clearly not spending enough time on the internet.
People love to speculate about their favourite games, and lockdown has given everyone plenty of time to do just that. From Lara Croft to Luigi, plenty of iconic video game characters are considered to be secretly queer.
From two fiery Apex Legends to everyone’s second-favourite plumber, here are some of our favourite LGBT+ character theories.
Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)
Miss Lara Croft has had fans speculating for years whether or not she is gay, with one Tomb Raider co-writer saying that they tried ‘so hard’ to make Lara Croft explicitly gay – but a steamy same-sex kiss was quietly scrapped. Tomb Raider writer Rhianna Pratchett also famously declared once that part of her “would’ve loved to make Lara gay.”
There’s been no mention of a partner of any kind from the games or in the live-action movies, but we can but hope.
Marketed as a hyper-masculine protagonist, Lara’s appeal to queer women came from her DIY adventure attitude. Breaking convention by standing tall and on her own feet, Lara has empowered a community of female fans to be just like her.
Despite her sexuality never being confirmed, many LGBT+ fans across the globe have claimed her as their own.
Mirage & Loba (Apex Legends)
Next up, Apex is hiding not one but two probable queeros. The game implicitly hints that Mirage and Loba are either bisexual or pansexual. Let’s unpick the theories behind Mirage’s sexuality.
Firstly, all he does is talk about women, women, women, women – he’s clearly got romance on the brain. Then, in the Season 6 quest comic he refers to ‘my already standing-in-quicksand sexuality issues.’
Loba’s sexuality story is even livelier. The character’s bisexuality theory comes from a voice line where she describes herself as a ‘man-eater and lady killer.’ This became more explicit after a fan tweeted senior writer Tom Casiello asking whether Loba is confirmed bisexual. He replied: ‘You all are discovering all our secrets’.
Luigi (Super Mario Bros.)
Rumours that Luigi is actually a trans woman have been circulating on the world wide web for some time now.
Yoshi calls Luigi ‘mama’ in Super Mario World, and Luigi is often to be seen wearing dresses, or remarks how comfortable they look throughout the series. But whether Luigi is transgender, cisgender, non-binary or anything else whatsoever, we support this iconic plumber regardless.
Lombax (Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart)
Here’s a theory on a character who you haven’t even been able to play yet. The new Lombax from the un-released Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a transgender woman (well, Lombax) … and the evidence is… her tail!
No, wait, hear us out. We know from the series that cisgender female Lombaxes do not have tails – only male Lombaxes have been able to grow them.
Sure, the game designers could just be changing it up in Rift Apart, but if you look closely at the recently revealed art we get another clue. Ratchet and the new Lombax are back to back in almost identical positions, which has led to speculation that they are actually the same person from alternate realities.
Birdo (Super Mario Bros. 2)
One of the earliest LGBT+ character theories is that Birdo is a transgender woman. You may have seen this iconic pink dinosaur with your little mustachioed friends in the past as she’s got a regular spot in the Mario series.
But how do fans know that she’s actually transgender? Well, in the 1988 Super Mario 2 game sheet, Birdo was described as a man who thinks of themselves as female. The guide also uses he/him pronouns for the character as well as a different name.
But later on, Nintendo start using she/her pronouns and renamed her Birdo. Whether Nintendo intended Birdo to be a trans woman, the character has officially transitioned.
Another piece of evidence is a trophy in Super Smash Bros which describes her as “gender indeterminate” and explains that her eggs are fake.
Nintendo hasn’t exactly loudly and proudly proclaimed Birdo’s gender identity, but fans are certain this makes Birdo the first-ever transgender character in a video game.