‘Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ Shows Us MCU’s First Gay Bar – Out Magazine
Welcome to the first gay bar in the MCU!
In the new Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, written and directed by James Gunn, two members of the titular team of outer space heroes make their way to Hollywood, and of course, that means they find themselves in a gay bar.
The plot of the special sees Mantis and Drax traveling to Earth so they can kidnap actor Kevin Bacon to give him as a Christmas present to their group’s leader Peter Quill, a.k.a., Star Lord.
Peter has often regaled them with stories of how Bacon saved the world by dancing (describing the plot of Footloose) and by defeating a masked killer at a summer camp (incorrectly describing the plot of Friday the 13th), and they just know his hero would be the perfect gift.
Of course, the first place you go looking for celebs is Los Angeles, so that’s where our aliens go. After Drax and Mantis have been walking along the Hollywood Walk of Fame collecting tips (because all the tourists think they’re part of the regular cavalcade of costumed performers), they finally get back to their mission.
That’s when they stumble upon the MCU’s first gay bar: a little joint called Yarvo’s (which is not a real gay bar in LA, and seems to be a reference to one of James Gunn’s friends, director David Yarovesky).
As soon as they walk in, Drax (played by former pro wrestler Dave Bautista) immediately draws the attention and stares of the bar’s patrons.
After ordering some of the bar’s “finest libations,” Drax even starts to get hit on.
“Come out and dance with us,” a handsome gay man asks Drax.
“Dancing is for people who are pathetic,” the no-nonsense alien warrior replies.
“Well, how about a drink then?” the man asks, ordering two shots of tequila.
While Mantis is off dancing with the twinks and femmes, Drax is hanging with the bears and jocks at the bar, downing shot after shot with his big, muscular arms around the other revelers.
The scene is short, but it’s sweet. It’s also another example of the MCU’s queerness being so peripheral you could leave to fill up your water bottle and miss it.
Hopefully soon we’ll get to see an actual gay character go into a gay bar and actually flirt with people of the same sex. Still, we’re not holding our gay breaths.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is currently streaming on Disney+.
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