'Avengers' gay character 'wasn't meant to be put on a pedestal,' says Marvel president

Avengers: Endgame made headlines earlier this year with the introduction of the first gay character in the franchise's 11-year history. But according to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the moment wasn't intended as a major milestone.

"It was just meant as a small step, to say and attest, to not have to be made a big deal about it, to have Steve Rogers, this noble hero, not even blink an eye at it, when he’s dealing with this grieving man and this grieving support group," he explained to Mashable in a call.

Following the release of Endgame, the reveal was met with some mild praise but also a fair amount of criticism, largely from viewers unimpressed by such a tiny gesture.

After years of fans clamoring for LGBTQ representation within the MCU, and years of Marvel promising that they'd be getting it "soon" -- years the studio spent talking up the possibility of unknown gay characters while downplaying more explicit references -- it was a letdown to see the first clear example of queer representation come in the form of a no-name, single-scene character.

And regardless of Feige's comments that it wasn't meant to be "a big deal," Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo (the former of whom played the character onscreen) did give an interview talking up how "representation is really important" to them.

So maybe it wasn't supposed to be an historic first -- but it was, because Marvel hadn't bothered to offer us any other, better queer representation up until this point. The scene may have been a nod in the right direction, but looking that way only served to remind us how far Marvel still has to go, and of how little progress they've managed to make on that front over 20+ films.

At this point, though, Feige isn't ready to say much more about when we will see a more significant LGBTQ character than the one in Endgame. Only that it will happen "in the not-too-distant future."

"It was not meant to be showcased as the first, put on a pedestal as the first," he said of Endgame's gay moment. "We are doing that soon, in a way that is meant to do that, and I'm sure we'll get scrutiny in various ways. But it's important."

There is reason to believe he's referring to a concrete, confirmed plans, rather than to some vague possibility. Feige said in 2018 that at least two LGBTQ characters would be coming to the MCU, and there's been a great deal of speculation among fans that Valkryie or someone from The Eternals could be among those revealed as gay.

The studio has long insisted that they're focused on bringing more diversity into the MCU, and Feige reiterated as much during our call.

"It's the way the world is, and we've said for years that we want our films to reflect the world as it is," he said. "And that's what the support group scene is meant to do."

It sounds nice, I guess. But until we actually see what "bigger steps" toward LGBTQ representation the studio has planned, you'll forgive us if we hold our applause.

After all, that Endgame moment was never meant to be made a big deal of anyway.