Extraño

Not so much a new character, Extraño—a.k.a. Gregorio De La Vega—is a Peruvian magician first introduced to the DC Comics universe back in 1988.

One of the first gay characters in mainstream comics, Extraño was, well, problematic: He wore a flamboyant costume, called himself “Auntie,” and fought an AIDS vampire called Hemo-Goblin who infected him with HIV. (I’m not making this up.)

It was presumed Extraño and his teammates in the New Guardians died when their island base was destroyed, but the character has returned with a pretty significant role in the current Midnighter & Apollo mini-series.

Thankfully, things are much improved: He’s a Doctor Strange-type now, and more of a mature, handsome daddy. (Literally—he has a husband and child.) Given that Apollo and Midnighter are a couple themselves, he’s no longer relegated to token character status.

It’ll be interesting to see how much of Gregorio’s previous continuity will be rolled into the current take on the character.