The Gladiator

Origin

The Gladiator is one of New York City's greatest and most loved heros. He posseses great strength and speed. He has a wife and daughter but has been living a life secrect even to them. The Gladiator is a closet homosexual, and is shamed by the fact that he can't tell anyone.

Creation

The Gladiator was created by Mark Millar and Leinil Francis Yu for theire series Supercrooks.

Major Story Arcs

Supercrooks

5 years ago, the Gladiator stopped Johnny Bolt and his crew at the time from stealing a case of diamonds. He chased them down to the subway and jump aboard a 55mph train, fought at least 5 super powered criminals and handed them over to the NYPD.

Now, Gladiator in his civilian clothes, meets a man he met on a men seeking men website, in Spain. After flirting with the man the Gladiator, who uses the code name Glenda, learns that he has been set up. The man he is meeting is Johnny Bolt, and Johnny proceeds to blackmail Gladiator into helping him and his team, Supercrooks, rob The Bastard. Johnny goes on to explain that Gladiator is needed to take down Praetorian, a disgrace of a ex-superhero, who is working as the Bastards bodyguard. The Gladiator agrees only if Johnny will keep his secret about being gay.

During the robbery, Gladiator tags along, wearing a hot pink costume Johnny picked out for him, and is pretty much just in the background until Praetorian shows up. Gladiator let him beat up the Supercrooks. When Gladiator finally steps up to Praetorian the bodyguard is terrified to learn that his former teammate is coming for him. With one punch Gladiator crushes Praetorian skull, not killing him but making him brain dead.

Gladiator leaves with the group and head back to USA, there he decides to come out of the closet and is accepted by his superhero teammates for what he truly is.

Anime

In the anime adaptation, Gladiator is almost the same character as he is in the comics, but instead of being a closeted homosexual threatened to be outed, he's a known homosexual being threatened to be exposed for cheating on his partner. After the heist, Gladiator admits to cheating on his partner, his partner forgives him, and they get married.