Although everyone's coming-out experience is singular, those circumstances still can have common threads that LGBTQ community members with a variety of different backgrounds can find relatable.

It's a safe bet, however, that no one else has had—and probably will ever have—the kind of sexual self-discovery that the X-Men's Iceman is currently encountering in the Marvel Universe. 

In this week's All-New X-Men #40, Marvel's frosty mutant is outed as gay by his telepathic teammate, Jean Grey. It's a revelation he struggles with because this Iceman is a younger Iceman brought from the past who has seen that his older, present-day Iceman self is actively hetero. 

Yeah, that's probably not an anecdote that gets told frequently at a lot of PFLAG meetings. 

All-New X-Men #40 (2015), written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Mahmud Asrar. (Marvel Comics)

But that's superhero comic books for you, a genre that continues to prove that the shortest narrative distance between two emotional points is a straight messing with the space-time continuum to create an evil alternate universe for a multi-part event series with 48 variant covers.

Thankfully, not all of the coming out moments in comic books are quite as complicated as Iceman's. Here's a look at eight other occasions when a gay character has revealed his or her sexuality in a more straightforward and—in most cases—down-to-earth fashion. 

1. Northstar (Alpha Flight #106)

Alpha Flight #106 (1992), written by Scott Lobdell and illustrated by Mark Pacella and Dan Panosian. (Marvel Comics)

The most famous comic book coming-out moment, unfortunately, isn't the medium's most elegant. Northstar's homosexuality had been hinted at for years, but it was finally confirmed while he protects an abandoned baby dying of AIDS. The revelation made real-world headlines in 1992, and the Canadian mutant eventually married his human lover in 2012.

2. Batwoman (Detective Comics #859)

Detective Comics #859 (2010), written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by J.H. Williams III. (DC Comics)

Although Batwoman has been out as a lesbian since she was introduced in 2006, creators Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III used a powerful flashback scene to show the price the crimefighter paid to keep her personal integrity. As a cadet in the U.S. Military Academy, Kate Kane (Batwoman's real name) is accused of having an inappropriate lesbian relationship and is given the option of denying it in order to avoid expulsion. Kate, however, quotes the academy's motto—"A cadet shall not lie, cheat or steal, nor suffer others to do so"—and stays true to herself, admiting she's gay and leaving the academy. 

3. Alison Bechdel (Fun Home)

Fun Home (2006) by Allison Bechdel. (Houghton Mifflin)

You're not sure whether to laugh or feel depressed at Bechdel's description of how she told her parents by mail that she was a lesbian. Bechdel's attempt at personal validation from her parents is completely undermined by her mother's casual revelations about Bechdel's father's affairs and abuse.

4. Apollo and Midnighter (The Authority #8)

The Authority #8 (1999), written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary. (Wildstorm/DC Comics)

Given their constant yet affectionate bickering, The Authority's Apollo and Midnighter came across like an old married couple, but the nature of the relationship between these Superman and Batman analoges was never directly stated early on. That's why this tender moment and brief kiss before battle is rewarding as a coming-out moment between the characters and the audience. Eventually, Apollo and Midnighter married and later became the "parents" of their team leader who was reincarnated as a baby born Jan. 1, 2000, in Singapore. 

5. Emma (Blue Is the Warmest Color)

Blue Is the Warmest Color (2010), by Julie Maroh. (Arsenal Pulp Press) 

This French graphic novel (adapted into a movie starring Léa Seydoux, which won the Palm d'Or at Cannes in 2013) is an extended coming-out story for Clementine, who comes to terms with her own sexuality, as well as her feelings for Emma, her friend and eventual lover. Emma is able to help Clementine along her personal journey by sharing her own coming out experience. Emma's tale is a contrast to Clementine's struggles, but the two share a common bond of emotional uncertainty that provides the foundation for their future—and tragic—relationship.

6. Pied Piper (The Flash #53)

The Flash #53 (1991), written by William Messner-Loeb and illustrated by Greg LaRocque and José Marzan Jr. (DC Comics)

Pied Piper's admission to the Flash plays like an early draft of a Seinfeld script ("Not that there's anything wrong with that"), which isn't a criticism. Flash tries to act cool and casual after finding out his former foe and current friend is gay, but it comes off awkward, and the hero bails. It's a nice touch to have a superhero who dresses up in skintight spandex feel more comfortable talking about crime and clown-faced mass murderers than about personal sexuality.

7. Scandal Savage (Villains United #6)

Villains United #6 (2005), written by Gail Simone and illustrated by Dale Eaglesham and Wade Von Grawbadger. (DC Comics)

Like the moment between Apollo and Midnighter, this scene between bad guy leader Scandal Savage, daugther of immortal tryant Vandal Savage, and her lover Knockout is more for the audience than the characters. The beauty of the scene is its juxtaposition of "save the day" violence (Knockout rescues Scandal by leveling her opponent, Talia al Ghul) and tender romance. Samantha Fox was right: Naughy girls need love, too.

8. Monsieur Mallah and the Brain (Doom Patrol #34)

Doom Patrol #34 (1990), written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Richard Case and John Nyberg. (DC Comics)

When you deal with a fictional world populated with flying aliens and space cops with magic wishing rings, you have to be able to accept an emotional and sexual spectrum that's wide-ranging and varied.

Monsieur Mallah is a super-intelligent male gorilla who carries a machine gun, wears the beret of Che Guevara given to him by Fidel Castro and enjoys discussing philosophy. Mallah got this way thanks, in part, to experiments by the Brain, a mad scientist whose brain lives in a skull-shaped tank after his body was destroyed.

Mallah eventually transplants the Brain's … er, brain into a fully functional robot body. For the first time, Mallah and the Brain are able to express their true feelings for one another. The robot, however, is boobytrapped, and it explodes as the two kiss for the first time, leaving nothing behind except Che's beret.

While the entire scenario sounds absurd, Grant Morrison and Richard Case's love story chips away at the rigid definitions of mind and body and examines the fluidity of identity when emotions are involved. The romantic love between Mallah, a literate primate with Marxist leanings and a French accent, and the Brain, a scientifically gifted, disembodied lump of gray matter, isn't meant to be laughed at or viewed as spectacle. It's there to show the purity in going after what the heart wants and not being ashamed for coming out about it.