While comic book characters are no strangers to having their names based on or inspired by famous real-world figures, one X-Men antihero was given a name that was accidentally R-Rated. The X-Men character Gia Whitechapel, who was introduced in 2021, has the same name as a real-life adult actress – a fact that the character’s writer acknowledged in a recent conversation.
Comic books are filled with some of the most unique names in fiction, as Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and other Marvel legends regularly gave characters ridiculous real names outside their superhero moniker. From Werewolf By Night’s human form being known as Jack Russell to Blackagar Boltagon being the actual name of the Inhuman, Black Bolt, most heroes, and villains, especially in the beginnings of the Silver Age, had some amusing and silly names. However, in modern comics, X-Men writer Tini Howard admitted while naming a new antihero, she accidentally made it R-Rated, as it’s the actual name of an adult performer.
Gia Whitechapel first appeared in the X of Swords crossover, as she was the gun-wielding Sheriff of Blightspoke inside the Otherworld pocket dimension. With a slick design and badass personality, the character made a notable impression during her few appearances during the X-Men crossover. However, in a chat with AIPT Comics as part of their X-Men Monday conversations, writer Tini Howard admitted that after giving Gia Whitechapel a name, she was informed that it was the same as a real-life adult performer’s.
This X-Men Character Is Very Different From Her Real-Life Counterpart
In the conversation with AIPT Comics, Tini Howard revealed that Marvel editor Jordan D. White had to explain to her that Gia Whitechapel was actually the same as a real-world adult performer. Howard said she “had no idea” about the new X-Men antihero from the Otherworld sharing a name with an R-Rated adult actress.
It was the phone call where Jordan had to explain to me that the very cool name I’d given to a recent character was also the name of an adult performer, for sure. I had no idea! Just two cool names put together! Zeitgeist, I guess.
It’s quite a coincidence that such a unique name as Gia Whitechapel wouldn’t be unique to the X-Men books the character first appeared in, as a real-life adult performer had the name before her. Thankfully, while Gia Whitechapel’s character was a welcome addition to the X-Men lore, they only made a handful of appearances and didn’t become an important hero in the Marvel Universe. Otherwise, they’d have to give the character a new name, as the X-Men antihero Gia Whitechapel always being connected to an adult actress would be bad for business.
AIPT
