Northstar

Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, the character first appeared in X-Men #120 (April 1979) as a member of the fictional Canadian superhero team, Alpha Flight.

Northstar is a member of a fictional subspecies of humanity known as mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. The character possesses the ability to travel at superhuman speeds, fly, and project photonic energy blasts. His twin sister, Aurora possesses similar abilities. Although the character was initially depicted as a member of Alpha Flight, he has appeared regularly as a member of the X-Men since joining the team of mutants in Uncanny X-Men #414 (December 2002).

The character is one of the first openly gay superheroes in American comic books, and the first openly gay character to come out in a book published by Marvel Comics. He married his husband, Kyle Jinadu, in Astonishing X-Men #51 (June 2012), which was the first depiction of a same-sex marriage in mainstream comics.

Oregon

Oregon (ⁱ/ˈɔːrᵻɡən/ AWR-ə-gən) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oregon is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Washington, on the south by California, on the east by Idaho, and on the southeast by Nevada. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary, and the Snake River delineates much of the eastern boundary. The parallel 42° north delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. It is one of only three states of the contiguous United States to have a coastline on the Pacific Ocean, and the proximity to the ocean heavily influences the state's mild winter climate, despite the latitude.

Oregon was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before Western traders, explorers, and settlers arrived. An autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country in 1843, the Oregon Territory was created in 1848, and Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859. Today, at 98,000 square miles, Oregon is the ninth largest and, with a population of 4 million, 26th most populous U.S. state. The capital of Oregon is Salem, the second most populous of its cities, with 160,614 residents (2013 estimate). With 609,456 residents (2013 estimate), Portland is the largest city in Oregon and ranks 29th in the U.S. Its metro population of 2,314,554 (2013 estimate) is 24th. The Willamette Valley in western Oregon is the state's most densely populated area, home to eight of the ten most populous cities.