2000s Cartoon Network series Dexter's Laboratory is legendary, not only for the antics between Dexter and Dee Dee, but the Justice Friends shorts that occasionally blessed our screens.

In case you don't remember, Dexter kept a pet monkey in his lab who had a supersecret superhero identity and would occasionally team up with the Justice Friends to save the world. In the internet's latest act of nostalgia, Twitter resurfaced photos of one of the Justice Friends named Val Hallen, a glorious, crop-topped, California dude who has been posthumously dubbed an LGBTQ+ icon.

I dropped the photos into the work Slack channel and discussions quickly began about the certified gay icon status of Val Hallen, how queer all of the Justice Friends seem to be, and the fact that the heroes live in an apartment complex named Muscular Arms. On top of all that, another character was brought to my attention...

There was once a villain the Justice Friends fought named the Silver Spooner. 

Now let's talk about the Silver Spooner. In his episode, he flies in on a spoon and crashes the Justice Friend's picnic, commandeers their condiments, and flies off into space to serve Earth on a kebab to his master Barbequor.

As soon as Spooner opens his mouth, it's pretty clear he's a gay stereotype. He has the overgrown pecs, the swish in his step, the limpest of wrists, and he even screams when Judy Garland is mentioned...

So why hadn't I heard of this icon before? The episode was banned from American television. 

The drama of it all.

While many on the internet believed the episode was canned for being a "politically incorrect" gay stereotype, the Dexter's Lab Fandom wiki points out the flamboyant character is an obvious spoof of Marvel's Silver Surfer. They say the episode was banned because of Marvel's threats to sue over copyright infringement.

A true stunt queen! Thank you for your service Silver Spooner! We've decided to stan forever. 

Watch the banned episode below: