First, though, just what is asexuality? Awareness has grown in recent years, but there’s still some confusion, so allow me to provide a quickie explanation. Asexuality refers to a broad spectrum of identities, all of which indicate a lack of sexual attraction to others. It is different from abstinence, which refers to lack of sexual activity regardless of orientation. As I mentioned, asexuality is a spectrum. According to the split attraction model, a person’s romantic (hugging, kissing, holding hands) orientation does not necessarily have to align with their sexual (self-explanatory) orientation. For example, one can be a heteromantic asexual, meaning they are romantically attracted to people of a different gender and sexually attracted to no one. On the flip side, one could be an aromantic homosexual, meaning they are romantically attracted to no one and sexually attracted to people of the same gender. (All of these combinations qualify as queer, so no gatekeeping.) Comics — including the characters mentioned here — tend to equate asexuality with aromanticism, which ignores the many aces who are in happy romantic relationships with people of all sexual orientations. So while I, an aro-ace reader, will never argue for less representation for myself, I would like to see comics acknowledge the wide variety of asexuality in the future. Also, some of the characters listed here have yet to explicitly say they are asexual: they dance around it with statements about how they’re not interested in relationships. Sometimes the creators confirm they are asexual, but their statements have yet to be addressed in the comics. That, too, needs to change. Queer identities are now mainstream enough that we don’t need to sidestep or hide the issue as was done decades ago. Still, we should celebrate the progress ace characters have made, and that’s what I’m going to do right now. Can’t get enough queer superpeople? Check out this list! One member of the group, Mouse, developed a crush on Tremor, and she was forced to tell him that she is asexual in The Movement #10. There were no hard feelings between them, and Mouse soon turned his attentions to another woman, Margaret, who likes rats almost as much as he does. It is during this outing, depicted in Loki: Agent of Asgard #2, that we get the first hint that she might be asexual. Verity is clearly unimpressed by every single guy she talks to. This is also where she meets Loki, whose mortal disguise she sees through instantly. Her ability to detect lies — Loki’s stock in trade — makes the pair unusual yet compelling friends. Still, her jadedness at the speed-dating event could easily be interpreted as disgust with the men’s lies, not with men or romance generally, until the third-to-last issue of AoA. Here, Verity told her mother she doesn’t “really want anything like that…I never have.” The one thing she didn’t do? Track down all her favorite characters for a kiss or a date. Gwen has no interest in anything that isn’t making money, buying explosives, or becoming “bros” with Miles Morales (who tragically does not appreciate her murderous tendencies). The closest she comes to expressing attraction is when she meets Doctor Strange, whom she describes as, and I quote, “hunka hunka wizard.” Which was my reaction too, so that’s fair. Her sexuality has not been mentioned in the comics, but Yelena’s creator, Devin Grayson, mentioned in a 2020 interview that Yelena would be “probably more likely to identify as asexual than to follow Nat’s romantic path.” Indeed, Yelena seems exclusively focused on her career and has no time for distractions of any kind, as Natasha herself noted not long after meeting Yelena. Unfortunately, Hank was a little dead, so Nadia turned her attention to forming G.I.R.L., a band of teen science geniuses, and otherwise being the best Unstoppable Wasp she can. While she adores just about everyone and is very physically affectionate, she has repeatedly dismissed the idea of dating or going to bed with anyone. Nadia’s creator, Jeremy Whitley, has confirmed on Twitter that Wasp is aro-ace, though she has yet to use that language herself. As the son of (the decidedly sexual) Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Connor has often felt that he has to live up to his father’s legendary image. As far as everyone else is concerned, he has done more than that. His coming out in DC Pride 2022 might even be a sign that he is finally confident in who he is and ready to share his true self with the world.
