Legends of Tomorrow Introduces the Arrowverse's First Asexual Superhero

The CW is a network infamous for its sexy young actors and shows brimming with sexual tension, whether it's Gossip Girl or Smallville or...well...DC's Legends of Tomorrow. And while recent years have seen The CW working to represent LGBTQ people, those who identify as asexual are rarely part of that conversation. Asexual fans were let down when Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), a character who had come out as asexual in the comics shortly before Riverdale debuted, almost immediately entered into a sexual relationship with Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), missing out on the best chance for ace representation in a major CW show.

That ended tonight, when a superhero came out as asexual in a new episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow. For the sake of the west coast fans, we're playing it a little coy right now to give a little bit of spoiler space.

So, yeah. spoilers ahead for tonight's episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, titled "The Fixed Point."

In a scene where Zari 2.0 (Tala Ashe) and Spooner (Lisseth Chavez) are having a little small talk, Spooner reveals that she is not interested in men -- or women. The scene is played fairly low-key, but in it, Zari tells Spooner that she she is describing is asexuality. The two, who had never really spent a lot of time together prior to this episode, then share a moment over the fact that Spooner has, albeit unintentionally, come out to Zari.

"Legends has always been the queerest thing in the superhero toolbelt, in any medium that has motion to it, and it is just great seeing them continue the trend, and expand out of the basic pop culture boxes," Adam P. Knave, who co-wrote a Once and Future Queen, a comic starring an asexual protagonist, said of the revelation. "Everyone these days is very open to 'this character is gay, this character is bisexual'....Supergirl introducing a trans character was phenomenal and groundbreaking, and this feels just as big."

Since Spooner doesn't know exactly what she's describing until she gets some guidance, it likely means there will be a lot of space for the character to grow into the role. Meanwhile, those fans alienated by the decisions made in the early days of Riverdale now have a superhero who identifies as asexual to call their own.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW, before new episodes of Batwoman.