Noteworthy asexual cartoon characters
Asexual characters don’t appear often in animation, and even representation in comics seem a bit sparse. Still, I thought I’d try listing a few noteworthy asexual cartoon characters. Since some of these are from comics or animated series I’m not deeply familiar with, or never seen, I go more in depth about some characters than others. I also went with officially confirmed characters, not just fan speculation or the like. (Before someone asks me why I didn’t cover their favorite characters.)
Comics
Archie Comics
Jughead Jones is one of Archie’s most famous characters. Jughead (real name: Forsythe Pendleton Jones III) first appeared in “Pep” #22 (December 1941) and was created by Bob Montana and John L. Goldwater.
Jughead’s noted for several traits: his enormous appetite (though his favorite food’s hamburgers); his laid-back, unconventional attitude; and his disinterest in dating, unlike his girl-obsessed best friend, Archie (or most of the cast’s obsession with dating). While this has had varying portrayals over the decades (with some older stories giving him a sexist “woman hater” treatment), a 2016 story finally used the label “asexual” to describe Jughead.
Boom! Studios
Diane is a character in the “Lumberjanes” series. Diane (in reality the Greek god Artemis) decided to leave Mount Olympus and attend the series’ summer camp as a camper. Diane’s sexuality is discussed in issue #68; she eventually enters a relationship with fellow camper Hes.
DC Comics
Several DC Comics characters are asexual, including:
Connor Hawke. DC’s most prominent asexual superhero, Connor is the son of Oliver “Green Arrow” Queen, and shares his archery skills. After years of speculation by fans, Connor’s sexuality was recently confirmed by DC, with Connor appearing in “DC Pride 2022.” Connor Hawke was created by Kelley Puckett and Jim Aparo.
Roshanna Chatterji, aka Tremor, a woman with earthquake/vibratory powers. Roshanna was created by Gail Simone and Dale Engelesham.
Marvel
Several Marvel characters are asexual, including:
Nadia Van Dyne (The Wasp). The stepdaughter of Janet Van Dyne (the original Wasp) and daughter of Hank Pym, Nadia was raised as a would-be assassin in the infamous “Red Room” (of Black Widow fame), but eventually escaped. She’s strongly interested in science. Like Janet, Nadia has the power to shrink to tiny size. Nadine was created by Mark Waid and Alan Davis.
Gwendolyn “Gwen” Poole (Gwenpool). Gwenpool is a young woman who’s transported from the real world (or an Earth that closely resembles such) to Earth-616 (aka the main Marvel Universe). She became a superhero, operating in a similar irreverent tone as one of her inspirations, Deadpool. Gwen was created by Christopher Hastings, Heather Antos, Jordan D. White, and Chris Bachalo.
Animation
SpongeBob SquarePants (“SpongeBob SquarePants”)
No less than “SpongeBob” creator Steve Hillenburg himself has stated that SpongeBob’s asexual (like real life sea sponges). Our favorite sea sponge is also included in Nickelodeon’s Pride Month social media posts, alongside other LGBTQ characters under the Nick umbrella.
Todd Chavez (“Bojack Horseman”)
Todd Chavez is a main character on the Netflix series “BoJack Horseman.” The adult animated sitcom is about the titular character, a problematic, washed-up former sitcom star who also happens to be an anthropomorphic horse. Todd is the roommate of BoJack, and also one of the few asexual characters in American television animation---or, as GLAAD pointed out, on American television period at one point.
Alastor (“Hazbin Hotel”)
The Amazon Prime animated series “Hazbin Hotel” is a series about a “hotel” in Hades that’s meant to reform condemned souls and allow them to enter Heaven. Alastor (aka “the Radio Demon”) is one of the series’ main characters, who’s identified by the series creators as asexual.
References
Some references I used: