Thread by @whatthe_shea

So, Connor Hawke. Our absolute top priority in canonizing Connor's asexuality was honoring his history. It was crucial that this #DCPride story not feel like a retcon (because it isn't one!), but an inevitability.

Here's a thread of the road that lead us here, starting in 1994!

Connor Hawke is introduced to comics in Green Arrow #0 by Puckett and Aparo. As a young teenager, Connor chose to join the ashram and become a monk where his father Ollie once took refuge and eventually returns. Connor is polite, highly skilled, and eager to connect with Ollie.

As is tradition when anyone tries to get close to Olivier Queen, things get complex. Connor ends up on a dangerous adventure with Ollie and ex-CIA Eddie Fyers. While hiding out in a seedy motel, Connor and Eddie catch an episode of Baywatch and come away with...different takes.

(we stan a practical ace king)

That was from Green Arrow #94, just four issues after Connor's initial introduction. A mere SEVEN issues after that, in Green Arrows #100-101, Ollie sacrifices his own life to thwart an evil plot and leaves Connor with the Green Arrow mantle, exactly a year after Green Arrow #0.

(Petty sidebar shout out to the folks who were Big Mad that Jackson Hyde's 6 YEARS--or 11 years, depending on how you're counting--in continuity as Aqualad were not enough to earn him the Aquaman mantle, But Anyway!!!)

Okay, so Connor's Green Arrow now, and grieving a father he barely started to know. which means he's got a lot of stuff to figure out. But he's jumping into the ring to be a superhero, literally, and begins to write his mother about his...experiences. (Green Arrow #106, 1996)

ENTER CRACKSHOT! A lady so hornt for Connor she's...honestly very gross about it! And it's here that we start to get some more in-depth insight into Connor's perspective--ladies love HIM, the way they did his father. But he's distinctly NOT his father. (Green Arrow #111, 1996)

But Crackshot's not great at taking no for an answer. She shows up on Connor's doorstep a couple years later committed to boning him no matter how much she needs to embarrass herself in the process. She embarrasses herself plenty but does not succeed. (Green Arrow #131, 1998)

Connor also befriends Kyle Rayner, everyone's favorite Lantern (I said what I said), in a GA/GL crossover that tackles Kyle's daddy issues but also digs up some of Connor's, too. Great and thoughtful conversations thanks to @ronmarz and Paul Pelletier! (Green Lantern #76, 1996)

@ronmarz Even after Ollie returns, Connor plays a big role in the Arrow family. And on a night out with Roy, Connor grows frustrated with how he's perceived because he doesn't "chase women." He's a romantic, but he worries he'll never be able to relate to his dad. (Green Arrow #32, 2004)

(Ran out of space, but Green Arrow #32 was written by the wonderful Judd Winick, penciled by Manuel Garcia, and inked by Steve Bird!)

Connor ends up in limbo for a little while, but now he's back in action alongside Damian Wayne in ROBIN. And the story we're telling in #DCPride is firmly current continuity. Connor and Damian's friendship is rooted in their complicated family relationships! (Robin #12, 2021)

tl;dr Connor Hawke's asexuality felt like a piece of his character that's always been there, and we wanted to honor his history by having @RoStein404 @ten_bandits and @GoFrankGo put together a story that would canonize it, authentically and officially. them.us/story/connor-h…

I'm so proud of this story and so grateful to everyone involved in its telling, because "hey y'all said LGBTQIA+ and it would be really meaningful to see that A" was something that stuck with me after #DCPride 2021. Tremor totally rocks, but Connor felt like unfinished business.

Connor holds a special place in many hearts, and while being ace isn't everything about him, it felt like a part we wanted to acknowledge openly, with compassion and consideration and deep affection. I hope you'll feel we've done just that when #DCPride 2022 hits 5/31. 🖤🤍💜💚

I dropped this in a branching thread but I wanted to call it out! In-continuity storytelling is NEVER done in a vacuum. It takes a village and I wasn't even the first editor to say, "Hey, I think this makes some sense and we should do something about it."💖

https://twitter.com/whatthe_shea/status/1516139153519304705