Origin

Lei Ling is a young professional, working as a high-paying architect at the Sacred Tree Design Studio in the city of Shanghai. The origins of her powers are a mystery even to her, but one day Ling realized she could fly, and decided to protect the city as the superhero Aero. Her powers, status as a superhero and skills as an architect allow Ling the privilege of truly being one with the city.

Creation

Aero was created for the Chinese market by the writer and artist team of Zhou Jiajun and Xu Ming and first appeared in the Chinese Marvel comic Aero (Chinese version) issue 1 (2018). Her first American debut was in War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas issue 1 (2019). The original Chinese Aero comic would later be published or "reprinted" in the American Aero series.

Major Story Arcs

Protector of Shanghai

While balancing her work, superhero persona and social life is taxing, Ling is enjoying her life and being part of her city. While she knows that other superheroes struggle leading a double life, with their loved ones being targetted as a result, Lei insists that won't happen to her and the man she has been seeing recently, Zou Yu.

At an indeterminate time in the present, Aero is fighting for her life against several possessed skyscrapers that she helped to design. She cannot help but sense a magical disturbance in the air, which is confirmed when a vortex opens in the sky above and an old city begins descending over Shanghai. The city, however, is a living biorganic behemoth, half city half monster.

The New Agents of Atlas

During her patrol of the Shanghai harbour, Aero detects abnormalities in the air currents at sea and flies out thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean to discover Filipina hero Wave, who has sensed an equal disturbance in the water flow. Beneath them a volcano land mass explodes out of the ocean and the two are attacked by Fire Demons of Muspelheim, before being rescued by Tutu Pele. The trio travel to Shanghai to fight back Sindr's forces and, alongside fellow Shanghainese hero Sword Master, they beat back the invasion before being teleported to Seoul by the Agents of Atlas. There, Pele reveals that Sindr is planning to melt the polar ice caps, which would raise the Earth's temperature to a level that she could reside there as Queen. Aero agrees to go to the Arctic alongside Wave and Luna Snow to reverse the damage done by forming a massive tornado of ice that rapidly cools the climate. Though Sindr sends a demon of Muspelheim to prevent the heroines' progress, Aero successfully fends off the creature and the trio (now dubbed the Elementals) succeed in restoring the ice levels and cooling the Earth's temperature. Back in China north of Beijing, Aero is teleported with her allies to the Great Wall of China and defeats Sindr for good.

Mentoring Wave

Following the War of the Realms, Aero notices Wave's absence at a ceremony celebrating the heroes of Asia. She tracks Pearl down to a beach Northeast of Manila and enquires why she was not present for the award of valorous defence. Pearl reveals that she has been kicked out of Triumph Division for abandoning her post during the conflict which is confirmed by Red Feather, who interrupts their talk to reclaim the swords and armor Triumph Division supplied Wave with. Pearl resists Red Feather's orders and Aero blocks his attacks, lifting Wave out of the battle with air currents. Pearl is enraged at Ling ending the fight, but Ling wisely reminds her that Red Feather is not the enemy and fighting him will further incriminate her.

Aero infiltrates a high security prison with Wave to clear her name with Triumph Division, interrogating the doctor who ran the AlonTech experiments Pearl participated in. Fleeing the prison by air, the two are caught in a trap by Sea Hunter, a former employee of AlonTech who went rogue after learning the company wanted to colonize the mythical underwater race of sirenas living in the Sulu Sea. Pearl and Ling are welcomed into the home of Sea Hunter and the sirenas' leader, Carina, and offer to help them defend their community from AlonTech's assault. While Wave is eager to assist Aero is suitably cautious of both sides, reminding Pearl that they have only heard a biased account of history. Nonetheless Aero decides to aid the sirenas by forming an underwater whirlwind tunnel that carries them to safety, before they are all ambushed by AlonTech's boss: Reyna Sirena, Queen of the mermaids. Aero is imprisoned in a cell that electrocutes her when she uses her powers, however she manipulates the currents enough to break the sensors and rescue Pearl, who is being prepped for dissection by the sirenas. Together Aero and Wave destroy the underwater lab. Back in Manila at Triumph Hall, Red Feather commends the two heroines for uncovering the secrets of Alontech and formally invites Wave to rejoin Triumph Division. Pearl thanks Ling for her trust and friendship, and Ling is invited to Mactan Island to celebrate with Wave's community.

Incoming

Aero and Wave are patrolling the shores of Pan when Jimmy Woo holo-projects in front of them, asking the whereabouts of Amadeus Cho. Aero expresses her dissatisfaction with Woo's abandoning of the team, insisting that herself and the other Agents have been dealing with crisis after crisis for weeks without any sign of their "leader." Regardless, Aero acquiesces and sends out wind currents to track Amadeus.

Portal City of Pan

King In Black

When Knull the God of Symbiotes attacks Earth, all Avengers-Adjacent heroes are called upon to defend the planet from the hoardes of symbiote dragons descending from space. Aero is fighting the dragon hoard above Shanghai when former Avenger Black Knight falls from the heavens, whom she rescues and welcomes to her city. Ling reveals she is a fan of Dane Whitman's, having read candid details about his fall from grace on a Reddit forum, and has also been called to arms by Tony Stark as a fellow Avengers-Adjacent hero. Lin Lie saves the two from a dragon, believing the invasion to be the work of Chiyou, but when Aero corrects him he passes the responsibility of saving civilians to Ling. She lectures him on the truth of nobility lying in helping others, regardless of an individual's end goal, before the two are interrupted by the Sword of Fu Xi leaving Lin Lie and chosing to be wielded by Black Knight. Dane asks Aero to guide her to his lost Ebony Blade, and Ling accompanies him through Shanghai while summoning her wind clones to assist civilians along the way. However Knull toys with the sword wielders' minds and takes possession of every dragon in the sky, merging them to form a symbiote Chiyou form to terrorize Shanghai. Aero encourages Lin to be a hero, and the two battle Knull/Chiyou while debating why Aero still idiolizes Western heroes despite their flaws. She admires that they are flawed, and battle their own demons, yet they persist to fight the darkness.

One World Under Doom

After Victor Von Doom announces a state of Pax Victoris, the Korean superhero team Tiger Division are ordered to comply with Doom's Pan-Asian expansion protocol. As part of this Aero, Wave and Karma are recruited as new members of the team. With the regional alliance comes rebranding, and Tiger Division are renamed Doom's Division. The team are ordered to aprehend the renegade Sunfire, who defies Doom's world order. The team follow Director Han's intel to Hokkaido, however Wave and Karma attack the team revealing themselves to be allies of Sunfire. Aero manages to protect both herself, Gun-R II and The General from Wave's assault.

Personality

Lei Ling is a polite and hard-working architect, while as Aero she exhibits a more confident demeanour. Although the hero Aero is considered to be somewhat of a celebrity in Shanghai, Ling is very humble and does not let the fame affect her personality. She has also displayed reverence towards American superheroes, being extremely excited to meet Tony Stark and knowing about Black Knight's past from reading about him online.

While she can feel like a newcomer amongst Western heroes, Ling has taken younger Asian heroes under her wing and helped them embrace their powers and destiny with a bit of tough love, such as with Wave and Lin Lie.

At times there is an air of cockiness to Ling's mindset. She is professionally very successful, meaning she has no financial troubles and has a personality of assuredness that reflects that.

Powers & Abilities

Aero is capable of generating high-powered bursts of wind strong enough to smash through concrete, as well as concentrating these currents of air to deliver as punches. Aero's most distinctive use of power is in the ability to generate solid air constructs, which take on various shapes and forms. Her preferred use of this is in the form of swords sharp enough to cut through stone, and these air blades are her most-oft wielded weapon.

As a defensive power, she has generated forces of wind that can act as physical barriers against most forms of damage. She can manipulate air currents to determine the path of objects both as a means of tracking and as a way to move people out of the object's trajectory. Ling can use air currents to sense the presence of certain individuals, such as casing a building for civilians who require help, and the wind can carry voices to her ears. She has even displayed the ability to sense/hear a character's inner monologue, as she did with the Black Knight.

Once she honed the ability to generate constructs, Ling was even able to create clones of herself made out of solid air.

Aero can also fly at high speeds on carry others on her wind currents. She is also able of using wind "springboards," solid air discs that can launch her at great speeds.

Other Media

Video Games

Marvel Future Fight

Aero was added to the mobile game Future Fight in October 2019 alongside fellow Shanghainese hero Sword Master. Aero is a Speed type character that offers speed boosts to her companions. Her bio reads:

Lei Ling, a prominent Chinese architect, defends Shanghai with her the powers of aerokinesis. When not constructing skyscrapers, she controls the air, flying through the sky by creating powerful wind gusts. As a new agent of Agent of Atlas, Aero works to protect the world from any threat to Shanghai and beyond.

Marvel Snap

Aero was added to the mobile card game Marvel Snap at launch with the ability to move every enemy card played to her location. Aero was considered toward the top of Snap's meta, consistently ranking at the top of tier lists and being used at a competitive level.