Serena Williams isn’t just an ace on the tennis court—she’s also a superhero fanatic.

In fact, the retired tennis player shared her meet-cute with now-husband, Alexis Ohanian, involved them gushing over her favorite comic universe: Marvel. 

“During dinner he started talking about Iron Man and Marvel,” Serena, 43, said in an episode of her 2024 ESPN+ docuseries In The Arena. “That’s the way to my heart.” 

Alexis, who also appeared in the episode, noted he mentioned the popular franchise because he was a genuine fan, saying, “This wasn’t just a superficial, ‘Hey, I’ve watched a few movies.’ This is, ‘I have deeply studied the text and I have strong opinions about this lore.’”

Before the duo—who share daughters Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., 7, and Adira River Ohanian, 19 months—bonded over their superhero interests, the first half of their date was a bit intense. According to the Reddit founder, Serena only agreed to their date if her assistant and agent Jill Smoller could tag along, and they came prepared to break the ice. 

“They just bombarded me with questions—it was like two hours of interrogation,” the 41-year-old reflected on the moment, before revealing the questions the trio asked him. “‘Do I have kids? Am I married?’ Nothing was off limits.”

Serena also confirmed they were straightforward in their approach, with Jill even asking him if he was dating anyone else at the time. And it was his honest response about the end of his last relationship that encouraged her to ease back on the questions.

“He was saying that he had broken up with her,” the Olympic gold medalist added. “It changed things when he said that because I was like, ‘Okay, now he’s not being this beast.’”

This isn’t the first time Serena—who married Alexis in November 2017 after two years of dating—has gushed over the MCU, as she praised Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as the “best Marvel movie she’s ever seen” shortly after its 2022 release. 

As for Alex, he recently complimented another one of his wife’s interests: dancing. When Serena made a surprise appearance during Kendrick Lamar’s impressive halftime show at the 2025 Super Bowl, he rated her crip walking as “pretty fantastic” on Instagram.