Hero Romantic Relationships

Logan and Mariko Yashida

Iconic:
Clark Kent and Lois Lane
Peter Parker and Mary Jane, though possibly ruined because no one at Marvel could ever figure out how to write Mary Jane as a married woman

Totally meant for each other, yet never meant to be:
Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle
Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris

Good, but in animation only:
John Stewart and Shayera Hol
Wally West and Artemis Crock (not yet, but I love the "they only think they hate each other" chemistry between them)

New love that's totally working for me:
Kyle Rayner and Soranik Natu, as she seems to bring out the best in him

Forgotten, but fun while it lasted:
Ben Reilly and Jessica Carradine (Ewww! Clone saga! But I liked the chemistry between them.)
Otto Octavius and Angelina Brancale (It was a pleasant surprise to see some redeeming qualities in the ol' bowlcut.)

Bruce + Selina is the perfect couple

Bruce + Diana is good, but not perfect... If there was no Selina I'd say she's the next best choice

Bruce + Zatanna... I think they should play this relationship up more in the brotherly/sisterly love department which is what I was hoping would happen in Batman: The Dark Knight since it focuses mainly on the magical.

Bruce + Barbara is... let's not go there...

Bruce + Katherine Kane is funny because Batwoman I his aunt on his mother's side..not blood related.

Bruce + Sasha was interesting

Bruce + Jezebel = lame

I can think of more Bruce relationships but meh...

Of course there is also

Dick + a cacophonous amount of ladies that I can't remember most of their names

and...

Tim Drake + Stephanie Brown
Tim Drake + Cassandra Cain (never took off, but hinted at and toyed with shortly)
Tim Drake + Cassandra Sandsmark (meh...teen drama crap)

Tim Drake + Tamera Fox ...

I have no idea what the Tam Fox relationship is. They are engaged in the public eye of the DCU, but that's an act, but they're close enough that she knows he's Red Robin so... who knows...

So, being intrigued by this subject, I tried to do some research. I found it easier to find which heroes are/had been married, so I made a list. It’s surprisingly long. It doesn’t contain everyone, and I have not mentioned many of those who are romantic or just dating.

Wally West and Linda Park-West. This paring brought Wally out of his womanizing ways and his love for Linda was the reason he was the first speedster to come back from the Speedforce.

Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen. A relationship that has been around almost as long as Barry himself. These two have been married since Flash #165 way back in 1966.

Jay Garrick and Joan Williams-Garrick. Seems like the speedsters get romantic a lot and married on a regular basis. Joan appeared way back in Flash Comics #1 in 1940. These two have been married since either a few months after Jay gained superpowers (Flash the Fastest Man Alive #1) or shortly before the Justice Society disbanded and Jay retired superheroics on a regular basis (sometime in 1951).

Aquaman and Mera – these two have been married since 1964. It’s been an interesting relationship.

Adam Strange and Alanna. This is another pair that have been married for a long time. They even have a daughter, Aleea.

Swamp Thing and Abbigail Arcane-Holland. Another strange couple. Somehow the earth elemental and his woman managed to even have a daughter, Tefé. A version of Abby was portrayed by Adrienne Barbeau in the 1982 movie. And we were treated to her….assets.

Allan Scot (golden age Green Lantern) married Alyx Florin (actually Rose Canton AKA the Thorn) had two children with her (Obsidian and Jade). His marriage with Alyx lasted as long as their wedding night. Rose Canton is now dead, and Allen married another former villainess, The Harlequin, who was actually Molly Maynne. Allen seems to have an affinity with the bad girls.

Wanna go for controversy? Apollo and Midnighter are apparently married. Although with the revamp of DCnU, this may be null.

Black Adam and Isis are officially married.

Mister Miracle Scott Free and Big Barda have been married for quite some time as well. Myself, I am curious how children would work in that relationship…

Slade Wilson was married to Adeline Kane, and they had two sons. This relationship didn’t end well, as they divorced, Adeline and his two boys died while being villains.

Hawkman and Hawkwoman/Hawkgirl – a love affair apparently going back centuries. These two have also been a couple almost from their first appearances.

Tempest and Dolphin have been a couple for a number of years as well. Since at least Zero Hour. They are also married. They have a son named Cerdian. However, Cerdian and Dolphin are not known to be alive after Specter laid the smack down on Atlantis in Day of Vengeance.

Rocket Red Dmitri Pushkin has been married for the entire history of the character. In fact, he and Animal Man got along initially because they both had families.

Kent and Inza Nelson – at least one version of Dr. Fate.

Jesse Quick/Liberty Belle has married the newest version of Hour Man in the Justice Society.

Jonathan and Martha Kent – this couple is instrumental in the development of Clark and making him the man he is.

Vision and Scarlet Witch. A strange coupling. Somehow resulting in children. Who may have just been Scarlet Witch’s imagination, depending on which retcon you’re talking about.

Red Tornado as John Smith and Kathy Sutton. Another strange relationship with a robot marrying a human. No children being born, but a girl named Traya was adopted.

Rex Mason (Metamporpho) and Saphire Stagg Mason. When she believed Rex was dead, Saphire was pressured into marrying another man. They have since been reunited and have a son named Joseph.

Robert Lanstrom (Man-Bat) is married to Francine (She-Bat) and has been for most of the history of the character. They now have two children, Rebecca and Aaron. Aaron is described as a mutant, as he has inherited the bat-like features of his father.

Donna Troy married her sweetheart Terry Long and they had a child they named Robert. Then Terry and Robert were killed in an accident.

Travis Morgan, the Warlord, is married to Tara and they have a son named Joshua.

Jaime Reyes is apparently involved with Tracy Thirteen. For now. With the reboot sending him back to high-school, this will probably dissolve.

Jason Rusch was in steady relationship with the girl named Gehenna, until “Darkfire” turned her into salt during Blackest Night.

Luke Cage and Jessica Drew are now a couple and of course have a baby.

Bruce Banner and Betty Ross are married, though with all the deaths and resurrections in their continued story, most writers seem to forget this. Bruce has also been romantically involved with Jarella and of course most recently with Caiera the Oldstrong. Jarella was killed saving a child by a falling wall, and of course Caiera was blown up by the ship that brought Hulk to Sakaar.

Angel Salvadore - Tempest of New Mutants and New Warriors - and Beak had a romantic relationship that resulted in at least six children. They may also be married now.

Both Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm have been romantically linked to Alicia Masters, Ben for much longer than Johnny. Johnny even married her before he found that she was a Skrull imposter named Lyja. I’m not sure if Ben and Alicia are still an item or not.

Black Bolt and Medusa were married, until Black Bolt was killed.

Crystal of the Inhumans and Quicksilver were married for some time and they have a daughter. Apparently at this time they are divorce, and Crystal has married Ronan the Accuser of the Kree Imperial Guard.

Captain Britain and Meggan are married. They had a long love affair before the marriage.

Hawkeye and Mockingbird also married after a long courtship. Then she died. And was resurrected and died again, and finally was revealed to have been kidnapped by Skrulls.

Hercules has been married to Hebbe for centuries, yet like most Greek/Roman gods still goes around womanizing. He was married and had a child well before Hebbe, but that ended badly…

Curt Connors (the Lizard) was married, but his wife died of radiation poison and the Lizard personality killed his son Billy.

Namor apparently married Dorma, but she died soon afterward. Plus, we all know Namor lusts after Sue Richards on a regular basis.

Everyone seems to forget Heather and James Hudson. These two have been married for as long as they have been around. This is another couple who has had to deal with death and resurrection, although this time it was the male partner who died and came back. They actually managed to have a child somewhat recently. A daughter they named Becky.

Hank Pym and Wasp were married for quite a while as well. Again the relationship was tumultuous.

Even Professor X has had a few romantic relationships over the years, at one time being married to the Shi’ar Lilandra.

Diamond Lil and Madison Jefferies finally married, and retired mostly from superhero life, but this is another marriage where the wife was killed.

Rick Jones and Marlo Chandler are another great couple. Again after marriage, the wife was killed, and also brought back to life.

Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-devil have been married for some time as well. They both seem to have solo adventures.





It seems that the writers of previous generations were quite willing to have heroes have romantic relationships that would develop naturally and even have their characters be happily married. However, the newest generation of writers (those from the mid-late 90s on) only seem to develop romantic relationships with characters in order to torture the protagonists of their stories. (see Women in Refrigerators). Sadly, many of today’s romantic leads for the heroes (both male and female) are created for express purpose for tormenting the hero. Writers are specifically building these characters up so that when they do horrible things to them the readers will have a predictable reaction. (go to WiR and see how some of the writers actually admit this.)

The twisted part of my mind has always wondered just what would happen in bed between a Super and a Normy..

Then I saw Hancock..

The best?

-Reed and Sue
-Pete and MJ
-Lois and Clark
-Wally and Linda
-Scott and Emma
-Titania and Absorbing Man ... oh, wait. heroic. bah!

-Vance and Angelica (Justice & Firestar)
-Rogue and Gambit
-Oliver and Dinah (what? they make sense to me!)
-Ted and Booster Gold (I keed! I keed! :P )

From the Metasciences' song Four-Color Love Story:

Ultimate Colossus and Northstar

I too love the Batman Wonder Woman pairing hinted at in JLU.

And my all time favorite pairing to this day remains Hawkeye and Mockingbird. the two play off each other so well that its just so much fun to read.

Batman and Catwoman is also a fun relationship to poke with a stick every now and then.

I personally have always despised the Gambit Rogue pairing just never have been able to get behind them as a couple, hes too much of a rogue (pun not intended) and shes been hurt enough by her powers to have that in her life.

Adn while I dont personaly care for the couples I havent seen mentioned in the Iconics Sue and Reed. they are quite literaly the first couple of Marvel as iconic as the first couple of DC Lois and Clark.

Also Wasp and Hank pym should be mentioned. While Pym himself may suck one has to applaud that for decades now hes held the heart of one of the premier beauties in the Marvel U.

for an alternate comic couple I also like Cutter and Leeta from Elf Quest. talk about a whirlwind romance.