Top 10 Couples in Marvel Comics
For this list, we're looking at our favorite romantic pairings appearing in Marvel comics. Don't expect to find movie-only couples like Pepper and Tony on this list, no matter how much chemistry those two have on the big screen.
#10: Daredevil & Elektra
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The Man without Fear is no stranger to romance, especially romances that end in tragedy. Just look at his other famous lover, Karen Page, who ended up dying in his arms. But if any of Hornhead’s lady friends are more infamous, it’s his college sweetheart who later became a feared ninja assassin following the death of her father. Years after parting ways, the two re-connected, but Elektra was killed by the assassin Bullseye and resurrected as a brainwashed killer by The Hand, a ninja death cult. Obviously, this put their relationship on the rocks a bit. Still, their passionate romance is regarded as a fan-favorite pairing.
#9: Colossus & Shadowcat
Finding love is hard at the best of times, doubly so when you’re feared and hated by a world you’ve sworn to protect. But these two longtime X-Men finally gave in to their feelings for one another, in typically insane circumstances. After the metal-skinned Russian hero died in order to cure the mutant-killing Legacy Virus, he was promptly resurrected by an alien warlord. It was after this resurrection that their relationship finally went to the next level. There have been some bumps on the road since, not the least of which being the time Kitty spent trapped inside a giant alien space bullet, which is bound to put a damper on a relationship.
#8: Luke Cage & Jessica Jones
Some romances begin when star-crossed lovers meet under intense circumstances, and there are certainly some examples of that on this list. But sometimes love starts in a much more mundane place, like a drunken late-night hookup. This was the case when the hard-bitten private eye with a past in the superhero biz first met her future husband, the unbreakable guardian of Harlem. But when the former Jewel turned out to be pregnant, their relationship intensified and the two eventually got married. Life as first-time parents and superheroes isn’t known for being easy, but these two make it work, with the help of their friends and former nanny Squirrel Girl.
#7: Thor & Jane Foster
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Not everyone can say that they’ve been romantically linked with a Norse god, but sometimes life throws a curveball at you. Or in this case, a hammer. For years, the Asgardian hero and his Earthly paramour were locked in a strange love triangle, as Foster was not aware that her co-worker Donald Blake was, in fact, the God of Thunder, whom she had an infatuation with. Jane eventually moved on and had a family with Dr. Keith Kinkaid, but it ended in tragedy when he and their son were killed in a car accident. Foster even took up the mantle of Thor herself when the Odinson was going through a rough patch. It’s not often that both halves of a couple have had the same superhero identity!
#6: Bruce Banner & Betty Ross
The daughter of Thunderbolt Ross, Betty’s relationship with Bruce is made even more complicated by the fact that her father is always out to get her lover's big green alter ego. Nonetheless, Betty and Bruce have been together through thick and thin, providing Bruce with a reason to keep fighting for his freedom. The two even sparked a relationship when Betty became Red She-Hulk! Arguably, Bruce’s presence in Betty’s life has caused her more pain than anything else, but these two are simply too iconic and long-lasting to ignore when discussing Marvel Comics couples.
#5: Cyclops & Jean Grey
We mentioned before that life for the X-Men is anything but quiet, and that romances between Marvel’s Merry Mutants often exist up under the wildest of circumstances. This Marvel power couple have been sweethearts for decades, weathering trial after trial together. Without a doubt, their most grueling experience together was when Jean was possessed by the Phoenix Force, a cosmic entity whose influence eventually led to her death. She came back, because it’s still comics after all, and their relationship eventually resumed in spite of the minor roadblock of Scott having entered a relationship with his former love’s genetic clone. Talk about a new level of awkward.
#4: Black Panther & Storm
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The longtime X-Man and the King of Wakanda were an item for quite a while, tying the knot and making the weather-controlling mutant the Queen of Wakanda. You’d think that the two first crossed paths as a part of their globetrotting superhero lifestyles, but they actually met as young children. By an astonishing coincidence, the two future heroes ran into one another when T’Challa saved her, with Ororo returning the favor later in the story. A romance began between the two that would be rekindled years later when they were both prominent members of the superhero community. Unfortunately, the two would eventually divorce, but that doesn’t take away from the incredible relationship they shared.
#3: Gambit & Rogue
Those X-Men just can’t keep their hands off each other huh? Well, in this case, the romantically linked teammates were forced to do just that, like it or not. After all, it’s hard to pursue a relationship when the merest touch causes you to absorb someone’s memories and abilities. Still, the heart wants what it wants, and the two found it increasingly hard to deny their attraction. While they spent years apart, a recent mission that required them to pose as a married couple caused them to rekindle their longstanding romance while attempting to thwart a villain who had been replacing unsuspecting mutants with robot doppelgangers.
#2: Mister Fantastic & the Invisible Woman
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They don’t call the Fantastic Four “Marvel’s First Family” for nothing. The Marvel power-couple to end them all, these two have been happily married for longer than most comics fans can remember, and their union has remained stable in a universe plagued with on-again/off-again pairings. Or as stable as anything can be in the Marvel Universe. Unsurprisingly, raising two super-powered kids, keeping their teammates in line, battling the forces of evil and running Fantastic Four Incorporated has put some strain on their marriage, and they’ve definitely had some rough patches. But even after fifty years of wedded bliss, the two are still going strong.
#1: Spider-Man & Mary Jane Watson
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Like many superheroes, Spidey’s love life has been marred by tragedy, with his high school sweetheart Gwen Stacy tragically dying during a battle with the Green Goblin. But despite everything life has thrown at him, the webhead still has managed to find happiness, and it all began with the words “Face it, tiger, you just hit the jackpot”. Spidey’s romance with the vivacious MJ has had some ups and downs, the most notorious being when their marriage was erased from the timeline after Spidey made a deal with the devil - but the two almost always seem to end up back together. It’s like a storybook. A weird, convoluted storybook.
