Summary
The history of relationships inMarvel Comicshas been turbulent at best. Despite there being a few truly great couples, the nature of constantly developing new stories for comics means that turbulence and changes in love stories are frequent. Many heroes, villains, and even civilians have had baffling connections over the years.
From death to betrayal, and even worse, there are a lot of ways for relationships to end in a comic book. Unfortunately, fans have been left blaming the company for feeling the need for change too often and refusing to let a good thing happen sometimes. This was particularly visible on certain occasions when relationships were always doomed or allowed to die in the most brutal fashions imaginable.
7Cyclops & Madelyne Pryor
Ended By Jean Grey’s Return
Some of the most famousX-Menstories in history came during the 1980s. Unfortunately, Cyclops didn’t deal with the death of Jean Grey very well. Instead, when he found somebody who looked like Jean, such as Madelyne Prior, he fell for her and married her, playing right into the hands of Mister Sinister, who had created Madelyne as a clone of Jean.
Despite their getting married and having a child together, there was never a chance that this relationship could end well. It felt doomed from the beginning, building a life together based on a villain’s plot, and even without that, Scott never would have fallen for Madelyne if she didn’t look like his dead girlfriend. Predictably, when Jean eventually returns from the dead, Scott abandons Madelyne, brutally ending this transient love story. Many fans are hoping that anMCU version of Cyclops could be a better personthan his comic counterpart.
6Wolverine & Mariko
Ended By Wolverine Killing Mariko
Mariko Yashida is just one of the many romantic intereststhatWolverinehas been involved with over the years. However, as said once by one of her creators, Mariko was a character “created to die.” The love affair between this couple was never destined to work out, and despite it being a short one, it is a hugely memorable moment for Wolverine fans in Marvel Comics.
Mariko took over her father’s crime family after Logan killed her father, and she tried to improve it. However, she was attacked by an assassin with a deadly poison which would give her a slow death, and so she begged Logan to finish her off so that she wouldn’t have to suffer. He killed her because he loved her so much, and refused offers to resurrect her because he knew she was too good to want life for the price he would have to pay.
5Peter Parker & Gwen Stacy
Ended By Gwen’s Death
Spider-Manand Mary-Jane have one of the greatest romances in comic book history, but before that, Spider-Man was withGwen Stacy, his high school love. Gwen hassince returned and became Spider-Gwen, a hero from an alternate universe, but her original run in Marvel Comics ended in tragedy.
With Mary-Jane having been introduced, Gwen was always going to suffer from having been around longer. While she and Peter were still dating, she was kidnapped by the Green Goblin and died after a fall, despite Peter being there and shooting a web that nearly caught her in time. The tragedy of this death was a universe-changing moment for all of Marvel Comics, by far the darkest moment up to that point.
4Vision & Scarlet Witch
Ended By Vision’s Reconstruction
This couple was always one of the more surprising pairings in Marvel Comics. Coming together when they both joined the Avengers, each with their villainous origins,Vision and Scarlet Witchquickly fell for each other, although it was delayed slightly by Vision’s struggles as he gained a further level of humanity.
When the two got together, they were manipulated into marriage by Immortus, who didn’t want the Scarlet Witch to have children. She created some anyway using her powers, helping this entire ordeal feel like it was doomed to fail. The real kicker came when the American government dismantled Vision, and Wonder Man wouldn’t let his brain be used when Hank Pym recreated him. Thus, Vision didn’t have emotions and could no longer love Wanda, breaking them up and sending her down ashockingly dark path with some intriguing stories.
3Bruce Banner & Betty Ross
Ended By Hulk Causing Betty’s Death
Betty Rosswas a major characterin the early Marvel Comics world, the daughter of General Thunderbolt Ross. She met and fell forBruce Bannerwhile he was working with her father on a secret project. This same project led to Banner becoming the Hulk, which created a truly turbulent relationship between the two of them over the years.
Since Hulk wasn’t capable of being a family superhero, this pair was almost always doomed to not have the kind of life they were dreaming of. However, the real heartbreak came when Betty found out that years of being around Banner had given her gamma radiation poisoning, which was the cause of her early death, leaving Banner with even more anguish and turmoil.
2Captain Marvel & War Machine
Ended By War Machine’s Death
This pairing was a surprising one that had many fans scratching their heads initially.Captain Marvel and War Machineare an unlikely duo, but both came with military histories and were loyal Avengers, always putting the mission first, which helped make sense out of the two sneakily dating while hiding things from their teammates.
The problem with their relationship was that Carol Danvers was almost impossible to tie down. She left Rhodey to spend a year in space and then reconnects with him, only to lead him to his death against Thanos. Due to her hubris, he was dead. This relationship felt strange from the start, thoughit wasn’t Captain Marvel’s weirdest love interest, but it didn’t just end in Rhodey’s tragic death. This event also sparked the second superhuman Civil War.
1Daredevil & Karen Page
Ended By Karen’s Brutal Demise
The blind vigilanteDaredevilhas had difficulties with relationships over the years, butKaren Pagewas one of his most significant loves. Unfortunately, their relationship was inconsistent at best, and by the time her death came around, the entire situation was downright tragic.
After being convinced by Mysterio that she was HIV-positive, Karen went off the rails, her entire life coming apart. Still though, despite this helping her slip toward madness, she managed to sacrifice herself to save Daredevil from Bullseye. Her death affected him deeply, but even so, this relationship was serious and memorableenough to translate into theDaredevilNetflix series, with slightly less turbulence.
