8 Great Couples In Superhero Movies

Romance in a superhero movie is difficult to get right. Next to all the necessary action, high stakes and general caped crusading, the love story element isn’t high up on the list of important constituent parts. As such, portraying a strong central relationship that the audience can get behind is no easy feat. Sometimes they end up being tedious – Mr. Fantastic and Sue Storm in 2005’s Fantastic Four – or bizarrely shoe-horned in, like Black Widow and Hulk. How the hell did that one happen? However, some comic book movies do actually manage to get sparks flying between their male and female leads (sadly, Hollywood hasn’t reached the point where studios feel comfortable putting a gay relationship in a superhero movie… yet). From Superman to Spider-Man, and from Iron Man to Batman, join us as we take a look at several heroes that have been quite lucky in the love department. 8) Mr. Incredible And Elastigirl (The Incredibles) Pixar’s The Incredibles succeeded where every Fantastic Four movie has failed, as it gave us a fun and fleshed-out portrayal of a superhero family. And, at the heart of this was the strained but loving marriage between Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. For a family film, The Incredibles deals with some pretty adult topics, such as Helen Parr mistaking Bob’s secret return to superheroing for an adulterous affair. There's also an incredibly dark part where Mr. I believes that his nemesis Syndrome has murdered his wife and children. In that moment, Mr. Incredible realizes that he shouldn't take his family for granted in his quest to recapture the glory days. As he says, he might have superstrength, but he isn’t strong enough to lose them. 7) Tony Stark And Pepper Potts (Iron Man 1 - 3) The Iron Man movies make full use of the franchise format to expand the hurried romance we're used to seeing in films into something more believable and satisfying. Though Pepper and Tony are clearly sweet on each other in Iron Man, they only finally get together in Iron Man 2. In Iron Man 3, their relationship is cemented when Tony states that the most important thing in his life is not his billions, or even his Iron Man suits, but Pepper. It’s thanks to her as much as the whole superhero thing that Tony is a much better person by the end of the trilogy. Unfortunately, and out of nowhere, Captain America: Civil War dropped the bombshell that Tony and Pepper had split, potentially for good. If that's really the case, hopefully we'll get a better resolution for the couple in the future. 6) Peter Parker And Gwen Stacy (The Amazing Spider-Man 1 - 2) Despite a lot of promise, The Amazing Spider-Man movies ultimately didn’t live up to the title. In terms of plot and world-building, the films were sorely lacking, but the performances of its two talented leads cannot be faulted. While how Andrew Garfield fared at the geeky side of Peter Parker is often contested, Emma Stone is terrific all round as the charismatic Gwen Stacy - whose intelligence and humour prevents her from being a damsel in distress. Probably mostly due to the pair dating behind the scenes at the time, Garfield and Stone have terrific chemistry and they really feel like a believable couple - unlike certain other superhero movie pairings we can think of (*cough* Thor and Jane Foster *cough*). Plus, because of our belief in the pair as a couple, Gwen’s heartbreaking death in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was the most powerful moment of the franchise. 5) Harley Quinn And The Joker (Suicide Squad) The presentation of Harley Quinn and The Joker’s romance in Suicide Squad has caused an endless amount of controversy ever since the movie came out. Though traditionally depicted as a volatile, abusive relationship, Suicide Squad seemed to present the pair as two crazy people in love. A simplification of the fascinating dynamic from the comics (and Batman: The Animated Series, which created Harley) it may be, but there are still layers to be unpicked by the viewer in Harley and Mr J.’s romance. Discounting the deleted scenes, which apparently allude to The Joker being an abusive boyfriend, the pair’s mad love is presented as destructive for everyone around them rather than each other. For instance, everyone who dies in Joker’s attempts to get his Queen of the Underworld back by his side. Ultimately, they made for a very interesting on screen couple and we look forward to seeing more from the pair in future – perhaps in the touted Harley and Joker spinooff movie that Margot Robbie is so keen on. 4) Captain America And Peggy Carter (Captain America: The First Avenger) Something that makes Steve Rogers and Peggy so great is that they're both leading lights of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - Agent Carter being the star of her own show rather just another love interest. More than that, though, they are surely the most tragic love story in any superhero film. Sure, straight up death is pretty sad, but how about being separated from your loved one across time? What also marks the two out as one of the most fully-realized comic book movie couples is how we've seen the aftermath of them losing each other. While the movies have had Steve grieving for the life he lost with Peggy, Agent Carter explored the same thing from her point of view. We have likewise seen both of them move on, as we know that Peggy married a soldier Cap once saved while Steve is now in a relationship with… Peggy’s niece? Uh, no comment. 3) Batman And Catwoman (Batman Returns) It's no surprise that Tim Burton’s cavalcade of the carnivalesque that is Batman Returns produced the most twisted superhero movie romance to date. The film might taken a lot of liberties with the source material, but it perfectly portrayed this aspect of the Batman mythos. As we said in our look at the 8 Greatest Female Characters in DC Movies, Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne are made for each other. Both are people struggling to maintain two conflicting lifestyles without losing their sense of self. As Bruce himself says, they are “split right down the centre.” But, unlike The Dark Knight Rises’ versions, these crazy kids couldn’t make it work. While Batman and Catwoman might have enjoyed playful punch-ups on the rooftops of Gotham, Bruce and Selina were both too fractured to end up happily ever after. 2) Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson (Spider-Man 1 - 3) Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies were more romantic than most superhero films, as just as much of their runtime was dedicated to the ups and downs of Peter’s relationship with MJ as it was his fights against Green Goblin, Doc Ock and the like. And there were a heck of a lot of ups and downs. Throughout those three movies, there are various love triangles, abandoned marriages and even some awkward jazz dancing. You might wish that the pair would just settle down and stay together but that’s the story of this version of the characters – they are destined to be together, but fate keeps intervening. As this list proves, the path of true love never runs smooth for a superhero, after all. The couple also have possibly the single most iconic romantic moment in superhero movies – the famous upside down kiss in the rain from the first movie. 1) Superman And Lois Lane (Superman I - III) It’s hard for any other superhero movie couple to beat the most iconic romance in all of comicdom. Discounting the many TV versions of the pair, easily the best of the cinematic Lois and Clarks are Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve from the original Superman films. They even have the only other moment to rival Peter and MJ’s kiss – the scene where Supes takes Lois out for a fly. Even the dated special effects and that goofy moment with Lois’ rhyming voiceover can’t take away from the chemistry between the characters and the actors. With the hero having to protect his identity even at the cost of his love life and the woman trying to find out who the hero really is, Superman and Lois’ influence can be felt throughout every subsequent on-screen superhero romance – from Batman and Vicki Vale to Peter and Mary Jane to TV shows like The Flash’s Barry and Iris. See Super Heroes Movies on Prime Video