Romance has been a staple in comic books since their inception, going as far back as Lois Lane's flirtations with the iconic superhero, Superman. Over the course of nearly a century, the comics industry has also tried out romances that just didn't sit well with fans.
Comic books have an enthusiastic fandom, and few things stir up an active fandom more than romance. "Shipping" has gone from an obscure term in fanfiction circles to a part of the cultural lexicon for good reason: fans will always have strong opinions on which characters should and shouldn't hook up.
10 Superman And Wonder Woman Horrified Both Of Their Fanbases
Virtually every person with the slightest bit of pop-cultural knowledge will have the same answer to the question, "Who is Superman's significant other?" Everybody knows Lois Lane is Superman's one true love. So, when DC announced Superman and Wonder Woman would be an item in the New 52, fans grew very concerned.
Superman and Wonder Woman had always been a model for platonic friendship in comics. The two respected each other and worked well together. The choice to couple them up seemed like an arbitrary one on DC's part. Thankfully, Superman and Lois came back together as of Rebirth.
9 Agent 355 Deserved Better Than Yorick
Brian K. Vaughn's sci-fi epic Y: The Last Man, with art by Pia Guerra, was an amazingly progressive work in the 00s. Over a decade later, some things don't hold up. Agent 355 was one of the strongest, best-written women in comics at the time, but her confession of love to Yorick in the penultimate issue tainted the series for many readers.
Agent 355 had clearly emerged as the hero of the book, with Yorick as more of a sidekick. She had a brief hookup with Dr. Leslie Mann, a pairing many fans liked. However, while 355 never tolerated Yorick's immaturity and impulsivity throughout the entire series, she suddenly seemed to lose her independent personality, becoming a last-minute tragic love interest.
8 Of All Kitty Pryde's Romances, The One With Pete Wisdom Is Probably The Worst
Fans of the beloved series Excalibur, created by Chris Claremont and Alan Davies, often advise newcomers to stop reading once Davies leaves the series. Following Davies' departure, Warren Ellis picks up the series. Ellis' run has its defenders, but few will defend his decision to put a teenage Kate Pryde in a relationship with the much older secret agent, Pete Wisdom.
Kate Pryde fans usually reject any love interest who isn't Magik, Colossus, or Rachel Summers. Pete Wisdom can't be more unlike those three characters, feeling more like Marvel's answer to John Constantine. Ellis claims he didn't know Kitty Pryde was supposed to be a young teen during his run on Excalibur, but their relationship is terrible even without the age difference.
7 A Clone Of Lex Luthor Dated A Clone Of Supergirl
The story of how Lex Luthor, reborn into a younger version of his own body, started dating a clone of Supergirl is complicated enough to break even the most knowledgeable comic book scholars. Unless readers completely catch up on every book in the "Triangle Years," Lex Luthor appears to be dating Supergirl.
Even in context, however, the relationship proved an insult to Supergirl fans, and the hero herself. Luthor treated the cloned version of Supergirl like she was a lesser being. She had little free will of her own, and the stores depicted her as having less intelligence than the original Supergirl.
6 Colossus Cheated On Kitty Pryde A Woman He Barely Knew
The original Secret Wars saw the most popular heroes and villains throughout the Marvel Universe pitted against each other on a distant planet by the omnipotent Beyonder. During the war, Colossus and the Human Torch competed for the affection of the alien healer, Zsaji.
Even though Colossus doesn't speak Zsaji's language, he falls in love with her and breaks up with Kitty Pryde once he returns to Earth — despite the fact Zsaji died resurrecting his fellow superheroes. After his immature infatuation with Zsaji and betrayal of Kitty, many fans turned against Colossus.
5 Psylocke And Cypher Were Abandoned Almost Immediately
Much like how most writers choose to ignore Professor X's secret longings for Jean Grey from early X-Men comics, the budding relationship between Betsy Braddock and Doug Ramsey across New Mutants and X-Men was thankfully never explored. Betsy Braddock never specified her age in X-Men or in Captain Britain, where she originated.
However, writers clearly wrote and drew her to be an adult while Doug was still a young teen. Louise Simonson took over New Mutants and killed Doug Ramsey off because of his unpopularity with readers. Meanwhile, Chris Claremont sent the X-Men to a secretive life in Australia. Psylocke's crush on Doug Ramsey was never referenced, and most readers pretended it never happened.
4 Magneto And Rogue Got Together Before The World Ended
Age of Apocalypse holds up fairly well for a comic arc written in 1995, but it still divides fans for marrying Rogue and Magneto. The romance develops off-panel, as the story jumps from Apocalypse's initial attack on America to the bleak future many years later.
Rogue and Magneto's potential romance piqued readers' interest when the two found themselves trapped in the Savage Land together a few years before Apocalypse, but actually putting the two together and giving them a child was a step too far for some. Gambit had already emerged as the clear front-runner among Rogue's potential love interests, so pairing her with Magneto proved a surprising change in direction.
3 Tommy Monaghan's Last Romance Was His Worst
The cult classic DC series Hitman by Garth Ennis, with art by John McCrea, has one of the best finales in comic book history. However, the sudden romance that forms between Tommy Monaghan and Kathryn McAllister, the hard-nosed CIA agent, comes out of nowhere.
Kathryn's dedication to law and order clashes with Tommy's disregard for any sort of authority, but Kathryn becomes his reluctant ally in order to take down a corrupt CIA. The two hook up and start a romance with very little buildup compared to the series' otherwise well-written relationships.
2 Marvel Apologized For Creating The Marcus/Carol Danvers Storyline
Avengers issue 200 became so infamous Marvel has since apologized for its existence. In it, Captain Marvel (going by Ms. Marvel at the time) became mysteriously pregnant. The pregnancy was rapid and the newborn quickly aged into an adult man named Marcus. Now grown up, Marcus sexually assaulted Carol, thus becoming his own father.
Making the issue more heinous than it already was, the story seemingly depicted Carol becoming attracted to her son and going into space with him, something the other Avengers even encouraged. Chris Claremont addressed the issue a year later in Avengers Annual #10, with art by Michael Golden. Bringing Carol back from space, Claremont retconned her love for Marcus as hypnotism, and gave Carol the opportunity to chastise her teammates for letting the entire incident take place.
1 Trouble Tried To Retcon Spider-Man's Parents
Mark Millar might be the most polarizing writer in comics. While he wrote epics like Superman: Red Son, he also penned hated comics like Wanted, The Unfunnies, and Trouble. The last title became especially infamous for its implications about the Marvel Universe. Trouble followed a pair of teenagers named Mary and May working at a Long Island resort, where they met brothers Richie and Ben.
May and Ben have sex while Mary refuses sex with Richie. Frustrated, Richie sleeps with May and gets her pregnant. The twist is that Ben and May are Spider-Man's Uncle Ben and Aunt May, meaning May has secretly been Spider-Man's actual mother from the beginning. Absolutely nobody views this story as canon.