When it comes to couples, not every romance is destined to be Superman and Lois Lane. While that can be saddening, it's also true to life. Some romances simply aren't meant to work out. Meanwhile, some heroes are in more complex love triangles than just themselves, their partner, and their secret identity.
Some couples, though, were never going to work out. Writers sometimes pair characters together for a story, only for fans and even other creators to immediately see they're going to fail. These relationships are often so short-lived there are fans who don't believe they were real to begin with.
This article contains mention of sexual assault.
10 Captain Marvel & Stargirl Had Some Strange Age Gap Dynamics
Captain Marvel and Stargirl were a short-lived couple while both were members of the Justice Society of America. The pairing makes a weird kind of sense, considering they were two of the only teammates that were roughly the same age.
However, from the outside, it looks completely awkward when both are in their superhero identities. The age gap was so noticeable that even the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, spoke up about what was going on. Though the actual pairing of Courtney and Billy was cute, they were never going to be able to keep it up for long.
9 Nightwing & Tarantula Had Drastically Different Morals
This was a couple so problematic that DC rightfully retconned it from ever happening. Nightwing met Tarantula while they were both trying to clean up the streets of Bludhaven from Blockbuster's influence. Unlike Nightwing, Tarantula was willing to go to lengths that Nightwing wouldn't. After Blockbuster had pushed him to the limit, though, Nightwing allowed Tarantula to kill Blockbuster in a moment of weakness.
Catching Nightwing at a moment of extreme weakness afterward, Tarantula forced herself on Nightwing. For a very brief time afterward, the two seemed to be in a relationship, with Catalina taking advantage of Grayson's trauma. Fans were rightfully outraged, and the two broke up later. But that wasn't nearly enough. Fortunately, this entire storyline was retconned out of existence because it was never treated with the seriousness it deserved.
8 Batman & Lois Lane Will Never Make Sense (Batman/Superman #15)
Occasionally, DC will tease the idea of Bruce Wayne and Lois Lane, and it never makes sense. The writers won't give up on teasing it, though. Most recently, it happened during The New 52 era, when Batman had lost his memories. Though he didn't reveal his identity to Lois, he did find himself developing a bit of a crush on her.
Batman even trusted her enough to allow her to train with him, outfitting her in an old Batgirl costume. It didn't last long, though; the moment he got his memories back, he vanished on her. That said, these two together feel like a slap in the face to the established dynamics of Superman and Batman.
7 Superman & Lori Lemaris Never Lasts Long Enough
Superman has dated Lori Lemaris in two different continuities thus far, and there's one thing tying them together: it never lasts long. Superman meets Lori during his time in college, where he falls in love with this mysterious young woman.
It isn't long after meeting before the two of them start dating, but even though it's a great romantic relationship, it never gets the time it needs. Superman in college is a fleeting moment, and he's always been "destined" to date and marry Lois Lane. Knowing that, Clark's time with Lori is unfortunately only meant to be a breather.
6 Nightwing & Huntress Interrupts A Good Love Triangle
There's always been a bit of romantic tension between Dick Grayson and Helena Bertinelli. The two of them briefly dated in the rebooted post-Crisis continuity and even had a relationship during the New 52 era. It's never something that can stick around for long, though, since it doesn't sit well with the fans.
For one, Huntress is close friends with Barbara Gordon and should definitely know to keep her hands off of Nightwing. However, Huntress interrupts a legitimate love triangle between Nightwing, Barbara, and Starfire. Because of this, writers don't seem interested in pursuing this further, and fans certainly aren't asking for it.
5 Matrix & Lex Luthor Involved Matrix Being Manipulated
In the late '80s, DC decided to re-introduce Supergirl following Crisis on Infinite Earths. It was a bit complex, but Supergirl was actually Matrix, intelligent protoplasm with Kryptonian-like powers from a pocket universe. Created by an alternate universe Lex Luthor, Matrix did everything she could to save her own universe before being brought to Earth.
Once on New Earth, Matrix became a superhero for a time. However, she also fell in love with New Earth's Lex Luthor, who resembled her world's Lex after cloning himself. This allowed for Matrix to be manipulated by Superman's greatest enemy for a time. Fortunately, this relationship didn't last long.
4 Donna Troy & Terry Long Was A Total Mismatch
Prior to the '90s, both DC and Marvel liked to pair their protagonists with characters who weren't superheroes. It was meant to give the heroes something to ground them outside the life of being a hero, so everything they knew wasn't just capes and costumes.
One of the stranger pairings, though, was Donna Troy falling in love with Terry Long. The two had almost nothing in common — he was much older than Donna was and immersed in academia as a history professor. She was a superhero who was a photographer in her civilian life. The two couldn't maintain a relationship because of Donna's time as a superhero, and in the end, they were eventually divorced.
3 Superman & Maxima Would Have Taken Superman From His Human Roots
The current version of Maxima is more likely to develop a crush on Supergirl rather than Superman. The original, though, was the ruler of Almerac and in search of a man she believed would be worthy of being her partner. Though she tried to get Superman to become hers, he turned her down multiple times, having no desire to be a father to despots.
However, DC did get a chance to show what Superman and Maxima would be like during an alternate timeline in the event Armageddon 2001. In that storyline, Superman lost Lois Lane, and Maxima took him in. By the end of it, Superman decided to abandon Earth to protect it from an alien threat, choosing to become Maxima's partner on Almerac.
2 Hal Jordan & Arisia Is A Relationship Best Forgotten
Hal Jordan's usual romantic partner is Carol Ferris. In the '80s, though, Carol was as likely to be a supervillain as she was to be a romantic interest. It made sense to see Hal chase a bit of stability from someone within his own job as a superhero. It just didn't make sense to choose Arisia, one of the younger Green Lanterns in the Corps.
Arisia kept trying to chase after him, but she was but a teenager on her home world. She tried to argue that on Earth, she was much older, but that didn't really ease readers' minds. In the end, her attempt to pretend to be more adult had a negative effect even on her own mind. Fortunately, the two of them were broken up for good, and these days, DC doesn't talk about this pairing at all.
1 Superboy & Knockout Caused Superboy To Forget His Morals
This is a relationship so questionable that DC has pretended it never happened for the last two decades. In the early days of Kon's career, he had the former Female Fury Knockout track him down. Though she initially wanted to test out his strength, eventually, the two of them shared a romantic relationship.
Along the way, Knockout taught Superboy more creative ways to use his tactile telekinesis, making him a better fighter. However, she also taught him to embrace his darker impulses, resulting in him nearly breaking bad. The big problem, though, was the large age gap between Knockout and Superboy — they had no business being together. The relationship came to an end mid-way through Superboy's ongoing, leading to a big blow-out fight.