Marvel has always strived to be the "world outside of readers' window," and that applies to the relationship between characters as much as anything else. Many of Marvel's most iconic couples are examples of near-perfect matchmaking, taking characters who often have a lot of opposites and putting them together in a complimentary way. However, not every relationship worked out nearly as well.
There have been plenty of times over the years when the relationship between characters can seem very unlikely, and that's putting it mildly. While many of these relationships became extremely well known, that doesn't change just how bizarre they are.
10 Storm And Black Panther Suddenly Deciding After Years Apart Without Mentioning The Other Was Plot Convenient At Best
Storm and Black Panther's entire relationship was built on a retcon, establishing that the two had met as teenagers in Africa. In-universe, they had fallen in love as young people and then broke up because of circumstances, spending years not even associating or mentioning each other. In the real world, they were put together because they were regal Africans, as revealed by the writers and editors responsible.
From the character standpoint, their relationship didn't really make any sense at all, even with the retcons. As a couple, they didn't really mesh very well either, as Storm basically made herself subservient to someone, which isn't what Storm is about at all.
9 Northstar And Kyle Are So Different It Should Never Have Worked
Northstar is a great superhero, and he makes sure that everyone around him knows it. This arrogance can make him very hard to be around, and while he can definitely back it up, that doesn't make him any less infuriating to deal with at times. That's why it's so surprising that he and his husband Kyle ever got as far as they did.
Kyle is a sweet, good person, and while Northstar was never as bad with him as he was his fellow heroes, Kyle doesn't seem like the kind of person who can watch someone treat others badly. They go together wonderfully, but the fact they ever got that far is amazing.
8 Nightcrawler And Rachel Summers Was Always A Strange Relationship
For some reason, Nightcrawler and Rachel Summers have had a multi-year flirtation that has always been quite odd and out of place. For one thing, Rachel always had a much stronger bond with Kate Pryde, and Nightcrawler was into Amanda Sefton more than anyone else. While Kurt and Rachel are very close friends, they just don't make sense as lovers.
While their relationship rarely comes to anything, the fact that they even try at all is bizarre. They're great teammates and the best of friends. Anything more runs the risk of ruining the whole thing.
7 Kate Pryde And Star-Lord Never Should Have Been A Couple
Kate Pryde has been in a lot of relationships, several of them with someone named Peter. That's pretty much the only thing that should have attracted her to Star-Lord, but they had a mystifyingly serious relationship for a while. Kate has a type, and it's not loud, schlubby heroes who she has nothing in common with.
Fans pretty much saw that from the beginning, and no one really liked the two together at all. Eventually, the relationship would end, and no one has thought of it since.
6 Cyclops And Emma Frost As A Long Term Relationship Felt Wrong
Cyclops and Jean Grey seemed like soulmates until Emma Frost showed up. Emma was unlike anyone he'd ever been with, so in some ways, it made sense for him to go after her, especially at the time. Jean was dealing with the Phoenix returning, and Cyclops has spent time trapped in Apocalypse's body; they had a lot on their plate.
For Emma, it mostly seemed like just a diversion and a way to make Jean mad, something to stir the pot. After Jean's death, the two actually ended up together and stayed that way for years. It was a shock to everyone, most of all themselves.
5 Daredevil And Black Widow Was A Bizarre Pairing
Daredevil is something of a ladies' man and Black Widow fell victim to his charms. Their relationship actually went better than anyone could have predicted, but that doesn't change how weird it was. Daredevil's status as a hard-boiled vigilante with years of Catholic guilt was a strange fit with Natasha, but somehow the whole thing worked out.
Eventually, they'd part ways with each other but stayed on pretty good terms. With the way many of Daredevil's later girlfriends ended up killed by his enemies, him dating Black Widow was a good idea in retrospect, as it's impossible to see any of his enemies actually killing her.
4 Scarlet Witch And The Vision Working As Well As It Did Is Still A Mystery
Scarlet Witch has dated many of her fellow Avengers, but her most iconic relationship is the one with the Vision. The two of them were together for years and were one of the Avengers' most important couples, and their relationship became the focus of many adventures. The Vision's personality was based on Wonder Man's, which explained why Scarlet Witch was attracted to him, but it's always been bizarre why the Vision returned her feelings.
For one thing, why would Ultron program his weapon against the Avengers with feelings in general, let alone love? The fact that they stayed together for so long proves that he was more than the sum of his parts, but it was always a strange relationship.
3 Captain America With Anyone But Sharon Carter Doesn't Really Fit
Captain America is one of the most inspiring superheroes, but he's not the best in other areas. One of those areas is relationships with anyone but Sharon Carter. He and Sharon get along very well, as they both understand each other and have a similar view on life and the world. Put Cap with anyone else, and it never works at all.
His lifestyle doesn't match very well with women outside of the superhero world, like when he dated lawyer Bernie Rosenthal. Steve is not even that good with most of the superhero women he dates either, with matches like Scarlet Witch, the Wasp, and Diamondback not working out. Sharon is the only person he's ever had any kind of good relationship with, so all of his other relationships are quite unlikely.
2 Hank Pym And The Wasp Ever Getting Together Seems Impossible
Hank Pym and the Wasp were together when they both became Avengers but how that ever happened in the first place is a mystery. Hank was a scientist with mental problems, and the Wasp was a debutante with a huge personality. While opposites often attract, it feels almost like the Wasp would have scared Pym with her big, brassy personality.
It got worse when they became Avengers, as Hank's problems affected his heroic duties, and he ended up going slightly crazy as Yellowjacket, culminating in him hitting her. For some reason, these events weren't a big enough red flag to keep her away from him, and they've been on and off ever since.
1 Peter Parker And Gwen Stacy Ever Getting Together Is A Miracle
Spider-Man has changed a lot over the years. He's no longer the nerdy teenager he was when he first started as the Wall-Crawler, so one can actually see him having the self-esteem to get with beautiful women like Mary Jane or Black Cat. It's a little different with Gwen Stacy. He was younger and not as sure of himself, so him ever getting up the nerve to ask her out was hard to believe.
Add to that how strange it was that she said yes to dating someone like him, and the whole thing seems like a one-in-a-million relationship. Gwen saw something in Peter that no one else did, not even him, and their relationship was one of the most important in his life.