Comic book characters are just like many of us — they have spouses and families. Oftentimes, these family members have powers or just want to be costumed heroes as well. This is most prevalent in superhero siblings — usually, if one has powers, then the other does as well, and honestly, who hasn't played superhero growing up with their siblings?
These sibling pairings can be a lot of fun, as the two work well together and look great in their matching costumes (well, if they're wearing matching costumes). Other times, it can get pretty cringe for a variety of reasons, ruining the whole thing.
10 Adorable: Cable & Prestige have embraced their strange relationship & it's great
Cable and Prestige's sibling relationship is pretty convoluted. Cable is the son of Cyclops and Jean Grey's clone, Madelyne Pryor; Prestige is the alternate future daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey — but there's something that is just so wholesome and adorable about their current situation. They have a lot in common. Both have experienced terrible alternate futures, both have amazing mental powers, and both have a tendency to die and come back to life.
Their relationship has gotten especially great since a younger version of Cable killed the older grizzled version and took his place. This closed the age gap between the two and puts them on more equal footing.
9 Cringe: the amount of cringe when Cyclops, Havok, & Vulcan get together is palpable
Cyclops, Havok, and Vulcan's relationship isn't as convoluted as Cyclops's children's relationship, but it can be very cringe at times. Take Cyclops and Havok, while both men have been leaders of the X-Men and are quite powerful, their relationship has been fraught with issues stemming from how inadequate Cyclops makes Havok feel.
Adding Vulcan to the mix really makes things awkward — he's their long-lost brother who was raised as a slave by the Shi'Ar before escaping, mindwiped from their memory by Professor X when it was thought Vulcan and a team of X-Men died, and then became a power-mad space dictator. While their current relationship is a little better than it was, the amount of cringe when the Summers get together is palpable.
8 Adorable: Iris & Jai West were a lot of fun together
Iris And Jai West are the children of Wally and Linda West and exhibited powers from a young age. The twins' lives would take a weird turn when their father, who was The Flash at the time, pulled them into the Speed Force. Once the West family returned from the Speed Force, Iris and Jai would use their powers — Jai with the ability to increase his mass and gain super strength and Iris with super speed — to help their father.
Iris and Jai were a lot of fun together, with their father teaching them the ropes of being superheroes. They had great costumes and would bicker, as siblings are bound to do, and this all just made them so great together. Sadly, their existence would end after Flashpoint and Wally's return in DC: Rebirth #1 would be soured by their loss, changing his life forever afterward, but things have pointed to them returning recently.
7 Cringe: Northstar & Aurora can be quite insufferable
Northstar and Aurora are those two siblings that are just so much better than everyone else all the time, that one can't help but cringe when they walk in the room, from the aura of smug self-satisfaction that radiates off of them. While neither is as perfect as they seem, Northstar isn't nearly as arrogant or unpleasant as he pretends to be while Aurora's dealt with her own problems her whole life — together they can be quite insufferable.
Both of them are so accomplished, powerful, and attractive that their sheer presence is intimidating to others, and their attitude when together can make them very unpleasant to be around.
6 Adorable: There's just something that is super wholesome about Más Y Menos
Más Y Menos are pretty lame when it comes right down to it, but that's definitely part of their adorable charm. Their costumes aren't great and their powers aren't exactly the best either because they only work when they're touching. However, this just adds to their charm and makes them even more adorable.
There's just something that is super wholesome about crimefighting siblings whose powers only work when they're touching each other. The bond between them has to be strong, otherwise, they're going to lose any battle they get into. Más Y Menos are many things, and being adorable is the main one of those.
5 Cringe: The only person who really hates Starfire is her own sister, Blackfire
Starfire is one of the most powerful members of the Teen Titans. Her teammates love her, as does just about every superhero she's ever worked with. Even Batgirl — who is also in love with Nightwing — likes Starfire. The only person who really hates her is her own sister, Blackfire, and the whole thing is super cringe.
It all stems from that old cliché of sisterly jealousy. Blackfire is jealous of Starfire and the fact that she's the older sister who was going to gain the Tamaranean throne. It's one of those old-fashioned things that make women look bad and renders the beauty of sisterhood nothing more than a competition. It's sexist and cringe.
4 Adorable: the way X-23 has taken Scout under her wing show just how much X-23 has changed over the years
Calling X-23 and Scout siblings isn't exactly correct; They're technically the same person, as both are female clones of Wolverine. However, once X-23 rescued Scout, the two have treated each other like sisters and have been pretty much inseparable. The closeness of their relationship and the way X-23 has taken Scout under her wing show just how much X-23 has changed over the years, bucking her Weapon X programming.
Their relationship is always a joy to read about, with Scout bringing out a side of X-23 that she never showed without Scout. Recently, with X-23 MIA, Scout has felt like a rudderless ship, and the two need to be reunited ASAP.
3 Cringe: the Wonder Twins are impossible to redeem
The Wonder Twins are just about peak cringe and one suspects that they always have been since their debut on Super Friends long ago. Everything about the two, from their costumes to their hair, and even their powers, is just the epitome of lame. While DC likes to trot them out every so often and gain an audience for them, it doesn't change the sheer power of their cringe.
The thing about the Wonder Twins is that there's no one thing that is cringe about them, nothing that could be fixed if the right creative team took them over. The whole thing is just so cringeworthy that it's impossible to redeem and they'll always be cringy laughingstocks.
2 Adorable: Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver's sibling relationship is among the most wholesome in comics
For years, they only had themselves and looked after each other, protecting each other from trials and tribulations of the world. Toad creepily hitting on Scarlet Witch? Quicksilver was there to shut it down. Magneto belittling Quicksilver? Scarlet Witch wasn't having any of that.
Their relationship grew and changed over the years. While they weren't always together, they both knew that if they needed the other, nothing would keep them apart. There's just something that is so adorable about their devotion to each other.
1 Cringe: There is nothing more cringe than Ultimate Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver
Ultimate Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver is what happens when people with a terrible sense of humor get to recreate a great, wholesome relationship and turn it into an incest joke. It is juvenile and cringe, but it was made all the worse in Ultimates III when it was revealed that the jokey subtext was actually text, and yes, they were an incestuous couple.
There is nothing more cringe than that. It takes a great relationship and transforms it into something that is not only taboo but completely misunderstands the original intent of the two characters and seems designed for little but shock value.