10 Longest-Running Relationships In Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics is known for its romantic storylines, entangling the epic battles that show the strength of its most famous heroes with the makeups and breakups that fans now expect from any of the pairings writers create.

In recent Marvel issues, Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man) and Mary Jane Watson have split up yet again, leaving readers to question whether the on-again-off-again relationship will be over for good, even though it is unlikely the pair won’t get back together. While many Marvel romances have come and gone, some have withstood the test of time.

Ant-Man and The Wasp

Ant-Man has had some weird comic book arcs over the decades, but one of the most extended arcs is his romance with The Wasp. The pair first met in the 1960s and started a partnership that would eventually bloom into a loving relationship and marriage.

The working partnership and mutual respect that every version of the couple has had keeps fans invested in the story, as many superheroes and their love interests don’t always work together and function more as the damsel in distress and hero dynamic. The relationship has only become more popular and vibrant with the inclusion of the two characters in the MCU.

Rogue and Gambit

Even though they have been together for over 30 years, Rogue and Gambit are still one of Marvel’s most popular couples, mainly because they aren’t perfect. In their first solo series, Rogue & Gambit showed the couple needing therapy as they struggled to stay together, but once they fight a villain together, they realize how in love they are again.

Their similar backgrounds make the couple believable as they understand each other’s slang and how they grew up and came to be X-Men, which makes fans want to see them have a lasting relationship even more than they already have. The comic relationship would become a large part of the animated X-Men series, furthering the couple’s popularity.

Jean Grey and Cyclops

Comic book fans know that Cyclops and Jean Grey’s relationship endures no matter what the couple goes through, including death. As one of Marvel’s longest relationships, starting back in 1963, the couple became one that fans loved because the couple was each other’s first loves and always found a way back to each other regardless of what happened to them, leaving fans to want to see what would try the couple next.

While other Marvel couples have versions of their story that break them up, Jean Grey and Cyclops are only separated by death, but even then, they remain together in some way. Depending on the version of Earth, the X-Men function in the relationship may not be as strong, but the two are always involved.

Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson

For over 40 years, Spider-Man fans watched the web-slinger build his relationship with Mary Jane from the mid-60s through the late 2000s. This relationship included breakups and makeups that kept fans rooting for the couple and wanting to see if anyone could break the pair apart throughout the various storylines they appear in.

Despite being one of the most challenging couples to keep up with because there are so many versions of Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s storyline, the couple still has fans following their journey. Some of this is attributed to the multiple versions of the relationship, including ones where MJ dumps Peter or Peter can’t leave Spider-Man behind, as it keeps the story fresh and exciting regardless of where fans pick up in the comics.

Kitty Pryde and Colossus

Kitty Pryde and Colossus have not had their perfect relationship, as comic books fans know. This couple has had a complicated past, from cheating to otherwise betraying their trust in each other. The couple isn’t together in their current storyline, but this could change considering how often Marvel Comics break up and reconnect their long-running couples.

The couple became famous for embarking on a teenage whirlwind romance that developed into a partnership-type affair when Kitty Pryde joined the X-Men. As fans watched the pair mature, they saw the ebb and flow of their relationship. While their backstory had not aged well because of the questionable age gap between the characters when they started dating, the relationship became an essential staple for the X-Men dynamic and still has the potential to be a great love story should the heroes get back together.

Tony Stark and Pepper Pots

While the MCU makes it seem like Pepper Potts and Tony Stark have only been together for a little more than a decade, the couple is one of Marvel’s most extended relationships, with the pair first getting together in 1963 like many other cornerstone couples in the Marvel Comic Universe.

In every version of the relationship, the couple experiences highs and lows that test their strength, like Pepper wanting Tony to stop being Iron Man, but ultimately find their way back to one another and continue working together in some capacity. Tony and Pepper’s relationship is unique because it highlights the struggle of being with someone who is a hero when they are an average person, which few other storylines explore.

Vision and Scarlett Witch

Wanda and Vision’s relationship gained new popularity on Twitter with the release of WandaVision, creating a new interest in the long-time Marvel couple’s origins which came to be in 1963. Vision and Scarlett Witch, by most accounts, present a normal relationship making the couple relatable to readers despite having superpowers that make them heroes.

The pair’s growth allowed them to continue for many years as readers saw the couple’s progression from getting their first home to having children. The couple’s tragedy, mainly the loss and rebirth of Vision, has made it easy for readers to want to see more from the couple and makes it possible for Marvel to find new ways to bring the pair back together continually.

Thor and Jane Foster

Since 1962 Thor and Jane Foster have been exploring their feelings for each other, from being co-workers in their early iterations to trying to find one another through Mjolnir in the latest characters. The relationship between Thor and Jane Foster has been complicated since it started, as with many superhero couples, including hidden identities (mainly Thor’s), meddling fathers, and death.

Until recently, the MCU has portrayed the relationship as comical and sweet when, in the comics, the pair go through many highs and lows beyond being separated by the blip or circumstances outside their control, like Jane being diagnosed with terminal cancer. The pair always making it through tragedy, and anything trying to block them from being together has made them a cornerstone couple for Marvel and a favorite of fans of all ages.

Black Bolt and Medusa

Black Bolt and Medusa have one of the most heart-warming relationships as the pair push back against things they are “allowed” to do, like have children, which happened in 1988 in The Inhumans, and in specific versions, learned to communicate through their eyes and sign language to preserve the safety of everyone given Black Bolt’s powers to destroy everything with little more and a whisper, which showed a level of understanding between the two that most people wish they could have in their relationships.

Despite being cousins, the romantic partnership between the two has taken center stage since they first appeared together as they continue to show that as a couple, they are better together than they are apart and bring a more human aspect to heroes that are considered inhuman.

Sue Storm and Reed Richards

As one of Marvel’s most recognizable couples, Sue Storm and Reed Richards is considered royalty when it comes to romantic storylines, as they hold the record for the longest-lasting marriage in all Marvel Comics. Like many other Marvel couples, the couple appeared in the 1960s when Marvel was just getting started and, for the most part, have remained a happy couple since that time.

The heroes struggle with things like how to parent their children while being threatened by the world’s great evils, making them more relatable to parents whose primary focus is to protect their children, even if the evils are on different scales. The happy couple allowed fans to have one shining light in even the darkest storylines because they knew that Sue and Reed would remain together, giving a sense of stability to the group and readers.

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