10 Marvel Heroes With Terrible Love Lives

Marvel Comics‘ heroes have long been more relatable than those of their distinguished competition. One place where this was most apparent was in their relationships. Marvel heroes were advertised as living in a world like the one outside their window and their romances are usually one of the places where the most realistic chaos ensues. Some heroes are lucky and they have a built-in spouse, while others have to flit from partner for years, never finding anyone to love them forever. Being a superhero in a relationship is extremely difficult, presenting some unique challenges to any romance, and some heroes have definitely gotten the short end of the amorous stick.

Drama is a key part of comics and romance drama is a favorite of many readers. Some heroes have the most terrible love lives you can imagine, they and their partners suffering so that other people can survive. These ten Marvel heroes have the worst love lives ever, causing turmoil in one of the most important parts of human life.

10) Iron Man

Iron Man is the world’s greatest armored Avenger and has saved billions of lives over the years. Tony Stark is one of the most charming men out there, which added to his billions of dollars makes him irresistible to anyone who he’s interested in. He’s had a long on-again, off-again relationship with Pepper Potts and has dated numerous heroes and villains, like the Wasp, Madame Masque, and Emma Frost. However, his life as a hero often gets in the way of his relationships, as his work is the most important thing to him. While he doesn’t have as many dead girlfriends as other heroes, he goes through girlfriends like he goes through armor.

9) Captain America

Captain America is the Sentinel of Liberty, protecting the free people of the world from the worst threats. However, he’s nowhere near as skilled on the battlefield of the heart as he is at war. While he does have Sharon Carter to always fall back on as girlfriend, he’s had his share of girlfriends like Diamondback, Scarlet Witch, and various civilians. His life as a hero never really gels very well with his life without the shield, and he’ll always choose the battle against evil over any woman he’s with. Even Sharon knows this about him; Steve will never be able to settle down.

8) Hulk

The Hulk is the strongest one there is, but his infinite strength hasn’t made him strong enough to hold onto a relationship. The Hulk is usually in a relationship of some kind with Betty Ross-Banner and no one would ever think theirs was a good relationship. The various transformations of the Hulk have played havoc on Betty’s life. She’s lost her family, died, has had to live in hiding numerous times, has been forced into life as a gamma mutate, and had any chance of a normal life ruined all because of her relationship with Banner. The Jade Giant has also had several dead lovers, like Jarella and Caeira the Oldstrong. He has no luck in relationships at all.

7) Storm

Storm has long been one of the most beautiful women in the Marvel Universe, but that doesn’t mean she’s had an easy time of things romantically. Her relationship with Forge was made of shared trauma and ended when he chose to help Mystique rather than live with Ororo. Her and Black Panther had a great life together for a time, but her devotion to mutantkind made her leave him. Wolverine died on her and her last boyfriend was a human who she barely had any time for. Storm is all about her work and this has cost all of her relationships in the long run.

6) Iceman

Iceman has never had any romantic luck, even before he came out of the closet. Bobby Drake didn’t really have a lot of important relationships – the only ones that springs to mind is Opal Tanaka when he was with X-Factor and his romances with Mystique and Kitty Pryde. However, both of those just felt like ticking a box. Since he’s come out of the closet, he’s had a series of unsuccessful relationships. None of his relationships, male or female, have ever really felt like they fit for him. Dating Iceman has never been a good thing for anyone; he’s not a terrible boyfriend or anything, he’s just not good at all at being in relationships.

5) Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch has become the Sorcerer Supreme, but for years she was defined by her bad relationships with men. Her two best known relationships are her marriage with the Vision and her love for Wonder Man. The Vision’s mind is based on Simon Wilson’s, so in a lot of ways it’s just Scarlet Witch being in love with two different parts of the same man. Falling in love with a robot was doomed from the beginning, made worse by both of their heroic lives. Her relationship with Wonder Man has gotten especially messed up, as the only reason he still exists at all is because she keeps pulling him back together every time he dies. Add in her unsuccessful relationships with other heroes like Captain America and dating Wanda Maximoff is actually dumber than it seems.

4) The Wasp

The Wasp was introduced as Ant-Man’s girlfriend and this has led to its own series of problems. Hank Pym can be a good man, but he’s also bipolar and Janet had to deal with that. The famous panel of her being slapped by him is a prime example of the worst she had to deal with and the two have had a very complicated relationship since then. She’s dated Iron Man, Captain America, and plenty of others, all of these romances ending badly. She’s a great person, but her love life is basically cursed.

3) Spider-Man

Spider-Man’s love life has been defined by tragedy. Gwen Stacy was attacked by Green Goblin and died when Spider-Man tried to save her life. Mary Jane and Peter ended up married, but they traded their marriage to Mephisto in order to save the life of Aunt May. He and Black Cat have been together many times over the years, but the first time she left him was because she was only in love with Spider-Man and not the man underneath the mask. He’s tried to date civilians, but it never works out very well for them, as his life as the Wall-Crawler takes precedence. Dating him is a road to pain for everyone involved.

2) Wolverine

Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, but keeping girlfriends alive isn’t it. Logan’s girlfriends have a tendency to end up dead, starting with Rose, the first woman he ever loved who he accidentally killed while battling his half-brother Dog. His Cherokee girlfriend Silver Fox was killed by Sabretooth and his wife Itsu was killed by the Winter Soldier because of work as a spy. He ended up killing Mariko Yashida to save her from the pain of blowfish toxin. He’s been in love with Jean Grey for ages, the two of them never consummating their attraction. His romance with Storm was pretty good, but he ended up dying. Basically, dating Wolverine is a way to a bloody death, with very few women surviving the experience.

1) Daredevil

Daredevil has had a lot of team-ups, especially with members of the fairer sex. Matt Murdock is grade-A himbo and is known for the notches in his bedpost. It honestly seems like he’s been with every superheroine who is single for any period of time. He’s also a member of the “hero with dead girlfriends” club, with original flame Karen Page, Elektra, and his wife Mia all dying because of their time with him. Matt is great for a good time, but anyone who gets attached to him is going to either die or be in for a lot of heartache.

Which Marvel hero do you think has the worst love life? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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