These 5 DC Comics Relationships Have Always Never Made Sense (Incluing the Justice League’s Hottest Romance)

DC Comics started the story of the superhero with Superman. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were able to tap into something with the character and part of that was his relationship with Lois Lane. The love triangle at the center of the Superman comics – the hero, his alter ego Clark Kent, and Lois – would become a key part of the superhero comic, one that was unique in the annals of fiction (not brand new, but at least not the same kind we mostly got). Since then, romance has become one of a fan-favorite part of comics, with DC giving readers some of the greatest relationships in the history of the medium. These romances have defined what it means to be a superhero in love, with some of them helping to set the boundaries and others jumping right over them.

Superman and Lois worked so well because they were very different characters. Opposites often attract and many creators followed the example of Lois and Clark. However, there have been times when these unlikely relationships seemed like a road too far, to the extent that they shouldn’t have been able to work at all. These five DC romances are the unlikeliest of them all, with one of them becoming the hottest romance in Justice League history.

5) Roy Harper and Cheshire

The Arrow Family is DC’s most underrated superhero family. Most readers forget that the Arrow Family has been around since the Golden Age and that the saga of Green Arrow and his ward Speedy is one of the most important in comic history. Roy Harper the junkie sidekick showed what being a superhero could mean to a normal person – a life full of physical pain and mental anguish, one that not everyone could deal with, especially when they started before they were adults. Roy was known for making the worst possible decisions, which is the best way to describe his relationship with Cheshire.

Roy was always the “bad boy” sidekick, so him getting with an assassin wasn’t a surprise. The two of them never really seemed to like each other very much, using the other’s body to feel better about their lives. It wasn’t exactly long-lasting, but they did have a child, Lian, and they still have a weird amount of love for each other. Roy and Cheshire built an affection that they never should have and it remains an interesting chapter in the life of Roy Harper.

4) Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris

Hal Jordan was a different kind of DC hero. He was a cocky fighter pilot, a fearless man armed with the greatest weapon in the universe. He made a big splash as Green Lantern but would meet his match in Carol Ferris. She owned the company he tested fighters for and the two of them were the ultimate case of opposites attracting. Carol was a businesswoman who knew what she wanted and what she didn’t want was horndog Hal hitting on her and taking chances constantly, costing her time and money. She was by the book; he never even read it. While these kinds of people often end up together, it rarely if ever works out.

This has been the case for Hal and Carol; they have a lot of love for one another, but the way they live their lives is so different. They end up getting back together all the time, but it always ends up exploding. A lot of comic relationships work because they are so different, but in Carol and Hal’s case, it’s one of those situations where they are so different that there’s no way they would ever get back together this many times. Hal would want to, but Carol would not want to be put through him again.

3) Batman and Catwoman

Batman has had lots of girlfriends over the years, but the two most likely to stay with him have also been the two most unlikely relationships he could have. One of those is Talia al Ghul and the other Catwoman; honestly both of them could have their own entries on this list, but I’m including Catwoman because she’s actually had official relationships with the Caped Crusader whereas Talia is more of a somewhat regular sexual dalliance for the Dark Knight. Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne are legitimately in love, but their devotion to their costumed lives has made it impossible for them to stay together. They’re an endgame ship that DC will never allow to come to be.

However, when it comes right down to it, their relationship doesn’t really make any sense. Batman often falls for bad girls, but he wants them to change their ways. While Selina has definitely become less of a criminal than she once was, she is never going to stop stealing. She’s said as much numerous times. Batman knows that she will never give that up, yet he constantly runs back to her. I understand being in love with someone you shouldn’t be better than others, but it gets to a point where smart people cut things off because it hurts too much. Bruce and Selina haven’t learned this lesson yet apparently.

2) Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor

Steve Trevor is an important part of the Wonder Woman mythos. He was the soldier who landed on Themyscira, leading the Amazons to end their self-imposed exile from the world. Diana was the first of them to meet him on the beach and she immediately was infatuated with him. She wanted to go and discover the world he came from, leading her to win the contest to become Wonder Woman and bring the message of the Amazons to Man’s World. Steve and her began a relationship, one that has become her defining romance. However, when it comes right down to it, it probably shouldn’t be.

It’s the 21st century and we can admit that the Amazons’ culture was almost certainly homosexual to the extreme. Being straight would be a complete aberration; it’s not really a thing that even existed in practice on the island in ages. Diana becoming infatuated with Steve is definitely possible – bisexuality is a thing, after all, and he was novel, which would have been part of the thrill for her – but it becoming this endgame ship just doesn’t really seem possible. There’s a wide world of people out there and Steve just isn’t all that interesting. Diana should have moved past him years ago.

1) Green Arrow and Black Canary

Green Arrow is one of DC’s greatest legends. He started out as Batman in Robin Hood drag, him and Speedy fighting evil with arrow-themed everything. Oliver Queen would eventually become DC’s resident leftist firebrand, a billionaire who wants a world where everyone can live like him. He’s the kind of person who calls his fellow superheroes “fascists” because they don’t agree with him completely; he was a walking Internet comment section decades before those existed. It takes a lot to shut Ollie up and Black Canary would prove to be more than enough for him. Dinah Lance was raised with the Justice Society (I think; her origin retcons have been weird since the New 52) and is one of the toughest people you can imagine.

She didn’t mind putting up with Ollie and the two formed what is easily the sexiest of the Justice League’s relationships. You can tell they really enjoy each other’s bodies, but there’s also a lot of friction in their relationship, made all the worse by the fact that Ollie has cheated on Dinah and lied to her. Ollie is a “good” man; he does the right thing, but he’s also a person who is used to doing what he wants when he wants to. Dinah would probably take him back once, maybe twice, but the fact that they’re still together is honestly ridiculous. She would have stopped putting up with his crap years ago.

What DC relationships do you think are the most unlikely? Any of my choices you disagree with? Sound off in the comment section below.

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