Villainous Couples in Marvel Comics: A Twisted Tale of Love and Chaos

Summary

Villainous pairs in Marvel Comics have tumultuous relationships.
Some iconic villainous duos include Carnage & Shriek, Enchantress & The Executioner.
Redemption arcs exist, like between The Absorbing Man & Titania, proving love can conquer all.

The history of Marvel Comics is rife with relationships that didn’t work out. As comics are a continuing story which never ends, it is difficult to find a happy ending, but this doesn’t preclude romance from being a big part of the storytelling at times, and this goes for heroes as well as the villains they face off against.

Though heroes often trade romantic partners over the years, their relationships are still slightly less tumultuous than the villainous ones, which feature many surprising team-ups, which are often short-lived. Villains can love too, but the history of their relationships in Marvel Comics might lead one to believe otherwise. Here are some of these great and fascinating couples, ranked by the longevity of their relationships in Marvel Comics.

8. Thanos & Hela

The Ultimate Mad Titan Rebound

Real Names: Dione & Hela Odinsdottir

One of the most famous failed love stories in Marvel Comics history is between Thanos and Mistress Death. The physical embodiment of death, Thanos was literally obsessed with her for centuries, murdering his own children and friends in order to try and please her, and then wiping out half the universe with the infinity gauntlet and still failing to charm Death. Eventually, Thanos did move on.

Strangely, despite Hela being the Goddess of Death and Mistress of H’el, she was the one trying to vie for the affection of the Mad Titan. She worked to try and get him a version of Thor’s hammer, was broken up with by Thanos before his death, and then worked with the Black Order to resurrect him. They remained romantically linked despite Thanos’s seeming reluctance, until they were sucked into a black hole together, which ended their lives for the time being and their relationship. Still, this pairing made for some of the strangest kissing scenes in Marvel Comics history.

7. Doctor Doom & The Scarlet Witch

The Most Dangerous And Unstable Magic Combo

Real Names: Victor Von Doom & Wanda Maximoff

Recent Avengers: Doomsday rumors suggest that a most unusual relationship from Marvel Comics could make its way to the screen. This comes in the form of Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom. These two came together after Wanda went crazy and wiped out most of mutant existence. She lost her memories and ended up in the hands of Doom, who took her on and almost made her Queen of Latveria.

However, the Young Avengers interrupted and this never came to pass. Still, she continued to work alongside Doom for a short while, trusting him despite remembering more of her history. Wanda and Victor were, for a short time, the most dangerous duo in Marvel Comics. Fortunately, it didn’t last and this story ended with Wanda reuniting with her children, now that they were real.

6. Namor & White Queen

A Dangerous Affair That Destroyed Wakanda

Real Names: Namor McKenzie & Emma Frost

Sometimes, over long periods in comics, something seemingly innocuous can have devastating consequences. Namor and Emma Frost weren’t actually villains but members of the X-Men when they got together, but both have been villainous over the years, and they brought their worst tendencies out in each other. Namor flirted outrageously with Emma when they were in Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers, but he later seemed to reform with her as part of the X-Men.

However, when the pair both gained the power of the Phoenix Force during Avengers vs X-Men, Namor was inspired by Emma to flood Wakanda, destroying the country in a way similar to the MCU’s Wakanda Forever. This pair consistently, whether romantically linked or not, is dangerous anywhere near each other.

5. Crossbones & Sin

Continuing The Work Of The Red Skull

Real Names: Brock Rumlow & Sinthea Schmidt

Crossbones is a well-known Marvel villain due to his appearances in Captain America films, but his role as a secret HYDRA agent could hardly prepare MCU fans for his comic book history, such as kidnapping and torturing Sinthea Schmidt, the daughter of the Red Skull, to help her after a horrible fast-aging incident resulted in many problems for her.

This torture strangely led to an inseparable relationship between the two, which involved them hating everything and attempting to bring the ideas of the Red Skull to life. Though this couple might be insane and have some horrifying worldviews, they definitely fit each other pretty well.

4. Enchantress & The Executioner

A Famous Asgardian Villain Duo

Real Names: Amora & Skurge

Perhaps one of the earliest depicted romances, sort of, in Marvel Comics is the infamous duo of The Enchantress and her Executioner. Amora was consistently shown throughout her history to be in love with Thor, but this didn’t stop her from stringing along Skurge, a powerful Asgardian warrior she used as muscle.

Skurge has always clearly been in love with Amora, but they have never been a true couple despite their constant pairing and, despite Enchantress seeming to have no attachment to Skurge, she did use magic to recreate him after his death, proving there might have been more than meets the eye to this relationship.

3. Carnage & Shriek

Joined Through A Love Of Chaos

Real Names: Cletus Kassidy & Frances Louise Barrison

In the movie “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”, the wicked character known as Carnage often had a partner in crime, Shriek. Shriek was initially depicted as the “mother” of the violent family that Carnage spawned. She is a mutant with the ability to manipulate sound, causing severe harm to many victims during the symbiotic rampages of Carnage.

These two have been shown as romantically linked in comics, but usually, they are more interested in murdering and causing chaos together than going on real dates. They were both crazed in some way before gaining superpowers, which shows that some people really are just built to become super villains.

2. Destiny & Mystique

Marvel’s New Power Couple

Real Names: Daven Darkholme & Irene Adler

In the latest Marvel Comics series, Destiny and Mystique’s nuptials marked a significant milestone as it was the first same-sex wedding ever published by Marvel. This iconic event has further cemented their status as Marvel’s most popular pairing at present. Interestingly, despite neither of them being antagonists currently, they have been romantically involved since Destiny was initially introduced in 1981.

Destiny, a mutant with the ability to see the future, is canonically the Irene Adler from the classic Sherlock Holmes stories, and she birthed Nightcrawler, whose father was Mystique when she was in a male form. The two have been linked since they were both X-Men villains and their love inspired Mystique to resurrect Destiny, leading to their current blissful happiness. Whether they will remain heroes permanently, or stay together, remains to be seen, as does potential casting for Mystique in the MCU.

1. The Absorbing Man & Titania

True Love That Redeemed Both

Real Names: Carl Creel & Mary MacPherran

There are many great redemptions of villains across Marvel Comics history. However, one of the very best told stories of this style featured longtime Hulk and She-Hulk villains Absorbing Man and Titania. Shortly after Titania was introduced as a nemesis for She-Hulk in the 80s, she found Carl Creel and the two were immediately drawn together romantically.

They worked together in many failed villainous attempts over a decade before Marvel decided to have them get hitched in a ceremony that attracted the attention of the Avengers, expecting some sort of villainy. In the end, this pair reformed together, holding onto their love for each other above all else, and have remained heroes for years now, as well as remaining together and proving that true love can find anyone.

2025-03-16 16:51