Although it’s heavily based on many of Marvel Comics’ best stories and events, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) isn’t an exact one-to-one adaptation of the source material. This is to be expected, especially when the franchise in question is based on decades-old comics. As a result, Marvel changed many of the comics’ romances for the big screen.
Some of the MCU’s romances were so well-received and loved by fans that they completely buried their original versions in the comics. What’s more, fans realized that their favorite pairings were drastic improvements over the originals after the fact. As far as Marvel fans were concerned, these MCU romances were the only ones that mattered.
10. Jennifer Walters Started Something Special With Matt Murdock
One of Jennifer’s biggest problems in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was that she couldn’t find a partner who loved both her and She-Hulk. She finally found her perfect match in Matt Murdock, the lawyer who’s best known as Daredevil. The two hit it off almost immediately and became the MCU sitcom’s official couple by the season finale.
Although She-Hulk and Daredevil are both super-lawyers based in New York City, they only teamed-up recently in the comics. What’s more, they only saw each other as colleagues. The MCU changed this by pairing them. Fans loved this match-up because it officially brought Daredevil into the MCU, and because Jennifer helped him reveal his lighter, fun side.
9. Katy Chen Grounded Xu Shang-Chi
Shang-Chi wouldn’t be the hero he was destined to become without Katy’s friendship and, at the movie’s end, love. Before they made things official, Shang-Chi (then going by “Shaun”) and Kate endeared themselves to MCU fans by being relatable slackers who just wanted to live a fun, carefree life in an increasingly absurd world.
This romance never existed in the comics because Marvel created Katy exclusively for the MCU. In the comics, writers often paired Shang-Chi with the MI-6 agent Leiko Wu. MCU fans preferred Kate over Leiko because she was more relatable. More importantly, Kate grounded Shang-Chi in ways that a super-spy like Leiko couldn’t.
8. Hope Van Dyne Gave Scott Lang His Long-Awaited Second Chance
The MCU’s Scott Lang longed for a second chance at life. When it came to love, he found his new beginning in Hope van Dyne: his superhero partner, the second Wasp, and the daughter of his mentor, Hank Pym. Despite some tough times and close calls, Scott and Hope worked things out.
While Scott Lang existed in the comics and succeeded Hank as Ant-Man, Hope didn’t. Janet van Dyne, the first Wasp, had a daughter, but she was named Nadia and based on Janet. If anything, the comics’ Scott treated Nadia like his own daughter. Fans enjoyed Scott’s MCU-exclusive romance because it was a fresh new take on Ant-Man’s legacy.
7. Layla Abdallah El-Faouly Never Gave Up On Marc Spector
Thanks to the fact that he was basically two people living in the same body, Marc Spector didn’t know he was married to Layla Abdallah El-Faouly. Even after Marc went missing for a long time, Layla didn’t give up on him and immediately came to his aid. She not only befriended Marc’s alter, Steven Grant, but helped both overcome their demons.
Marc Spector was also married in the comics, but his wife was Marlene Alraune. Layla never existed in the comics. What’s more, Layla inherited the legacy of the long-forgotten superhero, Scarlet Scarab. Fans loved Layla and Marc’s romance because Layla was more than a typical love interest, and because she greatly improved the MCU’s representation.
6. Loki Laufeyson Loved “Himself” Through Sylvie Laufeydottir
One of the weirdest things that Loki did was have the titular god of mischief literally fall in love with himself — specifically, his female multiversal variant, Sylvie. Surprisingly, Loki’s and Sylvie’s love became one of the MCU’s best and most bittersweet romances. Though they could never be together, they genuinely loved each other.
Sylvie distinguished herself from other MCU characters because she was an amalgamation of different comics characters. Her closest counterpart was Sylvie Lushton, a mortal who Loki blessed with magic. Fans preferred Sylvie as Loki’s love interest not only because of their chemistry, but because she was more compelling and original than her comic version.
5. Happy Hogan & May Parker Had A Cute But Tragic Romance
The MCU changed Aunt May by making her decades younger than how the comics usually portrayed her. What’s more, the movies let her move on from Uncle Ben, allowing her to flirt with Happy Hogan. The two hit it off pretty quickly, much to Peter Parker’s surprise. This relationship never could’ve happened in the comics because Happy and Aunt May rarely (if ever) met.
In the comics, Aunt May was old enough to be Peter Parker’s grandmother and acted as such to many of the heroes. Meanwhile, Happy (who was younger than May) married Pepper Potts. Even if their MCU romance ended in May’s death and Happy’s memories of Peter being erased, fans loved this change of pace to Spider-Man’s all-too-familiar personal life.
4. Gamora & Peter Quill Were The Guardians’ Heart
It’s no exaggeration to say that the Guardians of the Galaxy movie completely rewrote the comics’ Guardians. One of the biggest changes made to the team included pairing the stoic Gamora with the immature Star-Lord. This brilliant decision turned the pair into one of the MCU’s most grounded yet heartbreaking relationships.
Besides the fact that they were rarely on the same Guardians roster before the movies, Gamora’s and Star-Lord’s paths and personalities were incredibly different in the comics. At most, they respected each other as fellow Guardians. Fans preferred Gamora and Star-Lord’s romance because it was one of the MCU’s best love stories, adding new depth to both characters.
3. King T’Challa’s & Nakia’s Love Outlived His Death
King T’Challa and Nakia’s love made for an adorable pairing in Black Panther, but it became poignant after T’Challa’s and Chadwick Boseman’s death. T’Challa’s and Nakia’s brief on-screen romance led to the birth of their son, Prince T’Challa. For fans, this was one of the saddest yet most compelling and heartwarming MCU romances.
Nakia loved T’Challa in the comics, but she was a supervillain. Worse, Nakia’s villainy stemmed from her obsession with T’Challa. Meanwhile, Black Panther married Storm. The comics’ Nakia played into the outdated archetype of female villains who were almost always motivated by unrequited love. The MCU improved Nakia by humanizing her and giving her a purpose that didn’t rely on romance.
2. Peggy Carter’s & Steve Rogers’ Romance Transcended Time
For fans, Peggy Carter’s romance with Captain America was the MCU’s sweetest love story. Their love ended in tragedy during World War II’s closing moments, only for Marvel to revive it decades later when Peggy had become bedridden. Steve and Peggy finally got their much-deserved happy ending with the Infinity Stones’ help.
Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter’s romance would’ve been impossible in the comics because Steve fell in love with Sharon Carter. Peggy existed, but she was Steve’s fellow soldier and Sharon’s ancestor. Fans preferred Steve and Peggy’s MCU romance for multiple reasons. On the one hand, Steve and Peggy got to be reunited. On the other, that creative decision eliminated the creepy age gap between Steve and Sharon.
1. Pepper Potts & Tony Stark Jr. Were The MCU’s Official Couple
There’s no romance as synonymous to the MCU as the love between Tony Stark Jr. and Pepper Potts. After all, they were the first romance to be featured in an MCU movie. Tony’s and Pepper’s relationships had some highs and lows, but they stuck by each other even in the hardest times — including Tony’s sacrifice during the final fight against Thanos.
The comics’ Tony and Pepper felt some attraction to each other, but they never went beyond flirting because Pepper married Happy Hogan. Unlike his MCU version who grew up, the comics’ Tony never moved beyond being an immature, billionaire playboy. It’s hard not to see why fans greatly preferred Tony and Pepper’s more mature romance in the MCU.
