8 Marvel Comic Book Relationships That Would Completely Change The MCU
With Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe well and truly underway many die-hard Marvel fans are highly anticipating what the cinematic giant holds in store for them. Marvel’s latest release, Thor: Love And Thunder, was a huge game-changer for the future of the MCU as it introduced a whole new plethora of characters and mythologies that set up future storylines.
As fans continue to bid farewell to older characters and welcome new ones, the dynamics and relationships explored in Marvel continue to change. With the impending introduction of the X-Men into the MCU, comes an array of potential superhero relationships already established in the comics. So let’s take a look at some of the wildest comic book relationships that would completely change the MCU.
8 Happy Hogan And Pepper Potts
For many MCU fans, the mere concept of Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts being together feels as outlandish as it does treacherous. In the films, the pair is connected by a very overarching presence in the MCU; Tony Stark aka Iron Man. With Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) as Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr) best friend and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) as his loving partner, it’s hard to imagine the pair getting it on. However, in the comic books, the pair embarked on a roller-coaster relationship that saw them marry, divorce, elope, and even adopt children. While it’s unlikely that this pairing would ever make it onto the big screen, with the passing of Downey Jr’s Iron Man back in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, the opportunity is certainly there should Marvel wish to explore it.
7 Black Widow And The Winter Soldier
Another pretty scandalous pairing from the comic books is soviet soldiers Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow and Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier. Much like Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, the pair of assassins seem to be linked by a pretty central character in the films through their respective bonds with Chris Evans’ Captain America. While MCU Bucky (Sebastian Stan) takes the role of Cap’s long-time best friend, MCU Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) serves as a sneaky partner in crime to many of Cap’s more off-the-book missions. In the comics, however, the two embarked on a relationship after having met during Natasha’s red room days. With the passing of Natasha’s character in Avengers: Endgame, it is unlikely that this relationship will be explored on screen. However, a possible flashback or even a different adaptation of the relationship with a different Black Widow (Yelena Belova, we’re looking at you) could work narratively.
6 Quicksilver And The Scarlet Witch
One of the more bizarre and controversial pairings in this list is that between brother and sister Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in 2008’s Ultimates 3 series. The iconic sibling characters only ever shared the screen in 2015 in Avengers: Age Of Ultron and in 2021 as kids in WandaVision. However, while the pair were shown to be extremely close siblings on-screen, the relationship never extended further than that. With the sensitivities and nuances of Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) continuing to be explored in projects such as Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, it’s highly unlikely that Marvel would bring this controversial relationship to life.
5 Captain America And The Mighty Thor
A more likely and non-disturbing relationship that has been explored in the comics is that between Sam Wilson’s Captain America and Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor. While the pair have never interacted on-screen, they shared a cheeky kiss in 2016’s Avengers 4 comic. With the recent introductions of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as Captain America in 2021’s The Falcon And The Winter Soldier and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) as The Mighty Thor in 2022’s Thor: Love And Thunder, the opportunity for Marvel to make the pairing MCU canon is there for the taking.
4 Daredevil And Black Widow
Another potential relationship explored in the comics that could translate on-screen is that shared between everyone’s favorite horned vigilante Daredevil and the Russian assassin Black Widow. In the comics, the pair first became intertwined in 1964’s Daredevil 81 and yet the characters never shared the screen. Much like a potential future Winter Widow on-screen adaptation, the return of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again, and his introduction into the wider MCU back in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, could pave the way for a romantic entanglement between the vigilante and the MCU’s current Black Widow, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). Even Cox himself has previously spoken up about his wishes to explore the intricate and “sexy” relationship on-screen.
3 Jessica Jones And Ant-Man
Up next, we have an unlikely relationship that was explored in the comic books several years ago with the release of 2001’s Alias 15 comic. For many fans of the MCU and Netflix’s Marvel projects, it may be hard to imagine Paul Rudd’s chirpy and quirky Scott Lang/Ant-Man interacting with Krysten Ritter’s battle-worn and gruff Jessica Jones, much less being romantically involved. However, as previously mentioned, with Netflix’s Marvel characters being slowly introduced to the wider MCU, anything is possible.
2 Thanos And Hela
Coming in next we have two of the MCU’s most powerful villains that seem to have had a fling in Marvel’s comic book history. In 2017 the release of The Unworthy Thor comic series saw Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame’s big bad Thanos, and Thor: Ragnarok’s villain Hela get slightly steamy in their budding relationship. While Cate Blanchett’s Hela and Josh Brolin’s Thanos have officially been defeated in the MCU, it is unquestionable that the pair would have made a pretty epic evil duo.
1 Spider-Man And Black Cat
And finally, we have what is perhaps the most likely comic book relationship to be potentially explored in the future of the MCU with Peter Parker’s Spider-Man and Felicia Hardy’s Black Cat. One of the web slinger’s most famous love interests, Black Cat was introduced to the world of Marvel way back in 1979 in The Amazing Spider-Man 194. With the future of Tom Holland’s Spidey so up in the air many fans speculate that a certain Black Cat may be debuting on-screen sooner or later. Many fans have even begun fan-casting the potential future role with The Queen’s Gambit star Anya Taylor Joy being a fan favorite.
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