My Five Favorite Comic Book Marriages

So almost two weeks into marital bliss of my own now, it's only natural my thoughts turn to my favorite super-couples to get hitched, right? I mean, natural for me.

I'll admit, over two decades of reading comic book weddings had me expecting all my greatest foes to converge on my own nuptials and I was all set to team with my friends and turn them back, but the closest we really came was having to deal with a weird limo driver telling us stories about Thai hookers and some dude from a wedding at the next reception place over wandering in by accident for a few minutes. Nonetheless, comics have actually given me some decent templates for successful unions (as well as plenty to steer clear of, like making sure I'm not married to a clone...which I'm not), so I figured I'd share my personal favorites.
Before I get to the list proper, let me give Honorable Mention shout-outs to Donna Troy and Terry Long as well as Cyclops and Jean Grey; I didn't particularly dig either couple's actual marriages, but they had awesome wedding issues, with Marv Wolfman impressively delivering a ceremony that was plenty fun without any super villain attacks and George Perez drawing the heck out of Donna and Terry's big day in Tales of the Teen Titans #50 (see up top), and Cyclops getting hitched to Jean in another threat-free event that I remember with fond childhood nostalgia from X-Men #30 (see above).

Now then, the top five...
5. The Vision & The Scarlet Witch
Call me stupid (you won't be the first), but there was something about the comic book marriage of a synthetic man to a mutant sorceress that I found so beautifully tolerant. I loved Vizh's often awkward attempts to make himself into a more normal, human husband and I liked Wanda's fierce pride and willingness to stand up for not only her choice in spouses, but her own heritage as well. I probably could have done without the descent into suburbia, but I always found these two more endearing together than apart.

4. Superman & Lois Lane
There are those folks who argue that the marriage of Superman and Lois Lane broke the Superman mythology in that it shattered the eternal love triangle that had Clark Kent as the third point, but I always saw said triangle as being a neat niche, but one that felt very outdated, so I wasn't sad to see it go. I don't view Superman as a dude in his twenties I'd like to hang out with, but as somebody who is supposed to be at least a decade older than me, so seeing him in a happy, healthy marriage makes him a more appealing character to me. More importantly, I think Lois Lane is a much stronger figure when she's able to be showcased as a rad, intelligent woman whose ingenuity isn't being constantly undercut by her inability to see past a pair of eyeglasses.

3. Bigby Wolf & Snow White
There are so many reasons to love the marriage of Bigby and Snow in Fables. They really did get that nice, sappy storybook "happly ever after," but in true Fables fashion, it's a bit twisted. For one, Bigby is no Prince Charming, and I adore the fact that the rough-around-the-edges outcast got the girl; more than that, I like that she didn't just fall into his arms, but rather he had to really earn it and win her over. I also enjoy how her relationship with her husband grounds Snow and makes her seem much more relatable without her losing the "I'm a princess" appeal. Really though, I dig that they're a modern, adult couple (albeit in a fantasy world where fairy tales are real) who have kids but don't feel stodgy or boring; they're still out there kicking ass and having adventures, Snow is still hot and Bigby is still a total badass. They're great together.

2. Mr. Fantastic & The Invisible Woman
When I think of comic book marriages (and hopefully I don't do so an unhealthy amount), this is always the first one that springs to mind for me, as they were (at least close to) the first and still among the best. I think it's very cool that in a book where they took a lot of unconventional risks to really forge the Silver Age, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby went for another one by pairing off their primary couple so early on and choosing to explore matrimony in the context of a wild and crazy sci-fi super hero book. I like that writers have rarely shied away from the fact that Reed is far from the perfect husband and used this coupling as an opportunity to explore the challenges of marrying a workaholic, but also that Sue rarely comes off as a patsy and keeps her man in line without the solutions to their spats seeming too contrived or absurd. I also enjoy that these are the prototype parents of the Marvel Universe both to their own kids and their extended family, and that again you get to see a touching but real portrayal of how parents love their children, but how demonstrating that can be tough. This definitely feels like a real marriage (again, in a very unreal setting), warts and all, and that makes it one of my favorites.

1. Wally West & Linda Park
I've said before and will say again: I'm not quite sure why, but not comic book love story gets me quite like the one between Wally "Flash" West and his lady love, Linda Park. That their feelings for one another are so strong as to help Wally defy the temptation of heaven and outrace death itself is just beyond awesome and Mark Waid was just a true poet when it came to defining their relationship and pouring romance onto the page. What I enjoyed most about their marriage is that once they finally did tie the knot, it felt like they had already been joined for years, which is how I wanted my own relationship with Megan to evolve (and it has). Weddings are beautiful things, but I think the best relationships are the ones where you feel like you're already married before you put a label on it; that's how I felt about me and my bride and it's also how I viewed Wally and Linda. They are a true team and deal with everything from family tragedy to psychotic super villains together; Linda may not have any powers, but she's always felt like Wally's equal partner (not his sidekick or damsel in distress to me). I guess the reason this is my favorite comic book marriage is because I see much of my own situation in it, and that makes me smile (I'm not in any rush to have kids, though, and if I ever am, I'm definitely not pulling for twins who become teenagers over night).