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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2023 6:06:40 GMT -5
 I'll admit it, much as I'm into the action side of comics, and particularly the superhero genre, I get vested in the characters' lives as well. In fact, no matter how cool their "hero persona" may seem, if there isn't much "real person" behind the mask or what have you, I tend to be less interested in them overall. And on that note, there's nothing that raises my ire more than a creator deciding to break things up romantically between two characters without a compelling reason/story (by my way of seeing things of course). The classic Vision and Scarlet Witch romance was actually really though-provoking, raised some very profound questions on how far the definition of love could go, and ultimately was depicted very sweetly. I won't mince words, I thought the break-up of them stunk to the high heavens. Another one I did not like was the break-up of Light Lass and Timber Wolf in the Legion (and turning T-Wolf's character into a complete idiot along the way). But perhaps the biggest travesty for me was the break-up of Ben Grimm and Alicia in the 80's, and though the circumstances were obviously heavily retconned with the Skrull thing, the idea that Ben would not have done anything to get back to Alicia after the Secret Wars is crazy. Who else has gotten hooked on the soap operas over the years (any genre is fair game), and which ones hit you the hardest? |
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Post by Icctrombone on Oct 9, 2023 8:47:48 GMT -5
This broke my heart.   |
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 9, 2023 9:02:45 GMT -5
The Ben and Alicia break-up pissed me of royally, for reasons I've explained elsewhere. I was also disappointed when Tony Stark and Bethany Cabe, his private eye girlfriend from the first Michelinie-Layton Iron Man run, went their separate ways. That was a really good match. And though it was woefully short-lived, I always felt the romance between Bruce Wayne and Silver St. Cloud had real possibilities.
Cei-U!
I summon the incurable romantic in me!
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 9, 2023 9:13:28 GMT -5
This issue:  |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Oct 9, 2023 9:22:02 GMT -5
(...) I was also disappointed when Tony Stark and Bethany Cabe, his private eye girlfriend from the first Michelinie-Layton Iron Man run, went their separate ways. That was a really good match. (...) This. So much this. Bethany should have become to Lois to Tony's Clark from that point forward. I was so bitterly disappointed with the break-up at the time that I dropped Iron Man pretty much immediately.
Another couple that I wished had become a permanent fixture was Bernie Rosenthal and Cap/Steve - although that one didn't sting as much because I'd stopped reading Captain America before it happened.
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Post by berkley on Oct 9, 2023 10:34:52 GMT -5
The Crystal and Johnny break-up doesn't break my heart so much as a break-up but rather as the completely arbitrary change to Crystal's personality. I can feel a rant on the subject building up that I might put in the continuity thread if it reaches the boiling point.
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Post by Prince Hal on Oct 9, 2023 10:35:17 GMT -5
And though it was woefully short-lived, I always felt the romance between Bruce Wayne and Silver St. Cloud had real possibilities. Cei-U! I summon the incurable romantic in me! Yep! |
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Post by MDG on Oct 9, 2023 12:22:49 GMT -5
And though it was woefully short-lived, I always felt the romance between Bruce Wayne and Silver St. Cloud had real possibilities. Cei-U! I summon the incurable romantic in me! Yep! Yeah, but I considered it a blessing that writers other than Englehart didn't try to monkey with it (far as I know). |
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Post by tarkintino on Oct 9, 2023 12:46:40 GMT -5
The Crystal and Johnny break-up doesn't break my heart so much as a break-up but rather as the completely arbitrary change to Crystal's personality. I can feel a rant on the subject building up that I might put in the continuity thread if it reaches the boiling point.
Okay, it might have been a change in Crystal's personality, but Johnny was the emotional "hook" of that story, and to see a character who (up to that time) was largely carefree where relationships were concerned--quietly having to accept being broken--was a weighty moment. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 9, 2023 21:06:58 GMT -5
(...) I was also disappointed when Tony Stark and Bethany Cabe, his private eye girlfriend from the first Michelinie-Layton Iron Man run, went their separate ways. That was a really good match. (...) This. So much this. Bethany should have become to Lois to Tony's Clark from that point forward. I was so bitterly disappointed with the break-up at the time that I dropped Iron Man pretty much immediately.
Another couple that I wished had become a permanent fixture was Bernie Rosenthal and Cap/Steve - although that one didn't sting as much because I'd stopped reading Captain America before it happened.
I thought Len Kaminski was going to fix it in the early 90s, but it didn't quite happen. Nowadays we just get Tony paired with the writers favorite female Marvel character out of the blue for no reason... Slott had him with Janet Van Dyne.. Cantwell Patsy Walker, now there's the whole Emma Frost thing. |
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Post by berkley on Oct 9, 2023 21:42:57 GMT -5
The Crystal and Johnny break-up doesn't break my heart so much as a break-up but rather as the completely arbitrary change to Crystal's personality. I can feel a rant on the subject building up that I might put in the continuity thread if it reaches the boiling point.
Okay, it might have been a change in Crystal's personality, but Johnny was the emotional "hook" of that story, and to see a character who (up to that time) was largely carefree where relationships were concerned--quietly having to accept being broken--was a weighty moment.
Which could have been done just as well without the change to Crystal's persona.
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Post by tarkintino on Oct 9, 2023 22:09:15 GMT -5
While not a contender for the most painful break-up...in fact, its a forced separation compounded by tragedy, yet the heartbreak was strong. In "If a Hostage Should Die!" from Tales of Suspense #77 (May, 1966), Steve Rogers mind drifts back to the event where he had declared his love for Peggy Carter, despite lamenting the difficulties of trying to find love while war raged on:   In the end, an explosion robs Peggy of her memory, and while she wandered off to parts unknown, Cap obliged the resistance fighters and U.S. soldiers' celebration of Cap's aid in a successful campaign, hoping he would see her again, but of course, in retconned Cap history, he had another fate awaiting him toward the end of the war. 1960s Steve Rogers was battered by PTSD for a number of reasons (Bucky's death at the top of the list), but this ultimate soldier also had a romantic side to him, and being separated from a woman for reasons he could only guess at (adding to the heartbreak) was a memorable, character-building story for the character. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Oct 10, 2023 1:56:25 GMT -5
I thought Len Kaminski was going to fix it in the early 90s, but it didn't quite happen. Nowadays we just get Tony paired with the writers favorite female Marvel character out of the blue for no reason... Slott had him with Janet Van Dyne.. Cantwell Patsy Walker, now there's the whole Emma Frost thing. Well, there's precedent for Stark and Janet in Avengers #224 - they had a one-issue fling, with pretty much all of the other Avengers none too happy with it (a feeling I shared). |
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Post by rberman on Oct 10, 2023 10:27:10 GMT -5
Game, set, match.   |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2023 14:30:15 GMT -5
I was going to post Colossus and Kitty as well, hated that break-up.
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