Today's selections really impressed me on how diverse we all. I'm extremely happy to see two Captain America couples. I thought about Bernie Rosenthal as one of my mainstream picks but kept on the roster just in case as a last minute substitute. Mister Spaceman and is selection of Tom & Dhuala Strong was a great pick; totally forgot about the ABC books. Slam_Bradley, thank you for posting Hitman. Odd but fantastic choice.

See I was THIS close to including them.. but then I though, Skywise really makes them a threesome, no?  Or not really?  Then there's the end, where they sorta leave and go their separate ways (unlike Redlance and Nightfall).    In the end I just had to go elsewhere.   

#5 Jennifer Mays and Gabe Webb

In the 1980s, two very popular series that were driven by romance were both detective shows: Remington Steele and Moonlighting (you could also throw in Hart to Hart). They were driven by a "will they, won't they" dynamic, while also have an amateur and a professional. Jump ahead a few years and you have Mike Barr doing his best Ellery Queen, where he introduces us to detective and former government agent Jennifer Mays, proprietor of the Maze Agency. Jennifer is a beautiful blond woman, who runs a detective agency, where she is also the main agent. Think Honey West, for one of the better comparisons. Joining her on some of her cases is crime writer and Jennifer's boyfriend, Gabe Webb.

The series features "play fair" mysteries, where you are given the same clues as the detective and attempt to solve it before they do and even had inspiration Ellery Queen appear in a story. Unlike many of these couples, Gabe wasn't the tough one. Jennifer was the butt-kicker, Gabe usually hid from trouble However, Gabe often spots the big clues and works out the details of the crime.

Through the series, they are a warm, loving, playful couple. They go out on dates, spend the night together, hang out, go on vacations together, but avoid going beyond the casual , but committed nature of their relationship. They were greatly aided by rookie artist Adam Hughes, who grew by leaps and bounds across the series, until he was forced to abandon it for the workload he accumulated (and the dumptruck of money they backed up to his door) from DC and the art passed in fine, but less stunning artists. Even so, what held the series together were the mature characters that Mike Barr created. Jennifer and Gabe acted like adults, in every sense. They did not need "sex and violence" to give the false aura of maturity. They had the real thing. It was refreshing to see, while just as refreshing to see a capable career woman, who acted realistically.

just got back from a long day, and it's late and I'm tired. . so apologies if I do a disservice to my #5:

Destiny & Mystique

Claremont made it very clear they are a couple, tho he hinted around quite a bit about exactly HOW they are a couple (and tho Mystique is a shape shifter, he heavily implied that she morphed into a male for anything physical).

but that all went out the window a while back - especially in the current X-men/Krakoa stuff (which I don't read at all. . but have seen lots of images from it, and it's very clear that Mystique and Destiny are/were/are? a lesbian couple. period).





and Mystique loves her to the point that she'll destroy everything to get Destiny back.

so yeah. . short and sweet. .they're my #5 - and I suspect will show up on others' lists at a higher number?

I especially liked the great origin story that Roy crafted for Bêlit. It had the classic overtones required for such a character, and was rife with potential.  

Really? I've always thought this was the one Marvel story that exceeded it... what didn't you like?[/quote]

It's been a long time, so I don't remember much, but I know I genuinely choked up when she died in the pulp story. In the comic, I didn't feel a thing.