Wanted: A Happily Married Couple
April 23rd, 2009 by Esther Inglis-Arkell | Tags: DC comicsI was watching Scrubs today (don’t you judge me), and the two main male characters (Turk and JD) each decided to reaffirm their love (not like that) with their respective significant others (see?). The plotline for the lovers was pretty standard; a mention of a certain hang-up, a big fight that had something to do with said hang-up, one person changes their mind, and bam, happy ending with renewed declarations of love.
The thing is, the two male friends weren’t fighting. They were doing wacky things and having fun, and then the whole relationship plot kicked in for both of them and made them miserable. Kind of like it did in the episode before. And the episode before. And the season before that. And the one before that.
Just like it does in most romantic comedies, wherein the two leads start out by hating each other, snipe at each other all the way through, and then declare their love at the end.
Just like it does in comics. Ollie and Dinah are fighting. Bruce can’t keep a girl alive, in love with him, and non-evil to, heh, save his life. I don’t even want to talk about Tim’s relationships. Even Lois and Clark seem to be cranking the miserometer up these days.
I realize that this happens in every genre, that story comes from conflict, and that it’s realistic to have couples fight now and again. But if a couple actually gets married it is important to show that they at least like each other.
I would like, very much, if there were a few couples in fiction who behaved as if they were friends. You know, enjoying each other’s company, thinking of fun stuff to do, and doing it. Being nice to each other. Having the bulk of the drama come from outside circumstances instead of obvious incompatibility. Anyone know of a few?
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Jaime Reyes and Traci Thirteen are up at the top of my list. Even though they are teenagers they have less drama than any other couple in the DCU.
And I somehow missed the word “married.” Sorry, carry on.
I love the Reed Richards and Sue Storm relationship, particularly in Mark Waid & Mike Wieringo’s Fantastic Four, or in Grant Morrison’s 1234. I really dig Waid’s take on Wally West and Linda Park-West, too.
My least favorite plot to put married couples into is the “Will they or won’t they cheat?” thing. Once Sue got married, Namor should’ve backed off. It’s cliche and trite at this point, but poor writers keep going back to that well and not putting a hard “No, she won’t cheat, she’s married” stamp on it.
When well written there is, as the commentor above said, the Reed and Sue in FF. And Whedon and Ellis both write Scott and Emma in X-Men as a pretty compatible couple, I think. I don’t know what other writers have been doing with them, mind you (or care).
Of course, my FIRST thought Ralph and Sue Dibney… *cough*
What Wynne said for Ralph/Sue. Even if they’re dead now. I’m pretty sure one of the Bat-books had them still fighting crime in spite of that as Deadman style ghosts…
Also for DC, Animal Man and his wife seem pretty stable. And going back to the dead people thing, all of the New Gods seemed to be good at the whole relationship thing. At least the New Genesis ones…
For Marvel? Reed/Sue is about it off the top of my head. No wait, Howard the Duck/Bethany. I guess once you get past the differing species hurdle everything else is cake. Phyla-Vell/Moondragon and Wiccan/Hulkling both seem good. Though Phyla is now an Avatar of Death or something so that will probably provide some bumps in the road. Then again Moondragon has been dead 3 or 4 times now so who knows…
In the House of X, Havok/Polaris is back strong again. I’m not reading any of the others, so no idea on Scott/Emma…
Mostly I just want Justice/Firestar back…
The episode of Scrubs afterwards featured Turk and Carla on very good terms. The show also goes out of it’s way to point out how not normal JD and Turk’s friendship is. Every other single friendship in the show is shown to be quite normal in back and forth tension. Theirs just happens to be immune to it and is completely mocked for it.
Married couples love each other deeply, but when you live with someone on a daily basis, there is a lot of back and forth in regards to compromise and working together.
also Reed Richards and Sue Storm, Adam Strange and Alanna.
Good and sad point — though as they say, conflict is drama.
But, kids, how about Jay and Joan Garrick? Or Wesley Dodds and Diane? Maybe it’s just the way kids today are raised… .
I really can’t think of any that haven’t already been listed.
As a long time Scott/Jean man, I’m surprised how much I prefer Scott and Emma. Of course Dark Reign’s going to trainwreck that one before much longer.
I also really liked Ralph and Sue, and Sue and Reed (as long as Mark Millar stays da fug away! Hated how he dealt with them during Civil War.)
And of course there’s Buddy Baker and Ellen. Animal Man reprints were among some of my early comics and I always loved the home dynamic.
Marvel’s Beak and Angel (Salvatore) recently became Blackwing & Tempest in the New Warriors, and they seemed to be getting along just fine.
@Erik: That’s okay, Erik. I’ve reconsidered and I’ll take any couple as long as they’re happy.
@david brothers: I think what I’m getting from this post is; girls named Sue have good marriages. That puts Johnny Cash’s ‘A Boy Named Sue’ in a new perspective.
@Pedro Tejeda: True, but if they can use that dynamic for a friendship, couldn’t they use it for a couple now and again? Also, Turk and JD lived together for, like, five years.
Barry Allen (Flash) and Iris spring to mind.
Also, Ralph and Sue Dibny. I swear, nothing could ever split those two up…
Hourman and Liberty Belle in JSA.
I’ve nothing to say other than that I love Scrubs. 🙂
When you say happy, do you mean happy to love each other or happy as in having a happy life? I kind of like the Black Adam/Isis story, even though it didn’t end well for them.