30 Days of Marvel: Hearts and flowers...

[fajrdrako]

The 30 Days of Marvel meme:

Day #14: Your favorite romance.

Scott Summers and Emma Frost in X-Men.



So many things to love about these two. There's an edginess to their relationship; along with the love and trust, there's a streak of potential deception and the burdens of their past - Emma's role as White Queen of the Hellfire Club, Scott's tumultuous, doomed love of Jean Grey. And I love the way, every time the relationship between Scott and Emma edges to the unviable, it zaps right back again to love, love, and more love. And sex? Sure, lots of sex.

And Emma can manipulate minds, so there's always a niggling question: does Scott still have free will? Answered with, always: yes. Whenever they disagree, whenever they have a fight, it's clear his autonomy remains. He wins. Or if she persuades him, it's with words.

And did I mention sexy? Those two are hot together. Not less so because of his good-boy past and her bad-girl history.

Ooh, yes, I like this one. All the more so because I just finished reading Phoenix Endsong.

But there are other romances at Marvel which I like - not many, granted, but some delicious ones:



• Kitty Pryde and Pete Wisdom, as written by Warren Ellis. The romance between Kitty and Peter never did anything for me, but Kitty and Pete were an explosive relationship - I even loved the disapproval of the rest of the X-Men, and Excalibur. It was a reverse-image of the Emma/Scott relationship I talk about above, with Kitty having the good-girl past and Pete being the corruptive influence. (And didn't she love it!)
  
  
• Thor and Enchantress, also brought to us by Warren Ellis. Great fun.
  
  
• Elektra and Daredevil, the first time round.
  
  
  
  
• Although I say it reluctantly, the romance of Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson.
  
  
• Shatterstar and Rictor in X-Factor. I'm not sure where it's going, and that's part of the fun.
  
  
• Wolverine and Tyger Tiger. Okay, maybe it wasn't exactly a romance. Sheer sex.
  
  
• Wolverine and Jean Grey. We get this romance in hints, bits and pieces.
  
  
• Iron Man and Maria Hill. Also, Iron Man and Bethany Cabe. Or Iron Man and Black Widow.
  


There are other cases - like Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, or Aunt May and Jarvis, where we get a terrific relationship story, but not romance.