DC Universe Relationships!

Is it me or did anyone else find that most of the heroes in the DC Universe have a misfortune of not being able to maintain a good relationship/marriage with anyone? Superman with all his power couldn't keep one; Now The New 52 Superman-Wonderman series seems to keep them in one of the best relationships yet and hopefully it stays that way but he hasn't had much success keeping them. Batman with all of his fame and intellect didn't get to keep any. Not even "Grayson" could keep a good relationship for a long time. Is this a curse of the DC Universe?

Welcome to comics in general.

The status quo is all that matters. Why I don't read them anymore.

The Flash family has always had strong relationships, as have most all of the Golden age heroes.

I think more recently (and I mean decades in many cases), DC has used interpersonal relationships and the challenges of fitting in with real life to demonstrate that their heroes have real flaws and experience real human struggles.

I don't think it's a curse...just adding some realism.

Originally posted by atv2
Is it me or did anyone else find that most of the heroes in the DC Universe have a misfortune of not being able to maintain a good relationship/marriage with anyone?

It's not just you. One of the DC execs- Didio, I think- even made a post right after the Batwoman marriage cancel about how heroes need to 'sacrifice' their happiness in personal lives and that's part of what makes them heroic.

Which is not a philosophy I hold in the slightest.

Originally posted by Tzeentch
Welcome to comics in general.

I'd like to point out a book called "Fred Perry's Gold Digger."

Characters are allowed to have relationships that work, long term. Multiple characters get married. A kid happens and it doesn't stop the action! (Though, granted, there's a timeskip at one point).

The status quo is all that matters. Why I don't read them anymore.

Eeeeh, I quite disagree.

Rather, I will say, some specific bits override all. Major characters will never become unusable. The setting won't become unusable or too weird permanently.

However, teams make break up and never reunite in anything resembling the same makeup. Events happen which permanently alter two character's relationships in ways that are still in effect decades later, or they may evolve and shift. The socialpolitical situation may change. New heroes may arise and take major roles.

Take a look at Marvel. Compare, say, a few months before Civil War, to 4 years before that, to 6 years before that. Each jump is drastically different, and the start and end point are too. In that time, Avengers went from a single team, to two opposed team, to a friendly franchise. The X-men have changed even more drastically- Cyclops especially massively changed, and the 'mutants rearising period' is very different than the pre-M-day period, with the post-decimation period odder stuff.

Personally, my feeling is, once things haven't been remotely similar for a decade, you can stop saying the status quo is god.

They dropped the ball in a massive way with the Clark and Diana relationship, but I think it's also down to there not being a lot of writers that can write believable relationships. That and writer pettiness.

What I wouldn't have given to see Morrison tackle something like that.

As far as the thread goes, it's a staple of fiction that relationship drama creates, well, drama. You don't get a happy ever after unless you're ready to work with it, and a lot of writers aren't.

Originally posted by -Pr-
They dropped the ball in a massive way with the Clark and Diana relationship, but I think it's also down to there not being a lot of writers that can write believable relationships. That and writer pettiness.

What I wouldn't have given to see Morrison tackle something like that.

As far as the thread goes, it's a staple of fiction that relationship drama creates, well, drama. You don't get a happy ever after unless you're ready to work with it, and a lot of writers aren't.

Similarly, it really helps to build relationships at the start end, same as the 'happy ever' end.

Like, I think there's a good number of writers that can handle an existing believable relationship, but less-so willing and able to set one up.

I like the Superman and Wonderwoman relationship because even though Superman has lost a great deal of his power at this point, Wonderwoman's love comes strong for him. I just hope that they can stray away from him getting to Lois. That relationship was getting boring. Even his relationship with Lisa in the Earth One series is interesting; Even though she's had a rough life supporting herself, there is redeeming qualities inside of her and she LOVED Superman to the point of risking her life for him when he was about to be killed by Zod. She LOVED Superman to the condition of faith. That's the kind of woman I would like to have as my wife, the kind that is beautiful and shows virtue with it. I hope they can continue to develop relationships like these in the future.