Highlights
- Some DC Comics couples have tragic and devastating endings, making for some of the most heartbreaking moments in comic book history.
- Batman's love interests are often villains, with his tumultuous marriage to Talia Al Ghul being one of the worst and craziest entanglements in DC's history.
- Harley Quinn and The Joker's relationship was marked by constant abuse, but she eventually found a better kind of love with Poison Ivy after years of suffering.
There are a lot of romantic entanglements throughout the history of DC Comics, many of which have been brief and forgotten. Some others have managed to stand the test of time and thrill fans, while many wait patiently for their dream DC Comics pairings to perhaps come together one day or to reunite after separating. However, some love stories are naturally dark, and end tragically, whether that's due to toxic relationships or the interference of fate.
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The transient nature of comic books makes it hard for relationships to continue, but some of them end in surprisingly brutal fashion. Heroes often die and come back later, but death is still very real to the characters and fans when it happens, making the tragic endings of some couples some of the most devastating moments in comic book history.
6 Batman & Talia Al Ghul
Ended By Talia Faking A Miscarriage
- First Appearance: Detective Comics #441 (1971)
Batman has had several love interests over the years, and the most interesting ones, the ones he properly falls for, are usually villains. His long and tumultuous relationship with Catwoman is one of DC’s most iconic, while his marriage and relationship with the daughter of the Demon can be considered one of DC’s worst and craziest entanglements.
Initially meeting in Detective Comics, their first adventure ended with Talia shooting a man to save Batman’s life. From there, their love blossomed, but Talia was always wary, even after they were married. Finally, feeling Batman would be trapped and always protecting her, Talia dissolved their marriage after faking a miscarriage with his child, which she later raised within the League of Assassins. The tragic circumstances surrounding their relationship in different continuities even involved the birth of their child being through a non-consensual tryst, Talia drugging and forcing Batman to impregnate her.
5 Hal Jordan & Carol Ferris
Ended By Carol’s Death
- First Appearance: Showcase #22 (1959)
A longtime romantic couple, Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris knew each other long before either had superpowers. But later, after Hal had become a Green Lantern and embraced this identity, Carol became one of the Star Sapphires, a different group that harnessed the power of love to control the emotional spectrum similarly to the Lanterns.
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While neither group was malicious naturally, each had their own agendas and came into conflict more than once. This meant it was always difficult for Hal and Carol to have a relationship, and she was even sent to destroy him on several occasions. Each time they battled, she would lose, but their tumultuous relationship suffered from the many conflicts they were forced to undergo, leading to her taking even more villainous turns down the years.
4 Supergirl & Lex Luthor
Ended By Lex Cloning Supergirl
- First Appearance: Superman: Panic In The Sky (1992)
One of the crazier duos brought together in the post-Crisis era of DC Comics. Supergirl and Lex Luthor did shockingly date, although technically neither was the character that fans are used to seeing in the panels of DC Comics. At the time, Supergirl was a being known as "Matrix" who was created in a pocket dimension by an alternate reality version of Lex Luthor.
Meanwhile, Lex was posing as his own Australian son, when he was secretly a clone created by the original Luthor. He worked on Supergirl, turning the people of Metropolis against her as she worked as a pawn for him. The creepiness of this entire relationship was a strange time for both characters, but it was always doomed to fail, especially because Lex was secretly cloning Supergirl, something she found out eventually, ended their relationship. This is one that's definitely unlikely to appear in the DCU.
3 Harley Quinn & The Joker
Ended By Joker’s Constant Abuse
- First Appearance: Batman: Harley Quinn #1 (1999)
After being introduced in Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn finally made her official comic book debut in 1999 as a psychiatrist who had fallen in love with the Joker and became his sidekick and lover, turning completely mad. Despite his constant abuse, she stayed with him for a ridiculously long time.
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Joker locked Harley in a cell with bodies all dressed like her, abandoned her while she was pregnant, threw her into a pack of hyenas, and even bleached her skin by throwing her into a vat of chemicals in the New 52 continuity. Fans always hoped this relationship was doomed, but it was a long time before Harley finally quit him and went out on her own, finally finding a better kind of love with Poison Ivy after years of abuse with Joker.
2 The Comedian & Sally Jupiter
Ended By Her Marriage
- First Appearance: Watchmen #2 (1986)
One of the more distant sides the DC Comics Universe has ever had was shown in The Watchmen capepunk miniseries by Alan Moore. Two of the heroes of the original Minutemen team had a horrific relationship. Sally Jupiter, having been turned into more of a sex symbol than a superhero by the media, found herself attacked and nearly sexually assaulted one night by her teammate, The Comedian.
Later, this pair was found to have slept together, and Sally’s daughter was proven to be his instead of her husband’s. As far as is known in continuity, the pair didn’t strike up a more permanent romantic relationship, letting it die out because of her marriage, but even so, she seemed to have consensually gone back to her attempted attacker, something many fans found hugely upsetting.
1 Hal Jordan & Arisia Rrab
Ended By Her Revealing Her Real Age
- First Appearance: Tales Of The Green Lantern Corps #1 (1981)
Arisia Rrab was an alien who became a member of the Green Lantern Corps and fell for Hal Jordan after relocating to Earth. The biggest problem with the idea of these two being in a relationship was that she was thirteen years old. She fixed this by using her ring and power to age her body up to 20 years old, but her mind was still that of a 13-year-old, she was never one of the strongest lanterns in the corps.
It was good enough for Hal Jordan, who fell for her in return, leading both to disaster. Not only was this a pretty dodgy relationship for an adult like Hal to get into, but it was also destructive to both of them, helping contribute towards Hal’s downfall to becoming Parallax, and towards Arisia losing her powers and mind for a time.
