The 12 Best Love Stories in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell in “Captain America: The First Avenger”. (Photo: Marvel)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is usually known for its exciting action and great humor. But it’s got some pretty good love stories in there too.

When you think of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you generally think of the incredible actors involved in bringing your favorite comic book characters to life. Maybe you love the great action sequences. Or the witty dialogue. But the MCU isn’t exactly known for its great depictions of relationships. Too often romances can feel like half-hearted insertions into the larger stories the films really want to be telling. Or female characters are only introduced to serve as potential love interests, and therefore lack agency and depth in their own right. As a result, several major MCU relationships are paper thin (I’m looking at you, Stephen Strange and Christine Palmer) or completely uninteresting (sorry, Thor and Jane).

There are certainly Marvel films that handle relationship stories better than others. (Bless you, Captain America movies.) But it’s really the television corner of the MCU that’s leading the pack in this area. Blessed with more hours to work with, the Marvel television properties feature many complicated, complex romances between very different types of people. (And it’s why there are several more TV relationships on this list than film ones.)

Still, the Marvel universe has something for everyone when it comes to relationships. Whether you like old fashioned romances, friends turned something more, or the idea that even villains might deserve love too, you can find it here. Here are twelve of our favorite MCU relationships – past, present, and potential.