10 X-Men Couples Who Were Always Going to End in Disaster

Romance is an essential element of X-Men storytelling – but as many iconic couples as the franchise has, there are also numerous ill-fated love stories. Arguably more than any other Marvel franchise, X-Men is a soap opera. More than action-packed sequences, each series in the franchise is driven by melodrama, and few things are more melodramatic than love stories, be it classic “will they, won’t they” scenarios or doomed love triangles.

Most readers love a good romance, and some of the greatest storylines in X-Men history have revolved on their best relationships. As much as fans love to gush about their favorite couples, there are also couples who did not make, who also deserve some attention.

These are the couples who seemed doomed to fail from the start, whether they were memorable or forgotten about over time. Alternatively, the outright worst romances, and the downright messiest ones, fall under this category as well.

10

Rogue & Magneto Remain The X-Men’s Most Perplexing Relationship

The Romance That Makes X-Men Fans Go “…What?”

X-Men ’97 drew attention to the prospect of Magneto and Rogue being an item, which confused many fans, who had no idea that the romance has its roots in the comics. The two shared the same space while members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants before she defected to the X-Men; later, Magneto eventually joined her with the X-Men. Around this time, Rogue learned that, due to the nature of his powers, Magneto was immune to being harmed whenever he touches Rogue, unlike other suitors.

By the time they shared the island of Savage Land together, they grew even closer, to the point that in the Age of Apocalypse timeline, they have a son together. However, in the official Earth-616 timeline, because Rogue constantly searches for redemption while Magneto continues to flirt with villainy and heroism, this one wasn’t meant to last.

9

Iceman & Mystique’s Romance Was Too Complex For Them To Survive Long-Term

Mystique Betrayed Bobby Drake, But Later Regretted It

Continuing the trend of couplings with huge age differences, the hundreds-of-year-old Mystique further complicated her legacy as an anti-hero by joining the X-Men, seemingly looking to make a permanent change to herohood. In this time, she grew closer to Iceman, building a legitimate romance. As it turned out, Mystique was working as a spy on Mister Sinister’s behalf and her attempt at redemption was a ruse. She took advantage of the fact that Iceman developed feelings for her, all while using neural inhibitors in her lipstick to weaken Drake.

However, this became far more complicated by the fact that Mystique developed legitimate feelings for Iceman. The more he felt guilt towards falling into Mystique’s trappings, the more she felt remorse for her misgivings. Still, Robert could never trust her again, closing the door on that love affair.

8

Original X-Men Angel & Jean Grey Were Always Better As Friends Than Lovers

Jean Chose Scott Summers Over Warren Worthington III

It is often forgotten that Jean Grey and Warren Worthington III, two of the original five members of the first iteration of the X-Men, were an item early in the franchise’s history. Considering they knew each other as teenagers, it should come as no surprise that these two used to date. They have such a deep connection that he once greeted her with a platonic kiss while she was still dating Cyclops. Because of their bond and history, it was never framed as cheating or rekindling old feelings – just platonic friends with a romantic history.

The two still have a connection with each other on that same basis. That’s essentially the reason why they can’t be together. Jean has always carried more love for Scott than she did Warren, and Warren came to accept that.

7

Jean Grey & Beast Was An Awkward Pairing That Was Always Destined To Fail

Hank Loved Science More Than He Ever Loved Jean

Anyone who read the very first issue of Uncanny X-Men could tell that just about everyone (except Iceman, who deemed himself too young to date) had an affection for Jean Grey. This includes Beast, who would never truly flirt with the idea of dating Jean until Brian Michael Bendis’ All-New X-Men. Traditionally, Beast had always been a supporter of Jean dating Scott in the classic comics, but when the original team from the past traveled to the present, the young Jean read an adult Hank McCoy’s mind, and caught him contemplating how Jean was the first person he fell for.

This compelled the young Jean to pursue a romance with the young Beast. However, in time, the series showed exactly why a romance between them could have never worked. Beast became too consumed by his scientific research and findings to comfort Jean emotionally when she needed him to be there for her. She’d eventually find it in Scott, ironically enough.

6

Marvel’s Creative Teams Struggled To Keep Cable & Storm Together

A Couple The Franchise Should Revisit

One of Rob Liefeld’s most underrated works is the X-Command of Earth-19647, featuring Major X. Under the helmet, Major X is Alexander Nathan Summers, the son of Storm and Cable. On paper, considering that they have a son together, one would assume that this is a successful romance. In actuality, this is a romance that manifested more off-panel with the reveal of Major X’s parental history rather than on-panel.

On-panel, this was a romance that started to blossom across multiple books, including a Storm miniseries and Uncanny X-Men, but while some Marvel writers – like Jeph Loeb and Warren Ellis – were willing to continue to give focus to the pairing, the romance was quietly phased out once those writers were not working on their respective books anymore. In the end, the couple was a victim of creative changes behind-the-scenes.

5

Cannonball & Lila Cheney Never Knew When To Call It Quits

A Classic X-Franchise “On/Off” Couple

The pairing of rock star Lila Cheney and X-Men stablemate Sam Guthrie is the definition of on-again, off-again; the two met after Cannonball, during his time with the New Mutants, had saved her from an alien assassin. The two would continue getting to know each other and wind up dating, although she would eventually break up with him, citing touring life and Sam being younger as a reason why. Still, they’d continue to circle each other for years to come.

For several years, Lila and the New Mutants’ greatest leader’s dynamic would see them frequently reunite just to break up all over again, as if they had learned nothing from the previous time. Which, then again, maybe it is realistic in that regard, because oftentimes, this is a dynamic that befalls would-be couples. Still, it doesn’t make watching them fall into the same romantic mistakes any less frustrating.

4

Husk & Toad’s Age Gap Was Way Too Weird For Readers To Look Past

Marvel Tried To Work Around It, But To No Avail

During the Wolverine and the X-Men series, Mortimer Toynbee served as a custodian at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning when he met Paige Guthrie. He met Husk at an awkward time, as a secondary mutation caused her degenerate on a physical and mental level. As Toad coped with his own insecurities, the two embraced each other. It became an unhealthy, co-dependent relationship, made all the more disturbing due to Husk’s deteriorating mental state, which worsend when they moved on to the Hellfire Academy, where she became a counselor, and he became a custodian once more.

Furthermore, one elephant in the room is something that was never directly addressed on-panel, but frequently mentioned by readers online: the big age gap. The age gap is often mentioned by fans reflecting on their dynamic and one that everyone seems hyper-cognizant about.

3

Xavier & Mystique Was X-Men’s Most Perplexing, Secretive Marriage

An Onscreen Bond Forced Its Way Onto The Page

In the comics, Professor X and Mystique hardly had any sort of relationship to speak of. Even as enemies, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the X-Men could be in direct conflict with each other, but Xavier and Mystique would have zero dialogue exchanges or interactions between themselves. That changed following the release of X-Men: First Class, a movie that twists their dynamic into close childhood friends. In an attempt at synchronicity between the movies and books, Marvel would start producing stories that link them together more closely.

One of these attempts came in the aftermath of Avengers vs. X-Men, where Xavier’s death came with the reveal that Xavier had married Mystique. By means of time travel, whatever secret union Xavier and Mystique had apparently been ripped from time itself, and upon Raven and Charles’ resurrections, neither even remembered having feelings for each other.

2

Havok Made Things All Kind Of Uncomfortable By Hooking Up With His Brother’s Demonic Ex, Madalyne Pryor

Marel Kicks The Summers Family Drama A Notch

Madelyne Pryor was introduced to Marvel readers by dating Scott Summers. Granted, she debuted as a clone of his fallen lover Jean Grey, who Cyclops eventually leaves Madelyne for, driving Madelyne mad and into the villainous Queen of Limbo. She’s since evolved into one of Marvel’s big-time players, but in the midst of her more recent adventures, she turned her attention to Scott’s brother, Havok.

The two have had an odd relationship. The Goblin Queen did once torture Alex, but they also confided each other into a shared grief. During Dark X-Men, she’d resurrect him from the dead, intending to keep him as a zombie (as did the X-Men editorial) until X-Factor. Their relationship was largely built on Madelyne’s manipulation whilst overcasting the huge shadow of Scott Summers upon their relationship. Alex was always overshadowed by his brother, but essentially having his brother’s romantic leftovers is weird to say the least.

1

Emma Frost & Cyclops Were Never Accepted By The X-Men As A Couple

The Franchise’s Most Infamous Cheating Scandal

For all intents and purposes, this might be the most successful couple on this list. They were recurring for a number of years and proved to be a major component to X-Men storylines at the time that they became an item. However, like others mentioned, this was not meant to last. Their romance was the product of an affair that transpired while he was dating Jean Grey; in retrospect, Scott Summers deciding to sneak behind one telepath’s back by having a psychic affair with another telepath was never going to work, hence how Jean was able to catch them telepathically.

Even worse, Scott started a more physical, public relationship with Emma after Jean’s death. That’s one of the more questionable decisions the team never let Cyclops live down. The whole situation left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, and the couple never gained approval from their fellow X-Men.

X-Men

Movie(s)

X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

First Film

X-Men (2000)

TV Show(s)

X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)

Character(s)

Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23

Video Game(s)

X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)

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