- There are many romances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- Fans love Tony Stark and Pepper Potts.
- Other relationships, like the one between Jane Foster and Thor, aren't so beloved.
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In the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movies were more formulaic. There was a bad guy, there was an origin story, and there was a love interest.
Some of those movies sparked engrossing romances, like Captain America and Peggy Carter, or Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, whose stories stretch across multiple films. But there were also many duds, like Jane Foster and Thor, and the unfortunate will they/won't they between Black Widow and Bruce Banner in "Avengers: Age of Ultron."
Thankfully as the MCU has gone on and gotten more experimental, the characters are more important than the formula. And with that, we've gotten some engrossing and interesting relationships.
Here are all the MCU romances, ranked.
Bruce Banner and Betty Ross barely left an impact.
Despite its disastrous plot and casting of Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, "The Incredible Hulk," which came out in 2008, is still MCU canon.
Bruce Banner and Betty Ross, played by Liv Tyler, kiss in the rain and carry the film with their romance. But ultimately it's dull, and forgettable because people within the MCU and outside of it truly do not remember this was a thing at all.
Thor and Jane Foster just didn't have chemistry.
The early MCU films are very formulaic superhero movies. Each movie has a villain, a hero figuring out his powers (because they were all men), and the woman he falls in love with among all the action.
Unfortunately, Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman's chemistry just isn't there. It's ham-fisted and prevents the first two Thor films from getting into more interesting elements like Thor and Loki's relationship, Nordic lore, and the epic space adventure that makes "Thor: Ragnarok" so fun.
Luckily, it doesn't seem like the two will be reuniting anytime soon.
The romance between Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) and Bruce Banner (Hulk) was poorly written.
This tragically forced romance could have worked — as a romantic pairing, Romanoff and Banner make sense for many reasons. But instead of waiting for their chemistry to bring them together naturally, "Age of Ultron" writer Joss Whedon forced it into the screenplay.
And now, what could have been one of the better MCU romances is one that all other MCU movies ignore, minus a great scene in "Thor: Ragnarok," which uses a video of Natasha to bring Hulk back to Banner after two years.
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