7) Tony Stark And Pepper Potts (Iron Man 1 – 3)
The Iron Man movies make full use of the franchise format to expand the hurried romance we’re used to seeing in films into something more believable and satisfying.
Though Pepper and Tony are clearly sweet on each other in Iron Man, they only finally get together in Iron Man 2. In Iron Man 3, their relationship is cemented when Tony states that the most important thing in his life is not his billions, or even his Iron Man suits, but Pepper. It’s thanks to her as much as the whole superhero thing that Tony is a much better person by the end of the trilogy.
Unfortunately, and out of nowhere, Captain America: Civil War dropped the bombshell that Tony and Pepper had split, potentially for good. If that’s really the case, hopefully we’ll get a better resolution for the couple in the future.
6) Peter Parker And Gwen Stacy (The Amazing Spider-Man 1 – 2)
Despite a lot of promise, The Amazing Spider-Man movies ultimately didn’t live up to the title. In terms of plot and world-building, the films were sorely lacking, but the performances of its two talented leads cannot be faulted.
While how Andrew Garfield fared at the geeky side of Peter Parker is often contested, Emma Stone is terrific all round as the charismatic Gwen Stacy – whose intelligence and humour prevents her from being a damsel in distress.
Probably mostly due to the pair dating behind the scenes at the time, Garfield and Stone have terrific chemistry and they really feel like a believable couple – unlike certain other superhero movie pairings we can think of (*cough* Thor and Jane Foster *cough*).
Plus, because of our belief in the pair as a couple, Gwen’s heartbreaking death in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was the most powerful moment of the franchise.