Marvel Comics' original "non-team" The Defenders has a long history of bizarre adventures and an eclectic rotating roster of membership. As a result of this ever-changing and unique roster, there have been many strange romances and relationships formed throughout Defenders comics.
With a penchant for tackling Marvel's more supernatural-oriented threats, demons, body swaps, deaths, and resurrections have played major roles in Defenders stories, and have made some of these romances even more unusual and complicated.
10 Luke Cage & Jessica Jones
Members of the most recent incarnation of The Defenders, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, are an unlikely couple who have grown to become one of Marvel's most well-known. Luke, a mainstay of Marvel's 1970s era, was returned to prominence after years of languishing in obscurity when a fling was depicted between him and Jessica in the 2001 series Alias, which also retconned Jessica, a brand new character, into the history of the Marvel Universe.
After a series of casual trysts, the two would eventually evolve into a serious couple, despite their drastically different personal histories. Eventually married, they have since gone on to each obtain an Avengers membership, and are currently raising their daughter Danielle, who, in an alternate future, has been revealed to be the inheritor of the mantel of Captain America.
9 Iron Fist & Misty Knight
Both former members of The Defenders, though never at the same time, Danny "Iron Fist" Rand and Misty Knight have a long documented on-again-off-again romantic history. Misty, a former NYPD officer, and Danny, a millionaire orphan raised in a hidden kung-fu oriented monastery, first met during Danny's partnership with Luke Cage as the Heroes for Hire, of which Misty was a frequent ally.
With little in common, Danny and Misty became attracted to each other's differences in attitude and approach, eventually leading to feelings forming between them. Although often pulled apart by their respective responsibilities, the two always inevitably end up back in each other's arms, even if just for a fleeting moment.
8 Doctor Strange & Clea
Founder and frequent leader of The Defenders, Doctor Strange has protected the earth from constant supernatural threats in his career as Sorceror Supreme. One of the most notable is the dreaded Dormammu, ruler of the Dark Dimension. Amidst this rivalry, Strange was introduced to Clea, who became his apprentice and eventual lover. Ironically, Clea is also an extradimensional demonic being, and the niece of Dormammu himself.
Despite his own better judgment, Strange took Clea under his wing, nurturing her natural aptitude for mysticism, and installing her into the Defenders' ranks as one of the team's earliest recruits. Literally from different worlds, the relationship between Doctor Strange and Clea was naturally riddled with turmoil. Regardless, the two often brought out the best in each other, with Strange helping Clea to overcome her darker nature, while she, in turn, helped him to regain a sense of humanity.
7 Nighthawk & Trish Starr
Before adopting his costumed identity of Nighthawk, the young, rich, and reckless Kyle Richmond briefly dated supermodel Patricia Starr. Unbeknownst to Richmond, Starr was also the niece of the supervillain Egghead. After barely surviving one of her uncle's nefarious schemes, Trish left Kyle to join a commune in the Nevada desert, and later discovered her aptitude towards magic and sorcery.
Her accidental summoning and subsequent possession by a demonic entity eventually brought her back in touch with Kyle, who had by this point joined the Defenders. After being rescued from her predicament by Kyle and his teammates, Trish would part ways with him on amicable terms, as the two realized that too much time had passed between them, and they had each become completely different people.
6 Angel & Candy Southern
Longtime romantic partner of Warren Worthington, Candy Southern continued to stand by his side even after discovering his dual identity as the X-Men's high-flying Angel. When Angel became the financial backer of his friend and former teammate, Beast's reorganized "New Defenders," the team was moved into Warren's Colorado mountaintop mansion, where he and Candy had also been living at the time.
Though she lacked any superpowers of her own, Candy's experience and perspective gained from her years surrounded by Marvel's heroes made her a unique asset to the team, eventually taking on the role of the group's leader. Strange in its normalcy amongst the esoteric adventures of The Defenders, the relationship between Warren and Candy kept the team grounded in reality between encounters with otherworldly threats.
5 Nighthawk & Valkyrie
When Kyle Richmond joined The Defenders as the heroic Nighthawk, he was immediately smitten with his teammate, Brunnhilde, the Valkyrie. Having grown up in affluence, the arrogant Richmond was unaccustomed to rejection and continued to romantically pursue the Asgardian warrior during the course of many adventures together.
At this time, however, the millennia-old Valkyrie had, against her will, been bonded to the body of the human Barbara Norriss. As Brunnhilde struggled to reconcile her godly heritage with her now mortal form, it came to light that the actual Barbara Norriss whom she possessed was, in fact, married; a revelation that Richmond did not take well.
4 Hellcat & Mad-Dog
Debuting in the romance comics of Marvel predecessor Timely, Patsy Walker and Buzz Baxter were originally depicted as a pair of innocent teenagers during the golden age of comics in the 1940s. As romance comics fell out of favor in the 50s and 60s, the characters were retired and eventually forgotten.
Reintroduced amidst the superhero explosion of the silver age, the now-adult high school sweethearts had since married and separated, while their earlier exploits were revealed to be fictional stories conjured by Patsy's comic book writer mother. The "real" Patsy, it turned out, possessed an unhealthy obsession with superheroes, eventually becoming one herself as the Defender, Hellcat. Her estranged husband, meanwhile, would go on to join the nefarious Roxxon Corporation, eventually allowing them to transform him into a half-canine mutant, the Defenders foe, Mad-Dog.
3 Valkyrie & Jackson Norriss
When the Asgardian Valkyrie, Brunnhilde came to possess the body of the human Barbara Norriss, Norriss' husband Jackson refused to believe in the reality of this turn of events. When Valkyrie (in Barbara's body) joined The Defenders, Jack unwelcomely tagged along, desperate to reunite with his "wife."
Despite being seen by the team mostly as an annoyance, Jack's dedication would come to benefit the team on several occasions as he risked his life against supernatural threats to save them. Eventually convinced by the dejected Nighthawk that his wife was indeed gone, Jackson accepted a substantial cash bribe and left the Defenders. He went on to parlay his experiences with them into an application for S.H.I.E.L.D. membership, where he was eventually hired on as a file clerk.
2 Hellcat & Daimon Hellstrom
As the Defenders roster grew over the years, Patsy "Hellcat" Walker developed a romance with her teammate Daimon Hellstrom, a half-human demon, who operated under the codename "The Son of Satan."
The literal son of one of the rulers of the many Marvel "Hell" dimensions, Hellstrom eventually renounced his heritage and sacrificed the demonic portion of his soul for Patsy, and the two retired from the team, married, and "settled down" as occult investigators. Unfortunately, it was later revealed that Daimon was unable to survive without his "darksoul," and Patsy would eventually give up her own life, albeit temporarily, in the process of restoring his.
1 Cloud & Moondragon
A self-aware cosmic nebula, Cloud came to earth curious about humanity. Taking the form of a human female, Cloud's vast cosmic power became an asset to The Defenders in the original team's final days. After falling in love with teammate Moondragon, Cloud would later transition into a male form, but would often lament their preference for presenting as female.
Ironically, years after they separated and Cloud resumed the form of a genderless cosmic entity, Moondragon would reveal her own romantic preference for women. As it stands, Cloud is Marvel's only official genderfluid superhero to exist, their 1986 romance with Moondragon years ahead of its time.
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