... Okay, so I used a riff on a "Grease" song. But today's entry calls for a less "harsh" approach to the blog. You see, today is... relatively... a special occasion, and the entry was INSPIRED by it! Three years ago, roughly, I had my first date night out with my girlfriend, Sarah. I remember we had dinner at a pretty nice Italian restaurant... which is no longer open, sadly..., we shared a nice nature trail walk, and later shared a viewing of the sequel to the remake of "Hills Have Eyes". And three years later, Sarah has stood by my side. Yep, back when I was regularly employed with my local library system, to when I was high... and then brought WAY low... by expectations from my education, and even during my brief stop to Data Entry work, to today... where I hunt feverishly for new employment. We've had our moments of verbal snaps that would make even Bane tell us to "relax". But I wouldn't trade anything for three straight years of having a woman that's made my life happier, and made me feel more alive, than any other one preceding her. (And note I did NOT quote an exact date of our first date. I can't remember it! But you want a good indication of why Sarah is a perfect fit for me? SHE CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT DATE, EITHER!!! Generally, we agree it's "mid-August.) And I choose to commemorate the occasion with my... in no particular order... top five comic book couples!
A caveat before we begin: This entry will NOT be as research intensive as other entries have been, as of late. I've been straining my lil' noggin a LOT for "Evil Week". So don't expect many exact issue notations, or direct histories for some characters, but just reasonings of WHY I regard these couples as fine examples of healthy relationships. Without further preamble...
Ralph and Sue Dibny: That Gingold formula worked wonders for the Elongated Man's life! Not only did it grant him the ability to stretch his limbs... which greatly aided his already vast deductive abilities... but it probably didn't hurt relations with his wife, Sue. As long as I've known Ralph and Sue Dibny, they've been a healthy married couple, and one of the truly fun highlights of the DC Universe. (Don't believe me? Read some older issues of "Justice League Europe" to see how the Dibnys handle their "European tour of duty"!) And for EVERY appearance I've read them being featured in, they're portrayed as caring and even a bit witty with each other, as any great couple becomes over time, learning little idiosyncrasies. The ONE dark shadow this relationship suffered was the events of "Identity Crisis". Sigh... Thank you, "ALL DARK AND GRITTY DC UNIVERSE", for breaking up one of your company's most lovely relationships, via murdering of Sue Dibny. And also, since it's easy to point the finger at Dan DiDio, I should also "thank" him for letting slide the plot twist that Sue Dibny was raped by Dr. Light. Ugh... But we always have the Dibnys' relationship stretch from the 60's to the early 2000's as an example of solidarity and caring!
Scott Free and Big Barda: I seem to return to Jack Kirby's "Fourth World" for discussion points a LOT. (Maybe a teaser for tomorrow's entry... Hmm...) But out of all the unusual developments that the Fourth World could present us, one was the budding romance that would develop between a New Genesis son raised on Apokolips... with a pure heart, intact... and a Female Fury trained in the art of brute death by Granny Goodness! But Barda, who was once sent to hunt down an escaping Mister Miracle, was soon convinced by Scott that the life of freedom was best. And in due time, Barda found she enjoyed the life of living on Earth, not being bossed around to acts of murder by Ed Asner in drag. And thus, they began to bond with each other... even finding DOMESTIC BLISS. (Not bad for beings that were purportedly "New Gods", finding an ideal house and a regular routine!) Of course, the shadow of DC wanting things to be "DREADFUL AND DARK" took over Scott and Barda in the events of "Death of the New Gods". (I think you can guess what that meant for ANY "New God".) But for another long stretch of time, we were shown that true love can be blind to any social differences, as long as the willing parties can spot the true qualities in each other. It also doesn't hurt that if you were an average guy, and even THOUGHT of being unfaithful to Big Barda, she'd probably twist your body into a pretzel shape to teach you a lesson!
Carter and Shiera Hall: They've gone under hundreds of names for the many times they've been reincarnated, but in ancient Egypt, Prince Khufu and Chay-Ara found love, and were betrayed by an in-court magician who rivaled with the Prince for power... and for his woman. But one thing that their reincarnations have NOT changed was that... while sometimes it took longer than usual... Hawkman usually found and kept his Hawkwoman. What makes their relationship worthy of note was that when the characters were introduced in the Golden Age of comics, they didn't hide their identities, but Shiera was little more than a "Lois Lane nuisance" character. Upon the Silver Age, Carter and Shiera started to even-out in terms of crime fighting responsibilities. You could even call them EQUALS. ... I sense you begin to notice a theme of DC REALLY hating healthy relationships in the post 2000's "event driven" comics atmosphere, and Carter and Shiera Hall were certainly not immune to this relationship "mass murder", as proven by the aftermath of "Infinite Crisis", "Blackest Night", AND "Brightest Day". And in the current "New 52", Hawkman and Hawkgirl don't even EXIST on the same Earths! But someday, maybe when the current creative direction isn't so concentrated on storylines that wallow in body counts and dark drama, I can hedge on seeing the Halls uniting again. Sometimes a relationship needs some "breathing room", but the Halls have proved that time, and circumstances, usually help heal any perceived wounds, and reignite the flames of LLLUVE!
Arthur Curry and Mera: Beating my final nomination by a few years, Aquaman and Mera were officially the FIRST recognized married couple in comics history! And if there's one thing I am VERY thankful of, DC not only has spent a lot of their "New 52" time establishing Aquaman as a legit "heavy hitter", but they ALSO have reinforced the importance of Arthur's woman on his life. But the Aqua-citizens' life hasn't always been wine and roses. They had to endure the grief of losing a son due to a horrendous act of murder. They faced reality shifts brought on by various continuity reboots, which SOMETIMES had them together, and other times leaving us wondering just what the heck happened to Mera to begin with! But as I mentioned, the new "status quo" for DC has only strengthened the bonds of Arthur and Mera... even WHEN they were separated for the aftermath of "Throne of Atlantis". Tying this nomination with Shiera Hall, can you blame Arthur and Carter for being attracted to two lovely redheads? ... I. THINK. NOT!
Reed and Susan Richards: The couple so nice, they had to have an ENTIRE annual dedicated to their wedding... which practically the ENTIRE Marvel Universe, both good and bad, arrived to! (If their wedding ceremony were retold today, I'm betting the only guests to show up would be Wolverine, Deadpool, and Rocket Raccoon to pump up sales.) But the attraction between Sue and Reed was present from the very first issue of Fantastic Four. It didn't even take the introduction of their "Mr. Fantastic" and "Invisible Woman" identities to blossom for their relationship to grow! Though they HAVE faced various separations... because let's be honest; Reed can be a JERK at times... and even romantic rivals (That coveter of women, Namor, curse you!), their relationship was so strong they were one of the first comic couples to bear OFFSPRING! I may grumble about Franklin Richards and his validity, but he IS a historic comic book character birthing. Their relationship even survived a horrendous miscarriage. As if that wasn't impressive enough, they EVEN survived the insane splitting of the group for the steaming garbage heap that was "Civil War". To this very day, the Richards are still large and in charge for Marvel's lasting couple supreme!
See? Even though even comic book relationships are hardly perfect from my examples, they CAN prove the characters a solace from the lives on constant conflict against the forces of evil and crime! And it figures that while my life isn't exactly as "dramatic", because of my lovely girlfriend, she can help make MY struggles and battles a lot more easier to bear. So thank you, Sarah, for three years of happiness and bliss!
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