Romance

One gripe I have with comics is with rare exceptions, most super heroes tend to have a revolving door in their love life. outside of Superman and Lois Lane and Spider-Man and Mary Jane, there aren't many that have a relationship as a major constant in their tales. Even Heather and Macs relationship past his first death has been a rocky road to Dublin. So I thought people could list some of their favorite Alphans along with their favorite potential romantic partners for said Alphans, either hinted at in the comics, or soley in the imagination.

some that instantly spring to mind for me:

1. Heather. I'll be completely honest. After Macs death, I did not buy any attempts to revive their relationship, Mac had been changed too much by the Qwrrls and Heather had matured into an almost entirely different woman. Her relationship with Madison, as much as I liked Jefferies, didn't click either. It really seemed a relationship built almost entirely on lust, primairly from her end! It was good for a brief reprieve from her single status, but not much else. Personally, I think Heathers best potential romantic interest would have been Puck. Byrne heavily hinted he would take their narrative in that direction, and I really enjoyed the chemistry they shared in those early issues.Mantalos change from that I Think was solely due to him not liking the visual of Heather dating a dwarf. Outside of the AF sphere, I wouldn't mind if she had a fling with Cap (Steve Rogers) or a lengthy relationship with Daredevil. The former mainly so I can make double entendres regarding Canadian USA geopolitics, although I do see a lot of similarities between them. The latter because again I do seem similarities between the two, namely a sense of wanting to do their super heroing with no government interference along with being very independently driven. Also DD reallllllllly needs to have at least one long lasting stable relationship, and since Marvel won't even think about reuniting him with Black Widow, Heather gets my vote.

2. Marrina. While not one of my favorite characters per se, i thought one of the few missteps Byrne made during his run was not making a relationship between her and Dan Smallwood, ie her adoptive brother. He hinted at it in the very first couple issues, and then shunted him aside for Prince Namor. Again, I felt this coupling seemed mainly lust driven, particularly since the majority of their courtship is neither seen or told. Just Marrinas gone for a few issues, and next time we see her, she and Namor are playing tonsil hockey.

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Originally Posted by Yankee

One gripe I have with comics is with rare exceptions, most super heroes tend to have a revolving door in their love life. outside of Superman and Lois Lane and Spider-Man and Mary Jane, there aren't many that have a relationship as a major constant in their tales. Even Heather and Macs relationship past his first death has been a rocky road to Dublin. So I thought people could list some of their favorite Alphans along with their favorite potential romantic partners for said Alphans, either hinted at in the comics, or soley in the imagination.

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Well, Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Jean Grey (Marvel Girl/Phoenix/Whatever She's Called These Days) had a pretty amazing fun of a relationship - until her (first) demise. And Reed Richards and Sue Richards, had a pretty long run of a relationship also.

But after that? Yes. Things went to hell for both.

I can't stand Cyclops and Emma together. I absolutely LOVED Emma Frost as a villain. Loved her. I ... tolerated her, when she became the teacher of Generation X... it almost made sense, after the slaughter of her Hellions, that she would want to take on some more students... but the evolution of her and Scott together... never bought it... never liked it. And I generally, don't like Emma as a hero.

Moving on...

Heather and Mac were the best couple in Alpha Flight. This is just ONE of the many things where I feel - yes, killing Mac was a "OMG!" moment - but it broke the book. Alpha Flight, at that point, should have just been a 12 issue limited series. Because it left the team without a leader for way too long - I feel like the book honestly floundered. And the fact that Heather and Mac were not a thing - and all these other pieces just seemed to fall apart for me. I would not have minded Heather and Puck together - as you said - they at least felt like they had some believable chemistry. I never liked Heather and Madison - because he went from looking like a pretty ugly guy - to being drawn as a more attractive guy so that it would work out visually. And to me - despite the "forced" chemistry - I don't feel like the two of them ever clicked.

As for Marinna and Dan - in recent years, I have wondered if John Byrne didn't have an odd fetish. For example, back in the day when I was reading Uncanny X-Men and was infinitely younger - it never bothered me about Kitty and Colossus (way back then). But in hindsight, she was probably about 13 and Colossus was probably at least 18 or a little older. That relationship suddenly becomes a little odd. And if Byrne had developed a relationship between Dan and Marinna - that too, might have been odd. I would have actually liked to see that struggle of a budding relationship - have Marinna meet Sub-Mariner, and then have that evolve because the common things between Marinna and Sub-Mariner. (I, however, would not have wanted her to turn into a beast and eventually be killed...)

Another relationship I was expecting to see in Alpha Flight was Snowbird and me... I mean... wait... did I just make it weird? ;)

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Originally Posted by Tawmis

Heather and Mac were the best couple in Alpha Flight. This is just ONE of the many things where I feel - yes, killing Mac was a "OMG!" moment - but it broke the book. Alpha Flight, at that point, should have just been a 12 issue limited series. Because it left the team without a leader for way too long - I feel like the book honestly floundered. And the fact that Heather and Mac were not a thing - and all these other pieces just seemed to fall apart for me. I would not have minded Heather and Puck together - as you said - they at least felt like they had some believable chemistry. I never liked Heather and Madison - because he went from looking like a pretty ugly guy - to being drawn as a more attractive guy so that it would work out visually. And to me - despite the "forced" chemistry - I don't feel like the two of them ever clicked.

As for Marinna and Dan - in recent years, I have wondered if John Byrne didn't have an odd fetish. For example, back in the day when I was reading Uncanny X-Men and was infinitely younger - it never bothered me about Kitty and Colossus (way back then). But in hindsight, she was probably about 13 and Colossus was probably at least 18 or a little older. That relationship suddenly becomes a little odd. And if Byrne had developed a relationship between Dan and Marinna - that too, might have been odd. I would have actually liked to see that struggle of a budding relationship - have Marinna meet Sub-Mariner, and then have that evolve because the common things between Marinna and Sub-Mariner. (I, however, would not have wanted her to turn into a beast and eventually be killed...)

Another relationship I was expecting to see in Alpha Flight was Snowbird and me... I mean... wait... did I just make it weird? ;)

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see I have zero icky feelings regarding Dan and Marrina. They aren't blood related and as long as neither of them felt uneasy about it (which to be fair I can easily see one of them being) then I see nothing wrong. and my issue with Namor more stems from the fact that he is pompous and arrogant, the exact opposite of Marrina. The common things between them are: they both can breathe underwater, and they both are "part" human. I think part of the reason i didn't gravitate towards Marrina versus say Heather or Elisabeth is I could not understand why she fell for Namor. I always found it ironic when she would say that she wasn't worth Namors efforts to save her, and yet I felt She was way out of Namors League.

And back to Heather and Madison, I would have had zero issues with it if it was just a passing fling, particularly once diamond lil got back in the picture. But the fact it went forever really made it unbearable.

No you didn't make it weird, although for me personally Snowbird is the female i would be the least interested in dating in all of Alpha. Obviously Heather is at the top of my list.

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Originally Posted by Yankee

see I have zero icky feelings regarding Dan and Marrina. They aren't blood related and as long as neither of them felt uneasy about it (which to be fair I can easily see one of them being) then I see nothing wrong.

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Oh, let me be clear - from the outside looking in, I don't think it would be "Icky" either.

However, I meant for them - as characters - there would probably a weird sense. Because someone grew up as someone you always regarded as your "brother" (or "sister") - and suddenly there's these feelings. Then - if (had something continued to develop) - say it got serious - and marriage was suddenly on the table. How would family (and friends of the family) react - when these two who were "brother and sister" (even if not by blood) - are suddenly announcing their marriage? See what I mean? Others would probably react poorly to it. (Or, I think the general population would).

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Originally Posted by Yankee

my issue with Namor more stems from the fact that he is pompous and arrogant, the exact opposite of Marrina. The common things between them are: they both can breathe underwater, and they both are "part" human. I think part of the reason i didn't gravitate towards Marrina versus say Heather or Elisabeth is I could not understand why she fell for Namor. I always found it ironic when she would say that she wasn't worth Namors efforts to save her, and yet I felt She was way out of Namors League.

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Why fall for Namor? While we saw him as arrogant (as he is usually written), that's not how he was typically written around her. (I am sure the fact that he is royalty may have also been a part of the attraction... a person in power).

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Originally Posted by Yankee

And back to Heather and Madison, I would have had zero issues with it if it was just a passing fling, particularly once diamond lil got back in the picture. But the fact it went forever really made it unbearable.

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Yes. That entire relationship felt forced and very unbelievable, to the point of discomfort.

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Originally Posted by Yankee

No you didn't make it weird, although for me personally Snowbird is the female i would be the least interested in dating in all of Alpha. Obviously Heather is at the top of my list.

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I was going to say that's interesting that you would consider Marinna with green skin over Snowbird - but then, who am I to talk? I have had a crush on Namorita forever - even in her blue form. (And Mystique in her classic look was pretty smoking...) Okay, now it's about to get weird. :D

My issue with Snowbird has little to do with her appearance and almost entirely due to her demeanor.( she really gave off an arrogant quality for a majority of her appearances , as if her being part God automatically made her decisions the correct ones,)And as far as Dan and Marrina go, if they really loved each other as romantic partners than that comes before societal uneasiness. And maybe I'm alone in this, but I'd like to think that if I had a biological kid and an adopted kid, and they happened to grow up and fall in love with each other, I'd be one hundred percent okay with it. But then again I don't have any children at the moment so maybe I'd feel differently actually being in the situation

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Originally Posted by Yankee

My issue with Snowbird has little to do with her appearance and almost entirely due to her demeanor.( she really gave off an arrogant quality for a majority of her appearances , as if her being part God automatically made her decisions the correct ones,)

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Oh, she was frequently written quite arrogant because of her connection to the gods which she shares her "blood" with. There's no doubt about that.

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Originally Posted by Yankee

And as far as Dan and Marrina go, if they really loved each other as romantic partners than that comes before societal uneasiness. And maybe I'm alone in this, but I'd like to think that if I had a biological kid and an adopted kid, and they happened to grow up and fall in love with each other, I'd be one hundred percent okay with it. But then again I don't have any children at the moment so maybe I'd feel differently actually being in the situation

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Well Byrne seemed to enjoy "social uneasiness" - for example, like I mentioned Kitty & Colossus (age difference), and potentially Dan & Marinna, and Northstar and his sexuality (which back then, was not as widely accepted as it is in today's world), Aurora and her... lack of stability in relationships after Walter... Puck (due to his dwarfism) and Heather...