History Main / UnequalPairing

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Clark, being {{Superman}}, has this towards more or less any LoveInterest.

** Notably averted with Suzaku/Lelouch. While [[spoiler: when they actually do get on the same side, it is as Emperor and Knight]], they see each other as equals always. Naturally, a portion of the fandom ignores this because they think Prince/Knight is hot, but that's not what their relationship is in canon (whether you see it as romantic or platonic).

* ''Anime/ImGonnaBeAnAngel'': Raphael and Mikael are teacher and student respectively [[spoiler: although at the end of the series Mikael kinda ended being promoted to a teacher himself - but he still uses a highly respectful "sama" when talking to Raphael]].

* ''ComicBook/Robin1993'': When Darla returns as the incredibly powerful mind controller and magic user Warlock's Daughter she causally forces Tim to go on a date with her, not seeming to realize the only reason he's doing so is because she indirectly threatened to kill several people if he didn't do so. It takes his friend ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'s help to prevent her from finishing the date by raping him after she kidnaps him.

* ''Film/FishTank'': Mia is fifteen. Her mother’s boyfriend Conor appears to be in his thirties and [[spoiler: eventually seduces Mia]].

** There's also the popular Jaime/Brienne pairing, which can be cut both ways--Jaime is older, more experienced, the better fighter in ideal circumstances, and a scion of the wealthiest and most powerful family in Westeros and finds it easy to fluster Brienne, but Brienne is larger, stronger (a fight between them would be [[CurbStompBattle no contest]] [[spoiler: after Jaime loses his sword hand]]) and likes to call Jaime out on his crap.

** Fanfic had Giles/Buffy. This is never even suggested in the series, with the exception of a few jokes about how Giles spends all of his time around adolescent girls ([[AndZoidberg and Xander]]). One character assumed they were together and season 6 had a ThatCameOutWrong moment when Buffy claimed she was thinking about Giles when she kissed Spike.

** Season 8 had Xander start a relationship with slayer [[spoiler: TemporaryLoveInterest]] Renee and Dawn. Giles is assumed to have been Faith's [[MealTicket Sugar Daddy]] at least once.

** ''Series/{{Angel}}'' had the short-lived Connor/[[spoiler:GrandTheftMe!Cordy]] in season 4.

** The rather odd Mal/River pairing that pops up often in the fandom. Not even considering the age difference (Mal is roughly twice as old as River) but he's also the ship's captain, and she's become its [[spoiler: pilot, following Wash's death]].

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Picard and Dr. Crusher invoke their differing ranks as a reason why they can't get together. Though, given that Beverly (as the ship's head doctor) could (and occasionally did) pull rank on Picard, that rationale feels more like ShipSinking than characterization. And not that that stopped the fic writers, at any rate. There's also the not unpopular Q/Picard ship. Yes, Picard is captain of the Federation flagship, but Q is an omnipotent, omniscient, immortal alien who can wipe out civilizations with a camp finger snap, so there's not really much of a contest.

** Lady Mary originally scorns Matthew as a suitor, even though he's now the heir to her family's [[BigFancyHouse fabulous estate]], because of his middle-class background. Her sister Lady Sybil, on the other hand, falls in love with [[spoiler: and marries the family's chauffeur, Branson. Mary eventually falls for Matthew, and both marriages are happy ones...for a while.]]
** Also, after [[spoiler: Sybil dies]], a maid hits on [[spoiler: Tom]]. She is summarily dismissed.

* In ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', Officer Bennett falls in love with Daya...and gets her pregnant. Daya tries to abort with help from an herbal concoction, but her hereto estranged mother (who is also in prison) persuades her to keep the baby. [[spoiler: And tells her that the herbal concoction was not a real abortifacient.]] They have to try and figure out how to go through with the pregnancy without getting Officer Bennett in trouble. (If it was found out that he had sex with an inmate, he could not only lose his job but also be charged with rape because of the unequal status of CO and inmate.) [[spoiler: The women devise a plan to have Daya sleep with Officer Mendez and then say that he raped her. That way, the child would be assumed to be his, not Bennett's...and they'd also get rid of Mendez.]]

** This series also seems to have a thing with large age gaps. Infamously, there's Snake and Meryl Silverburgh; while it doesn't quite fulfill the specific standards of the MayDecemberRomance trope, Snake is 33 years old and Meryl is 18 when they begin their relationship (it doesn't help that he keeps calling her a "rookie" and otherwise highlighting that he has a lot more age and life experience than she does). A slightly skeevier example also comes in the form of Big Boss and Paz, in which he is roughly 38 and believes Paz to be a ''sixteen-year-old schoolgirl'' - despite this, the player can still complete the "Date with Paz" mission and (it is implied) have sex with her.

** The same for the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Remilia Scarlet]] / [[NinjaMaid Sakuya Izayoi]] pairing, the former an over five centuries-old terror of the night while the latter is a human probably no older than her early twenties {[[spoiler:probably; there are vague hints that Sakuya might actually be a Lunarian and thus could be much older than she looks]]). This mostly revolves around the persistent mystery of why a powerful, [[HypercompetentSidekick capable]] individual has dedicated herself to a capricious, over-bearing, literally childish being, most common theories involving some variation of SubordinateExcuse.

** Ashley touches on this trope in an e-mail to one of her sisters, says that she would never get together with one of her subordinates because if she has to decide who lives and who dies, she doesn't want love to factor into her decision. This becomes HarsherInHindsight when you consider that [[spoiler:on Virmire, Shepard has to choose between her and Kaidan, both of whom can be romanced. Ashley can, depending on the player's choices, be sacrificed for a romanced Kaidan or saved because Shepard is in a romance with her.]].

** Technically speaking, several of the relationships would be an Unequal pairing in the other direction ''if'' Shepard and their romantic partner were part of the same chain of command (which they're not; Shepard doesn't even fall under the Alliance's chain per se, being a Spectre and all). Shepard is a [[CommandingCoolness Commander]]. Kaidan in the third game is a Major (considered in the fictional ranking system to be higher than Commander), Garrus seems to be a general (or at least high enough that a low-ranking general salutes ''him''), and Tali is an ''admiral.'' Their ranks aren't just for show either. Shepard spends most of the third game shooting people on ground missions, while occasionally ending up in scenarios where s/he can alter world-changing events with the push of a button, by sheer chance. While they go on ground missions and shoot enemies as well, Tali and Garrus also spend their spare time helping to direct the grand war strategies of their respective species; Garrus is a personal adviser to the Primarch, while Tali can be seen on the Citadel organizing the evacuation of allied colonies and bolstering of allied defense lines.
* In ''VideoGame/TheOrionConspiracy'', Devlin finds out early on that Captain [=LaPaz=] and Lowe (who is on a lower rank than [=LaPaz=]) are married. This becomes a plot point later on when [[spoiler: Devlin finds out that [=LaPaz=] is eight weeks pregnant and has to use this information to blackmail her into giving him the keys to his son Danny's cupboard]].

* Being as the main story turns you into a genuine, domain-ruling noble, ''VideoGame/PathfinderKingmaker'' features some of this with ''every'' romance during the course of the game (with only the possible exception of [[spoiler: Nyrissa]], a ''spirit of the land'', and very tricky to romance) -- although, of course, marriage can change things to be more officially even in the ending slides. The Varnhold's Lot DLC flips it around if you qualify for the only romance in the DLC -- this time, ''you'' are the advisor and the romantic interest, Maegar Varn, is your baron and former commander of your mercenary host[[note]]Although it can be downplayed in practice; Maegar isn't the best of barons, and with high enough Diplomacy you can convince him of almost any course of action, essentially taking charge.[[/note]].
* In ''Videogame/PathfinderWrathOfTheRighteous'', this also applies to most romance options, as the player is the Commander of the Crusade and most romance options are followers who have joined your Crusade and thus are nominally under your command. Lann and Wendaug are both followers (with Wendaug seemingly enjoying being your subordinate), Sosiel is a cleric serving the Crusade, Arueshalae is also a subordinate who joins willingly, and Daeran is somewhat unwillingly strong-armed into joining the Crusade as a liaison. The other two romance options are on the opposite end of the spectrum, being vastly more powerful, either politically or just overall: Queen Galfrey, the ruler of Mendev and your superior, and [[spoiler: Nocticula, a Demon lord and the Queen of Succubi]], although this is only available if you take the Demon Mythic Path.

* ''Webcomic/ForestHill'': [[spoiler: Flora]] reveals to Benni that when she was a child she had a romantic and sexual relationship with an adult. She didn't think anything was wrong with this, thinking it was a normal relationship until she discovered that he had been deceiving her in order to make child pornography, and that he had also been similarly abusing other children, including her own brothers. She tells Benni about this to help him understand why children should not have sexual relations with adults.

** Aang and Katara can count but the level to which this applies as well as who has the more power can vary. As the Avatar and the last Airbender, by definition, no one is Aang's equal, but on the other hand, Katara was the last waterbender of the South Pole and becomes one of the greatest in the world, even becoming Aang's mentor. This actually factors into the power imbalance on her side because she not only becomes Aang's sifu but also acts as a Parental Substitute, or she at least tries to. How much Aang takes to her attempts is uncertain but when it comes to disagreements, Katara is the one who tends to have the final word.

Compare MinionShipping, which sometimes involves this. See also AgeGapRomance, which ''might'' fall into this category if the age difference is ''particularly'' significant, or if it overlaps with a difference in authority/status as well. NunTooHoly and/or PedophilePriest may be involved if a clergyperson gets involved with a member of their congregation. See also QuestionableConsent.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has Burns/Smithers.

* In ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'', both [[TheEmperor Kaiser]] [[YoungConqueror Reinhard von Lohengram]] and [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Admiral]] [[BrilliantButLazy Yang Wen-li]] marry their female assistants.

** Graham and Regina actually take this UpToEleven. Regina took away Graham's free will and forced him to be her SexSlave ''and'' [[IfICantHaveYou she killed him when he tried to leave her]]

** A particularly egregious example is that of Alucard/Seras. This is mostly due to the RelationshipWritingFumble of the Gonzo anime, which was an attempt to give [[ByronicHero Alucard]] a few PetTheDog moments.

** There's also the popular Jaime/Brienne pairing, which can be cut both ways--Jaime is older, more experienced, and a scion of the wealthiest and most powerful family in Westeros and finds it easy to fluster Brienne, but Brienne is larger, stronger (a fight between them would be [[CurbStompBattle no contest]] [[spoiler: after Jaime loses his sword hand]]) and likes to call Jaime out on his crap.

* It's pretty common for some Fanfic writers to defy this trope by making an AlternateUniverseFic where the unequal aspect of a pairing is removed. Conversely, AUs where this trope is induced (making one party nobility or royalty while the other is commoner or making one of them wealthy while the other is their [[BodyguardCrush bodyguard]]) are popular as well.

*** Though there are ''some'' exceptions; Tali, for example, will break off her relationship with Shepard if he chooses to side with Legion over her in their argument. Even though her loyalty can be regained with a Charm check later, the romance cannot be restarted. It can only be continued if Shepard either uses the Charm/Intimidate option or sides with her during the argument. Additionally, the romance cannot even be started to begin with if Shepard makes a choice she disapproves of to resolve her loyalty mission; it must be resolved in a way she agrees with, preferably by getting her exonerated ''without'' showing the evidence she tells you to bury.

** The scene in which [[spoiler:he finds Chloe after Brainiac has wiped her knowledge of Clark's powers and Clark doesn't bother trying to restore the memories, feeling Chloe would be safer that way]] in ''Abyss'' has been under fire for this, especially when [[MoralDissonance it is portrayed as the right thing to do]]. That being said [[StatusQuoIsGod it lasted a grand total of one episode]].

%%* ''TheSimpsons'' has Burns/Smithers.

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': When Darla returns as the incredibly powerful mind controller and magic user Warlock's Daughter she causally forces Tim to go on a date with her, not seeming to realize the only reason he's doing so is because she indirectly threatened to kill several people if he didn't do so. It takes his friend ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'s help to prevent her from finishing the date by raping him after she kidnaps him.

* An interesting canonical example between Literature/CiaphasCain and Amberley Vail: he's a renowned [[ThePoliticalOfficer Political Officer]] who exists outside the normal military structure, while she's part of StateSec with the authority to requisition just about anything, or even kill planets. While Cain seems to genuinely love Amberley, he's ''well'' aware that he can't say no to her, which ends with him getting dragged into all sorts of nastiness time and again. But he admits that "looking back, I have to say she made it well worth the effort."

* A major part of the lead couple's development in ''Manga/TheAncientMagusBride'' involves this: Chise Hatori lead such a miserable life due to her powers, she sold ''herself'' into slavery as an alternative to [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]]. She was promptly bought by mage/HumanoidAbomination Elias Ainsworth, who declares his intent to marry her - something Chise is completely fine with, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe because he was the first person in her entire life to show her any form of kindness]], even if it was probably a deception. If that sounds like an incredibly unhealthy relationship, [[IntendedAudienceReaction that's because it is]], and that fact is repeatedly [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by the rest of the cast (Lindel outright compares it to taming her the way he tames a wild reindeer). In his defense, Elias is an outsider to humanity, and genuinely doesn't seem to [[BlueAndOrangeMorality grasp the moral implications]] behind his actions, much less [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove his burgeoning feelings for Chise]]. They're respective character arcs involve her regaining her will to live, and building friendships and connections outside of Elias, while he learns that love is by no means a one-way street, and to be more open and less possessive.

** Also strangely averted regarding Empress Celene's past relationship with her [[EnslavedElves elven]] [[SleepingWithTheBoss handmaiden]], Briala. Despite the [[Literature/TheMaskedEmpire tie-in novel]] driving home that they had a ''very'' imbalanced relationship, where, among other things, Celene had Briala's [[spoiler:family and people slaughtered, then kept her in the dark about it]], no one suggests that Briala might not have fully consented to every aspect of their relationship or Celene's royal plans. Briala's affair with the empress is treated as a way to [[RaceTraitor discredit her elven freedom fighting]] (despite nobles taking unwilling elves to their beds being a ''very'' common occurance in this setting), and Celene's [[spoiler:massacre]] v of the Halamshiral Alienage is only ever used to blackmail ''Briala'' since [[GuiltByAssociation they were in a relationship at the time]]. This, despite the obvious rebuttal that an ''elven servant'' might not have full say against the wishes of a ''human empress''.

* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', at least one LoveInterest each for the Jedi Consular, Jedi Knight, and Sith Warrior is the player's [[TeacherStudentRomance apprentice]], while the female Sith Warrior can romance a Force-blind subordinate who is terrified of her. The Trooper and the Imperial Agent also have at least one love interest who is a lower-ranked member of their squad. {{Defied}} with the female Sith Inquisitor's LoveInterest, Andronikos Revel, however: he's fully aware of the power imbalance between them, and takes care to establish firm ground rules with her regarding his personal rights and that he'll walk if she treats him as anything other than an equal who is with her voluntarily.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', the immortal quantum-being Doctor Manhattan pairs up with the completely human Silk Spectre II. The series itself actually deconstructs their relationship, as Dr. Manhattan's worldview as a quantum being makes it difficult to relate to her, though in the end, their relationship failed because of other things.

* It's pretty common for some Fanfic writers to defy this trope by making an AlternateUniverseFic where the unequal aspect of a pairing is removed.
** Conversely, AUs where this trope is induced (making one party nobility or royalty while the other is commoner or making one of them wealthy while the other is their [[BodyguardCrush bodyguard]]) are popular as well.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', the immortal quantum-being Doctor Manhattan pairs up with the completely human Silk Spectre II. The series itself actually deconstructs their relationship, as Dr. Manhatten's worldview as a quantum being makes it difficult to relate to her, though in the end, their relationship failed because of other things.
** Dr. Manhatten's previous relationship with Janey Slater ultimately failed because of this; not only did he suffer the same problems with relating to a human being, but his lack of aging eventually made her self-conscious, so that when the younger Laurie came along and an ovious attraction devloped between her and Jon, Janey assumed he no longer wanted her and bitterly left him.
** Laurie later starts a relationship with Nite Owl II, who is extremely wealthy, a genius inventor and nine years her senior, at a time when she was had no money or job and was essentially homeless.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', the immortal quantum-being Doctor Manhattan pairs up with the completely human Silk Spectre II. The series itself actually deconstructs their relationship, as Dr. Manhatten's worldview as a quantum being makes it difficult to relate to her, though in the end, their reltionship failed because of other things.

* Played in ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi''. On one hand, Ami is Jadeite's employer - in the ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' universe, this basically amounts to indentured servitude, sometimes outright slavery - and it is not at all uncommon for Keepers to have such relationships with their "Property." On the other hand, Ami is very uncomfortable with the associated implications. Jadeite is surprised when he finds out, as in the Dark Kingdom, a superior would not hesitate to use their power over subordinates. Their positions are reversed later when Jadeite starts teaching Ami Dark Kingdom style magic and he reciprocates her tact.

** There's also (a lot of) canon Angel/Buffy. Although they both act like clueless fifteen-year-olds during the time they're in a relationship, Angel is actually over two hundred years old and rarely shares information if he can avoid it. And, more importantly, while Angel is an adult man, Buffy is a sixteen-year-old teenager throughout most of their relationship (in the State of California, the age of conesnt is eighteen, not only making her underage but also making her first time with Angel at seventeen a case of Statutory Rape). Several episodes (e.g. "I Only Have Eyes For You", and "Becoming, Part One") do try to deconstruct the Unequal pairing of their relationship, but even then the show never goes out of its way to tell the viewers that it's wrong and the whole thing is still ultimately protrayed as romantic. In this case, a proper deconstruction was probably necessary.

--> '''Rachel:''' I'm his friend.
--> '''Sam:''' And you think we're not?
--> '''Rachel:''' I think you call him when you need something.

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': Pretty much averted, which is a first for Creator/BioWare. Regardless of the [[PlayerCharacter Warden]]'s background (from an impoverished city elf or casteless dwarf to a human noble from the second most powerful family in Ferelden), they've been [[YouCantGoHomeAgain cut off from their home and resources]], scapegoated for the murder of the king, forced to go on the run and are hounded at every turn by the usurping regent's assassins and bounty hunters. All four potential love interests, similarly, have given up their old lives to travel with you to help you stop [[WorldWreckingWave the Blight]], though they're all there voluntarily and can leave at any time ([[ScrewThisImOuttaHereand will]], if their RelationshipValues drop far enough).

-->'''Inquisitor Trevelyan:''' Is there something wrong with me being human?\\