Line #28 Main/SuperCouple


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
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3	No, it isn't [[KissingCousins what would happen if Superman and Supergirl hooked up]]. The supercouple describes those pairings which intrigue and fascinate the public on an intense and obsessive level. According to Website/{{Wikipedia}} the term was coined in The80s when interest in the pairing of Luke and Laura from ''Series/GeneralHospital'' garnered so much attention that their wedding was watched by 30 million viewers, a figure which is still the highest audience for a daytime SoapOpera in the USA. This was all despite the fact that their romance began [[{{Squick}} when Luke raped Laura]], who was married to another man at the time.
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5	Other Soaps, most notably Sister Series ''Series/AllMyChildren'' and [=NBC=]'s ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'' quickly sought supercouple pairings of their own, eventually leading to a standard formula for the phenomenon that was repeated endlessly during the 1980s. For example: Alice and Bob, a pair of StarCrossedLovers, would fall in love after a short period of WillTheyOrWontThey, but a misunderstanding would drive them apart. One half of the couple (usually Alice, but sometimes Bob and occasionally both) would then marry the RomanticFalseLead. This marriage would quickly fall apart and after some more adventures, Alice and Bob would reunite and marry. Often Alice would be subjected to an attempted or actual [[RapeAsDrama rape]] along the way, usually by her villainous husband. These storylines, if successful, gathered high ratings and press attention for their show. Soap writers took great care to groom their next supercouple [[SoapWheel long before the first were concluding their arc]] in order to maintain a certain amount of UnresolvedSexualTension. This BetaCouple would then replace their previous counterparts as the show's OfficialCouple once the previous couple had gotten married.
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7	Shortly after the supercouple was finally married, one or sometimes both members of the pairing usually left the show (as the actors portraying them would often attempt to use their popularity in order to pursue other opportunities). This was accomplished by either [[PutOnABus putting them on a bus]] (if both were leaving) or having one of the couple die, [[NeverFoundTheBody without a body being found]] (if only one was leaving). If both actors stayed on the show however, the writers usually did everything they could to avoid ShippingBedDeath, which meant that once again Alice and Bob would be forced to break up. Often, the whole cycle was repeated anew with Alice and Bob divorcing and having more shortlived marriages to other people, only to reunite again and have a second wedding… and eventually a third wedding and so on.
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9	Eventually, this formula was picked up by other genres, most notably with Ross and Rachel from ''Series/{{Friends}}'', who resolved their WillTheyOrWontThey late in the show's second season and spent the next eight years playing out this trope (Ross even married another woman along the way, as well as marrying and divorcing Rachel at one point).
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11	After a lull in the late 80s and early 90s a resurgence of the formula began to gain steam for a new generation in the mid-90s and early 00s, with the likes of ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless'' Nick and Sharon, JT and Coleen, ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'' Lucas and Sami, Shawn and Belle, Austin and Carrie, ''Series/AllMyChildren'' Mateo and Haley, Edmund and Maria, Leo and Greenlee, Bianca and Maggie, ''Series/GeneralHospital'' Sonny and Brenda, Lucky and Elizabeth, Patrick and Robin and so on. Many articles spoke of this new breath of life in the formula as riveting as well as the daring new directions some couples went, Bianca and Maggie being the first Same-Sex Supercouple ever conceived for example.
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13	The supercouple is now on its way to becoming a DiscreditedTrope as audiences eventually tired of seeing their favorite supercouples getting married for the ''fourth'' time and knew that as long as both characters of a pairing remained on the show, then any break up would not be permanent. The rise of internet messageboards in the 1990s provided an outlet for fans of alternative pairings. These pairings [[FanPreferredCouple often become more popular than]] the show's OfficialCouple, resulting in a lot of ShipToShipCombat. Soap writers today usually prefer to use this to their advantage and even those pairings that were once thought untouchable (even the aforementioned Luke and Laura) are not immune from this. One area where the trope is still going strong, however, is with same-sex couples, as they tend to automatically get showered with attention simply due to their ground-breaking nature.
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15	Compare OfficialCoupleOrdealSyndrome, which this usually involves.
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17	----
18	!!Examples:
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20	%%Keep in mind that this trope is not the same as OfficialCouple or FanPreferredCouple; these couples need to be well-known and beloved outside of their respective fandoms, not just within them. If the show itself is niche or obscure, the couple more than likely does not qualify for this trope.
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22	[[foldercontrol]]
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24	[[folder:Comic Books]]
25	* Both Creator/MarvelComics and Creator/DCComics have one, in the forms of [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson]] and [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Clark Kent/Lois Lane]] respectively. Both couples took a ''very'' long time to hook up in the comics themselves, have had other love interests who've never been quite as popular (though Peter[=/=]ComicBook/GwenStacy is also rather popular, they never became this due to Gwen being largely obscure to non-comic fans until recent years), and are still largely the most well-known couples in the superhero genre even to people who aren't fans of the genre. DC even based [[Series/LoisAndClark an entire show]] around their courtship, ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' built them up similarly (despite originally putting Clark together with ComicBook/LanaLang, and [[FanPreferredCouple strong fandom love]] for CanonImmigrant Chloe Sullivan), and the 2021 series ''Series/SupermanAndLois'' was a hit with critics and audiences alike (even appealing to people who weren't fans of the Series/{{Arrowverse}} beforehand). Meanwhile, most Spider-Man adaptations frequently just use MJ as his love interest (the main exceptions being ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' using Gwen and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse using a character based off MJ).
26	** DC also has ComicBook/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}, to the point they even have [[DatingCatwoman a trope named after their relationship]]. Batman has had many different love interests over the years, but besides Talia, none have come close to Catwoman in popularity or how long they've lasted. While they've only ever briefly been together properly, the two are probably one of the most famous superhero couples (and the most well-known Superhero/Supervillain couple).
27	** The main couples of the ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' (Lightning Lad/Saturn Girl, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}/Brainiac-5...) date back to the early 60s and are immensely popular among the Legion fandom. Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl's relationship was first hinted in 1962 and they have been married since 1978.
28	** Marvel also has [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards and Sue Storm]], aka. Mr. Fantastic and The Invisible Woman, which has remained one of the longest and enduring superhero marriages of all time.
29	** ComicBook/XMen has [[ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} Scott Summers]] and ComicBook/JeanGrey. While Jean has been paired with ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} once in a while and Scott's had other love interests, they always end up back together in one way or another.
30	*** Scott and ComicBook/EmmaFrost are also very popular due to being ''The'' X-Couple from 2000 to 2016 since Jean was dead at the time
31	** Another beloved Marvel couple is Rictor and Shatterstar due to them being one of the first gay superhero couples in comic books.
32	[[/folder]]
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34	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
35	* SoapOpera Examples:
36	** ''Series/GeneralHospital'':
37	*** Luke and Laura. While there have been other couples named retroactively, as stated above, they were the TropeMaker and quite easily the most famous example. In fact they were arguably a spinoff of an earlier example, Scotty and Laura. Luke, enlisted by his jealous sister Bobbie to interfere in the Scotty[=/=]Laura marriage, had unexpected chemistry with Laura, and the show started focusing on them instead, with Laura going from Luke's employee to his acquaintance rape victim to his faithful sidekick when he incurred the wrath of his mob boss and had to go on the run.
38	%%*** Frisco and Felicia.
39	%%*** Duke and Anna.
40	%%*** Kevin and Lucy.
41	%%*** Sonny and Brenda.
42	%%*** Lucky and Elizabeth.
43	%%*** Jason and Sam.
44	%%** ''Series/PortCharles'' (a ''GH'' spin-off, incidentally):
45	%%*** Rafe and Allison: A match made in heaven.
46	%%*** Caleb and Livie. A match made in hell.
47	** ''Series/AllMyChildren''
48	*** Cliff and Nina, which hold the record in daytime history for the most divorces and remarriages of a Supercouple, ''four times'', in their 10 year reign. Though Bold and the Beautiful's Ridge and Brooke would top it with a fifth, the ratio to longevity compared to the two, Cliff and Nina ran from 1979-1989 while Brooke and Ridge started with the premier of B&B and are still going, makes Cliff and Nina top.
49	%%*** Tad and Dixie, the series longest running.
50	%%*** Jessie and Angie which made history as the first African-American Supercouple.
51	%%*** Greg and Jenny.
52	%%*** Edmund and Maria, ironic as Maria was originally brought in to stir up trouble between Edmund and his intended partner Brooke.
53	%%*** Stuart and Cindy.
54	%%*** Bianca and Maggie, which also made history as the first same sex Supercouple.
55	%%*** Leo and Greenlee
56	%%*** Zach and Kendall
57	%%*** Continuing on the show's groundbreaking traditions, Noah and Julia were the first interracial, he African-American, she Hispanic, Supercouple.
58	%%** ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns''.
59	%%*** Steve and Betsy, their wedding is the second highest rated hour in daytime history, bringing in an audience of about 22 million.
60	%%*** Holden and Lily, often times considered to be the shows signature couple.
61	%%*** Bob and Kim
62	%%*** Carly and Jack
63	%%*** Tom and Margo.
64	%%*** Luke and Noah. Their first kiss made history by becoming the first gay male kiss on American daytime television.
65	%%*** Or Luke and [[EnsembleDarkhorse Reid]], who became immensely popular overnight. Even the most hardcore [[PortmanteauCoupleName Nuke]] fans found themselves hoping for a [[PortmanteauCoupleName LuRe]] HappyEnding. [[spoiler: [[DeathoftheHypotenuse Tragically,]] they don't get one. Though [[BuryYourGays Reid's death]] still doesn't reunite Noah and Luke in the end]].
66	** ''Series/DaysOfOurLives''
67	*** The long, tortured courtship of Doug and Julie, which prefigured Luke and Laura by also having an unsavory start (Doug was a ConMan paid by Julie's archenemy Susan Martin to romance Julie and break up her marriage, but he ended up InLoveWithTheMark) and a much-hyped wedding, is sometimes considered the UrExample in the genre.
68	*** Bo and Hope, often called the Soap's signature coupling, and ranked often alongside Luke and Laura as one of the greatest love stories in daytime.
69	*** John and Marlena. Ironic as John was originally thought to be Roman, making them a rare pairing to make up two different Supercouples between Roman and Marlena, though John and Marlena became the much more popular couple, often seen after only Bo and Hope as the shows most enduring romance.
70	*** Jack and Jennifer (It is worth noting that Jack was the RomanticFalseLead for Kayla before Kayla got together with Steve and Jack with Jennifer.)
71	%%*** Steve and Kayla.
72	** ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless''
73	*** Its most famous pairing would be Victor and Nikki, forming a modern-day Pygmalion, that is usually thought to be one of the three, alongside Luke and Laura and Bo and Hope, greatest love stories in daytime history, and the only one still going on as of 2020.
74	%%*** Nick and Sharon.
75	%%*** Neil and Drucilla
76	%%*** JT and Coleen
77	%%*** Danny and Christine
78	%%*** Devon and Hillary
79	%%** ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful''.
80	%%*** Ridge and Brooke.
81	%%*** Some would say Ridge and Taylor as well.
82	%%** ''Series/{{Passions}}''
83	%%*** Sheridan and Luis.
84	%%*** Ethan and Theresa.
85	%%*** Julian and Eve.
86	%%** ''Series/{{Emmerdale}}''.
87	%%*** Robert Sugden and Aaron Dingle
88	** ''Series/{{Neighbours}}'' has Scott and [[Music/KylieMinogue Charlene]]. Their wedding episode attracted 19.6 million viewers in the UK and was the third most-watched program of that year.
89	%%*** Karl and Susan
90	%%** ''Series/GuidingLight'': Josh and Reva
91	** ''Series/SantaBarbara'': Eden and Cruz, which became one of the most remembered facts of the soap.
92	%%* Seth Cohen and Summer Roberts on ''Series/TheOC''
93	%%* Mike and Susan on ''Series/DesperateHousewives''
94	%%* Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf on ''Series/GossipGirl''.
95	%%* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''[=/=]''Series/{{Angel}}'':
96	%%** Buffy Summers and Angel.
97	%%** Buffy and Spike, too, although their relationship didn't run quite as [[BelligerentSexualTension smoothly]].
98	* Ross Geller and Rachel Green on ''Series/{{Friends}}'', taking WillTheyOrWontThey to decade-long absurdity.
99	%%** To a lesser extent Chandler and Monica.
100	%%* ''Series/OneTreeHill''
101	%%** Nathan and Haley.
102	%%** Lucas and Peyton.
103	%%* Jim and Pam on the US version of ''Series/{{The Office\|US}}''.
104	* Sam and Diane on ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', who are generally considered the TropeCodifier for WillTheyOrWontThey and BelligerentSexualTension in the sitcom genre. Just ''try'' and count all the TV couples ever since who've been described as having a "Sam-&-Diane-type relationship".
105	%%* Maddie and David on ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}''.
106	%%* Naomi and Emily on ''Series/{{Skins}}''--they weren't called "the nation's favourite lesbian couple" for nothing.
107	* ''Series/{{Hollyoaks}}'':
108	%%** Throw in John Paul [=McQueen=] and Craig Dean of ''Series/{{Hollyoaks}}'', who were probably the most beloved gay supercouple in British television.
109	** Another gay super couple from Hollyoaks (it's a bit of a series staple by this point) would be Ste and Brendan, to the point that for a long time '[[PortmanteauCoupleName Stendan]]' and 'Hollyoaks' were nearly synonymous to viewers. Slightly a subversion, in the sense that their relationship was always dysfunctional, they have broken up multiple times and shortly after they were reunited and got things (mostly) sorted out emotionally, Brendan left the show and is unlikely to return.
110	%%* Blaine and Kurt from ''Series/{{Glee}}'' who've done for American gay teen couples what Naomily did for them in the UK.
111	%%Please do not add Rachel and Finn without first bringing it up on the discussion page. The current discussion has concluded that they don't spark enough interest outside of the ''Glee'' fandom to qualify for this trope.
112	%%* Luke and Lorelai on ''Series/GilmoreGirls''.
113	%%* J.D. and Elliott on ''Series/{{Scrubs}}''. This is lampshaded by several characters who compare them to Ross and Rachel.
114	* Ted and the Mother in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', although we spent nearly 8 seasons without any idea of who the latter was.
115	** Subverted in the finale. It turns out [[spoiler:the mother is a decoy for this trope and the real Super Couple is Ted and Robin. This did not go over well with the majority of the fandom.]]
116	*** Marshall and Lily as well.
117	* Berenice "Bernie" Wolfe and Serena Campbell of ''Series/HolbyCity'', who are most notable for becoming easily the most popular pairing in the current era of the show -- including drawing in many, ''many'' queer women who [[WatchedItForTheRepresentation are just watching for]] [[PortmanteauCoupleName Berena]].[[note]]In case you were wondering: they got their happy ending.[[/note]] Catherine Russell, who plays Serena, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pcKE1OBy1E noted]]:
118	-->'''Russell''': ...if you don't have representation, which as a lesbian [[HideYourLesbians you don't]], then to be on primetime television and to see yourself is... occasion to hang out the bunting, light a sparkler, and shout 'Hurrah! At last!'"
119	* Aris and Temo (or [[PortmanteauCoupleName Aristemo]]) are the most famous same-sex couple in Mexico. Their story began on the telenovela ''Mi marido tiene más familia'', where they quickly became a FanPreferredCouple and got together; they became so popular that they actually ended up getting their own spin-off series, ''Series/ElCorazonNuncaSeEquivoca''.
120	* ''Series/{{ER}}'': Doug Ross and Carol Hathaway. Even a quarter of a century later, they remain by far not only ''the'' most iconic couple of the show, but one of the most iconic couples of the '90s in general. Their reunion and sendoff in season 6 episode "Such Sweet Sorrow" made headlines.
121	* Xena and Gabrielle of ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess''. Anyone whose ever watched the show knows of Xena and Gabrielle's deep bond, becoming the most popular pairing of the entire series despite the numerous love interests thrown at them, to the point that the show has even admitted that the two of them were soulmates. They are especially beloved by the LGBT community.
122	[[/folder]]
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124	[[folder:Video Games]]
125	* Creator/{{Nintendo}} has two: [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario/Princess Peach]] and [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link/Princess Zelda]], the most iconic romances in gaming. This is ironic as, canonically, few entries in their respective series actually show either couple as being romantically involved. Mario and Peach are certainly on good terms, and the plumber regularly gets a SmoochOfVictory, but [[VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey one major installment]] actually ends with her ''rejecting'' an attempted proposal. Though to be fair, it wasn’t because Peach doesn’t have a thing for Mario but because he and Bowser were childishly shoving flowers in her face, forcing her to put her foot down. Meanwhile, the number of ''Zelda'' games where versions of Link and Zelda have an explicitly romantic relationship can be counted [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword on]] [[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureofLink three]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild thumbs]]. Regardless, they are far and away the most popular pairings in their respective fandoms, with the only credible rival to Link/Zelda being Link/Midna (which was present in [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess only one game]]).
126	* The ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' series has Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher. Though it's not uncommon for video game protagonists to have their token LoveInterest, what particularly set Nate and Elena apart is the strength of their romantic writing, starting with the first installment building Elena as a competent and reliable sidekick throughout the adventure who provides a solid moral compass for Nate, which continues throughout the series while they also have a well-written, multi-game romance arc.
127	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SuperCouple