Professor: You mean to say... that you've developed a crush on a young lady?
Fudo: It was Love at First Sight. I've never experienced feelings like this before.
Professor: And... does she know how much you fancy her?
Fudo: Of course not. Cause I'm a hero, after all. She and I live in two completely different world—
Professor: (punches him) How dense can you be, kid?!
Fudo: Wow, you punched me!
Professor: I want you to forget anyone told you a hero can't fall in love, you're as human as anyone else! Get out there and tell her how you feel before it's too late!
Fudo: But sir, she's--
Professor: That is an order, Fudo!
Fudo: Sure it'll be okay?
Professor: Don't you worry, I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens. Love is what makes a man whole!
Fudo: It was Love at First Sight. I've never experienced feelings like this before.
Professor: And... does she know how much you fancy her?
Fudo: Of course not. Cause I'm a hero, after all. She and I live in two completely different world—
Professor: (punches him) How dense can you be, kid?!
Fudo: Wow, you punched me!
Professor: I want you to forget anyone told you a hero can't fall in love, you're as human as anyone else! Get out there and tell her how you feel before it's too late!
Fudo: But sir, she's--
Professor: That is an order, Fudo!
Fudo: Sure it'll be okay?
Professor: Don't you worry, I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens. Love is what makes a man whole!
"Sometimes being a swinging bachelorette isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes it's so hard to keep on my happy-go-lucky face all day...it seems like a hubby, a house, and 2 to 3 kids would be just the ticket. But you had a shot at that didn't you, M. J.—and you couldn't have asked for a better catch than Peter Parker. There was only one problem: I figured out that Peter was really Spider-Man—and once I realized that, I knew I could never marry someone who I never knew for sure would come home from work alive!...Oh, why does he have to have such a darn high sense of responsibility?...If only he were less altruistic — I would've accepted his proposal on the spot. But if he was different...he wouldn't be the same guy you loved, would he, M. J,? Face it, lady: Peter Parker and Spider-Man—two sides of the same coin."
— Mary Jane Watson's thought bubbles, Web of Spider-Man, Vol. 1 #6, written by Danny Fingeroth
Peter Parker: I mean, Peter Parker, but no Spider-Man. I thought that was what you always wanted, MJ.
Mary Jane: Hh. I thought so too, I guess. But leave it to this...very messed-up situation to make me believe otherwise, tiger. I used to dream of a life where we could just be us, you know? With no Green Goblins or Venoms making everything such a horror show. But here's the thing — that wouldn't be us, would it? Because it wouldn't be you. As much as it might scare me or frustrate me or, yeah — even endanger me — I can't change that. I don't want to change that. The guy I'm in love with is a hero. He puts on a costume and risks his life to help other people for no reason other than that it's the right thing to do. And yes, that burden he carries around is why I kept pushing him away. But now I'm starting to realize it's also why I kept coming back to him.
Mary Jane: Hh. I thought so too, I guess. But leave it to this...very messed-up situation to make me believe otherwise, tiger. I used to dream of a life where we could just be us, you know? With no Green Goblins or Venoms making everything such a horror show. But here's the thing — that wouldn't be us, would it? Because it wouldn't be you. As much as it might scare me or frustrate me or, yeah — even endanger me — I can't change that. I don't want to change that. The guy I'm in love with is a hero. He puts on a costume and risks his life to help other people for no reason other than that it's the right thing to do. And yes, that burden he carries around is why I kept pushing him away. But now I'm starting to realize it's also why I kept coming back to him.
— This trope being defied in The Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #5
"Sir, we'll speak of this once, and then never again. If I ever contemplate a romantic relationship, you'll be the first to know it, because that will be the day I submit my resignation. I would never poison a relationship by simultaneously trying to continue with this life."
Fan Works— Alfred Pennyworth, Robin Vol. 2 #139
Cissie Summerly had been his girlfriend, some years ago. But things got in the way. One of them was Captain Marvel. Another thing was the fact that Cissie got taller, more mature, more beautiful, and Billy didn't.
She had also wanted Billy to get more serious about their relationship. And Billy didn't want to.
So it wasn't surprising that she told him that she wanted to date around, shortly after that. And, shortly after she told him, she had drifted out of his life altogether.
She had also wanted Billy to get more serious about their relationship. And Billy didn't want to.
So it wasn't surprising that she told him that she wanted to date around, shortly after that. And, shortly after she told him, she had drifted out of his life altogether.
Linda looked at him, appraisingly. It might be fun. Dick was a cute guy, an athlete with an ego not too far out of control. Still, Kal had said that, until she got her role-playing down perfect, getting too close to a guy would be dangerous. Ergo: no dating.
Literature
"Before Dominic, my romantic life had been a series of one-night stands and short-lived affairs that inevitably ended with my partner accusing me of cheating. There was nothing else that explained the way I would disappear in the middle of the night, not coming back until morning, if I came back at all. To be honest, I'd started to despair of ever finding someone I could be happy with long before Dominic had come along."
— Verity Price, Snake in the Glass
"If you want to date this Sajan boy, that's okay. Just remember what you are. Because if you forget... the boy will remind you, when he finds out."
— Clauss, Unique
Live-Action TV
"Buffy, when I said you could be the Slayer and have a social life, I didn't mean at the same time."
— Giles, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Never Kill A Boy On The First Date"
"You are not, by any chance, betraying your secret identity just to impress cute boys, are you?"
— Giles, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Lie To Me"
"We don't live in normal circumstances. - I mean, what are the odds of any of us actually finding someone out there who can deal with the kind of stuff we have to deal with?"
— Cordelia Chase, Angel
"Doctor, here's a tip. When I am on a date, when that rare and special thing happens in my real life, do not—do not, under any circumstances, put the Pope in my bedroom!"
— Bill Potts, Doctor Who, "Extremis"
Batwoman: How do you see this playing out... dinner, movie, I take you back to my cave?
Sophie: You live in a cave? (Batwoman smiles) I don't know. Guess I haven't really thought about it.
Batwoman: If I were to tell you who I am right now, would you want to know? Because once that happens, I'm no longer a secret. I'm a face, a person, a woman, and I bring all the complications that come with that, so do you want to be in a real relationship, or do you want to be with someone you can keep secret? Because we can never be more than this, and that shouldn't be enough.
Sophie: You're right. As long as I'm with a woman who wears a mask, I'll always be wearing one myself.
— Batwoman (2019), "Grinning From Ear To Ear"
Western Animation
DD: How does that relationship not work? I can’t remember, why does she end up not with him?
CA: At the end of the episode she basically says, "I like you a lot but you’re the god damn Batman and that’s whack."
CA: At the end of the episode she basically says, "I like you a lot but you’re the god damn Batman and that’s whack."
—Dana Delaney on
Superman: The Animated Series
Superman: The Animated Series"In other words, duties before cuties."
— Fu Dog, American Dragon: Jake Long
