ABSTRACT
Idealized fantasies of masculinity and femininity have always been at the core of the superhero genre. Powerful and noble men defeat all villains. Beautiful women fight alongside the men and/or swoon over them. Throughout most of the genre’s history, the superhero has promoted a heteronormative standard of gender relations. But when it comes to actual romantic relationships comic book superheroes are usually restricted to a cultural binary that aligns masculinity with work, public spaces and homosocial relationships, while femininity is aligned with the domestic, private spaces and heterosexual coupling. This chapter traces the complicated history of the superhero’s approach to romance and marriage as incompatible with heroic masculinity. Recent changes to the depiction of female heroes and ideas about public and domestic responsibilities have led to new considerations of masculinity that seek to balance heroism and familial responsibilities.
