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- The Marvel Universe can become quite a lonely place for those heroes who dedicate their lives to protecting others. With their friends by their sides though, nothing seems impossible. As the MCU continues to expand with new big and small-screen relationships, it's a great time to return to some of the best friendships on the page.
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand, with shows like Moon Knight and She-Hulk and movies like Thor: Love and Thunder recently joining the franchise, complicated friendships between heroes are bound to form on screen. As the writers introduce new friendships and team-ups, it's likely that they'll take inspiration from the comics, where friendship has long been a prevalent theme.
The MCU is no stranger to using humor-filled banter between friends to balance out the more serious elements of a film, a trait pulled from the source; many of the friendships found in the comics feature humor and irony to offset deeply emotional moments.
UPDATE: 2022/11/22 14:44 EST BY GEORGE CHRYSOSTOMOU
The Marvel Universe can become quite a lonely place for those heroes who dedicate their lives to protecting others. With their friends by their sides though, nothing seems impossible. As the MCU continues to expand with new big and small-screen relationships, it's a great time to return to some of the best friendships on the page.
Hercules And Amadeus Cho
Hercules and Amadeus Cho seem like an odd pairing. One contributes the brains to the operation while the other contributes the brawn. It's interesting to see the young Amadeus learn the ropes of the superhero world from Hercules before he steps into a hulking role himself.
But Hercules gets a lot from the pairing too, the traveling buddies teaching one another so much, with Cho intellectually stimulating the Olympian. The pair formed the leadership of a team known as the God Squad too, helping to shape the group of powerful deities.
Deadpool And Wolverine
Deadpool and Wolverine have a very unconventional relationship. The duo is usually at each other's throats, although it's fair to say that Wade Wilson puts far more into the friendship than Logan ever has. Despite their arguments and occasionally maiming, the pair always decide to team up again.
The partnership is even heading to the big screen soon, much to the excitement of fans of the comics. It's not that uncommon to see Deadpool actually invade a Wolverine comic, with the very popular dynamic making every narrative even more entertaining.
Kate Bishop And America Chavez
Kate Bishop and America Chavez have served alongside one another on teams such as the Champions and more importantly, the Young Avengers. They have crafted a firm friendship, and they are always the first port of call when trouble is brewing.
There is such a deep level of trust there and fans are already waiting to see the team-up on screen that's surely going to take place in the future. While their power sets are completely different, they complement one another well, with their humor meshing perfectly as they trade blows with their enemies.
Luke Cage And Iron Fist
Luke Cage and Iron Fist have become collectively known as the Heroes For Hire, having set up the business together as an example of just one of their many ridiculous schemes. The duo has also been in the Defenders on the screen and the Avengers in the comics.
Luke Cage tends to be a little more serious while Iron Fist is slightly more laid back, allowing their friendship to blossom. At this stage, Danny Rand is basically an uncle to Luke's kid and their vigilante personas are a great combination; the precise martial arts expert backed up by the strong and powerful brick wall.
Captain Marvel And Lieutenant Trouble
Captain Marvel has had plenty of friends on the battlefield, but in her regular life, she tries to give back to her community. That's why she has found herself making friends with regular citizens, hoping to help them out as Carol Danvers. Lieutenant Trouble is one of those friends.
While big screen fans will associate the name with Monica Rambeau, in the comics it's Kit Renner who holds onto that mantle. She's a young girl who looks up to Captain Marvel, who just happens to be a friend of her mother. While they don't go on any conventional missions together, Lieutenant Trouble is great for boosting morale, inspiring Carol to keep fighting.
Loki and Verity Willis
What happens when the God of Mischief, known liar and trickster, meets a human lie detector? In the case of Loki and Verity Willis, the two become best friends. First meeting at a speed dating event, Loki tells her the truth of who he is because it sounds unbelievable, but Verity immediately knows he's telling the truth.
The pairing of liar and lie detector continues to play on Loki dropping casual truths that would sound farfetched to anyone else, and Verity verifying their truth.
The Wasp and She-Hulk
During her time as chair for the Avengers, the Wasp was dedicated to including more women among their ranks. Numbering among the smallest of Marvel's heroes thanks to the Pym Particle, Janet van Dyne's friendship with witty green lawyer Jennifer Walters, the 6'7", 650lb giantess, is visual irony at its finest.
At the same time the two became friends, van Dyne had started working as a fashion designer; Walters would model outfits for her, adding to the ironic image of the so-called "Savage She-Hulk" engaging in normal activities with her occasionally microscopic friend.
Hulk and Hercules
The best friendships are born of mutual respect, something that proves true for the Hulk and Hercules. With a friendship formed around their martial prowess, the two express it in a funny way; they beat each other up.
Hercules is one of the few gods of the Marvel Universe who doesn't hold a grudge against Bruce Banner after tangling with the big guy, which makes him not only a friend of Hulk, but a close friend of Banner. The battle forged bond is usually reserved for heroes that stand together, so the two finding friendship through hitting each other makes their relationship even funnier.
Rocket Raccoon and Groot
Fans of the MCU are already well aware of the close friendship between Rocket Raccoon and Groot, but this nature duo has a long history in the comics, too. The two do far more than their share of bickering, only half of which the reader can understand.
Rocket's wisecracking retorts consistently escalate to dramatic heights in response to the repeated "I am Groot"; in Rocket Raccoon and Groot #6, an argument even evolved into a thumb war. Their bickering is rarely reserved for each other, as the two team up on anything and everything they can make a joke about.
Misty Knight and Colleen Wing
Many friendships that are steeped in banter and teasing are built on something deeper; the Daughters of the Dragon are no exception. While the reason for their friendship is rather serious, the two women play off of each other well in their banter, tossing quips around in even the more serious situations.
When Colleen used Misty's car to stop The Rhino, rather than being relieved, Knight immediately gave Wing grief about her totaled car. Moments like that, where even the lesser priorities are used to break the tension, are what make the two women a funny pair.
Spider-Man and Human Torch
The friendship between Human Torch and Spider-Man started off rocky, but the tension between the two melted and they became close friends. The two heroes teased each other endlessly, with their back and forth jibes providing laughs to contrast their more heartfelt moments.
Despite the friendship, Spidey still wanted to keep his identity secret from the Fantastic Four; at Johnny's suggestion, he went home in an extra FF uniform and a bag over his head after being left without a suit.
Tony Stark and James Rhodes
One of the oldest MCU relationships, the friendship between Iron Man and War Machine has a long history in the comics. Their banter often consists of Stark's typical carefree attitude contrasted against Rhodes' generally more mature, responsible urgings. When Rhodes tries to warn him of danger, Stark scouts a nightclub and dates.
Rhodes rolls with the twists and turns Stark throws at him, even if he doesn't approve; having serious conversations with Tony even on an impromptu double date. Their combination of banter and contrasts creates the friendship that fans of the MCU and comics alike grew to love.
Jean Grey and Emma Frost
While both powerful telepaths have made screen appearances, neither Emma Frost nor Jean Grey have made it to the MCU. While their comic friendship isn't always friendly, the two have found themselves on the same side of both heroic and villainous actions, which often involves the women trying to show each other up.
With each using their own approach, their rivalry provides readers with a super-powered good telepath bad telepath, especially when the two team up to save Storm in Giant-Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost #1. While the two certainly have their share of differences, their competitive nature and common threads makes their friendship a surprising twist with two strong personalities.
Wolverine and Nightcrawler
Wolverine's impressive dedication to being the gruff loner can make it hard for some to befriend him, but the eternal optimist that is Nightcrawler provides a contrast that just works. The two engage in plenty of affectionate teasing and banter, like when Kurt offered lemonade to the group while having a beer hidden for Logan's inevitable refusal.
While the start of their relationship was rough, the pair quickly became the odd couple who gifted each other framed portraits of themselves, braved Purgatory with a hug and some banter, and pranked Colossus in Russia to feel better about the disbanding of the X-Men.
Spider-Man and Deadpool
Spider-Man and Deadpool are a fan favorite friendship, with much of their humor revolving around the Merc with a Mouth teasing and frustrating the wall-crawler. Spider-Man slings quips of his own nearly as often as webs, often trying to reign in Deadpool's morality, as well as rebuffing the attraction the mercenary expresses towards Spider-Man.
The duo is so popular with the fanbase that it led to the creation of Spider-Man/Deadpool, a spinoff series where the two red-clad heroes team up, their unique and comedic rapport making them one of Marvel's funniest friendships.