Romance Subplots in the Fantasy/SF/Superhero Genre: What's Your Opinion?

vellavu

vellavu

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Look at these: New Batman movies, All major Marvel movies, SHIELD, Daredevil, Jessica Jones...

The common denominator is that they all have a large portion of plots allocated to romantic relationships. I'm not against it or something, but how could all of them have the romance subplots so interwoven with the character developments and storylines? Why must the protagonist's personal life so indistinguishable from work/fighting/doing interesting things?

Is (shipper bait)/(shipper argument provoking) a secret ingredient to lure audience? Is this a symptom of the lack of imagination throughout these three genres' writers? Or is it just a natural thing that I'm too judgmental with?
 
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Part of the reason I love Faith so much is that she's one of the only character on TV that does not have a plot line revolving around romance. Now I don't mind romance in the fantasy genre (I don't really watch superheroes), but I like when it doesn't take over the main storyline, unless it's written in a way that is directly related to the main storyline (like Buffy/Angel in s2 served more than just being a romance, it was an integral part of the Angelus arc, but s3 Bangel just took space and was pretty pointless to me.)

Overall, I think it'd be nice to have less shows that revolve around romance, although a bit of romance can be nice. I just don't want to watch a fantasy show or movie where romance is the main plot point. That's why I prefer watching fantasy shows like Game of Thrones and Black Sails, where they do have romance, but those subplots don't override the main story.

I do think it's normal to expect some type of romance in every show though, considering that in real life romance is a big part of a lot of people's lives. But yes, I do wish they would slack on the romance in some shows. I don't think it's necessarily a lack of imagine, but more so the writers pandering to the audience because many people want to see that romance.
 
vellavu said:
I'm not against it or something, but how could all of them have the romance subplots so interwoven with the character developments and storylines? Why must the protagonist's personal life so indistinguishable from work/fighting/doing interesting things?
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The tv shows just follow the example of the comics.

For the longest time comics were just about superheroes punching badguys, giving inspirational speeches/messeges to the readers and writers giving them new and exciting powers week to week, but times change.
Slowly over the 'ages' from Silver to Bronze to Iron writers tried to inject more realism into the lives of these superheroes by giving them more fully rounded lives- dealing with 'real world' issues, inter-team conflicts and luuuvv stuff.
Part of that was giving them romantic subplots- either in the secret ID or romances within a team. For me that really started with Spideer-amn and The X-Men where you had a greater focus on personal arcs and love stories, but not at the expense of other plots going on.


I can't say I really mind it, as long as the balance is right and we get plenty of plot to go along with all that nice mushy stuff.

I think Netfix Daredevil and Jessica Jones gets the balance about right, there are all types of relationships there not just romance. Take JJ for example her childhood friendship with Patsy is way more interersting than her trist with Luke Cage. I'll admit that's rarer to see on television when the main character is female- if that happens romance is almost always prominent. (just like if a show has a male and female lead-partnership then they WILL be hooking up in the future no matter what- Bones, Castle, Blindspot, its so utterly played out I can see it a mile off in 'Limitless', luckily not in 'The Black List' though...)

Part of the reason I like Faith's character arc is that there's rarely any romantic element there which is pretty darn original. It seems like she doesn't need relationship drama in her life because there are other, more important things going on that matter more to her character. I hope that trend continues because its working for her (and contrasts nicely with Buffy's life now being dominated by nothing but romance drama...).

vellavu said:
Is (shipper bait)/(shipper argument provoking) a secret ingredient to lure audience? Is this a symptom of the lack of imagination throughout these three genres' writers? Or is it just a natural thing that I'm too judgmental with?
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I honestly think its a little of all three. Romance can humanise a fiction character in a relatable way (to most people) and is a standard 'trope' that can be played with by any and all writers.
Also there is the ratings consideration. Having relationship drama- pretty people smooshing their faces together- pleases some no end. It's why soap operas are so damn popular- 'cause it ain't the storylines!
 
Blaze
Blaze
A+ post
In the past I believe they tended to introduce romantic sub-plots to get their female viewership up, because it was believe that a comic-book/fantasy/sci fi show or movie wouldn't appeal to female audiences without it. I don't think that's true nowadays, but I do think it's become the standard trope of guy + girl = smoochies guaranteed.

I don't mind it so much, if it gets more fans watching and talking about great shows then as long as it's done in such a way that's true to the characters. It's when you have X & Y hating each other for 3 seasons and then all of a sudden they decide they don't and they get it on.

Where you have source material, comic books, graphic novels, novels etc, then I think it's something you can't easily bypass, especially if the romance element is contained within those. But I think it's so easy for these sub-plots to become the main story arc.

I must admit, I enjoyed Age of Ultron immensely, until they decided all of a sudden Natasha and Bruce were getting it on. I felt she was resorted to 'Bruce's love interest' when Black Widow is so much more than that. I felt that was an epic misstep to further both Bruce and Natasha's stories. Sometimes, men and women work together as colleagues and that's all and not only that, it's also ok. Men and women work happily together all the time without bumping uglies and I know this for a fact. Because otherwise I'd have had affairs with like seven men by now (I'm the only woman in my team at work) and it's just not like that IRL.
 
Often I find it annoying and redundant... but I suppose it's a way to humanize them and make it easier to connect to them as people. Also, it's easy drama.

Blaze said:
Part of the reason I love Faith so much is that she's one of the only character on TV that does not have a plot line revolving around romance.

I do think it's normal to expect some type of romance in every show though, considering that in real life romance is a big part of a lot of people's lives. But yes, I do wish they would slack on the romance in some shows. I don't think it's necessarily a lack of imagine, but more so the writers pandering to the audience because many people want to see that romance.
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Agreed, *bows to your wisdom*.
 
Blaze
Blaze
Don't bow to low, I can't have my lab assistant hurting her back :P
Athena said:
I must admit, I enjoyed Age of Ultron immensely, until they decided all of a sudden Natasha and Bruce were getting it on. I felt she was resorted to 'Bruce's love interest' when Black Widow is so much more than that. I felt that was an epic misstep to further both Bruce and Natasha's stories. Sometimes, men and women work together as colleagues and that's all and not only that, it's also ok. Men and women work happily together all the time without bumping uglies and I know this for a fact.
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You know what I liked? Black Widow in CA:TWS when she and Cap were simply working partners kicking ass and uncovering a villainous scheme together. That was the Black Widow I liked. I agree that her portayal in Age Of Ultron was a step back in terms of character.
I didn't hate it but I thought it was really unnessesary and kinda contrived as love plots go. Cap/Tony Stark had way more chemistry. 🙂
 
While I often think that there is too much romance, and that it takes screen time or pages away from more interesting storylines, there is little doubt that we as viewers or readers tend to be curious about what romances may show up as a result of good chemistry between characters. Just the shortest peek into fanfiction archives show how hungry the audience is for romance.

I suppose I'm torn. On one hand, I truly enjoy it when an natural romance is unfolding in a well-written, relevant way. On the other hand, I rejoice in seeing a story that isn't about the romance. Take Faith as an example as she's aready mentioned. I wouldn't mind seeing her in a relationship with someone, but I am really glad that she has had a story line of kicking ass, crumbling, getting back up and coping without being saved by someone's (romantic) love.
 
thetopher said:
You know what I liked? Black Widow in CA:TWS when she and Cap were simply working partners kicking ass and uncovering a villainous scheme together. That was the Black Widow I liked.
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Oh man, I love Winter Soldier so much. It's up there for me as one of the greatest movies in the MCU. It's just awesome and she is brilliant in it. I love the banter with Cap; they just have so much great chemistry.

Who'd have thunk that! Chemistry between a man and a woman without the romance element.... and it works?!?!
 
thetopher said:
I agree that (Black Widow's) portrayal in Age Of Ultron was a step back in terms of character.
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Well, I think that Joss just HAD to toss that in there. You know, a man in love with a woman, but he's afraid to be with her because his inner monster might jump out and hurt her. Then he leaves because he loves her so much that he just knows that she's better off without him. I think Joss used that same thing somewhere else in one of his own creations.

miromurr said:
Take Faith as an example as she's aready mentioned. I wouldn't mind seeing her in a relationship with someone, but I am really glad that she has had a story line of kicking ass, crumbling, getting back up and coping without being saved by someone's (romantic) love
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But one of the things about Faith's character, though not so much since she's sharing a title, and a house, with Angel, is her sense of isolation, even loneliness. In some ways, her story has been about relationships, too, only in her case, it's the lack thereof.
 
white avenger said:
Well, I think that Joss just HAD to toss that in there. You know, a man in love with a woman, but he's afraid to be with her because his inner monster might jump out and hurt her. Then he leaves because he loves her so much that he just knows that she's better off without him. I think Joss used that same thing somewhere else in one of his own creations.
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What could you possibly mean? 😉

I would have accepted it quite happily if it'd been building up over The Avengers and then culminated in AOU. I'm not against Bruce and/or Natasha finding romance and I appreciate the link. It just felt forced that it was with each other and, unlike his other creations, Natasha's story seemed to be primarily about running off with Bruce, as opposed to fighting the forces of AI and I don't believe Natasha would put that first. Because we were never shown she felt that way. Buffy loved Angel, but she would have never given up being the slayer to run off with him.

She says in The Avengers "Love is for children" We believe she will put the mission first. It was just out of left field for me and didn't feel organic.
 
Athena said:
She says in The Avengers "Love is for children" We believe she will put the mission first. It was just out of left field for me and didn't feel organic.
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It would have been nice to get some sort of advance warning, wouldn't it? Frankly, I got the impression from "The Winter Soldier" that Natasha and Steve were going to be a couple. It would have fit in with the animated "Future Avengers" series, where their son is one of the new team.
 
I hate when any show/movie forces a romance just because they feel 2 characters/actors have chemistry. Obviously they can't tell the difference between platonic & romantic chemistry. X-Files' Mulder & Scully and The Killing's Linden & Holder are 2 good examples of this. 🙄 Certain shows and movies are pretty good bout keeping the romantic story lines out of the way of the main plot. West Wing is a really good example of how to do this right. The 'romance' story lines were kinda essential to the main plots, especially in the earlier seasons. They did drag the Angel/Buffy romance out for too long. To be fair Angel probably should've stayed gone after season 2. Don't even get me started on the Spike/Buffy and Willow/Kennedy disasters.
 
Anyanka Bunny Slayer
Anyanka Bunny Slayer
Death to Kennedy!!!!!
I think when you have a show with a male and female lead, such as The X-Files and the actors are so great with each other and the chemistry is there, the showrunners start with a platonic relationship but as the seasons progress, a romantic relationship becomes something the viewers want and they bow to the pressure to keep viewers interested.

Mulder & Scully are a great example of how it works and how it fails, because I felt in the later seasons of the show, their relationship didn't work, but I love them in the new mini-series, exploring what they had together and how much they still love and respect one another (in the UK, we've only seen eps 1-3 so we're behind, so I have no idea where it goes from there btw!)
 
The main reason I get into a show is if it's got a good romantic storyline to it. If the romance isn't done well and comes across ad pointless I tend nit to be able to get into the show.

The only show I've watched that doesn't have a romantic storyline is Supernatural.
 
Sometimes it's the only way we get to see the characters naked, so alas...they must resort to it. One of the finest days of my life was seeing Mulder in boxer briefs.
 
Jules said:
The main reason I get into a show is if it's got a good romantic storyline to it. If the romance isn't done well and comes across ad pointless I tend nit to be able to get into the show.

The only show I've watched that doesn't have a romantic storyline is Supernatural.
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Is that why the fanworld is SOOOOO full of SN slash? (I have never watched the show or read the fics, but there seems to be a lot.)
 
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