Marvel villains are some of the most treacherous and terrifying characters in pop culture. They can destroy whole planets, teleport throughout the universe, resurrect themselves from beyond the grave, start massive civil wars, and end half of the universe as we know it.
They’re extremely powerful beings and can accomplish just about anything with a snap of their fingers. However, there’s apparently one thing that Marvel villains can never have – true love.
Throughout the Marvel universe, sinister villains have been deprived of one of humanity’s basic emotions. They can’t love because apparently love is a weakness.
Each villain is taught that if they want to accomplish their goals of chaos and destruction, then they must darken their hearts and never let anything in. According to the bad guys’ handbook, caring for someone else will only lead to failure.
However, this isn’t right. Everyone deserves love and this rule applies to villains too. Therefore, many moviegoers and comic book readers are standing up against this awful archetype.
Marvel fans have created their own universe where anyone can love and be loved. They have paired some of their favorite villains together and created popular ships that are flooding the internet.
So, get ready to feel the love tonight because here are 21 Fan Art Designs of Unexpected Marvel Villain Couples.
Loki and the Winter Soldier
Riding through the city at night while holding on to the back of your man is probably one of the most romantic feelings in the universe. It’s also one of the most iconic rom-com moments in the history of filmmaking.
This image takes that romantic moment and gives it to two of the most popular characters in the MCU – the manipulative God of Mischief and the manipulated Winter Soldier.
Bucky and Loki are both baddies turned good who are constantly battling against the temptations of evil.
Together, their love could keep them on the straight and narrow and distract them from the lure of the dark side.
Doesn’t that sound like the perfect love story?
Artist: DKettchen
Crossbones and the Winter Soldier
The artist Slouph created an adorable image of two MCU villains. However, you might not even know who the one on the left is.
Crossbones is one of the most underdeveloped villains in the MCU. He appeared as Brock Rumlow in Winter Soldier and then was immediately taken out when he donned the Crossbones disguise in Civil War.
In the comics, he’s one of Captain America’s fiercest and villainous enemies and it looks like we’ll never see his full potential in the movies. He had his couple of minutes of screen time and was instantaneously put back in the Marvel vault.
However, many fans have rewritten history and kept Crossbones alive. In the world of fan art, he plays a starring role in Bucky’s heart.
Artist: Slouph
Hela and Loki
The long black hair, the green outfit, the pointy helmet, and the inclination towards evil – Loki and Hela seem absolutely perfect for each other.
The two are a couple made in Hel. Together they could combine their swordsmanship skills and sorcery to take Asgard away from the man they both despise.
Imagine the two of them ruling over the Asgardians as the strongest couple in the galaxy. They would be unstoppable.
However, there’s just one problem to this love story. Hela and Loki are related.
In the movies, Hela is Loki’s adopted sister, and in the comics, Hela is Loki’s daughter.
Therefore, it would take a complete re-write to bring the two green-loving villains together. Their perfectly matched love will forever remain in the world of fan art.
Artist: Mushstone
Ronan and Nebula
Yo listen up, here’s a story about a little guy that lives in a blue world, and all day and all night and everything he sees is just blue.
Well, this blue guy has a blue gal to brighten up his dark blue world.
Ronan the Accuser has Nebula to wade the treacherous waters of servitude with him.
While serving the Mad Titan can be cruel and depressing, they can turn to each other for support and love.
Together, the blue duo goes on their search for the purple Infinity Stone and creates an adventure that will fill their heart forever. That is, until they fail, Ronan is sacrificed, and Nebula heads down the path of good.
So, their love is more like Romeo and Juliet than Snow White and Prince Charming.
Artist: VaultMan
Grandmaster and Loki
Known collectively as Frostmaster, the fan couple of Loki and the Grandmaster is one of the oddest pairings in the MCU. However, it doesn’t seem completely impossible.
When Loki arrived in Sakaar, he wasn’t treated like Thor was. Something about the long-haired man appealed to the gaudy fight club leader and the Grandmaster took him in with love.
Loki was living like a king in the Grandmaster’s Palace and got box seats to the Thor-Hulk gladiator match. In fact, the Grandmaster treated Loki better than his now burnt toast-smelling cousin.
So, what happened between the time that Loki fell off the Bifrost Bridge and Thor arrived in Sakaar? Could true love have blossomed between Loki and the Grandmaster?
Artist: iaVako
Thanos and Ebony Maw
Ebony Maw is extremely loyal to Thanos. However, what if this loyalty was forged out of love rather than admiration and evil?
In Infinity War, Ebony Maw is depicted as Thanos’ favorite. He is the most trusted lieutenant of the Black Order and is the only one that Thanos is seen caring about in the film.
So why does he have a different relationship with the Mad Titan than the rest of his Black Order members?
This image provides the reason.
Varjopihlaja’s depiction of Ebony Maw and Thanos shows the couple happily reunited in a heaven-like environment. What if this is the ultimate universe Thanos was working so hard to create?
What if he really wanted to create a utopic world for him and his true love?
Artist: Varjopihlaja
Doctor Doom and Loki
The Asgardian Prince and the Ruler of Latveria have been a common topic amongst comic book fans. The two villains both have a desire to rule, incredible intellect, and the ability to use the dark mystic arts.
Many comic fans would love to see these two villains go head to head against each other. However, others see them in a more romantic light.
With such similar abilities and motives, Doctor Doom and Loki would make an extremely powerful couple.
Two heads are better than one and with the two most brilliant minds in the universe, there’s nothing they couldn’t accomplish together.
Doom and Loki also seem to like the color green so it would be easy to pick out their home’s décor or their wedding colors.
Artist: dariiy
Nebula, Ronan, and Gamora
Living under the rule of Thanos isn’t easy. It’s full of evil, deceit, disappointment, and total darkness. No one knows this better than Nebula, Gamora, and Ronan.
These three have served the Mad Titan in his heinous hunt to restore balance in the universe. However, they’re all just like a group of teenagers in an ’80s movie.
You could see them all hanging out at the local diner, watching movies at a drive-in theater, and falling asleep under the stars.
In these types of movies, two of the three always fall in love with each other, and for this movie, it would be Nebula and Ronan. Being closer to the dark side than Gamora, they would eventually fall short of expectations and give in to the temptations of evil and love.
Artist: terrorwatt
Laufey and Odin
Many people might not see Odin as a villain, but he’s probably the biggest baddie of them all. In the MCU, he steals a baby boy and pits him against his brother.
He banishes his firstborn from Asgard turning her into a vengeful demon overlord and he sends Thor to Earth and brings destruction and chaos to the planet.
Odin is the main cause of strife in the Thor movies and he’s just as bad of a father as Thanos. Like all the other villains, Odin even conducts all his evil bidding from the comfort of his throne.
However, what if this villainous act is just a show for his true love, Laufey? The two technically raised a child together. So, maybe Odin took Loki and waged war against Jotunheim because of a lover’s quarrel.
Isn’t that exactly how all war starts?
Artist: KamiTovar
Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive
If you saw Infinity War and aren’t a huge comic reader, then this couple might be extremely surprising to you. Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight of Thanos’ Black Order didn’t seem to have any chemistry in the movie. However, they’re actually married in the comics.
The path of destruction and chaos brought the two lovebirds together and they have since become the most terrifying couple in the Marvel universe.
While some couples go hiking and others go dancing, Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight keep their relationship fresh by destroying others. They take from worlds and bring light to theirs.
Everyone’s got their hobbies and theirs brings them even closer together.
Artist: Sabrerine911
Loki and Fenris Wolf
There’s no greater love than the relationship between a man and his dog. In this fan design, Loki knows that Fenris Wolf will be his best friend through thick and thin. At the end of the day, he’s the most loyal companion to have.
However, a deeper relationship between Loki in Fenris will never happen. In the comics, Fenris Wolf is actually the son of the God of Mischief.
He is a 15-foot tall wolf that is both male and female and has the ability to appear as a human. The gods of Asgard feared Fenris and deemed him too dangerous to Asgardians.
Therefore, he was chained to a rock until he could become freed and take down his nemesis, Odin.
Actually, maybe Fenris and Loki could work out. They do share a common enemy.
Artist: cainternn
Magneto and Mystique
Although comic movies always provide new character arcs, plot elements, and tidbits that are different from the comics, there was nothing as surprising as the romantic relationship between Magneto and Mystique in the X-men movies.
It came as a complete shock to many fans in the movies, but makes sense when you think about it.
The two have always been close in the comics and Magneto is a great match for Mystique. He was the first person to truly love her mutation and tell her that she was beautiful in her blue-skinned true form.
Magneto was a true romantic who brought out Mystique’s inner and outer beauty and made her believe in herself.
Artist: mattgoodall
Nebula and Loki
What brings two people together better than abandonment and daddy issues?
Loki and Nebula are both the biggest disappointments of their family. The God of Mischief was abandoned by his biological father, disowned by his adopted father, and pit against his adopted brother for the Asgardian throne. Nebula, on the other hand, was disowned by her father and pit against her sister in gladiator-style fights to the death.
They’ve both been beaten down and abandoned by everyone but they can still find true love and appreciation in each other.
However, their relationship is likely full of complaints and disappointment. On a night out, they probably don’t embrace their love and instead chat about their family issues.
Also, imagine how awful Thanksgiving and family reunions at their house would be.
Artist: Quakerhobbit
Apocalypse and Mystique
Apocalypse and Mystique would be the ultimate stereotypical villainous couple – the Beauty and the Beast archetype.
Apocalypse is known as the firstborn of the mutant race. Much like a Beast in the Beauty and Beast stereotype, Apocalypse takes pride in power. He ruled over his followers and saw himself as an untouchable god. This led him to become a manipulative macho man.
Mystique, on the other hand, has the power of looks. She is able to transform herself into any physical being and uses her beauty and powers to manipulate her victims.
Together, they would be a typical villainous couple.
According to this fan art, they could even use their powers of manipulation and deceit to inspire followers like Polaris.
Artist: AZNbebop
Brock Rumlow and Bucky Barnes
The relationship between Crossbones and the Winter Soldier is one of the biggest villain fan couples in the MCU. It’s so popular that fans have even given the ship a name: Winterbones.
There are many fan designs of Winterbones that it’s sometimes hard to believe that this relationship isn’t real.
You can see the two holding hands, cuddling, and fighting for what they love. However, in this image, it appears that Crossbones is teaching the Winter Soldier how to shoot.
Much like the typical “I’ll teach you how to play pool” play, Crossbones is making his move by getting close and showing Bucky how to hold his gun.
When bullets are flying, Bucky will definitely want Rumlow right by his side.
Artist: andrewhdaggerhart
Loki and Amora
Loki and Amora have a complicated relationship in the comics. However, if it were up to Tom Hiddleston, we would’ve seen this fanship played out in the MCU.
The actor said, “When I was first reading the comics, the relationship with the Enchantress was one of the really fun things I thought would be good to explore, and may have even pitched it to Kevin Feige at some point. Because she is as sneaky and as untrustworthy as he was."
“They basically had a really fantastic and twisted relationship until they both say, ‘You know what? I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you. It’s over,’” he said.
If Hiddleston got his way, we might have seen this couple alive on the big screen.
However, it might not have been the Lady Loki version that this artist suggests.
Artist: SunsetRiders7
Mystique and Sabretooth
The relationship between Mystique and Sabretooth is the epitome of unexpected and surprising couples. They embody the word frenemies and work through hatred to form an odd and striking bond.
Much like Harley Quinn and the Joker, the two are psychopathic villains who don’t belong together.
They act ruthlessly towards one another and do things that no couple would even think about doing.
However, their toxic relationship brings them together on multiple occasions and they constantly return for more. They love to hate each other and somehow make their hatred work.
Mystique and Sabretooth even had a kid together. Although they immediately sent him to be adopted, they will always have a living being that represents their relationship.
Artist: Pojypojy
Winter Soldier and Loki
Move over Steve Rogers, there’s a new Captain steering the plane to Bucky’s heart.
People are saying goodbye to Stucky and saying hello to Lucky, as fans pair Bucky Barnes and Loki Laufeyson together.
This fanship gives two conflicted Marvel characters a chance to find love. Throughout the MCU, we’ve seen both Bucky and Loki’s struggles with authority, embracement of the dark side, and eventual path towards redemption.
Their character arcs are coming full circle and it’s time for them to settle down.
Together, they can have that perfect relationship where they share coffee in the morning and chat about the worries of the day.
Only their worries involve the constant temptation to the dark side and the quest to purify their dark hearts.
Artist: Zerochan
Thanos and Cable
Thanos and Cable are both villains with a heart. They conduct heinous acts against mankind but do it for what they believe is the greater good of the world.
The two of them want to build a better future for the world – one without destruction and chaos.
However, in order to do so, they’re bringing chaos and destruction into the universe.
Although this concept doesn’t make sense to the average person, it makes sense to Thanos and Cable and this is what makes them the perfect couple.
However, their similarities don’t stop there. Thanos and Cable are both played by the same actor, Josh Brolin.
So basically this is just an odd relationship between Brolin and himself.
Artist: christ_ave41
Nebula and the Winter Soldier
When Rocket looks at Bucky and Nebula, he sees a walking pile of parts. However, when the couple looks at each other, they see true love.
Although the two quasi-villains are comprised of metallic parts, their hearts are not. Bucky and Nebula have the capability to love each other for their differences and embrace what makes them similar.
They both have metal arms that create for interesting family nights of arm wrestling and strength competitions.
The two are also some of the newest recruits of their respective superhero teams. They were both turned good by the power of family and friends and would have some amazing stories of morality to tell their children.
Maybe now people will let Bucky leave Cap and start a new, healthier relationship.
Artist: Tolga Oğuz
