How much should romance matter in superhero and action movies and shows?

[WontonGirl]

Romance works fine and to be honest, most mature Males don't have a problem with it. For most folks, if the show is supposed to be action oriented, as long as they keep that up, then people are fine with it.

For example, I think Iris and Barry on The Flash works fine. But I think the Rachel Dawes character in Batman Begins should had just been a close friend. BUT Rachel's romance with Harvey Dent worked as a nice subplot because it made sense for his story.

So it just depends. And also if they are with people that they match well with. If they are, then the romance won't take away from the story.

[Osiris-Rex]

RE: Flash television show

this is a whole other conversation, but a lot of the heat Iris gets isn't because of her relationship with Barry

You can say that again.

But the point is the whole reason Iris is on the show in the first place is to be the romantic interest for Barry. Any other quibbles are because they are trying to make her more than just the romantic interest.
It's not like with Felicity, where she was on the show just as a tech support character and evolved into the romantic interest. Felicity would have functioned just fine if she had never became a romantic interest
and had always been the tech support character. What purpose would Iris have served if not being the romantic interest?

[AJBopp]

But the point is the whole reason Iris is on the show in the first place is to be the romantic interest for Barry. Any other quibbles are because they are trying to make her more than just the romantic interest.
It's not like with Felicity, where she was on the show just as a tech support character and evolved into the romantic interest. Felicity would have functioned just fine if she had never became a romantic interest
and had always been the tech support character. What purpose would Iris have served if not being the romantic interest?

TBF, that's the only reason most romantic interests ever existed in the comics too. That doesn't make it bad, in my opinion.

[TheInvisibleMan]

But the point is the whole reason Iris is on the show in the first place is to be the romantic interest for Barry. Any other quibbles are because they are trying to make her more than just the romantic interest.
It's not like with Felicity, where she was on the show just as a tech support character and evolved into the romantic interest. Felicity would have functioned just fine if she had never became a romantic interest
and had always been the tech support character. What purpose would Iris have served if not being the romantic interest?

she wasn't his romantic interest the whole of the first season and a good part of the second

[DrNewGod]

she wasn't his romantic interest the whole of the first season and a good part of the second

They weren't in a relationship (at least, she wasn't with Barry), but everybody that knew anything about Flash had baked-in expectations, and the entire first season featured Barry pining for her. That would seem to fall within the range of a romantic interest for Barry's character, even if it's unrequited (and the scripts gave enough conflicted signals to throw the "unrequited" part into doubt).

[TheInvisibleMan]

mmmmm baked in

I liked baked goods

[Osiris-Rex]

mmmmm baked in

I liked baked goods

I just baked an apple pie.

[DrNewGod]

I just baked an apple pie.

I'm frequently told that I'm half-baked.

[Jackalope89]

Romance can work fine. It doesn't need to be the main focus, but if done right, only adds to the story rather than detracts. For example, many people are quite receptive to Bat/Cat marriage, and Supes and Lois being back together since Rebirth.

Dinah and Ollie in the comics is as good as ever, no one is complaining about that.

While, I would have preferred Ollie with Dinah in Arrow, the way the series went, made that all but impossible. But Barry and Iris' relationship in Flash is actually pretty solid. I think its her lack of being a reporter the last couple of seasons is what would be her main issue.

[Powerboy]

If it wasn't for the romance subplot, a lot of action movies wouldn't even have a named female character.

Also, the CW shows have to have romance. Without it, you'd have five minutes of episodes and 55 minutes of commercials.

[Immortal Weapon]

she wasn't his romantic interest the whole of the first season and a good part of the second

Yes she was. It was made clear from episode one that Barry was crushing on Iris.

[Vegeta]

I like it. I know it's cheesy but a "world without love" never really feels like a world worth fighting for, and the best way to exemplify that in a 1-2 hour film is with a love interest for the lead character. Close friends or parental figures can sometimes work in that same capacity but it's rare. (And if the friend is part of the hero squad then they are usually cannon fodder for the purpose of hero angst) Movies and shows where it is just about completing "the mission" bore me. A "job well done" pat on the back before they are sent off on another mission just isn't as rewarding as a romantic kiss, imo.

[TheInvisibleMan]

I like it. I know it's cheesy but a "world without love" never really feels like a world worth fighting for, and the best way to exemplify that in a 1-2 hour film is with a love interest for the lead character. Close friends or parental figures can sometimes work in that same capacity but it's rare. (And if the friend is part of the hero squad then they are usually cannon fodder for the purpose of hero angst) Movies and shows where it is just about completing "the mission" bore me. A "job well done" pat on the back before they are sent off on another mission just isn't as rewarding as a romantic kiss, imo.

oh but to the neckbeards out there, its ALL ABOUT THAT

the lone warrior who rejects all but their sworn duty

they get a boner off that ish

probably the only thing that gives them a boner

[Osiris-Rex]

I like it. I know it's cheesy but a "world without love" never really feels like a world worth fighting for, and the best way to exemplify that in a 1-2 hour film is with a love interest for the lead character. Close friends or parental figures can sometimes work in that same capacity but it's rare. (And if the friend is part of the hero squad then they are usually cannon fodder for the purpose of hero angst) Movies and shows where it is just about completing "the mission" bore me. A "job well done" pat on the back before they are sent off on another mission just isn't as rewarding as a romantic kiss, imo.

It makes them seem more human than just a character in a video game. I'm sure there are people that would prefer watching a 2 hour video game of characters punching each other and smashing cars and buildings.
But for me if I can't relate to a character it gets pretty boring.

[Da Boat]

There don't need to be. Just look at the success of the Avengers. Beyond the forced Widow-Banner stuff, it's been mainly relationship-free.

But TV is another matter, they mainly do it cause super-hero TV shows have a faithful female audience and they are attracted to this stuff. It's the old Smallville WB style. There's a lot of reaction videos on You Tube with plenty of women that enjoy this stuff, especially the DC shows and Teen Wolf, etc...

I think relationships often humanizes male characters. Intead of just being men of war, they show another side of their conflicts. Imagine in Got if Jaime didn't have Brienne, he would not have been such a beloved character.