For the Love of Superheroes: 15 Best Couples of the Arrowverse

Being a superhero isn’t always everything it is cracked up to be. You spend all night on the town busting bad guys without pay or even insurance for those pesky bullet wounds. Not to mention, if the local coffee shop gets demolished in the process, you’ll be sure to hear about it from the mayor in the early morning. 

Needless to say, adding all this up can feel like quite a bummer. It makes the job seem thankless and an unnecessary struggle in the grand scheme of things.

Then you crawl into bed next to your significant other. They give you a sweet kiss on the cheek and whisper, “my hero,” into your ear. A smile breaks out across your bruised face, and deep down you know the world is worth saving. 

Every week on our favorite shows of the Arrowverse our heroes get beat down, bloodied, and outwitted until the very last minute. They have their team to back them up, but they are no substitute for our hero’s one true love. Romantic love can be the thing that gets you through the toughest of times.

A hand to hold during the darkest of nights or lips to kiss amid the bleakest of plot twists can be all it takes to give our heroes that extra surge of energy to make it to the finish line. 

And to be honest, our favorite shows wouldn’t be the same without them. Barry and Iris, Brainy and Nia, Diggle and Lyla, the list can go on and on. Their love explodes across the screen in profound ways that teach us all the true meaning of unconditional love. 

Of course, not all couples are created equally. Some stand the test of time, while others fizzle out with dramatic flair. That doesn’t mean they don’t all find a special niche in our hearts along the way.

That brings us to this list. A comprehensive guide to the top-tier lovers who we have watched with bated breath. A catalog of twosomes that defy relationship standards — making their impact in our hearts for eternity.

Or to put it more simply, an inventory of couples we are enamored with (in no particular order, of course). 

15 Best Couples of the Arrowverse

1. Sara and Ava (Legends of Tomorrow)

Sara Lance has been a badass character ever since she first appeared on Arrow. She kicked butt, took names, and broke hearts with the best of them, making a name for herself long before becoming the captain of the Waverider. 

She has been linked with several different males and females including Oliver Queen, Nyssa, and even had a one-night stand with Alex Danvers of Supergirl. 

Although most of those couples were fun in their own way, something always seemed a bit off. There was a connection that these other partners didn’t quite meet. That was until Ava came on the scene. 

Ava began as an uptight director of the time bureau with not much of a sense of humor, and even less appetite for adventure. She was by the book — no matter what. 

Slowly but surely, the Legends got on her good side, and before we knew it she woke up alongside Sara in a very compromising way. 

This originally seemed like another fling until the two started to get to know each other. They broke down each other’s walls, mined one another’s secrets, and accepted faults and flattery all in the same. 

If you don’t count the current alien abduction involving that goofball Gary, the two are now practically inseparable. 

2. Brainy and Nia (Supergirl)

One is part of a superhero team from somewhere in the 30th century. The other is a transgender alien with superpowers. Together they make possibly the cutest couple this side of the multiverse.

Brainy is a hyper-intelligent, techno-organic being who often has difficulties understanding human emotion. Fortunately, Nia — his better half — is patient enough to sit down and walk him through complicated human interactions. He then returns the favor by helping her learn to master her newly awakened superpowers.

Brainy has great faith in Nia knowing exactly what she is capable of. Oftentimes she doubts her abilities, but Brainy never lets her stay in her self-doubt for too long. 

This is a beautiful example of how a relationship should work. Holding each other up during difficult times and helping the other person see their full potential. 

Although the two spent a majority of Season 5 apart, they have gravitated towards each other in more recent episodes. While their heavily strained relationship isn’t back to one hundred percent normal quite yet, it is fairly obvious this couple belongs together. I feel confident we will see Brainia have one final kiss before Supergirl makes its exit from the air. 

3. Cisco and Camille (The Flash)

Cisco has had his fair share of heartbreak. He fell for Kendra Saunders before realizing her fate was much different than he ever could have expected.

Later he moved on to Cynthia, a woman with very similar powers to his own. But things became overly complicated when she asked him to take her father’s place in another universe. 

Eventually and unexpectedly, Camille walked into his life.

Here was a down-to-earth woman with absolutely no superpowers. She had no ties to his superhero life, and Cisco found that refreshing.

Cisco didn’t feel right about keeping secrets from Camille and quickly told her of his metahuman status. She was more than accepting of this fact, caring more for Cisco as a person than what drama this could mean for their life together.

The longer time Cisco spent with Camille the more he realized his superpowers did not define him, allowing him to decide to take the metahuman cure.

Now powerless, Camille and Cisco plan a new future together. They may be moving from Central City, but this healthy relationship is far from over. 

4. Jen and Khalil (Black Lightning)

Jen and Khalil met when they were relatively young. Their on-again and off-again relationship appeared to be just a dose of puppy love reminiscent of all our high school years.

Things took a terrible turn when Khalil was paralyzed by a bullet to the spine. Jen did what she could to nurse the young man back to health — nurturing her feelings for him along the way. 

The two became closer than two peas in a pod before Khalil made the mistake of trusting the notorious Tobias Whale. Every promise kept by Tobias Whale is another favor owed to him, making Khalil his newest thug. As an affiliate of Tobias Whale, that automatically made Khalil an enemy to Jen’s father, Black Lightning. 

With criminal missions, superhuman abilities, and family drama, this couple seemed as doomed as Romeo and Juliet.

Amidst all this trouble, the two still found time for intimacy and cheering each other on. They knew that even though the world may be against them, they could still find peace in each other.

5. Diggle and Lyla (Arrow)

Couples that were meant to be together have a hard time staying apart. Such is true with Arrow’s Diggle and Lyla.

When we first met the two, they already had a past. Their lives intertwined in the army while in Afganistan. Little is initially shown about how they separated, but their reactions towards reconnecting revealed there was still a powerful spark.

Repeatedly their lives crossed paths bringing back the tension and the romance — reminding them of everything they left behind. 

During Arrow Season 3, Diggle and Lyla decide it is time they recommitted to each other. All of their friends from Team Arrow paid tribute to them at the wedding, including an unshaven Oliver Queen — which irritated me to no end. 

To cement their good fortune, a beautiful daughter was born to them whom they named after the recently deceased Sara Lance. Later on, their daughter became a son, but that story is for a different day.

6. Superman and Lois (Superman and Lois)

Pop-culture couples don’t come more classic than Superman and Lois. Just speaking their name aloud brings about vivid images of all the incredible adventures they have survived together.

Most Superman variations show how reliant Lois is on her superhero husband, but Superman and Lois give us the other side of the puzzle revealing that Clark needs his wife just as much.

Repeatedly, Lois talks Clark down from crossing the line with bad guys or being overly harsh on their sons. Her well-thought-out words always hit home in the nick of time. 

Together they exhibit an excellent example of a sum being better than its parts. 

7. Ray and Nora (Legends of Tomorrow)

Here is a couple I never saw coming. Ray Palmer, an awkward scientist with a heart of gold, and Nora Darhk, the daughter of one of the world’s most dangerous sorcerers. A pair with very little in common, hoping for extremely different outcomes from the universe.

Somewhere deep down inside, they found a kindred spirit. Ray saw something of worth in Nora that he felt the need to expose. Nora was touched that he had caught sight of something that she didn’t even know about herself. 

The optimist and pessimist combined their strengths to overcome adversity — finding love amongst it all. 

Once they married, Ray felt the duty to keep his wife safe by retiring from the superhero life altogether. Although we haven’t seen them since, I can assure you that these two are somewhere living happily-ever-after.

8. Anyssa and Grace (Black Lightning)

Black Lightning’s Anyssa and Grace are two women with very potent superpowers and exceptionally robust personalities. 

Separately they are independent individuals with personal ideas of how the world works. They had polar opposite upbringings, forming outlooks that often clash with each other.

For most couples, this would have been a deal-breaker, but Anyssa and Grace made it work. They used their difference of opinions as a strong point in their marriage instead of a weak link. 

The two call each other out when thinking in a closed-minded fashion, combining their intelligent minds into a think tank choosing solidarity over enmity. 

9.  Supergirl and Mon-el (Supergirl)

Kara has been in plenty of relationships over the years, but none has faired as well as Karamel. 

Before becoming a couple, Kara served as Mon-el’s mentor, schooling him in what it truly means to become a superhero. Living by a code, holding back your true strength, and making the hard decisions all in the name of justice.

As they learned more about each other, their feelings grew in exponential ways. Kara saw his true potential, while Mon-el understood everything she stood for. Their feelings of gratitude towards each other slowly became love. 

Fighting vicious extraterrestrials as a duo suited the two quite well, finding very little that could stand in the way of their might. This did not sit well with Mon-el’s mother and the coming Daxamite invasion.

Running low on options, it is decided that a trace amount of lead would have to be let into the Earth’s atmosphere to keep the Daxamite’s away. Of course, this also meant that Mon-el wouldn’t be able to live on the planet either, thus proving a heartbreaking end to the shorter than expected ship.

Mon-el stops by shortly to lend a hand a little down the road, but alas, it is revealed he has moved on and married someone else. Kara and Mon-el made peace with the situation, choosing to honor their friendship and the vows he had made to his wife.

10. Joe and Cecile (The Flash)

When Joe first met Cecile, they were both just two hardworking individuals wanting what is best for Central City. Their heart for other people was worn proudly on their sleeves, and it is easy to believe that this was what they admired most about each other. 

Working side by side to bring about honor and justice to metahumans and civilians alike, they learned the ins and outs of each other’s character bringing to light exactly what made them tick. Their relationship grew slowly but naturally, refusing to be forced in any way. 

It wasn’t until they were pregnant with a child that Cecile’s superpowers came into the picture. Normally, a major discovery could tear a newly joined couple apart, but these two held strong through the emotional ups and downs. This tremendous turn of events seemed to only make them stronger. 

Now that Joe has decided to resign from the police force, it is time for Cecile to emotionally support her husband similarly to the way he championed her. 

11. Alex and Kelly (Supergirl)

Alex is a woman who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. She made the hard decision of leaving Maggie so that she can be a mother. 

Kelly is a loving and accepting person who would never ask her partner to act out of character — even in the most desperate of situations. Instead, she shows her loved ones who they truly are.

Together their relationship takes them in new and exciting directions, pushing both of them beyond personal limits and forging them into the best versions of themselves.

Since they met, their personalities have more sparkle, and their commitments are more defined. Without each other for moral backup, Alex may have just given up hope on Kara’s disappearance. But Kelly reminded her of the underlying hope they have as being part of a team. 

12. Roy and Thea (Arrow)

Roy was the boy who stole Thea’s purse — and eventually her heart.

Once a common street thug, Roy Harper was the poster child for bad boys everywhere. Down on his luck and living in the Glades. He experienced a difficult childhood, learning to steal to eat. 

Being a partially reformed bad girl herself, Thea Queen hoped to take him under her wing and reform the poor lad. This proved to be even more arduous after he was infected with the serum known as Mirakuru. 

His already existing anger issues were magnified, making Roy extremely dangerous to handle in paramount predicaments.

Once Arrow gained this much-needed information, he helped Roy attain proper control of himself by revealing his true identity. 

Roy’s feelings for Thea are what grounded him in his time of need, cutting through the anger and bringing him into his safe place — Thea’s loving arms.

13. Barry and Iris (The Flash)

What is there to say about Barry and Iris that hasn’t already been said? The two characters from The Flash truly compliment each other in every way. 

Since being a young boy raised in the West household, Barry has held a candle only for Iris. He wished to only impress her, woo her, and find his way into her heart. Yet he never revealed his feeling for this incredible young lady. 

Even after acquiring his super-speed, Barry was still reluctant to open up to Iris, choosing to reset time for things to work out differently. 

As things progressed in real-time, the dead weight of unneeded relationships was stripped away, revealing that fate had this couple in mind the whole time. 

Just like a magnet, the two were slowly being drawn towards each other, and nothing could truly keep them apart. Not Eddie, nor Patty, or even the supervillain of the week could separate what was always meant to be.

Iris will always be Barry’s lightning rod.

14. Jefferson and Lynn (Black Lightning) 

Similar to Diggle and Lyla, Jefferson and Lynn were together long before Black Lightning ever found its way to the airwaves. 

Lynn knew Jefferson in his prime and saw firsthand the blood and bruises he received from each gang member that wreaked havoc on Freeland. Under her pleas, he decided to prematurely retire from the superhero business, even though it was too late to save their marriage. 

Staying connected over the years due to their children, Lynn and Jefferson never stopped seeing each other, at least in passing. 

Once Jefferson took the mantle of Black Lightning up again, Lynn shared her disapproval but still managed to do everything she could to keep her family safe. 

She eventually realized Jefferson’s calling in life was more important than her insecure feelings and begrudgingly allowed their daughters to join him on the battlefield. 

As a united front, the Pierce family took on any evil that dared set foot in Freeland, demonstrating that connectivity is one of the greatest superpowers.

15. Oliver and Felicity (Arrow)

Oliver and Felicity rewrote history. 

In the comics, Oliver Queen has always been seen by Black Canary’s side, making them one of the best superhero couples of all time. But through what appears to be fan participation on social media, the script was flipped and the titular hero ended up with someone completely different.

Felicity Smoak, a quirky computer hacker with the knowledge to upend corporations without a second thought, and Oliver Queen, the grittiest vigilante outside of Gotham, snuggled up to become the beauty and the geek.

Their relationship gave people everywhere hope for the unexpected, and the idea that a happy ending can come from anywhere — even a mundane day job.

I’d be lying if I told you their road wasn’t rocky, including a secret lovechild and paralysis, but time and time again they found each other at the bottom of the deepest pit and carried one another out into the light. 

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These 15 TV couples are prime examples of what a relationship can be — meaningful, sacrificial, and strengthening. We should all be grateful that these amazing shows of the Arrowverse are willing to paint a portrait of what true love looks like — no matter the gender, race, sexuality, or even species. 

Who are your top couples in the Arrowverse? Let us know in the comments below! 

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Arrowverse: Before They Were Heroes