You guys remember the last relationship I talked about? How I went on and on about how much I loved complicated, messy love affairs in fiction? WHATEVER. C'mon, I never said I was consistent, people. So, with that in mind, I will now describe the adorable, often hilarious and altogether charming love affair of . . .
6. Ice & Guy Gardner
I'm not alone in my love of Guy Gardner and Tora Olafsdotter, by any means. These two crazy kids met back in one of my favorite series, Keith Giffen's comedic run on the Justice League. Guy was a grade-A jerk and Tora was hilariously naive. Still, rather than going the expected route and having a somewhat crass Guy take advantage of Tora's naivety, he fell in love with her so soundly that it changed his character forever. Ice saw a side of him nobody else did. She even turned out to be just about the only person who Guy would listen to whenever he was in a rage and, on rare occasions, vice versa.
(Okay, maybe not so rare occasions. This is what happens when you don't vent, Tora)
Guy's personality flipped-flopped from milquetoast to alpha male but Tora loved him all the same. Their relationship, more than any other, provided me with the most glee in the Giffen-era JLA. Only Tora and Guy could make a whole issue of going to the Ice Capades together compulsory reading. Hell, I even loved reading about them just talking about their feelings.
Now, Ralph and Sue Dibny very nearly made this list but I changed my mind at the last second. This was mostly due to the heinous, disgusting storyline called Identity Crisis and what they ended up doing to Sue. Even the awesome story of Ralph's journey in 52 couldn't redeem what they'd done unnecessarily to the Dibnys. Plus, unlike Sue, Tora has been subsequently raised back from the dead (thanks, Gail Simone!). Let's take a gander at what happens when two old lovers reunite after a small case of death, shall we?
Seems like Guy's getting the cold shoulder for now but I refuse to give up hope. This is the only loving relationship to survive from my favorite DC Comics run of the JLA and I'm darned protective of it. Let's hope that they find their way back from this Superman Returns moment -
all the way to this Say Anything moment -
In any case, thanks to Keith Giffen and everyone who made Tora and Guy happen. Some days I just want to read a sweet, simple romance tinged with comedy. Most days, however, I want explosions and kick-ass alien fights. Luckily, with Guy and Tora? I almost always get both.
Almost.
BONUS ICY CONTENT!
Love On Ice!
And much more disturbingly, Ice on Love!
3 comments:
Well this is something of a coincidence. I just spent most of Sunday going through all of my old JLI's and sighing over Guy and Tora.
They are my favorite couple. The path of love didn't run too smoothly however, which you certainly start to notice when you read all the books together in one huge lump.
However, being on old softie, I DO hope that they manage to patch things up soon. I do believe that the upcoming March issue of Blue Beetle has Guy and Tora in it, not to mention Booster and Fire. Woohoo!
Well, hey, you know what they say about great minds. Oh, and mine too, apparently.
They're just so darn sweet, you can't help but be charmed. I haven't reread my Giffen issues in a while and stopped reading the title after his run, so to be honest, this was mostly just a trip down Nostalgia Lane. I'm sure it's lumpier than I recall it but I still love 'em anyways.
I've got my fingers crossed as well. I keep wondering why I'm not collecting Blue Beetle - it's got old school charm to spare and excellent taste in guest stars. I need to drop something mediocre to take it's place. *goes to critically examine pull list*
Oh, Blue Beetle has charm coming out of its armpits! He's teamed up with some very interesting people, and the second one with Guy was particularly hilarious.
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