The Spider-Man movies are among the most charming in the MCU and a lot of that has to do with the relationships they feature. From the adorable romance between Peter and MJ to the loyal friendship between Peter and Ned, these relationships really strike a chord with viewers.
However, not all the relationships featured in the trilogy have been pitch-perfect. Whether they were romantic couples that never clicked or forced partnerships that caused more problems than they solved, these were the relationships in the Spider-Man movies that fans couldn't get behind.
Tony And May
Though Tony Stark actually met Aunt May in Captain America: Civil War, the one-sided flirtation continued on into the solo Spider-Man: Homecoming. Though Aunt May is certainly a beautiful woman, the way Tony would tease his young protégé about that was just weird.
To her credit, Aunt May seemed totally unimpressed by Tony's charms and seemed to see him as something of a bad influence for Peter at first. It was good to see Tony reconcile with Pepper eventually which seemed to be the stable relationship he needed.
Mr. Harrington And Mr. Dell
The high school aspect of the MCU Spider-Man movies has been one of the highlights of the franchise. It has also introduced some fan-favorite characters with Peter's teachers, including Mr. Harrington and Mr. Dell who end up taking Peter's class on their European trip.
However, these two are not exactly the most qualified people to be overseeing a group of children. They make for a mismatched pair who spend most of the time bickering and make a mess of the vacation even before it gets interrupted by Mysterio.
Flash And Spider-Man
While Flash Thompson is usually seen as the muscle-bound bully who constantly torments Peter Parker in the comics, the MCU version of the character is more of a rich and entitled bully. However, adding another fun twist, he is also one of Spider-Man's biggest fans.
Flash's praise of Spider-Man while insulting Peter to his face is very funny but makes his later claims of being Spider-Man's best friend pretty hard to take, especially when he blackmails Peter into saying so.
MJ And Brad
In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter developed a crush on MJ but found himself with a romantic rival in the form of Brad. Though he was initially a younger schoolmate, Brad caught up to Peter and the others in age thanks to the Blip and also set his sights on MJ.
While he initially seemed like a nice guy who happened to like MJ too, Brad gradually got pettier and conniving in his pursuit of MJ. He never really seemed to consider that she might not want to date him and was surprised when she called him out for his treatment of Peter.
Peter And Karen
As Peter attempted to follow in Tony Stark's footsteps, it made sense that he would also get his own Jarvis-like A.I. system which he named Karen. However, whereas Jarvis often tried to temper Tony's worst impulses, Karen seems like a bad influence on Peter.
She has him using the suit's most dangerous features like the Instant Kill mode and advises him to kiss Liz while he is attempting to rescue his fellow classmates. Honestly, he is better off with his simpler suit.
Ned And Betty
While Ned was advising Peter not to get in a relationship during their overseas trip, Ned himself ended up doing just that on the flight over as he struck up a surprising relationship with Betty Brant. The two seemed to fall head-over-heels for each other almost immediately but their romance was deeply annoying.
From the way they constantly checked in with each other to their sickening pet names for each other, it was a hilarious example of how silly young love can be. The fact that they both seemed to get tired of the romance by the end of the trip is not surprising.
Peter And Stephen
Doctor Strange is not the most personable of the MCU heroes and even Peter can't seem to get through his sometimes icy demeanor. But Spider-Man: No Way Home really puts their relationship through a lot, even turning them into enemies of sorts.
Though Strange initially takes pity on Peter for his identity being revealed and tries to help him, the spell gone wrong really tests his patience with the young hero. Their companionship is made worse when Peter ends up leaving Strange dangling over the Grand Canyon.
May And Happy
While May did not seem overly interested in Tony Stark, his former bodyguard Happy Hogan managed to charm her enough to start a brief fling. The problem was that they seemed to have very different ideas of what the relationship was.
Happy was ittedly a bit too clingy and thought their relationship was something serious while May never saw a long future in it. Still, Happy's heartbreaking reaction to May's tragic death in Spider-Man: No Way Home showed just how much he cared.
Peter And Liz
Given how charming the romance between Peter and MJ has been, fans may have completely forgotten that she was not his first love interest. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter had a crush on Liz Allen, one of the most popular and smartest girls in school.
However, the relationship is a great example of how difficult it is for Peter to juggle his life as Peter and as Spider-Man. While MJ found out his secret identity very early on, that tricky balance made his romance with Liz impossible as he constantly had to ditch her and ended up sending her father to prison.
