In the history of Marvel Comics there are millions upon millions of different realities with new versions of beloved characters, conflicts, and romances. But one of the most intriguing can be found on Earth -3490 – the reality where Captain America and Iron Man actually get married.
Considering there are millions of different realities in the Marvel Multiverse, it should actually come as little surprise that in one of them, Stark and Rogers get married. Sure, many fans may argue that if Peggy Carter were out of the picture, Captain America and Bucky getting together would make the most sense (Steve’s only made a few lifelong connections, after all). Unfortunately for those surprised at such a progressive re-imagining of The Avengers’ top two men, the reality in question is also the one where Howard and Maria Stark raised a daughter, not a son. Still, the revelation that gender might be the only hurdle between Steve and Tony is one fans probably won’t want to miss.
In 2009’s Dark Reign: The Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Sean Chen, Lorenzo Ruggiero, John Rauch, and Rus Wooton, the Fantastic Four team is stuck in the reality-bending super-computer called The Bridge. After H.A.M.M.E.R. interferes with the power supply, Sue, Reed, Johnny, and Ben are sent back in time. Reed tries to pinpoint where things went wrong and The Bridge points him to Marvel’s ramification-filled Civil War.
The Bridge tells Reed over 12 million realities enacted the Super Hero Registration Act that ended up causing the first Marvel Civil War. Of those realities, just over 3 million resulted in conflict. Among those realities, just over 400 resulted in a peaceful outcome. Reed explores those realities and references the times Tony Stark was not involved in the conflict. In Earth-3490 the conflict was avoided thanks to Captain America, Steve Rogers and Iron Woman, Natasha Stark getting married.
In Earth-3940, Stark is born as a woman named Natasha and not as Tony. Thanks to her romantic involvement with Captain America, the aggressive behavior that started the Civil War conflict was stopped and allowed Reed to successfully complete the Super Hero Registration Program. While it’s not Tony and Steve romantically involved, at least on one Earth Cap and Iron Woman’s romance prevented the Civil War. Her armor looks similar to Tony’s, although it’s unclear whether it’s his coolest and grossest version of the suit.
The experiment continues, with Reed witnessing even more outcomes of many other Earths. On Earth-26, he stripped heroes of their powers, leading to a peaceful outcome without the initiative. On Earth-1735, Stark’s absence and the fact Steve Rogers was recovered in ice after the initiative program took place prevented the Civil War. But no other glimpse of one where love between the two leaders was more important than their disagreement. Making Steve and Natasha something special.
Each reality has a different set of circumstances. Some are peaceful, some are at war. Some are not technologically advanced, some are stuck in the dark ages. Some have superheroes fighting one another, others have avoided the Civil War. And, in Captain America and Iron Woman’s case, at least one has their unexpected romantic partnership.
