Fan artists can be a strange bunch of lovable weirdos. Since the internet has become a platform that hosts anything and everything its users feel like expressing, talented artists have been using it to spread adorable tributes to their favorite characters.
Unfortunately, this also means that, in our search for the greatest and most unusual pieces of fan art, we’ve come across some bizarre fan-drawn couples that we never expected to see.
“Shipping” has been around since the human race first put pen to paper and created stories. In recent years, it’s been spreading like wildfire now that the internet has opened its doors to fanfiction and fan art.
Whether from a deep desire for characters to fulfil their destiny and be together or from a twisted urge to depict a romantic couple that would never work in a million years, shipping is a popular fixture of the best and oddest couples.
We’ve trawled the internet and collected a gallery of gems and eye sores from the fan art world.
Some pieces bring together two characters from different universes to create a couple that makes a lot of sense, while others, on the other hand, are guaranteed to make you want to remove your eyeballs from your head and forget you ever saw it.
From matches made in heaven to couples destined for the flames, here are 25 Fan Art Designs of Unexpected Cartoon Couples.
Maleficent and Doctor Doom
Maleficent and Doctor Doom are perhaps two of the fiercest villains, both with an appetite for destruction and domination. P
air them together and you undoubtedly have a formidable team– that is, if they can put their differences and egos aside.
The Mistress of All Evil and the ruthless dictator of Marvel’s fictional Scandinavian nation, Latveria, the two supervillains both hunger for power.
Perhaps their shared desire to rule with an iron fist could just make them the perfect couple?
Even if nothing romantic sprouts from their union, this fan art suggests more friction than flirting – and they certainly make for a frightening double act.
Gwen Stacey and Mary-Jane
Spider-Man is perhaps the unluckiest superhero in Marvel’s comic history, but to his high school friends, he’s the luckiest guy in Queens.
For over fifty years, Peter Parker has been landing dates with the smartest and most beautiful girls in his classes, despite his nerdy demeanor and tendency to disappear at the sign of trouble.
The most well-known of his teenage romances are Gwen Stacey and Mary-Jane Watson.
Spidey’s first love, Gwen, suffered a tragic fate at the hands of the Green Goblin, but had she survived the ordeal, perhaps she could have swapped the red tights for red hair?
Shego and Kim Possible
Throughout Kim Possible, no villain has caused quite as much trouble for Kim as Shego, a powerful mercenary who frequently works as muscle for the evil and incompetent Dr Drakken.
Although her allegiance primarily resides with supervillainy, Shego works with her own interests in mind, and isn’t above working with Kim if the situation is more beneficial for her.
As this art suggestions, perhaps she found a fondness for her rival thanks to their shared athletic and combative abilities.
If Shego ever decided to hang up the black and green Lycra, her respect for Kim could turn into something worth pursuing.
Johnny Bravo and Samurai Jack
As a brazen, arrogant self-proclaimed ladies’ man, Johnny Bravo is a buff, tough womanizer with a heart of gold. Despite his constant efforts, his successes with the babes, chicks, and dames are sadly few and far between.
Our advice would be to take a hint and ditch the girls for something a little more stable and reliable– someone who’s equally shredded, but with the wise, contented demeanor needed to tackle Johnny’s hot-headedness.
Gifted with the ways of the Japanese sword, Samurai Jack could be Johnny’s ideal match.
The couple would at least prevent the female inhabitants of Aron City from being menaced by a smooth-talking Elvis lookalike.
Elsa and Jack Frost
Although they occupy vastly different universes, and even come from different times, we think Elsa and Jack Frost’s shared command over the deep cold could lead to something a bit steamier.
With the ability to conjure life out of a pile of snow and ice, perhaps Elsa could even teach Jack a thing or two about his powers.
Thanks to their abilities and similarly adorable designs, Elsa and Jack is one of the more widespread fan couples, and you don’t have to look too hard to find beautiful tributes to their hypothetical romance.
Batman and the Flash
Batman’s never really had time for the Fastest Man Alive.
Though Barry Allen (and his other incarnations) is a trusted member of the Justice League, and invaluable when world-saving is the order of the day, his smarmy antics and tiresome pranks are particularly irritating for a Caped Crusader who spends his nights dealing with wise-cracking villains like the Joker and the Riddler.
Maybe some fun is just what the world-weary detective needs, though.
It’s hard work being the fastest and smartest superheroes in the League, and nothing relieves the tension like a good old fashioned summer fling.
Hiccup and Merida
As another popular Dreamworks/Disney couple, Hiccup and Merida both share a resentment towards their family tradition and an affinity for unconventional and dangerous animal companions.
You would be forgiven for thinking that the couple wouldn’t have to travel too far to kindle their romance, as Hiccup lives among a community of Vikings who, like Merida, speak with a Scottish accent.
However, the legendary Island of Berk is likely nowhere near the top of the British Isles, as Vikings hailed from Norway.
There’s no doubt, though, that Hiccup’s faithful winged friend, Toothless, has the wing power to sail across the North Sea to find true love.
Ice King and Flame Princess
As the very opposite of Elsa and Jack Frost’s shared elemental affinity, Ice King and Flame Princess, from Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, are complete and total opposites.
Maybe opposites attract, but fire and ice is a dangerous combination.
Flame Princess is liable to either melt or scold the Ice King if she got too close, although, of all the weirdos in the Land of Ooo, Ice King is definitely the most likely to be into something that risqué.
For this couple to work, Ice King needs to give up his creepy obsession with kidnapping Princesses. Perhaps he could do this by understanding his previous identity, Simon Petrikov, a little more.
Naruto and Sakura
As a rarity for a series so long, especially an anime, the two most prominent characters of the popular Naruto series have never been romantically involved, despite its fans being some of the most vocal shippers in fandom history.
Throughout both Naruto and Naruto Shippuden’s run of over 700 episodes, the couple never actually came to be, despite Naruto’s intense feelings in earlier episodes.
Luckily, the two ninjas have found love, with Naruto maturing past his teenage infatuations and beginning a relationship with fellow ninja Hinata Hyūga and Sakura ending up with Saskue.
However, this hasn’t stopped fan artists from depicting the outcome that they actually wanted.
Raven and Beast Boy
This is a couple that pairs the most reserved and stoic of the Teen Titans with the most irritating spells certain disaster.
Robin and Starfire have always had an air of “will they, won’t they” about them, and Cyborg’s cybernetic framework means that he probably doesn’t have much going for him in the romance department, which leaves Raven and Beast Boy as a potential, if unlikely, pairing.
Shippers have always had a thing for unlikely duos.
The dangerous combination of a frenetic, green super-powered teen and an icy cold gothic sorceress is a popular fan couple, despite being about as ill-advised as giving Cyborg a bath.
Todd and Mr. Peanut Butter
The world rejoiced when Bojack Horseman was released on Netflix in 2014. Not only does the off-beat, introspective animated comedy open the doors to fan art galore, but the show actively encourages it with plenty of inter-species relationships.
This includes couples of humans and their feathered/furred/scaled friends. It’s finally a show that fulfils the fantasy of marrying your dog.
The dog in question is Mr. Peanut Butter, shown here in an embrace with Todd Chavez, who is later revealed as asexual.
Even if the couple can never blossom into romance, not even Todd can resist Mr. Peanut Butter’s cheesy one-liners.
Pearl and Ice King
As mentioned before, Ice King didn’t always haunt his icy lair and terrorise the Princesses of Ooo. Before he found the powerful, jewelled crown that constantly adorns his pale blue head, the Ice King was a gentle intellectual and the kindly guardian of the Vampire Queen Marceline.
Take away the corrupting crown, and Ice King could be the perfect match for one of Steven Universe’s three heroic guardians, Pearl.
As a member of the Crystal Gems, Pearl protects Earth from monsters and invaders, but in her downtime, she is much need of companionship after her previous love, Rose Quartz, disappeared to make way for Stephen.
Captain Hook and Cruella de Vil
Shipping Disney villains is like pitting a starved lion against an enraged rhinoceros– it’s fun to watch, but ultimately ill-advised, morally questionable, and terrifying.
At least these two reprehensible characters aren’t vying for world domination.
The combination of a morbid fashion obsession and an unquenchable thirst for petty revenge could add up to the perfect couple.
When Captain Hook is finally able to escape Peter Pan’s taunting, and his over-crowded pirate ship, he could do worse than a Dalmation-obsessed fashionista.
Princess Peach and Pauline
Before Princess Peach got caught between the affections of a rabid Koopa King and an over-zealous Italian plumber, Mario, who was known before as simply “Jump Man,” there was a different damsel in distress who needed saving.
Pauline, the original captor in Mario’s first appearance in the revolutionary arcade game Donkey Kong, was the plumber’s original sweetheart.
Tired of being at the mercy of horrible, giant creatures with a fixation of kidnapping women that could rival Ice King’s, this fan art shows Pauline and Princess Peach as a couple.
They are both clearly fed up with the hassle, ditching the plumber and running away together.
Goku and Vegeta
Cartoon heroes and their rivals forming a couple make for some of the cutest and bemusing pieces of fan art.
No rivalry has quite exceeded the number of over-the-top, overcompensating shouting matches as that of Goku and Vegeta’s obsessions with each other throughout the entirety of Dragon Ball Z.
After suffering defeat at the hands of Goku, Vegeta hasn’t been able to get the Super Saiyan out of his mind. He has even reluctantly turned to good for brief periods to help Goku battle more pressing threats.
This fan artist definitely thinks that this rivalry smells more like a romantic obsession than like a battle of strength.
Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars
Usagi Tsukino and Rei Hino may look like ordinary Japanese schoolgirls, but, after the former meets a magical black cat who grants her lunar powers, the two girls, as well as their group of quirky school friends, hide a magical secret.
Decked out in traditional, adorable Japanese sailor uniforms, this celestial supergroup frequently do battle with dark sorcerers and evil clans.
Saving the world on the regular is a tough job, and the fact that Usagi and Rei do battle for an all-girl team is surely no deterrent for a little romantic fun on the side.
Violet and Wilbur
Fan art can lead you to places you’d never suspect. Apparently not one but several artists think that, despite Violet Parr landing a date with the smouldering Tony Rydinger at the end of The Incredibles, her perfect match is, in fact, Wilbur Robinson.
As possibly one of Disney’s least remembered animated movies, Meet the Robinsons features Wilbur as the son of a family of superheroes and mad scientists from the future.
Perhaps this artist thinks that the couple is destined to bond over their kooky, impossible families.
Apparently this artist isn’t the only one, however, as this surprising couple is among the most popular. This means that there’s a lot more fan art where this came from.
Rick and Grunckle Stan
We have the tight friendship between animation superstars Justin Roiland and Alex Hirsch to thank for a brief crossover Easter egg that brought the worlds of Gravity Falls and Rick and Morty together for one glorious second.
Unfortunately, we also have them to thank for this unwise coupling of two eccentric, unstable inventors.
One is a nihilistic alcoholic, while the other is a purveyor of the so-called “Mystery Shack.”
On paper, they’re two scientific peas in a mentally unstable pod. However, couple them together, and Rick’s psychotic, alcohol-fuelled rages could turn ugly and force them apart.
Paranorman and Coraline
Laika Studios is known for their offbeat, dark and fantastical adventure movies, as well as for keeping stop motion animation alive and kicking.
Imagine if Tim Burton had ditched live action for good, and instead focused on quirky, Gothic horror for kids in the vein of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride.
Their first two movies, Coraline and Paranorman, feature intrepid young adventurers who embark on a macabre and sinister journey into the supernatural.
After being traumatised by ghouls, spirits, and parental doppelgangers, it’s only natural that these terrified teens might be drawn together.
Wreck-it Ralph and Elsa
File this under “cursed images that we want erased from our cerebral cortexes.” With Disney’s Frozen being released only a year after their video game epic Wreck-it Ralph, it was inevitable that someone was going to pair the big fella with the most popular Disney Princess yet.
We just weren’t expecting a baby to be the end result, however.
Both characters begin their stories as feared antagonists, but the two misunderstood heroes eventually learn to harness their unpredictable powers.
If Ralph was larger than a few pixels on an arcade screen, the pair might make for a surprisingly effective couple.
