Earlier this week I celebrated 16 years of wedded bliss with a truly amazing woman. Now, we’ve had our ups and downs, as all marriages do, but I wouldn’t trade what I have with her for all of the Valerian steel in the six kingdoms, or is it seven? Anyway, what I am saying is I can’t imagine wanting to be like anyone else’s marriage because I am happy with what we have built together.

But, as I reflected on the past 16 years, I started to think about how it relates to my various fandoms. The truth is, generally, superheroes are crap at relationships. Matt sucks at it, so does Logan (or James), Scott and Jean are just too much. Bruce doesn’t even try and don’t get me started on Lois and Clark. But there is one couple who rose above the rest… one that, if I had to pick to emulate, this would be the one.

I’m talking about my favorite pilot and first mate, Wash and Zoe! Look back at the whole of Firefly. There is not one instance where the two of them are not ideal. They love each other for their differences, not in spite of them. And they complement each other perfectly. And, the one time that Wash was feeling insecure because he wasn’t a soldier, Zoe was right there to show him how stupid he was… and settled it by reminding him, if you know what I mean! 😉

The two of them adventured together, but were not afraid to let each other be who they were. It isn’t often that you see a strong female character on TV, let alone one that is in a committed relationship. Standard television would have had Zoe belittling Wash constantly, making him the butt of all of her jokes. Thank you, Joss, for not going that route. Thank you for showing a loving couple with two strong personalities that grew because of each other.

So, there you have it. In many ways I do see similarities between Zoe and Wash in my marriage, but we do have our own unique energy and flow. And I don’t plan on getting a huge spike through my chest as I park my SUV. But ask Dawn to tell you about the time we hit black ice and I drove like it was a leaf on the wind!