You're not a real superhero in the comic book universe unless you have a supervillain to fight, and the epic clashes between heroes and villains are something legends are made of. However, a lot of enemies do more than just fight. Many superheroes and supervillains have a love/hate relationship with each other, literally and figuratively. Sometimes opposites attract, after all. It seems like any time a male hero has a female villain or vice versa, the two of them end up hooking up. Then again, villain/hero pairings aren't just relegated to the heterosexual persuasion.
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Over the years, a lot of these odd couples have ended up together, and a few even have children. As you can imagine, that can go one way or the other. It's just like in the real world, except they have problems that go way beyond the usual couples' spat. Sometimes the child is the thing that ends the parents' feud, but other times the child actually makes things worse and more complicated. The child, on the other hand, has a lot of baggage to deal with, including whether to follow in the footsteps of its heroic or evil parent. CBR has combed through the stacks to bring you 16 times that mortal enemies in comics had kids together, sometimes with a very loose definition of "kid."
16 MAGNETO AND ROGUE
In the mainstream Marvel universe, the metal-controlling mutant Magneto is one of the most powerful enemies of the X-Men, and Rogue is an X-Man with the power to absorb power from others, which keeps her from being able to touch anyone. In a different universe called "Age of Apocalypse," Magneto discovered he was immune to her power and that allowed him to get close to her in more ways than one. They had a child together named Charles Lehnsherr who first appeared in 1995's X-Men: Alpha #1 (Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, Roger Cruz, Steve Epting).
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In the alternate universe, Magneto and Rogue tried to hide their child from Apocalypse, but Charles was eventually captured. Magneto confronted Apocalypse and even killed him, making Magneto a hero to the world. Unfortunately, Charles apparently was killed by Doc Ock off-panel, but still left an impression.
15 HULK AND THUNDRA
You wouldn't think a green rage monster like the Hulk would have time for love, but you'd be wrong. Thundra (first appearing in Fantastic Four #129 by Roy Thomas and John Buscema) was a warrior from a future where women had taken over and held men as slaves. She served as an enemy and later ally of the Fantastic Four.
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In 2008's Hulk: Raging Thunder #1, Jeff Parker, Gerry Conway, Mitch Breitweiser and Ramona Fradon introduced the daughter of Hulk and Thundra. Lyra lived in the future, but traveled back in time to try to prevent the extinction of her people. She found herself allying with other heroes, becoming the Savage She-Hulk of the present. The last we saw her, she had traveled to the magical dimension of Weirdworld.
14 BATMAN AND CATWOMAN
Another famous hero who's fallen for his enemy is Batman. One of his longest-running enemies is Catwoman, a thief who plays by her own moral code and has an attraction to the Dark Knight. The two fought and worked together dozens of times, and it seems like she's one of the few who can melt his heart.
While the two haven't co-parented on Earth-One, DC Super Stars #17 in 1977 (Dennis O'Neil, Mike Grell) introduced Helena Wayne in Earth-Two, the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. She grew up to become the Huntress after her mother was blackmailed into becoming Catwoman and died. The new Huntress joined the Justice Society of America and was a credit to her parents, even though she was killed during Crisis on Infinite Earths.
13 APOCALYPSE AND JEAN GREY
Our next and stranger couple is the super-powerful and long-living mutant Apocalypse (who's tried to kill vast numbers of people on more than one occasion) and the super-powerful psychic mutant Jean Grey. This one is stranger because Apocalypse created their child on his own using DNA from himself and Jean Grey, which is probably easier than the more traditional courtship of some wine and a Michael Bolton CD.
The clone, first introduced in 2000's X-Men: Millennial Visions (Jim Calafiore), came to be known as Armageddon. Apocalypse wanted him to be the ultimate weapon. Fortunately for the alternate reality where this happened, Armageddon rebelled and joined the X-Men instead. After killing his father, Armageddon went on to fight the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and become a valued member of the team.
12 BISHOP AND DEATHBIRD
In 2004's X-Men: The End #1 (Chris Claremont, Sean Chen), Aliyah Bishop was introduced, the daughter of time-traveling mutant Bishop and the alien Shi'Ar supervillain Deathbird. After the two were forced to work closely together during an alien invasion, Deathbird and Bishop earned a grudging respect for each other that turned into an actual romance.
In X-Men: The End, we saw a possible future where Bishop and Deathbird had a daughter, Aliyah. Aliyah joined the X-Men to fight against a new Brood invasion, a revived Cassandra Nova and the Shi'Ar Empire. Aliyah proved herself to be a strong and capable warrior who made her family proud, even as she ended up fighting the last stand with the X-Men.
11 STARMAN AND MIST
The pairing between Starman and Mist involves two generations. We're not talking about Ted Knight, the original Golden Age Starman, but his son, Jack Knight. We're also not talking about the original Mist, but the Mist's daughter, Nash. When the original Mist decided to kill the original Starman, the two children became arch-enemies.
They didn't stay enemies for long, because in 1998's Starman #38 (James Robinson, Dusty Abell), it was revealed that Jack had a son with Mist II named Kyle Knight. Mist wanted to raise Kyle to grow up to be a supervillain, but when the original Mist betrayed her by trying to blow up the city along with her, she died handing Jack his son. Jack ended up retiring from the hero business to care for Kyle. Some things are more important.
10 RED ARROW AND CHESHIRE
Roy Harper is better known as the sidekick-formerly-known-as-Speedy, the kid who fought alongside Green Arrow since the 1940s. Harper has been a world-class archer who went on to become a core member of the Teen Titans, and changed his name to Arsenal and later Red Arrow. Along the way, Harper tried to gain the confidence of a martial artist supervillain who called herself Cheshire, but instead of turning her in, he fell in love with her.
The two of them had an affair that led to a child named Lian Harper, who first appeared in 1986's New Teen Titans #21 by Marv Wolfman and Eduardo Barreto. Tragically, Lian died, driving Harper to become the anti-hero Arsenal, but she returned in the Convergence event in 2015. She's his pride and joy.
9 CAPTAIN DYNAMO AND CHRYSALIS
The DC universe has Superman, and the Image universe has Captain Dynamo, both legendary superpowered heroes. Captain Dynamo, however, isn't as noble as Superman. In fact, he was a super-jerk. The superhero cheated on his wife with multiple women, having six secret children with them. One of those women was his supposed enemy, Chrysalis. It turned out that hate had turned to attraction, and the result was a daughter named Cynthia.
Cynthia was first introduced in 2007's Dynamo 5 #5 (Jay Faerber, Mahmud Asrar), about five children of Captain Dynamo who work together to follow their father's legacy. Cynthia, on the other hand, became Synergy, a bitter enemy of the team. Dynamo 5 and Cynthia were a Shakespearean tragedy who fought each other for their father's legacy.
8 NORMAN OSBORN AND GWEN STACY
When you think of Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy, you probably think of 1973's The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (Gerry Conway, Gil Kane) where the Green Goblin threw Stacy off the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a tragic and classic story, but there was another even more controversial moment after that.
In 2004's The Amazing Spider-Man "Sins Past" arc (starting in #509 by J. Michael Straczynski and Mike Deodato Jr.), Peter discovered that Osborn impregnated Stacy before she died. The children were raised by Osborn, his mutated blood making them grow into adults within a decade, and the twins attacked Spider-Man, blaming him for their mother's death. In reality, the whole thing was an attempt to change Straczynski's idea of Parker as the twins' father, because Marvel thought it made Spider-Man look too old.
7 HANK PYM AND TIGRA
Hank Pym has been around for decades as the tiny hero Ant-Man or the gigantic Giant-Man, depending on how he sets his equipment. Tigra is another superhero who went through an experiment that let her change into a half-cat half-human form. When the two worked together on the Avengers, they had a brief affair, so they're not really enemies.
What Tigra didn't know is that Pym had been replaced by an alien Skrull who could change shape and fought the Avengers for control of Earth. After the Skrull agent was killed, Tigra discovered she was pregnant and gave birth to a son who first appeared in 2010's Avengers: The Initiative #35 (Christos Gage, Jorge Molina). It turned out the Skrull had copied Pym to the genetic level, making the child biologically Pym's.
6 ALAN SCOTT AND THORN
The Golden Age Green Lantern was Alan Scott, and one of his enemies was Rose Canton, better known as Thorn. Thorn had a split personality whose evil side could control plants, making her a deadly enemy of Scott and the Flash. At one point, she was cured and married Scott under a new identity. They had two children who came to be Obsidian and Jade, introduced in All-Star Squadron #25 (Roy Thomas, Jerry Ordway) in 1983.
Obsidian's real name was Todd Rice, and he was raised in an adopted family until his late teens, when he found his twin sister, Jennie-Lynn Hayden. They discovered they both had powers and became founding members of Infinity, Inc., a superhero group of the children, grandchildren, and protégés of members of the Justice Society of America.
5 GREEN ARROW AND SHADO
When we talked about Red Arrow having an affair with his enemy, he was just following in the footsteps of his mentor. Oliver Queen, who fights crime as Green Arrow, began fighting Shado (a Yakuza assassin) when she committed a series of murders in his city. The two went from enemies to allies and much, much more.
In 1989's Green Arrow #37 (Mike Grell, Rick Hoburg), it was revealed that while he was delirious from pain and medication, Shado took advantage of the situation and had sex with him, falling pregnant with his son, Robert Queen. She kept the father a secret for years, even as she was blackmailed into trying to kill Green Arrow for the cure. Their family has been a complex but rewarding one.
4 THOR AND THE ENCHANTRESS
Even gods aren't immune to the charms of their enemies, and Thor and the Enchantress are proof of that. The god of thunder has a fiery temper and even more fiery passions, and the Enchantress is an ancient sorceress whose presence is as bewitching as her powers. She's been one of Thor's greatest enemies, so it's inevitable that they hooked up.
In 2002's Thor #50 (Jose Armenta, Joe Bennett), we saw an alternate future where Thor and the Enchantress had a son called Magni. Thor held humanity in subjugation to him, and took over the "family business" when he grew up, saving Earth while Thor ruled Asgard. Magni ceased to exist when Thor went back in time to stop himself from conquering Earth in the first place.
3 XAVIER AND MAGNETO
Charles Xavier is the founder of the X-Men, and Magneto is the founder of the Brotherhood of Mutants, another group of mutants determined to make sure that their species becomes the dominant race on Earth. The two of them were once friends, but had a falling out when their methods diverged. The two have continued to try to bring each other to their cause, even while trying to kill one another.
Their relationship changed when Xavier used his psychic powers to shut down Magneto's mind. Somehow, Xavier's subconscious merged with Magneto's to form a psychic being that had its full introduction in 1996's X-Men #53 (Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, Andy Kubert). The offspring of the two's powers, Onslaught became a major villain in the Marvel universe, so Xavier and Magneto weren't too happy with their "child."
2 BATMAN AND TALIA AL GHUL
We're going back to Batman again, who's been a lover and a fighter. One of his deadliest and most attractive enemies has been Talia al Ghul, the daughter of the ancient evil Ra's al Ghul. Since her first appearance, Talia al Ghul has been trying to marry Batman, and he's found himself drawn to her. Since you've gotten this far, you've probably figured out they ended up having a child together.
Their child was introduced in an alternate continuity and several more after that with different names, but 2006's Batman #655 (Grant Morrison, Andy Kubert) introduced Damien Wayne in the official mainstream continuity. Genetically perfected and raised by the League of Assassins, he became the new Robin after his father's death.
1 SUPERMAN AND LEX LUTHOR
The story that led Superman and Lex Luthor to have a "child" together is long and complicated, but you probably guessed that. In 1993, Superman was killed by Doomsday and Adventures of Superman #500 (Karl Kesel, Tom Grummett) introduced a new version of Superboy, created by Project Cadmus as a young clone who was given the Kryptonian name Kon-El by Superman.
All along, everyone believed that Superboy was a human who had been genetically altered to copy Superman's powers using a bioelectric aura. In 2003's Teen Titans #1 (Geoff Johns, Mike McKone), Superboy was emailed by Robin who had discovered a shocking secret. Superboy was actually a clone created using DNA from both Superman and Lex Luthor. That makes Kon-El the biological "child" of both Superman and Lex Luthor!
What's your favorite child-bearing couple? Let us know in the comments!