Ever notice something, we rarely talk about mothers in comics, be it DC or Marvel, and in spite of motherhood actually being a huge part of any superheroes' psyche. We just feel that we don't celebrate motherhood in comics enough. What are Superheroes without their moms, anyway? Sure, each superhero is nurtured in their own way, according to the specifics of their origin. But who gives birth to them, after all?
Motherhood doesn't stop at birthing in funny papers either. Moms are committed to raising wonderful children. That being said, just like everything else, bad moms aren't unheard of in DC Comics. Here's our list of 5 best and 5 worst moms in the DC universe!
10 BEST MOM: BIANCA REYES, BLUE BEETLE
Bianca Reyes' son Jaime Reyes is the third Blue Beetle and Teen Titan. Throughout her appearances in the Blue Beetle comics, Bianca Reyes did her best to raise Jaime as a decent and responsible human being. Knowing that her son was no ordinary kid, she tried her level best to nurture him the right way.
This includes telling Jaime from time to time he must act responsibly with his superpowers. Call her a strict mother, for she had a no-nonsense attitude towards indiscipline. In the name of supporting her child, she once joined forces with Jaime when a fight broke out in El Paso hospital. Way to go, Bianca!
9 WORST MOM: CATWOMAN, HELENA
There are two ways to look at this story in Catwoman #53. Selina Kyle aka Cat Woman was discharged from her duties as Catwoman. She hung up her costume and was a mama to baby Helena. You'd think she does this to raise Helena, but no. Instead, she gives Helena up for adoption.
We can hear Catwoman fans scream that Selina was forced to give her child up. But that's really not the case. She begins to question her abilities as a mother when criminals Film Freak and Angle Man succeed in kidnapping her baby. Shouldn't her fierce nature as Catwoman have helped here? She dumped her child for she was too weak to take responsibility.
8 BEST MOM: HIPPOLYTA, WONDER WOMAN
The wonder mom to her daughter Diana, Queen Hippolyta did her best to nurture a true Amazonian. Diana owes her good-human qualities to her mother. Being the Queen that she was, Hippolyta wanted Diana to help with numerous ruling duties and ultimately take the mantle.
But that wasn't Diana, of course. Hippolyta forbade her daughter from taking part in the contest to send a champion in 'Man's World'. But once Diana became Wonder Woman, she cried and wished her child good luck.
7 WORST MOM: TALIA AL GHUL
Talia al Ghul and Batman had a baby together, Batman's only heir Damian Wayne. It is heavily implied in the story that Talia seduced Batman into bed and that Batman was reluctant.
Now here's the catch: Talia didn't raise Damian the right way. Instead, she put him in the company of the league of Assasins at a very young age. She trained Damian to be a ruthless killer with the sole mission of killing Batman. That, of course, didn't work out in her favor. Damian chose to follow his father's footsteps. So Talia cloned Damian's DNA and engineered a boy called the Heretic. Heretic resented Damian Wayne from the very beginning and ended up killing him.
6 BEST MOM: LINDA PARK, IRIS, AND JAI
Give this woman a medal already. Linda Parker West worked on television as a successful reporter before marrying the third flash, Wally West. She mothers two children from Wally, Iris, and Jai.
She left her job to cater full-time to her children. And get this - Linda became their doctor and she studied medicine. All of this was done just so she could keep pace with her twins' speed abilities. Not to mention how Linda smothered her children with constant love, care, and affection.
5 WORST MOM: SYLVIA JOANNA KOVACS, RORSCHACH
Sylvia Joanna single-handedly defines what it means to be an abusive parent in all of DC. Have you seen her? She had Walter with a person she didn't know the surname name of, except for the 'Charlie' part. Not giving your son the right of knowing his father aside, she moved him into dingy apartments consistently.
She regularly hit Walter and cursed at him mercilessly. Years of enduring constant abuse turned Walter into Rorschach, the looney anti-hero.
4 BEST MOM: ROSA VASQUEZ, SHAZAM!
The gorgeous Rosa Vasquez is Billy Batson's foster mother. Billy Batson, as we know, is the secret identity of Shazam! Rosa Vasquez visited Billy Batson in a foster home, with her husband Victor Vasquez. Rosa is the adoptive mother of Billy Batson and prides herself on being a foster mom.
You've to give Rosa and her husband Victor due credit for doing something so meaningful with their lives. Rosa and Victor were orphans themselves. Knowing what it meant to be an orphan, the couple saved many children by raising a foster family in their home in Philadelphia. Rosa took a couple of children and just like that raised them with love and affection.
3 WORST MOM: URSA, LOR-ZOD
To mate with a ruthless military general, acceptable. To mate solely to escape the Phantom Zone? Meet the thug couple, Ursa and General Zod. During their exile in the Phantom Zone, Ursa and General Zod had a baby, Lor-Zod. Needless to say, Ursa put immense pressure on the kid.
By pressure, we mean beating the child on a regular to make a monster out of him. Luckily, Lor escaped to Earth where Superman and Lois took him in as their legal ward, Christopher Kent. Later in the story, Ursa broke out of the Phantom Zone, made way to Earth to reclaim Lor. After wreaking havoc, she was sent back to the Phantom Zone by Superman.
2 BEST MOM: MARTHA KENT, SUPERMAN
Another adoptive mama in the list, Martha Kent. She should be called supermom for she raised Superman. Martha always believed that Clark Kent aka Superman was the miracle that she and her husband prayed for. She and Jonathan Kent were unable to have kids of their own, but that didn't stop her resolve to be a mom. She wouldn't believe her luck when she found baby Clark (Kal-El) during the meteor shower in the field.
Martha convinced Jonathan to take the kid in, gave Clark her maiden name and you know, raised him to be a decent human being. Martha imbibed in Superman the qualities of a true superhero.
1 WORST MOM: SHEILA HAYWOOD, JASON TODD
So what kind of a mom was Sheila Haywood to the Boy Wonder, Jason Todd? Let's just say the kind that would have him killed. DC found a way to include Sheila in the (in)famous Jason Todd's murder by Joker. Doctor Sheila Haywood was Jason Todd's estranged mother, who during the canonical timeline of Batman: A Death In The Family was working at a refugee camp in Ethiopia.
When Jason tracked his mother down, the Joker had already reached her. And so Sheila was working with the Joker under duress, supplying him medical devices. Sheila ended up betraying Jason to the Joker. The Joker beat Jason to death with a crowbar in a basement. After all this, Jason still tried to shield his mom from the explosives that the Joker had planted in the warehouse. She didn't make it alive either.