Every character in superhero comic books has a clear part he or she plays. There are superheroes, of course, who save the world. The superheroes stand against the villains who do their best to defeat them or even kill them. You've got innocent bystanders, sidekicks, family members, and many more.
But since the whole world of superheroes stories is much more complex than it might seem at first glance, even villains play more than just one part - and besides fighting the superheroes, they also sometimes establish a family of their own and become mothers and fathers. Here are 10 DC villains you didn't know were parents.
10 Sinestro
Sinestro is one of the most iconic Green Lantern villains. He was originally a member of the Green Lantern Corps but when the Guardians discovered that he ruled the planet of Korugar as a dictator, they took his ring and banished him from the Corps. The ring found its way to Soranik Natu, who lived on Korugar and hated Green Lanterns, just as most of the planet's citizens. She, nevertheless, accepted the ring, joined the Green Lanterns and even had a romantic relationship with Kyle Rayner. The fans only later discovered that Soranik was actually Sinestro's daughter and she joined him in the Sinestro Corps.
9 Deathstroke
The dangerous shooter and fighter Deathstroke recently appeared in the Arrowverse, and even in the TV show Titans. It was shown in the TV series that Deathstroke has two children, a girl named Rose and a son Jericho, who later jumped into his dad's mind when his physical body died. But Deathstroke's family relations are a bit different in the comics. He also has daughter Rose in the comics, but instead of Jericho, he has a son named Grant Wilson... or at least he did have a son until Grant died when he tried to kill the Teen Titans.
8 Doctor Sivana
Doctor Sivana recently appeared as the main villain in the generally well-accepted live-action Shazam film with Zachary Levi portraying the titular superhero. It wasn't a random choice of a villain since Doctor Sivana is Shazam's number one enemy in the comics, even though he looks much different than Mark Strong in the comics.
When not fighting Shazam, Doctor Sivana found the time to have four children, whom he named Beautia, Magnificus, Thaddeus, and Georgia. Thaddeus and Georgia followed in their father's footsteps but Beautia and Magnificus instead eventually joined the side of heroes and became friends with Shazam, back then still known as Captain Marvel.
7 Lex Luthor
The archnemesis of none other than Superman, Lex Luthor is a genius, a brilliant inventor and a tactician, but he isn't the most loving and warm person out there. Therefore it might come as a surprise to some that Lex Luthor also has children... sort of. His most famous child is Superboy, known in his civil life as Connor Kent.
Yes, instead of finding true love, Luthor decided to have a child with his biggest enemy. He used Superman's DNA and his own to clone Superman, and Superboy was the result. Connor didn't know about his heritage and was distraught when he found out.
6 The Joker
The Joker is the last person on Earth who should have children since he's violent, absolutely insane and unpredictable, and, of course, lives the life of chaotic crime which wouldn't be the best environment to raise a child in. Joker's relationship with Harley Quinn is well-known but some fans may not know that these two had a daughter together. It happened in the Injustice series where Harley revealed that she has a four-year-old daughter with the Joker but she never told him about their daughter since she was worried about her life, and let the child be raised by Harley's sister instead.
5 Talia Al Ghul
Of all the names on this list, Talia Al Ghul is probably best-known as a supervillain and a mother, but many people might still not know she had a child, especially if they don't read the comics and only watched the live-action Batman films. Talia is the daughter of Ra's Al Ghul, one of Batman's most dangerous enemies, and she had a son with none other than the caped crusader himself.
Her son Damian was raised as a fighter and by the time he went to live with his father in Gotham, he was already antisocial and aggressive but he eventually became more civil and was Batman's new Robin.
4 Black Manta
Black Manta has become known as Aquaman's biggest enemy and he also appeared in the 2018 live-action Aquaman film as the main big baddie. But while Black Manta's fighting skills and his hate for Aquaman are well-known, his family is more obscure.
Black Manta has a son in the comics and he probably imagined that his boy would grow up to be a villain as well. He must have been very disappointed when his son joined the side of good instead, and, what's more, even went to become Aquaman's sidekick, using the name Aqualad for himself. That led to a fight between a father and a son.
3 Catwoman
Catwoman's complicated romance with Batman is well-known to everyone who likes the caped crusader and the iconic female villain. After all, these two have been dancing around each other for decades now and even went as far as getting engaged.
But what might be less known is the fact that they also had a daughter together who followed in their footsteps, especially her father's, when it came to fighting crime. This happened on Earth-2 and the daughter's name was Helena Wayne, but she was later replaced in the comics by another Helena, this time Helena Bertinelli who went to fight villains as the Huntress.
2 Trigon
Trigon is a demon and to say that he wouldn't win the prize "the father of the year" would be the biggest understatement of this century. In fact, he ended up fighting his own daughter Raven when he tried to take over the Earth and Raven and her friends from the superhero group Titans decided to go against Trigon and stop him which resulted in an epic father-daughter clash. But Trigon had many more children, not just Raven, and besides fighting her father, she also had to face her six half-brothers who were born at the same time as her.
1 Captain Boomerang
Captain Boomerang is best known for his membership in the villain team the Suicide Squad alongside Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and others, and under the leadership (or, better said, the control) of Amanda Waller. Not much is said about his personal life on the big screen so it might surprise some viewers that Captain Boomerang has a son in the comics. Unlike some villains' children on this list, his son decided to be a villain as well. When Captain Boomerang died during the Identity Crisis event, his son decided to keep the zombie version of his father alive, while resuming the nickname Captain Boomerang for himself. Talk about complicated family relationships.