Superhero comics are, essentially, soap operas with big muscles, cool costumes, and lots of superpowers. The stories center on families, either created by sharing DNA or from people of different backgrounds coming together for one reason or another, and their ever exciting and shocking lives. In between fights over Infinity Stones and Infinite Crises, the heroes and villains spend their time arguing among one another and worrying about who loves - or doesn't love - who.
And like any good soap opera, there's plenty of crazy drama between these families. And with that drama comes some good fights, and in comics those fights are always epic. These are just some of the families that have, by blood or by coincidence, have found themselves forever entangled in love, hate, and everything that lies in-between.
10 The Kent/Luthor Family
The baby Kal-El came to Earth as the Last Son of Krypton and grew up as Clark Kent before becoming Superman; the hero of the universe. Lex Luthor was born on Earth and became wealthy, vengeful, and evil. While Superman and Lex have worked together from time to time, in most cases they stand against one another. And yet, they share a son.
Conner Kent, a clone created using the DNA of Superman and Lex Luthor, spends his time saving people as Superboy, but deep down he worries that he will one day become more like his other, balder father.
9 The Allens
Barry Allen grew up believing he was an only child. When he was struck by lightning and thrown into electrified chemicals, he gained the power of superspeed and became the Flash, the Fastest Man Alive. His decision to use his powers for good would create a legacy of heroes that will continue far into the future.
But what Barry didn't know was that he had a twin brother who was given to the Thawne family. That child, Malcolm Thawne, would become the supervillain Cobalt Blue, starting a centuries-long rivalry between the Allens and the Thawnes, with Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash, being the greatest threat the Flashes would ever face.
8 The Bat-Family
When you have as many family members as the Bat-Family, there are bound to be a few kids who butt heads. These days, the issues tend to revolve around Damian Wayne, Batman's only actual son by blood, and a few of the Dark Knight's previous Robins. Damian has had big issues with Tim Drake and Jason Todd in the past, even trying to kill Tim at least once.
Jason Todd, who goes by Red Hood these days, is the black sheep of the family, using guns and being more open to killing than the rest of the clan. This has, on occasion, put Jason on the wrong side of Batman and the rest of the family.
7 The Richards/von Doom
Victor von Doom and Reed Richards were once friends, but when an experiment of Victor's exploded in his face, he blamed Reed for it. While Reed went on to become Mister Fantastic, the leader of the Fantastic Four, Victor became Doctor Doom, the sworn foe of Marvel's First Family.
When Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman and Reed's wife, became pregnant with their second child, she would have lost the baby if not for the actions of Doctor Doom. Using science and magic, Doom saved the newborn baby, who was named Valeria in his honor. To this day, Valeria considers Doctor Doom to be her uncle.
6 The Odinsons
Odin Borson, the Monarch of Asgard, had two sons. One, Thor Odinson, was his naturally born son, whom he loved dearly. The other, Loki, is the son of King Laufey, leader of the Giants of Jotunheim who Odin adopted after killing Laufey. The two boys grew up together, and as they became adults, they also became enemies.
The raging anger that Loki feels for his adoptive family waxes and wanes, but the Trickster God often finds himself going up against his brother Thor, fighting him in an act of defiance, or sometimes just for some fun.
5 The Eternals of Titan
Thanos is the best known of the Eternals that come from Saturn's moon Titan, but he is not the only one. The evil would-be destroyer of the universe has managed to kill most of his family, but some members continue to fight against him. His daughter Gamora and granddaughter Nebula have battled Thanos many times, as has his brother Eros, better known as the former Avenger Starfox.
In the classic story Infinity Gauntlet, it was Nebula who was able to take control of Thanos' ultimate weapon after the heroes of the Marvel Universe failed to stop the Mad Titan.
4 The Graysons
Mark Grayson was a teenager who couldn't wait for his superpowers to kick in so he could join his father, the great hero Omni-Man, in the never-ending fight against evil. When he was seventeen, Mark's powers finally manifested and he became Invincible.
Sadly, Invincible would soon learn that his father who he - and most of the world - looked up to was actually sent to Earth to prepare the world for invasion. Refusing to join his father in the plan to kill all of Earth's superheroes, Invincible was forced to battle his own family to save the world.
3 The Howletts
Having forgotten more about his life than he remembers, Wolverine isn't completely sure just how many kids or grandkids he has, let alone brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles. What he does know is that a few of his family members are not good people. Five of Wolverine's offspring came together as a team called The Mongrels with the plan to kill everyone Wolverine loved.
Wolverine's best known evil child is Daken, who at one time went by the name Wolverine and joined the Dark Avengers. These days, Wolverine and Daken have a better father/son relationship.
2 The New Gods
Born after the destruction of the Old Gods of the Third World, the New Gods of the Fourth World have so many familial connections it can be hard to keep track. The most famous family members are Darkseid, Highfather, Orion, and Mister Miracle. War raged between Darkseid and Highfather for centuries, but it finally came to an end when the two leaders agreed to a truce. To ensure that truce, each leader gave up one son. Orion, son of Darkseid was given to Highfather, while Scott Free - aka Mister Miracle -, son of Highfather, was given to Darkseid.
Orion was raised in peace but became a figure of great anger, while Scott Free was raised in pain and became a figure of great miracles. While the New Gods have died many times, they always return, and always restart their war.
1 The Xaviers
Charles Xavier, the creator of the X-Men and one of the most powerful telepaths in the Marvel Universe, is the best-known member of the Xavier family, but he isn't the only one. His twin sister, Cassandra Nova, was so evil that Charles tried to kill her in the womb. His step-brother, Cain Marko, is better known as Juggernaut, a longtime foe of the X-Men and former member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Then there is David Haller, Xavier's son who is better known as Legion. David is not evil like some of his family members, at least not all the time. As an omega-level mutant who suffers from dissociative identity disorder, Legion has 200 personalities, and not all of them are nice.