Ever since the debut of the Fantastic Four in 1961 that kickstarted the Marvel Age of comics, the theme of family has been very important in the Marvel Universe. There are countless Marvel stories that introduce a superpowered cousin or a time-displaced host of a cosmic entity, and with each new hero or villain added to the family, Marvel has seen the development of some heavy hitting dynasties.

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Today we are going to take a look at some of the most powerful Marvel families, but due to the extensive Marvel multiverse, we'll be limiting this list to only the mainstream 616 universe. But don't worry, the mainstream Marvel families pack a pretty powerful punch.

10 THE BRADDOCKS

The Braddock Family initially doesn't seem to fit on a list that features powerful cosmic beings. While Brian Braddock is a magically-powered defender of the Omniverse known as Captain Britain, and his twin sister Betsy is the mutant telepath called Psylocke, their power levels wouldn't necessarily be called off the charts.

It's the black sheep sibling of the family Jamie that throws off the curve of the Braddocks' power levels. Jamie is a reality-warper and is also quite insane, making him not only incredibly powerful but also unpredictably dangerous. Jamie has even used his powers to return Betsy to life with little to no effort, scraping the surface of his overall power.

9 VENOM'S SYMBIOTES

The Venom symbiote first appeared on the alien Battleworld in 1985's Secret Wars maxi-series as a new costume for Spider-Manbut once it got to Earth it started reproducing like crazy. The first spawn of the symbiote bonded with serial killer Cletus Kasady to become Carnage, one of the deadliest villains on Earth.

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Both the Venom and Carnage symbiotes have continued to reproduce, creating new and more powerful characters like Toxin, Mania, Scorn, Sleeper, Hybrid, and more. The symbiotes are actually an alien species known as the Klyntar and are conceivably all related, making for one large and dangerous family of parasitic alien goo.

8 INHUMAN ROYALS

inhumans-kree-history-display

The Inhumans were first introduced in the pages of Fantastic Four #45, leaders of a superpowered race of humanoids that lived in secret on Earth. The Inhumans wielded various powers granted to them by the transformative Terrigen Mists after experimentation by the alien Kree unlocked their hidden potential.

The Inhuman Royal Family includes Medusa and her prehensile hair, Karnak and his weakness deducing abilities, Gorgon and his ferocious shockwaves, Crystal's elemental abilities, and even a teleporting dog, Lockjaw. However, their leader Black Bolt outshines his family as one of the most powerful beings in Marvel's superhero community, with a whisper that can shatter mountains.

7 HOUSE OF MAGNUS

While some of the various connections and lineages have changed or been retconned over the years, at one time Erik Magnus Lensherr, also known as the powerful mutant Magneto, had sired quite a powerful family. Polaris shared her father's mastery of magnetism, while Quicksilver was a speedster and Scarlet Witch was a reality-altering probability hex blasting... it gets confusing.

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Scarlet Witch alone would rival some of the most powerful characters on this list, though Magneto is at times considered an Omega-level mutant, the highest classification of mutant power. Scarlet Witch also has two super-powered children with the Avenger Vision. The children go by Speed and Wiccan and have similar speed and magic-based powers as their mother and uncle.

6 THE XAVIERS

Charles Xavier is the founder of the X-Men, which itself shares a unique family dynamic and is home to a number of powerful families like the Rasputins and the Guthries. However, Xavier also has a very powerful and dangerous family that make his kin an ongoing threat to the planet Earth.

Charles' sister Cassandra Nova is an evil psychic twin who was responsible for the destruction of Genosha and the death of thousands of mutants. Xavier's step-brother is Cain Marko, better known as the mystically-powered unstoppable Juggernaut. And his son David Haller is the Omega-level mutant known as Legion, whose multiple personalities each have a different mutant power.

5 PYM/ULTRON

Henry Pym's family began with good intentions but mostly ended pretty tragically for everyone involved, especially Pym. Hank created the robot Ultron based on his own brain patterns, and his "son" would then create Vision, Jocasta, and Alkhema, using the brain patterns of Wonder Man, Wasp, and Mockingbird to further expand their family tree.

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Ultron would go on to create the human cyborg Victor Mancha who would betray his "father" and become a superhero. And the Vision would not only become a valued member of the Avengers, but he would also create his own synthezoid family, though only his daughter Viv Vision survived. Pym would later be forcibly bonded with Ultron, presumably killing the founding Avenger.

4 HULKS

hulk and his extended family of characters

Bruce Banner's family of Hulk's initially started with his actual cousin Jennifer Walters, who became the She-Hulk following a life-saving blood transfusion from her gamma-irradiated cousin. Over the years the Hulk family has grown to include a number of other gamma-irradiated characters like Doc Samson, Abomination, Red Hulk, Red She-Hulk, and A-Bomb.

Banner's immediate family also continued to grow, as the Hulk fathered two children during his time on the planet Sakaar, with the mystical Old Power enhanced Caiera. They had two children, Skaar who shared his father's hulk powers, and Hiro-Kala, who only inherited his mother's ability to control the Old Power.

3 SUMMERS/GREY

We've discussed a few powerful families that have developed in the pages of the X-Men, and the Summers family is no different. Not only does Scott have a space pirate for a father, but his brothers Alex and Gabriel can both absorb and manipulate cosmic energy. However, it's the pairing of Scott Summers and Jean Grey that really makes them a force to be reckoned with.

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While the two have no biological children together in the mainstream Marvel timeline, Cyclops and a clone of Jean gave birth to Cable, whose alternate-reality counterpart Nate Grey transplanted to the mainstream reality, while future daughter Rachel Grey became a host of the Phoenix Force like her mother. Cable's adopted daughter Hope Summers was yet another host for the Phoenix.

2 ODINSBLOOD

It's impossible to talk about powerful Marvel families and not mention the Gods of Asgard, whose powers and abilities outshine almost any normally powered hero on Midgard/Earth. Odin sits on the throne of Asgard as the most powerful and wielder of the Odin Force, with his son Thor and recently revealed daughter Angela each exhibiting high power levels.

While Loki is an adopted Frost Giant, he still wields a large amount of mystical power to contribute to the Asgardians overall place on this list. However, one only needs to look to Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic's examination of Old King Thor, who watches over a dead Earth that has seen every hero and villain on this list fall while Thor remains eternally alive.

1 THE FIRST FAMILY

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four #1 introduced Marvel's First Family of Comics, which initially featured Reed Richards, Sue Storm and her brother Johnny, and Ben Grimm. Over time the team has grown following the marriage of Reed and Sue and the birth of their children Franklin and Valeria, as well as the brilliant members of the Future Foundation.

While the members of the Fantastic Four are incredibly powerful and can handle most cosmic threats that menace the Earth, it's their mutant son Franklin who really overpowers the family. Franklin is another reality-warper who most recently was used to recreate the Marvel multiverse, showcasing his true cosmic potential while still only a child.

NEXT: Marvel Announces the Return of the Future Foundation in July