It is a universal truth that families can be complicated, but the Marvel universe features some of the most complicated familial relationships imaginable! From parents with intentions of world domination to adopted siblings that will go to any length to usurp the family claim to the throne, there is no shortage of messy family drama in Universe-616. To a certain extent, it stands to reason: everyone has a family, and when you're living in a world where it isn't unusual to encounter extraterrestrials or be transported backward or forward in time, some of those relationships are bound to become a bit more complicated than usual. That's just how families are!
It is true that there are many families in the Marvel universe that are likely prone to some fairly legendary fights over the dinner table, doubly so if the family happens to form a super team with a collective archnemesis. Nevertheless, there are a few familial relationships in the world of Marvel that are exceptionally bizarre! In some instances, these families come together in spite of tremendous adversity to support one another when they need it the most, no matter what strange circumstances surround their relationships with one another. But in other cases, the bitter rivalries and long-held grudges erupt in family feuds so severe that they occasionally threaten the very fabric of reality itself! Join us as we take a look at some of the incredible family trees in the 616 with 25 of the weirdest family relationships in the Marvel comic universe!
25 LEGION & PROFESSOR X
David Charles Haller is the son of Professor Charles Xavier, the founder of the X-Men and Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youngsters. Like his father, David is a mutant who possesses powerful psychic abilities.
In Uncanny X-Men #161 (1982) by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, Bob Wiacek, and Glynis Wein, it's revealed that while Professor X was working in an institution providing treatment for Holocaust survivors, he met and fell in love with Gabrielle Haller. But it wasn't until New Mutants #1 (1983) by Claremont, Bob McLeod, Mike Gustavich, and Glynis Wein that Charles learned from Gabrielle that David is his son.
24 X-23 & HONEY BADGER
In All-New Wolverine #1 (2015) by Tom Taylor, David Lopez, David Navarott, and Nathan Fairbairn, Logan clone Laura Kinney (AKA X-23) has taken up the mantle of Wolverine after her predecessor's defeat, but she's shocked when removal of a masked assassin's disguise reveals her own countenance!
Subsequent discoveries revealed Laura is one of at least ten clones of Logan produced by Alchemax Genetics. During the course of her investigations, she meets one of the other clones, Gabby, and the two sisters form an intense bond with one another. Eventually Gabby adopts the codename Honey Badger to battle alongside her sister.
23 WICCAN, SPEED & SCARLET WITCH
In West Coast Avengers #51 (1989) by John Byrne, Mike Machlan, and Bob Sharen, it is revealed that the twin sons of Vision and Scarlet Witch, William and Thomas, came into being when Wanda's longing for a family combined with her powers and two soul fragments belonging to Mephisto.
In Young Avengers #10 (2006) by Jim Cheung, Rob Stull, Dave Meikis, Dexter Vines, and Justin Ponsor, two young heroes named Billy Kaplan (AKA Wiccan) and Thomas Shepherd (AKA Speed) meet. The pair discovers they're long lost brothers, as each harbors one of the soul fragments that belonged to Wanda's sons.
22 GAMORA & THANOS
After the majority of Gamora's race was exterminated, the Mad Titan Thanos found and adopted the orphan, promising to provide her with the training she needed to avenge the destruction of her species. Gamora has a complicated relationship with her father, as evidenced by a memory she shared in Warlock and the Infinity Stones #9 (1992) by Jim Starlin, Angel Medina, Bob Almond, and Ian Laughin.
In that story, a teenaged Gamora disobeys a command issued by Thanos and is consequently attacked by some thugs. Her father responds by obliterating the thugs and rebuilding Gamora thanks to cybernetic spare parts.
21 VISION & WONDER MAN
Introduced in Avengers #57 (1968) by Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and George Klein, Vision was a synthezoid created by Ultron to destroy his creator Hank Pym and the rest of the Avengers. In timely fashion, Vision turned on Ultron and enlisted in the ranks of Earth's mightiest heroes.
Vision eventually learns that Ultron created his personality using a brain scan belonging to the late Simon Williams, AKA Wonder Man. The connection between the two heroes later creates friction when a resurrected Williams enters into a relationship with Vision's former lover, Scarlet Witch.
20 POWER PACK
The superhero team Power Pack was introduced in Power Pack #1 (1984) by Louise Simonson, June Brigman, Bob Wiacek, and Glynis Wein. The team is comprised of the young Powers siblings, Jack, Julie, Alex, and Katie, whose father becomes the subject of interplanetary interest due to his experimentation with a device that can convert matter to antimatter, leading the siblings to cross paths with the alien Whitemane.
Before succumbing to injuries, Whitemane is able to imbue the four siblings with superpowers, and the Power Pack is formed.
19 HULK & SHE-HULK
Jen Walters is the cousin of Bruce Banner, the Incredible Hulk. In Savage She-Hulk #1 (1980) by Stan Lee, John Buscema, and Chic Stone, Jen suffers a serious gunshot injury on a day when her cousin was Los Angeles. When no alternative suitable donor can be found, Bruce allows his blood to be used for a transfusion.
As a result of the blood transfusion from her cousin, Jen gains a variation of the Hulk's abilities: she is able to become a muscular, green version of herself, but unlike the Hulk, she is generally able to retain her normal levels of intelligence and control.
18 THOR & LOKI
No one understands how complicated family can be than the Asgardian royals. Loki was the son of Laufey the Frost Giant, who had hidden the child within his palace out of shame for his small stature. Odin took pity on Loki and adopted him, and he and his wife Frigga raised him alongside their biological son, Thor.
The relationship between the two brothers is complicated, and Loki has a longstanding history as one of the greatest adversaries of the Avengers.
17 THE VISIONS
In The Vision (2015) by Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, and Jordie Bellaire, the Vision has taken the next step in his quest to achieve legitimate humanity: he's built himself a family and established a home for them in the state of Virginia.
Over the course of the 12-issue series, it is revealed that the personality of Vision's wife, Virginia, was based on a brain scan of his former wife, Wanda. Their two children, Viv and Vin, were based off an amalgamation of the brain scans of the synthezoid couple, and Sparky the sythenzoid dog rounds out the uncanny nuclear family!
16 EGO THE LIVING PLANET & ILLA THE LIVING MOON
The smartest person in the Marvel universe, Lunella Lafayette, intercepts a mysterious transmission in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #19 (2017) by Brandon Montclare, Natasha Bustos, and Tamra Bonvillain. A voice from deep space who identifies herself as "Illa" is calling for help!
Lunella doesn't hesitate to leap into action, and accompanied by her partner, Devil Dinosaur, she launches a rescue mission to find the source of the transmission. When the pair arrives, they find one of the weirdest relationships in the Marvel universe: the voice belonged to Illa the Living Moon, daughter of Ego the Living Planet!
15 VICTOR MANCHA & ULTRON
Victor Mancha first appeared in Runaways #1 (2005) by Brian K. Vaughan, Adrian Alphona, Craig Yeung, and Christina Strain. After receiving a horrifying warning from a fatally wounded time traveler, the Runaways locate Victor Mancha, the teenager prophesied to become the supervillain "Victorious."
Described as son of the "greatest evil" by the warning from the future, Victor first believes Doctor Doom is his father. Subsequent discoveries revealed that Victor is actually a lifelike synthezoid created by Ultron! Later, in Avengers A.I. #1 (2013) by Sam Humphries, Andre Lima Araujo, and Frank D'Armata, Victor gets the chance to work alongside Vision.
14 VENOM & CARNAGE
While serving his sentence in Ryker's Island prison the host of the Venom symbiote, Eddie Brock, shares a cell with the serial killer Cletus Kasady. In The Amazing Spider-Man #344 (1991) by David Michelinie, Erik Larsen, Randy Emberlin, and Bob Sharen, the symbiote unwittingly leaves its small and unnoticeable offspring behind when it arrives to rescue Eddie from prison.
The abandoned offspring bonds with Cletus to become Carnage! Unburdened by a moral compass and heavily influenced by its host, Carnage becomes such a menace that Spider-Man is forced to enlist Venom's assistance in bringing him to heel.
13 STEPFORD CUCKOOS
The Stepford Cuckoos were cloned by Doctor John Sublime using DNA stolen from a comatose Emma Frost. Working on behalf of the Weapon Plus program, Sublime devised a method of destroying every mutant on Earth by using the power of a psychic network comprised of a thousand Frost clones.
Five of the clones were activated and sent to enroll at Xavier's Institute, where their classmates rejected “Five-In-One,” the moniker favored by the psychically linked sisters, in favor of "the Stepford Cuckoos."
12 DAKEN & WOLVERINE
In Wolverine: Origins #10 (2007) by Daniel Way, Steve Dillon, and Dan Kemp, it is revealed that Logan and his late wife, Itsu, had a son. Daken possesses mutant abilities that are similar in nature to those possessed by his father, including retractable claws on each fist and a healing factor.
When Norman Osborn decided to create his own team of Avengers, he recruited Daken to enlist as Wolverine. Wearing an outfit that recalled his father's iconic costume allowed Daken the opportunity to do everything in his power to tarnish Wolverine's legacy.
11 HOUSE OF M
In House of M #1 (2005) by Brian Michael Bendis, Olivier Coipel, Tim Townsend, and Frank D'Armata, a story begins that results in the entire Marvel universe being altered by Scarlet Witch's incredible powers!
In this alternate reality created by parallel timeline originating in the '70s, mutants reign supreme, and the familiar Marvel superheroes have forgotten that their lives used to be different! Reigning over this brave new world is the House of M, which is comprised of Magneto and his three children, Wanda, Quicksilver, and Polaris.
10 GRANDMASTER & THE COLLECTOR
The Collector and the Grandmaster are both Elders of the Universe, ancient beings who originated in the immediate aftermath of the Big Bang. In most instances, they are depicted as brothers.
While their relationship may be complicated, the two brothers do look out for one another: in Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions (1982) by Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant, Bill Mantlo, John Romita Jr., Pablo Marcos, and Michele Wolfman, the Grandmaster plays a game against the Other in order to resurrect the late Collector!
9 IRON LAD & KANG THE CONQUEROR
Franklin Richards, a descendant of Reed Richards born in the 30th century, took up the mantle of Iron Lad when he joined the ranks of the team in Young Avengers #1 (2005) by Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung, John Dell, and Justin Ponsor, but his early life involved a lot of bullying.
It was during an instance of bullying that Kang the Conqueror appeared and told Franklin that he would grow up to become the notorious time-traveling supervillain himself! While Iron Lad has vowed to never become Kang, is it possible for him to avoid the circumstances created by his birth?
8 KAROLINA DEAN & HER PARENTS
First introduced in Runaways #1 (2003) by Brian K. Vaughn, Adrian Alphona, David Newbold, and Brian Reber, Karolina Dean believes she is a normal teenager until she discovers that her Hollywood movie star parents are in fact Majesdanian aliens.
While the revelation that she is not human was a significant and understandable shock, Karolina's family problems become even more complicated when Xavin arrives on Earth and it is revealed that Karolina's parents had organized an arranged marriage between herself and Xavin.
7 HARRY OSBORNE & NORMAN OSBORNE
Norman Osborne is the leader of Oscorp, an international corporation that doesn't let details like "morality" or "loss of human life" interfere with their bottom line. While experimenting with a formula to increase his physical strength, Norman transforms himself into the Green Goblin, one of Spider-Man's most notorious villains!
While Norman eventually perishes due to his villainy, his son, Harry, eventually picks up the mantle of the Green Goblin and continues his father's work as a supervillain. Quite the family legacy!
6 THE INHUMAN DYNASTY
The Inhumans are the result of the genetic testing the Kree performed on early humans in the past, in an attempt to create living weapons. Now, many of the Inhumans reside in the city of Attilan, where they are governed by Black Bolt and the rest of the Royal Family.
Like many dynasties, the power structure within the Inhumans ruling class is sometimes unstable, and Black Bolt's younger brother, Maximus, has attempted to seize control on more than one occasion.