If you’re a powerful superhero, or even a supervillian, then it’s reasonable to assume your children will inherit some of your abilities. Of course it’s never easy to anticipate how strong they will become; the only thing you can do is try and raise them and hope for the best. Eventually, the day inevitably comes when they rush into a dangerous situation, oftentimes much earlier than any parent would like. When this happens, you witness just how mighty your children actually are and you might even feel a slight twinge of jealously as you realize they’ve dwarfed you completely.

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Even though they say the children are the future, it’s pretty risky to discover one’s progeny is capable of literally wiping out the future or creating entire universes. Yet for all their super powers, many kids are just kids and still need their parents’ guidance. Granted, sometimes it’s difficult to instill that guidance if your children are from a future timeline or were shanghaied away via time travel, but regardless, it’s worth trying. There any numerous children who are the offspring of villains and heroes alike, and here at CBR we’re going to look at 15 super-powered kids who outclass their parents by leaps and bounds.

15 ULTRON

age of ultron issue 1

Ultron is the bastard child of Hank Pym, or Ant-Man. Ultron, while not the genetic offspring of Pym, considers Hank his father, as Ant-Man did in fact give the android life and sentience. Completely opposite of his “father”, Ultron wishes only to destroy mankind. Certainly some of his hostility comes from various daddy issues, feeling rejected, and Hank’s own dysfunctional brainwaves, but Ultron has evolved to become his own man, or, um, android.

One of the Avenger’s most feared adversaries, an appearance by Ultron requires the entire team, as the cybernetic creature is easily able to take on the likes of Thor and Wonder Man. Constantly evolving, Ultron’s strength continually grows with each passing day. Sometimes, as seen in the event Age of Ultron, the Avengers aren’t enough; the android conquered the world and time travel was required to beat him. Yet even today, Ultron is alive and kicking.

14 SKARR

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The son of Bruce Banner (the Hulk) and the Shadow Queen Caiera, while Skarr might not be called “the strongest one there is,” he should be. With a Hulked out appearance that mirrors his father’s likeness, not only does he have the Hulk’s powers, i.e. insane strength, durability, and speed, but Skarr also comes with the Old Power.

Given to him by his mother’s side of the family, the Old Power allows Skarr to literally move continents, forge the earth itself into weapons, summon magma and turn it into energy projectiles and siphon off a planet’s power and use it to hit people. Just to be clear, Skarr can hit people with a planet; it’s like hitting someone with a Spirit Bomb with every punch. He defeated the Juggernaut with no problem, beat the Dark Avengers, and took on his dad; Skarr’s abilities are far more impressive than the Hulk’s.

13 X-23

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The genetic copy of Wolverine, X-23, or Laura, is the deadlier of the two. While Laura might not be Wolverine’s daughter in the sense that someone birthed her, we all think of her as such. Born out of a birthing tube by the not-so lovely Weapon X folks, X-23 was the result of 22 other experiments to clone Wolverine; designed to be superior in every way. Undergoing a series of brutal operations, her “doctors” didn’t use anesthesia when they implanted Laura with adamantium claws in her arms and feet.

With two claws instead of three, X-23 is stronger than Logan. Long story short, knives cut by applying pressure to objects with weaker tensile strengths; under the same force, fewer blades means more cutting power. So she’s spreading the force over the least amount of area. And yes, X-23 does swing with the same force of Wolverine; she’s his genetic copy.

12 DAMIAN WAYNE

Damian Wayne Robin

The son of Batman and Talia al Ghul, Damian Wayne is a spoiled little brat with a chip on his shoulder and a nearly unmatched fighting ability. Only ten years old, Damian can already take on all of Batman’s protégés, including Robin, Red Hood, and Nightwing in combat, and has even taken on the Dark Knight too. Trained from birth to be a legendary assassin, Damian’s mastery of the martial arts is ridiculous. Unlike the rest of the Bat-family, he won’t hold back against an opponent, letting him achieve victory all the easier.

In the current Batman Beyond comic storyline, Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis, the new Batman, encounter an older Damian who has taken over the mantle of his terrorist grandfather Ra’s al Ghul. As Terry and Damian fight, Bruce admits Damian is better than he ever was, even back in his prime as Batman.

11 RACHEL SUMMERS

Rachel-Summers

Rachel Summers is the daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey from an alternate timeline and the strongest of member of the Summers family tree. Armed with telekinesis and telepathy, for years Rachel had control of the Phoenix, something her mother could never do, and was able to use it as a force for good while she was a member of the X-Men and the mutant team Excalibur.

In recent issues of Marc Guggenheim’s X-Men Gold, Rachel received a power boost, allowing her to look into the minds of everyone in New York City all at once. Additionally, she realized the only thing limiting her power was her fear of tapping into her potential and what it might unleash if she did. These days, even without the aid of the Phoenix Force, her power continues growing past their previous limits.

10 CABLE

Cable Time Travel

The son of Scott Summers and Madelyne Pryor, the clone of Jean Grey, Cable/Nathan Summers was the brainchild of Mister Sinister who wanted to use Cable as a weapon against the mutant Apocalypse. Though comic book wackiness and getting sent to the future, Cable never experienced his parents’ love firsthand. Growing up completely apart from his family, he forged his own way, until eventually returning to the present day, years older than either his father or his mother.

Don’t let his age fool you however. Stronger than Cyclops and at the very least on par with Jean, Cable is the host to tremendous psychic power. An Omega-Level Telekinetic, Cable has boosted his powers to a degree where he could even battle the legendary Silver Surfer, and even defeat the Hulk when the brute was possessed by Onslaught.

9 THANE

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The son of the mad god Thanos, Thane comes from a family with some serious notoriety. Thanos himself is feared throughout the cosmos, after having once killed half the sentient life in the universe. As for Thane, he was residing on Earth, trying to escape his roots when the Inhumans' Terrigen bomb hit, releasing their mists and unlocking his latent power.

Endowed with great strength and the ability to encase anyone or anything in unbreakable amber, Thane was strong enough to begin with. Presently, as seen the current Thanos series, Thane has become the host for the Phoenix Force, the living embodiment of all psychic energy. At the moment, Thane is not only stronger than Thanos at his peak, but the strongest person in the universe.

8 NATE GREY

Like his other siblings, Nate Grey stems from an alternate timeline. Nate and Cable are technically the same person, which makes their reunions incredibly awkward as they can’t decide who’s the real Nathan. Mr. Sinister artificially created Nate Grey from genetic material from Cyclops and Jean Grey. Hoping to use the child to fight Apocalypse, Sinister aged Nate’s body rapidly to the point of being a teenager. Similar to every other X-Man, Nate has an extremely long and convoluted history.

Nate would later go by the moniker X-Man, engaging in ridiculous fights along the way. Stronger than his “brother” Cable, Jean, or Cyclops, Nate is one of the strongest mutants to ever exist and there was little he could not do. These days however, when his powers burnt out by way of the Omega Machine, he’s become somewhat weaker, but still plenty powerful.

7 SPIDER-GIRL

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Unquestionably the most famous of all of Spider-Man’s children, May Parker, Spider-Girl, is the daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane. She heralds from a timeline very similar to the mainstream Marvel Universe. A perfect reflection of the couple, she had her mother’s charisma and her father’s intelligence.

Yet in this world Spider-Man was forced to give up his superhero identity once he lost his leg in battle with the Green Goblin. After she became a teenager years later, May Parker’s spider-powers manifested and she decided to fill the void her father left. Taking on the moniker of Spider-Girl, she was, and continues to remain, a mighty force to be reckoned with. Boasting a costume similar to Ben Reilly’s Spider-Man outfit, while her father was technically still stronger, the rest of May’s abilities outclassed his.

6 WICCAN

Wiccan

One of the strongest Avengers, the Scarlet Witch’s hex powers have saved the day, and ruined it, multiple times. Wiping out the mutant gene in the "House of M" storyline and killing off several Avengers in "Avengers Disassembled", Wanda Maximoff is not to be messed with. Her son Wiccan on the other hand; even less so. Billy Kaplan is a member of the Young Avengers team and boasts incredible power.

In fact, the risk of his abilities going out of control is so feared; the Avengers are constantly keeping an eye on him. The Sorcerer Supreme in an alternate future, it’s also said Wiccan will one day rewrite the laws of magic. Even his present-day self can do everything his mother can and more. Wiccan’s reality-warping power is essentially only limited by his conscience, and unlike his mom, he can control it.

5 LEGION

The son of Charles Xavier, the leader of the X-Men, Legion might very well be the most dangerous telepath on the planet. While he might possess abilities transcending anything Xavier was ever capable of, David Haller suffers from a severe case of multiple personality disorder. This is important, because every different personality has its own unique power-set.

Some personalities are stronger than others, some are more evil and some are nicer. Alas, Legion is rarely in full control of his powers and his wide range of abilities include generating fire, time travel, warping reality and pretty much doing anything the writer or story requires of him. However, he’s best known for going back in time, killing Xavier, and kicking off the epic "Age of Apocalypse" storyline.

4 LARA

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Unlike many offspring on this list, Lara, from Frank Miller’s Dark Knight III: The Master Race, is the child of two superheroes. The daughter of Wonder Woman and Superman, Lara has the powers of both her father and mother, making her potentially the mightiest force on Earth.

Throughout the series, we see Lara has none of the compassion either of her parents do, especially towards the human race, and sees them as little more than gnats. Fighting Wonder Woman on one occasion, Lara is beaten, but really only because Wonder Woman has more fighting experience. Eventually, towards the end of the story, Lara decides to let her father teach her what it means to be human and compassionate towards others. It’s safe to say Lara will be Earth’s strongest defender in the years to come.

3 INVINCIBLE

Mark Grayson flying over the city as Invincible.

Mark Grayson is writer Robert Kirkman’s amazing response to the superhero comic book. The teenaged son to the Superman-esque hero Omni-Man, Mark and his father stem from the extraterrestrial race known as Viltrumites. A species of nearly, *ahem* invincible, super-powered warriors, Mark took on the name of Invincible when he decided to become a superhero.

Throughout the series, Mark’s powers have only grown, become more and more incredible. Constantly facing seemingly impossible odds and fights, yet surviving by the skin of his teeth. He’s surpassed his father in his competence of a superhero, his powers, and what it means to be a decent person. Still a young man, Invincible’s powers show no sign of slowing down as he’s capable of killing even the fiercest warriors the Viltrumites have to offer.

2 JON KENT

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The son of Lois Lane and Clark Kent, Jon is the ten-year old child to Superman, the Man of Steel. Like most half-human/half-meta kids, Jon carries the best traits of each race in his DNA. Despite his young age, Batman has stated Jon should already be exhibiting strength that even surpasses Superman’s power. When Manchester Black temporarily mind-controlled Jon, he unlocked his latent fury, which resulted in Superman barely staying alive.

Yet for whatever reason, probably on account of various mental blocks, Jon can only access small portions of his Kryptonian abilities. He’s still learning and still requires instruction on morality and when best to use his powers. What better teacher than Superman, who lets Jon hang out with Damian Wayne, Robin, in hopes the two will rub off on one another and Jon will get further instruction on being a superhero with someone his own age.

1 FRANKLIN RICHARDS

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Without question the strongest mutant of all time, Franklin Richards is the youngest child to Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four. His father’s intelligence and elastic powers are formidable, his mother’s force fields make her the mightiest member on the team, but Franklin’s power dwarfs theirs by a frightening degree.

Capable of warping reality, at a young age during the "Onslaught" saga back in the '90s, Franklin created a pocket universe where he created the "Heroes Reborn" universe. There is almost nothing he cannot do. In the future, it’s seen that Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds and one of the most feared beings in all creation, has become Franklin’s personal herald and servant. Unrivaled in any capacity, creating universes with the flick of a finger, Franklin Richards towers above nearly every other comic book superhero.

Are there any other super kids we missed on our list? Let us know in the comments section!