Family is never easy -- it’s pretty much one of the guaranteed constants of life. It’s even truer when you’re talking about your parents. You don’t always understand them and vice versa. Sometimes it feels like you have nothing in common and that the horror show that is your life (or sometimes just Thanksgiving dinner) will continue forever. Ultimately, no one who can push your buttons like your mom and dad.
The same is true for superheroes and their family members, but on an even larger scale. When super-powered families bicker, their arguments escalate rather quickly. When you can lift mountains and fire lightning bolts, it’s a pretty safe bet that your family squabbles aren’t going to compare to all the other families in the neighborhood -- there might not even be a neighborhood left at the end of it. While it’s true that many parents are nurturing and compassionate, you’d be amazed at how many superpowered moms and dads are rather inept at looking after their offspring. Not to mention the times when it’s not the parent, but the parental figure that causes emotional trauma. Really, there’s no battle as personal as having to fight your own mother and/or father.
20 X-23
After Weapon X lost their prized possession (Wolverine), they lamented over the setback. Like any insane organization, this didn’t stop them in the long run, as they still possessed Wolverine’s DNA. They harvested his genetic code and proceeded to spend years recreating the hero’s infamous healing factor. Their experiments led to individuals like Deadpool, but that wasn’t enough for The Facility, a Weapon X offshoot. They wanted a proper Wolverine of their own, one they could control and send to kill whomever they wished. To that end, they cloned Wolverine.
After many botched attempts, the scientist Sarah Kinney suggested they stop trying to create a male clone and try for a female instead.
The result was X-23 and she was deadlier than anyone hoped for. Designed to be Wolverine’s superior, X-23 was born out a test tube. She came with a healing factor and two sets of retractable bone claws. However, her makers didn’t find this sufficient and she was forced to endure a series of brutal operations to make her deadlier. Her “doctors” refused to use anesthesia while they laced Laura’s claws with adamantium. While living in the facility, Sarah raised Laura as her surrogate mother and strove to protect her. Alas, one fateful day Zander Rice, the leader of the project, used a trigger scent to put X-23 into a rage that made her kill her own mother. It would be among the darkest moments in Laura’s life.
19 JON KENT
Jon Kent is the ten-year old son to Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Born amidst the crazy "Convergence" event, he and his family come from the pre-Flashpoint DC Comics Universe. Though because of the bizarre nature of timelines and alternate realities, there are several Jon Kents in the universe, and a couple of them are bad seeds. We’ve even seen glimpses of future timelines where Jon is cannot control his power, which leads to the deaths of millions. Yet the Jon Kent, as seen DC Rebirth, is as friendly as he is humble. Because Jon can’t control his abilities fully (yet), Superman seeks to train him as much as possible. To that end, Superman allows his son to go hang out and embark on adventures with Batman’s son, Damian aka Robin. Jon calls himself Superboy and uses his powers to fight crime and do what he can to bring honor to the “S” on his chest.
Unlike Superman however, Jon has a couple advantages going for him. A literal half-breed, Jon carries the best of both worlds’ genetics in his DNA. Though he might be a boy, Batman’s explained that Jon should already be exhibiting strength that surpasses Superman’s power. The only reason he hasn’t is probably because of self-imposed mental blocks. When Jon was briefly mind-controlled by Manchester Black, the villain unlocked Jon’s latent fury and power. Unable to control himself, Jon turned against this father, nearly killing Superman in the process.
18 ORION
While he’s the biological son of Darkseid, Orion is known for being among the most heroic of the New Gods. After years of fighting, New Genesis and Apokolips, Darkseid and Highfather formed a truce, else watch as their respective worlds burned in destruction. The two exchanged their sons and Darkseid raised Scott Free and Highfather would look after Orion. It was a way to ensure each had a bargaining chip in case the other decided to go back on the truce. From then on, Highfather raised Orion with the sole intent of one day destroying Darsekid, fully aware that it would become a necessity.
On account of sharing Darkseid’s blood, Orion shares his dad’s proclivity for violence.
This has lead to Orion spending his life trying to control his inner rage. While Orion never gained perfect control, this served him well, as he became one of the strongest warriors in DC Comics. Though he fights for the good guys, Orion was always mentally preparing himself for the day when he’d have his final confrontation with his father. There was even a prophecy that he would kill Darkseid. In Countdown to Final Crisis #2, the prophecy became realized. In an effort to stop Darkseid from taking over the universe, Orin fought tooth and nail against Darkseid. Their battle was so intense, that even heroes like Superman couldn’t approach, the energies they were emitting too strong. The fight suddenly ended when Orion punched a hole in Darkseid’s chest, ripping out the evil New God’s heart.
17 BLADE
The Marvel Comics universe can oftentimes be a dark and unforgiving place. With all the glamor and glitz typically seen with heroes like Captain America and Iron Man, it’s easy to forget the scarier side of the world; the shadows that people rarely emerge from. The supernatural aspect of Marvel is scary, relentless, and generally the stuff of nightmares. Out of all the supernatural heroes, one of the most iconic is the half-vampire Blade. Known for being a vampire hunter, the bane to the existence of undead monstrosities, Blade is merciless and relentless when it comes to wiping out nosferatu from existence.
First appearing in 1973’s The Tomb of Dracula #10, Blade’s origin is one of sheer horror. When his mother was in labor, a doctor was called and he turned out to be a vampire. The doctor bit Blade’s mother, killing her, but Blade was born anyway and lived on. Inadvertently, the vampire had passed on his immortality, super strength, etc. to Blade, along with immunities to all notable vampire weaknesses. Blade blames himself for his mother’s death, believing that if she wasn’t pregnant, she’d still be alive. Feeling partly responsible for her death, this morbid sense of guilt forever drives Blade in his unending mission to kill every vampire and monster that goes bump in the night.
16 THE RUNAWAYS
When it comes to turning on one’s parents, the group of superheroes who are best known for the act is none other than the Runways. Created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona in 2003, the series told the story about a group of several teenagers who accidentally discovered that they’d been lied to their whole lives. What about, you ask. Well, firstly their parents weren’t meeting together every year for a charity event like they’d said. Instead, their parents were all supervillains who had created a criminal organization called the Pride.
Their end game, like with any dastardly villain, involved trying to destroy the world, all in some mad effort to appease a trio of ancient deities.
You can see how this might make spending time with mom and dad slightly uncomfortable. Nico, Alex, Karolina, Molly, Chase, and Gert were shocked. They stole some of the Pride’s equipment, while also discovering that they themselves had inherited some powers of their own, and banded together to stop their malevolent parents. The Runaways, after a series of events, eventually beat their parents, but the teens didn’t stop there. They chose to stay together and dedicate themselves to ensuring other supervillains didn’t take over for the Pride.
15 SKARR
Skarr is the son of Bruce Banner and the Shadow Queen Caiera. With a Hulked out appearance that mirrors his father’s, he possesses the abilities granted to him from his mother and the Old Power, along with all of the Hulk’s notorious strength and durability. After Earth’s superhero team, the Illuminati, tricked Hulk into a spaceship, he landed on the planet Sakarr. First experiencing violence and torture at the hands of the Red King, once the villain is done away with, Hulk is able to find peace. The peace is short-lived, as the ship the Hulk landed in exploded, killing his wife and friends. Grief-stricken, the Hulk seeks to enact revenge on the people of Earth, who he assumed tried to murder him. The Hulk leaves, completely unaware that his son, Skarr, survived. Blaming his dad for his mother’s death and abandoning him, Skarr also heads to Earth, looking for some sweet revenge.
Following up right after the event "World War Hulks", Hulk and Skarr have a father-son chat, Hulk style. They fight and it’s enough to rock the planet. Though at one moment during their fight, Skarr witnesses the Hulk saving bystanders from the fallout of their brawl. Moved by this, Skarr abandons his quest to murder his father and instead realizes the Hulk might actually be a hero. For his part, the Hulk realizes he’s beating on his son, like his father beat him when he was a boy, and the Hulk is nearly moved to tears, realizing he’s perpetuating the cycle.
14 THANE
The son of the Mad Titan Thanos, Thane comes from a family with some serious notoriety. Thanos’ secret Inhuman son, Thane was born after an Inhuman tribe made contact with Thanos and his army; the Mad Titan ended up impregnating one of the members of the group. Thane would spend much of his life in a hidden in a secret Inhuman city, serving as the resident healer. His true nature was revealed when Black Bolt activated the Terrigen Bomb in his fight with Thanos -- this caused Inhumans across the globe to mutate. Leading up to these events, Thanos found out about his son and went in search of him, disguising his mission as another attempt to conquer the galaxy.
As a result of the Terrigen Bomb, Thane was endowed with great strength.
Additionally, his right hand possessed the ability to encase anyone or anything in unbreakable amber, while his left hand (which he cannot control) can instantly change the very economics of existence. Ebony Maw was the one from Thanos’ Black Order to captures Thane, but the sinister alien told the child about Thanos’ intentions to ultimately kill Thane and released him to fight his father. While the Avengers were involved in an all-out fight against Thanos, Thane snuck up behind his father, and defeated Thanos in seconds, encasing the evil Eternal in amber. Thane then vowed to use his powers to fight for the greater good.
13 WOLVERINE
A breakout character from the moment he officially debuted in The Incredible Hulk #181, Wolverine was a hero/antihero who was forever shrouded in mystery. No one knew Logan’s origin and for decades it simply became a staple of who he was. It was later revealed that the shady government program Weapon X had kidnapped Logan, forced his bones to bond with the indestructible metal adamantium, and then erased his memory and installed implants, turning him into a remote controlled slave. It took a bit of time, but Logan broke free, killed his captors, and embarked on a journey that lead him to joining the X-Men.
Even after Wolverine’s time with Weapon X was revealed, there were still chunks missing from Wolverine’s past. A big unanswered question was who were Wolverine’s parents and how did he become the man he grew into. Readers finally got their answers in the 2002’s miniseries Origin by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada and Paul Jenkins. Origin #1 featured a young James Howlett, the sickly son of plantation owners in Canada. When his family’s groundskeeper Thomas Logan killed Howlett’s father, James popped his claws for the first time and killed Logan. It was then hinted at that Thomas Logan was actually Wolverine’s biological father. When confirmed, this meant that Wolverine’s first kill was his father.
12 CARNAGE
When Spider-Man acquired a new costume on the Beyonder’s Battleworld, he had no idea it was a living alien symbiote. It wasn’t until much later that he learned the true nature of his costume. Though Spider-Man succeeded in separating the alien creature from him, it would come to bond with disgraced reporter Eddie Brock and become Venom, one of Spidey’s deadliest foes. Following Spider-Man putting Eddie in jail, the latter escaped, thanks to his symbiote coming to rescue him, but accidentally left behind a piece of itself.
That piece merged with Brock’s cellmate, who was none other than the psychotic Cletus Kasady, turning him into Carnage.
Coming from a troubled home as a youth, in which he suffered terribly at the hands of his father, Cletus not only hated his dad, but his own mother, since she loved their dog more than him. A complete psychopath, even at a young age, Cletus tortured his mother’s dog and then killed his grandmother. Upon later becoming a serial killer, he ended up in jail where he met Eddie Brock. After becoming Carnage, Cletus now had an outlet for his murderous tendencies. Fully bonding with his symbiote, which happened to be like-minded in that it too thirsted for blood, Carnage hated not only Spider-Man, but also his “dad," Venom. Venom’s also hated Carnage and the two have since tried to murder each other whenever the situation allows.
11 RAVEN
When the New Teen Titans came together as a team, the newest addition to their ranks was Raven. Dark, brooding, and incredibly powerful, it didn’t take long for Raven’s backstory to be revealed. The daughter of the female human, Angela Roth, and the neigh all-powerful demon known as Trigon, Raven grew up in Azarath. Trigon is the personification of dark energies and claims to have existed since the inception of the universe. Completely immortal, Trigon is also one of the most powerful and frightening beings in all of DC Comics. His horror extending even to his youth, by the time he was six years old, he’d wiped out an entire planet. Intent on controlling every reality in existence, Trigon also desired an heir. To that end, he had his way with Angela (who later became known as Arell) and she gave birth to Raven. Trigon waited patiently until Raven reached adulthood, wanting his daughter to join him in conquering the universe.
It wasn’t until she was a teenager that Raven comes to understand her father's true nature. With awesome power of her own, she fled his influence and joined the Teen Titans in an effort to trap Trigon within an interdimensional prison. However, Trigon would always return, forcing his daughter to battle him again and again. All the while Raven had to deal with managing the corruption Trigon had set upon her soul.
10 SPEEDY
A founding member of the Teen Titans, Roy Harper was the sidekick to the hero Green Arrow. First going by the alias of Speedy, he served admirably alongside DC's billionaire Robin Hood, fighting crime and helping the little guy by shooting people with all kinds of trick arrows. The two became an official team in the '40s and while Roy would remain with Green Arrow for a time, he evolved into a hero of his own, forging a unique identity, and went by both Arsenal and Red Arrow at different times. The one thing nobody saw coming however, especially Green Arrow and comic book readers, was that Roy Harper was heavily involved with substance abuse.
Rather than try to talk rationally to his “son” about the matter, Oliver Queen did what he thought was best.
Since this was the ‘70s, that translated into beating Roy Harper senseless and then literally throwing him to the curb. It put quite the dent in their relationship. Though the story would change slightly in various continuities, the end result was the same: Green Arrow abandoned his “son”. Because of this, the two struggle to even be in the same room together. Arguing pretty much whenever they're within eyesight of each other, Roy even became Red Arrow specifically to spite Oliver and prove he that he was a better hero and father. These days, whenever the heroes run into one another, Roy tends to greet Oliver with a punch (or two) to the face.
9 LEGION
Genuinely insane, there are few mutants on the planet Earth scarier than David Haller, aka Legion. Though he might be the son of Charles Xavier, the world’s most powerful telepath, Legion is best known for his ability to warp reality. However, his power is a double-edged sword, as the most frightening thing about Legion is that he’s mentally unstable and can end the world with a thought. David Haller suffers from a severe case of multiple personality disorder; each personality has it’s unique power-set. You just cannot know which personality you’re dealing with at any given time, and some personalities are friendlier or more murderously psychotic than others. The man is rarely in full in control of his god-like powers and his colleagues typically think it best to just stay out of his way.
Capable of unleashing fire, time travel, and doing anything the story requires, David claim to fame is going back in time and accidentally kicking off the "Age of Apocalypse." All this was inadvertent on David’s part. In fact, he was attempting to go back in time to kill Magneto, the long-time enemy of the X-Men. In a case of mistaken identity, he ended up killing his own father, Charles Xavier. Because there was now no Xavier to unite the X-Men, there was no one to oppose the mutant menace of Apocalypse.
8 JASON TODD
After Dick Grayson (Robin) left Batman to pursue his own career as Nightwing, the Dark Knight found another stray boy to take under his wing: Jason Todd. Raised in the slums of Gotham City and born to a petty criminal, Jason turned to crime at a young age. One night, while trying to steal parts off the Batmobile for cash, he was caught by Batman. Bruce Wayne first tried putting Jason into a school for troubled youths, but that didn’t pan out. With no options left, he took Jason in and trained him as his new Robin. Jason might not have had Dick’s natural acrobatic skill, but he was incredibly resolute. In spite of his training, Jason was killed by the Joker when he was beaten with a crowbar and then blown up.
Years later, Jason was resurrected when Superboy Prime punched a hole punched in reality.
In looking up Batman, Jason noticed that the Dark Knight had moved on and the Joker was alive and well; his father figure hadn’t avenged him. Horribly distraught and determined to enact vengeance, Jason took up the mantle of the new Red Hood. He set about attempt to permanently end crime in Gotham City… via murder. It didn’t take long for Batman to catch on. Their first encounters were full of violence, as Jason couldn’t forgive his “father’s” inaction at not avenging him. Jason would eventually overcome his rage and embrace the Bat-family, albeit from a distance, since he’d always see himself as an outsider.
7 SHANG-CHI
Back in the '70s, martial arts were all the rage. You had Bruce Lee igniting the imagination of viewers everywhere, creating a massive boom in folks seeking to learn self-defense. There was also the popular TV series Kung Fu, which only added fuel to the fire that was the growing love of martial arts movies and TV shows. Amidst it all, having realized there was a potential goldmine to be tapped, Marvel wanted a Kung Fu themed series of their own. Marvel got the rights to Sax Rohmer's classic pulp villain Fu Manchu and made the protagonist of this new series Shang-Chi, Fu Manchu's newly created son and the “master of Kung Fu.”
As it was the ‘70s, there were plenty of (somewhat) offensive stereotypes written into Shang-Chi’s adventures. Introduced as the son of Fu Manchu, Shang-Chi spent his youth being trained by his father and some of the world’s greatest masters in the art of combat. All the while, Fu Manchu was manipulating Shang into thinking he was a philanthropist. Yet when the time came for Shang to go into the outside world, his dad immediately sent him on an assassination mission. Upon discovering this fact, Shang-Chi rebelled against his father; the two almost immediately became bitter enemies.
6 LARA KENT
Lara Kent is the daughter of both Superman and Wonder Woman. The Supergirl from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Lara originally began her superpowered exploits as a champion of justice. Raised on Paradise Island by Wonder Woman, the latter sought to teach her daughter discipline and self-control. In that same story, Brainiac attacked the Earth, which forced Lara to make her presence known, as she ends up saving her father’s life at one point. While Lara might have begun as a hero, her allegiances shifted in The Dark Knight III: The Master Race. In the series, Lara ends up joining some rogue Kandorians. Finally free from their shrunken city, the now enlarged Kryptonians have become quite mad and seek to take over the world.
Lara, believing in their cause in making a new Krypton, unites with them.
Through this allegiance, she ends up fighting her mother, since the Kandorians know they must defeat the Amazons in order to acquire the Earth. In spite of potentially possessing more power than either Wonder Woman or Superman, Lara loses to her mom, if only because Diana is the superior fighter. Luckily, after realizing the Kandorains are nothing more than merciless madmen, Kara reunites with her family and the people of Earth. After the battle is won, her father decides to fully embrace his estranged daughter. He gives her a human identity and helps to teach Lara the value of life.
5 INVINCIBLE
Mark Grayson was the son of Nolan Grayson, otherwise known as Omni-Man and the world’s great hero, in the comic book series Invincible. Nolan was an alien from the planet Viltrum, who arrived on Earth and became the planet’s protector. For a time, Mark had no idea about his father’s alter-ego, but he put all the pieces together when, as a teenager, he began developing powers of his own. It was pretty shocking for Mark, but he took it in stride and decided to go out and follow in his father’s heroic footsteps. Assuming the superhero name of Invincible, Mark quickly became a mighty instrument for good. Problems arose between the two men when Invincible discovered his father was actually scouting the planet out for an impending Viltrumite invasion, the likes of which would involve conquering the Earth and probably a bit of mass-murder.
It was a mind-boggling dilemma, one Mark was forced to face in the early days of Invincible. Nolan did try to convince Mark to join his side, but the young hero refused, choosing to stand with Earth and make sure it wasn’t invaded. As a result, son and father fought, their battle taking them across the globe, with hundreds, if not thousands of people, killed in their ensuing struggle. Despite Mark’s resolve, Nolan all but cripples his son, only to then leave the planet, tears streaming down his face.
4 MOONDRAGON
The daughter of Drax the Destroyer after a fashion (more will be explained in a moment), there are few characters in the Marvel Universe quite as arrogant as Moondragon. First introduced as Heather Douglas, she originally was just your average girl driving along with her family when all the sudden Thanos came out of nowhere and destroyed the car she and her loved ones were in. The only survivor of the attack, Mentor, Thanos’ father, found her and took Heather to the planet Titan. While there, she was raised by the alien monks of Shao-Lom and developed psychic powers and learned martial arts. It was here that she became Moondragon.
Yet it turned out she wasn’t the only survivor from Thanos’ attack.
Thanks to Mentor and Chronos, her father’s mind was transferred into a new body as Drax the Destroyer. He later reunited with Moondragon, but the two came to blows when she took over an alien world with her psychic powers, subjugating them completely. When Drax tried to stop her in Avengers #220, Moondragon killed him. He was later resurrected, but there’d forever be a fissure between the two. Even after this incident, Moondragon continued enforcing her will on others, her notable confidence in both herself and her abilities, gave her an outlook whereas she looked down on everyone else. Only decades later, after falling in love with Quasar, did Moondragon realize it wasn’t right to control people.
3 RED TORNADO
Just because someone might be a literal android, doesn’t mean they don’t have parents after a fashion. Introducing the superhero Red Tornado, an android with wind powers. While he technically might not have biological parents, he does have a creator named Thomas Oscar Morrow. First appearing in Justice League of America #64 and created by Gardner Fox and Dick Dillin in 1968, the Red Tornado was one of DC Comics’ attempts to modernize Golden Age characters by putting a science fiction spin on them.
One day the supervillain T. O. Morrow, who also happened to be one of the greatest scientists in the world and could see into the future and steal technology that hadn’t been invented yet, used his abilities to construct what he believed would be the ultimate weapon against the Justice Society. Unfortunately for the mad scientist, Red Tornado had other ideas. Rather than become an instrument of evil, he turned against his programming and became a hero. From then on, “father” and “son” became mortal enemies with Morrow constantly trying to find ways to control Red Tornado. In one of their many fights, a mutated version of Morrow, calling himself Future Man, discovered he was dying. In an effort to continue living, he switched minds with Red Tornado, but in 1981’s World’s Finest #268, Morrow was forced out of Red Tornado’s body and died.
2 SCARLET WITCH AND QUICKSILVER
The oldest enemy of the X-Men and the philosophical rival to Professor Charles Xavier, Magneto is a villain unlike most others. With unrivaled power, Magneto has forever danced along the line of good and evil. His perception of the world is inarguably black and white, but he’s willing to do whatever he feels is necessary for mutantkind, even if that involves mass slaughter. You can see how growing up with the man as a father would be challenging. Things are even more awkward when you factor into account that he spent the majority of his life not even being aware that he had kids or that they were among the strongest mutants on the planet. When he finally recruited Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, it wasn’t to spend quality time with his kids, but to force them to join his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Despite their more amiable nature, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were constantly manipulated into fighting for the bad guys.
Eventually, the twins have enough of their dad’s machinations and leave Magneto, going to join the Avengers and become champions of justice. This changed alliance did not do them any favors with their father. Rather, they’ve had to battle the Master of Magnetism a great many times. Over the years, Magneto has mellowed enough so that he’s tried to reconcile with his children, but this has proved difficult, especially since there was that time Magneto crushed Quicksilver within the metal body of a Sentinel.
1 DAKEN
Wolverine is generally considered pretty amazing at what he does, that being taking people out. Turns out, he wasn’t necessarily at the best as he thought. When he first ran into Daken, the son he never knew he had, Logan felt compelled to hand the title over. First appearing in Wolverine: Origins #5, Daken made it his mission to beat the wolverine right out of Logan. For you see, back in the '40s, Logan was married to a woman named Itsu. Their time together was cut short when, to the surprise of no one, she got murdered (it happens to all of Wolverine’s love interests). Unlike other women Logan had been with, Itsu, unbeknownst to Wolverine, was pregnant at the time she died.
The villain Romulus found the child, named him Daken, and indoctrinated the young mutant with nothing but hatred towards Logan. It didn’t take much of a push, since Daken already blamed Wolverine for his mother’s death and for abandoning him. When they initially met, Daken defeated Wolverine, only to then enlist the mercenary Deadpool to help him capture Logan. With that done, he attempted to kill his father, but failed. After years spent trying to set Daken on the right path, Wolverine was forced to kill his son by drowning him in a small puddle of water.