People with superpowers are generally too busy to settle down and start a family. The task of protecting the world makes it too dangerous for a prominent hero to extend their family, whilst trying to rule the world takes up too much time.
This hasn't stopped a few heroes and villains from procreating, even though they are aware of the risks that their profession would present to a child.
Not all children choose to follow in their parent's footsteps. There are some kids who grow up and turn to the dark side, while others choose to defy their evil parents and oppose them. These issues can lead to physical confrontations between family members, which can end with parents murdering their offspring.
We are here today to find out which superheroes & supervillains murdered their own flesh and blood. From the many slain children of the most famous member of the X-Men, to the time when the Man of Tomorrow was tricked into committing murder.
Here are the 15 Superheroes And Villains Who Had To Kill Their Own Children.
Wolverine
Wolverine has been alive since around 1882. His healing factor has granted him long life, as well as ensuring that he can survive almost any wound.
This increased longevity and vitality has allowed Wolverine to procreate on numerous occasions, though he usually wasn't aware that he was leaving his own children behind, as he spent most of his life traveling.
It turns out that Wolverine has had so many children that they were able to form a team of supervillains. The Mongrels were a short-lived team that was composed entirely of Wolverine's offspring. They sought revenge on their father, which included going after the people in his life.
Wolverine was unaware of his familial connection to the Mongrels when he engaged them in battle. He didn't discover that they were his children until after he had killed them all. Once he became aware of the truth, Wolverine buried all of the Mongrels alongside their mothers.
Mystique
Mystique is confirmed to have given birth to two children; Kurt Wagner (better known as Nightcrawler) and Graydon Creed.
She has shown little love for her natural children, which is odd when you consider how close she is to Rogue, who is her adopted daughter. Mystique has had no qualms about battling against Nightcrawler and Graydon, while she would not willingly harm Rogue.
Graydon Creed is a regular human being, despite the fact both of his parents are mutants. He would go on to become a staunch anti-mutant activist. Creed would eventually run for president, with his entire platform being fueled by anti-mutant sentiment. He was killed before the voting began, as his own mother assassinated him.
Graydon Creed was shot with a plasma weapon which totally destroyed his body. An alternate version of Mystique killed her own son, due to his involvement in an attack on Destiny's grandson. Destiny was Mystique's former lover, who had been slain by Legion years earlier. Mystique still dearly loved Destiny, which explains her desire to kill Creed.
Fat Cobra
There are several secret cities in China that are protected by dragons. K'un-Lun is one such place, as it is protected by Shou-Lao. Defeating one of these dragons will afford great power and status to a person, as was the case when Danny Rand, as his defeat of Shou-Lao is what granted him the power of the Iron Fist.
The city of Peng Lai is protected by a dragon named Xiang Yao. A warrior named Fat Cobra tried to defeat the dragon and was left for dead. This caused Fat Cobra to seek out a life outside of China, which led to a bizarre and varied career as both a hero and a villain.
Fat Cobra's long lifespan allowed him to father many children throughout his life. It seems that his offspring inherited his interest in martial arts, as most of them sought him out and attempted to kill him in unarmed combat. Fat Cobra has murdered every one of his offspring that tried to take his life.
Captain Boomerang
The Blackest Night event totally changed the status quo of the DC universe. It ended with many prominent characters dead, while others were resurrected by the power of the White Lantern. One way in which the status quo was changed involved the changing of Captain Boomerang.
In the Identity Crisis event, it was revealed that Captain Boomerang had a son, named Owen Mercer. Captain Boomerang died during this event, which led to his son taking over the role.
The new Captain Boomerang was responsible for the death of women and children during the Blackest Night event. Owens had chained the Black Lantern version of his father up and was feeding him victims, in an effort to return him to life. He had broken the code of honor of the Rogues which led to Captain Cold pushing him into the pit. The zombie version of the original Captain Boomerang murdered his son.
Dream
Dream may be the main character of Sandman but it would be hard to call him a hero. He has a vindictive streak that can last for centuries. You probably don't want to get on his bad side, as Dream has been known to let his enemies languish in torment for years.
Calliope was once the lover of Dream in ancient times. The two of them had a son, named Orpheus, who made a failed attempt to save his wife from Hades. Orpheus would later have his head removed from his shoulders by the followers of Dionysus. The head of Orpheus remained alive and Dream arranged for him to be taken care of.
Dream would later need Orpheus' clairvoyance in order to seek out Destruction. Orpheus offered the information at the price of his own death. Dream agreed and took his son's life, in exchange for the information of Destruction's location.
Lady Shiva
The concept of the Lazarus Pit might be the worst addition to the Batman and DC universe, as it makes death cheap. It's hard to believe that anyone can stay dead while there are literal resurrection baths hiding in the world. The writers may as well just have the Ra's al Ghul gather the seven Dragon Balls and get it over with.
Lady Shiva is a character who has been known to abuse the Lazarus Pits. She is the mother of Cassandra Cain and the two have clashed on numerous occasions. Lady Shiva is one of the deadliest warriors and assassins of the DC world, which means that Cassandra has sometimes been slain at the hands of her own mother.
Cassandra Cain was slain by Lady Shiva in battle. Shiva brought Cassandra back to life with the Lazarus Pit and revealed that she was actually her mother. The reason she brought her back to life was that she wanted to be slain by a fighter of equal skill and believed only her own child was capable of such a feat.
Darkseid
You might think that the New Gods are invincible, due to their name. The New Gods are actually just powerful mortal beings. They aren't omnipotent and it's certainly possible to kill one of them. It's also possible for them to kill each other, which has happened during the many conflicts between the forces of Apokolips and New Genesis.
Darkseid had an adversarial relationship with his son, Orion. This is because he allowed Orion to be raised by the people of New Genesis as part of a peace agreement. The conflict between the two came to a head in the lead up to Final Crisis, as Darkseid murdered his own son with the use of a time-traveling bullet. Orion was assassinated from beyond the boundaries of time itself. This sort of extreme method was needed, as Orion shares his father's incredible durability.
The use of a time-traveling bullet that was capable of killing gods would eventually be Darkseid's downfall, as Batman would later shoot him with the same bullet. This is one of the few occasions when Batman was pushed to the point where he would use a firearm.
Deadly Ernest
John Byrne's run on Alpha Flight may be the most underrated in comic book history. He helped to create an engaging mythology and backstory for Canada's main superhero team while keeping them connected with the rest of the Marvel universe.
One of the villains introduced in Byrne's run on Alpha Flight was Ernest St. Ives, also known as Deadly Ernest. This was a man who fought for France in the first World War. He was killed in battle but was somehow able to refuse Death and managed to flee from her. Ernest gained both immortality and a deadly touch, which allowed him to kill anyone he came into contact with.
Deadly Ernest was the father of an antihero named Nemesis. It was revealed that Nemesis was actually Ernest's daughter, who sought to end her father's unnatural life. She was aware that her father had tied his lifeforce to her, which resulted in her death when she killed him. The mantle of Nemesis would later be taken up again by other members of Alpha Flight.
The Lizard
The Lizard is almost a tailored made version of the Hulk for Spider-Man. He is a doctor who turns into a monster when he loses control. The Lizard even manages to keep a pair of purple pants on when he transforms.
Dr. Curtis Connors is the scientist who transformed into the Lizard. He was originally working on a formula that would allow him to regrow his arm. This backfired and turned him into a savage reptilian monster. Spider-Man sees a lot of himself in Dr. Connors, which is why he has tried to help him control his transformations.
In 2010, the Lizard murdered Curtis Connors son in a fit of rage. Billy Connors was Curtis' young son, who had endured much heartache due to his father's condition. This reprehensible act caused the Lizard to take on a new identity, called the Shed, which retained Connors' intelligence while also gaining some new powers in the process.
6. Vanessa Fisk
Just because the Kingpin looks like a big bald baby, it doesn't mean that he can't find women. The Kingpin was actually married for most of his time in the comics, to a beautiful woman named Vanessa.
Vanessa Fisk was a supporting character in many of the stories in which the Kingpin was the villain. She was originally presented as being opposed to his job, which caused many of the Kingpin's associates to believe that she may convince their boss to change his ways.
Wilson and Vanessa had a son, named Richard Fisk, who would go on to become a villain like his father. Richard started to change his ways and would become more of an antihero. He had made several attempts on his father's life, in an effort to take over his organization. This resulted in Vanessa choosing to side with her husband over her son. Richard made one last attempt to convince Vanessa to leave the Kingpin and start a new life, which resulted in Vanessa shooting Richard in the head.
Baron Strucker
Baron Strucker is one of the main leaders of Hydra and is one of Captain America's oldest enemies. You wouldn't know this if you had only seen the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, where Strucker was jobbed out at the start of Avengers: Age of Ultron and quickly defeated.
The version of the Baron that appears in Marvel comics is far more ruthless. He actually murders his own son in an attempt to take control of Hydra once more.
Werner von Strucker is one of the Baron's children. He took control of Hydra when his father faked his own death. The Baron was actually posing as one of Werner's assistants during his reign as leader. Werner is slain when his father infects him with the Death Spore virus, as the Baron believed that his son wasn't worthy to take over the leadership of Hydra. This allowed Baron Strucker to reclaim his position.
Green Goblin (The Ultimate Version)
The success of the original X-Men and Spider-Man movies prompted Marvel to create a brand new continuity, which became known as the Ultimate universe. This was meant to be a brand new Marvel reality which was going to accommodate all of the new fans who were attracted by the movies and may have been put off by the forty years of continuity of the main Marvel comics.
One of the benefits of the Ultimate line was that the creators weren't afraid to kill off characters and keep them dead. This was the case with Harry Osborn in Ultimate Spider-Man, as he was murdered by his own father.
The Ultimate version of the Green Goblin would eventually manifest in a form similar to that of the Incredible Hulk. Norman Osborn's Goblin form would become a huge green monster. Harry Osborn attempted to stop his father and Norman accidentally killed him with his super-strength.
This led to Norman realizing what he had done and caused him to shift back to his human form, which allowed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to kill him. Norman would later return, but Harry would stay dead.
El Diablo
One of the biggest issues facing the creators of the Suicide Squad movie was trying to introduce so many obscure characters to the audience. Indeed, the movie probably would have been better if it had focused on a smaller cast, while focusing on the more well-known characters, like the Joker and Harley Quinn.
El Diablo may have been the most obscure member of the Suicide Squad. This may be why we learn so much about his backstory. The reason El Diablo doesn't willingly use his powers (until it is dramatically necessary) is that he once lost control of them and murdered his family. El Diablo was responsible for the death of his wife, as well as his son and daughter, due to the fact that he burned the house down with his powers.
This was a change made for the movie version of El Diablo, as the character he is based on had only murdered innocent people, rather than members of his family.
Thanos
Thanos is currently spending his sweet time getting ready to actually do something in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He spent the past six years playing poker with the White Walkers. Now that they have finally started to move, he has had to get his coat and actually appear in a film.
The reign of Thanos began a long time ago. He turned on the rest of his race after an encounter with Death convinced him that he needed to pursue her love. This took the form of intergalactic conquest, with Thanos forming an army and taking over planets.
Thanos fathered many children during this period, though he had little time for them. Thanos showed more attention to his adopted children, as he trained them to act as his commanders on the field of battle.
Thanos would be forced to track down and murder almost all of his children, on the orders of Death herself. She tried to test him by forcing him to slay anyone with whom he had a familial connection. Thanos rose to the task and culled his children.
Superman
There are several villains who have the power to create illusions. You will commonly see this used in the Batman video games, as the developers loved to create trippy levels based on Scarecrow or Mad Hatter's powers.
Illusion powers can be used to trick heroes into fighting their allies. Wolverine slaughtered all of the X-Men in Old Man Logan due to Mysterio tricking him into thinking they were villains. A similar trick was used on Superman in the terrible prequel series to Injustice: Gods Among Us.
The Joker managed to create a compound of Scarecrow's Fear Gas and Kryptonite, which he used on Superman.
This caused Superman to believe that Lois Lane was actually Doomsday. Superman punched her into space, where he realized that she had two heartbeats inside of her. He knew in that moment that he had killed both Lois Lane and his unborn child. This causes Superman to snap and kill the Joker.
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Can you think of any other superheroes or villains who've killed their own children? Let us know in the comments.