Top 10 Superheroes Who Killed Their Own Parents
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Most superheroes are cursed with the burden of having dead parents, but in some cases, it’s not an outside force that ends their lives. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Superheroes Who Killed Their Own Parents.
For this list, it’s the heroes who do the killing, whether it was intentional or accidental. We’re only counting heroes, not villains, and we’re only counting characters who are the direct cause of death -- sorry Uncle Ben enthusiasts, but Peter technically didn’t pull the trigger.
Vance Astrovik, formerly known as Marvel Boy, had two choices when his powers surfaced: he could continue to deal with his abusive father, or he could run. Fortunately, Vance chose the latter option, and eventually found a place with the New Warriors. As he became more of a hero, his father’s anger and shame grew, but this time, Vance stood up to his abuser... and ended up killing him. This led to a murder trial, and while he was acquitted of the murder charge, he did have to serve time for negligent homicide. Once he served his sentence, he changed his name to, you guessed it, Justice.
Despite our wildest dreams of what it’d be like to have supernatural abilities, the discovery of mutant powers in the X-Men franchise hasn’t always been... cheerful. One rather tragic tale is Kevin Ford’s, aka “Wither.” As his name suggests, Wither has the ability to disintegrate organic matter. Useful against enemies, but not so much your father when he’s trying to comfort you when you start to freak out about your abilities. All it takes is one touch for Kevin’s father to crumble away, leaving behind a traumatized son.
Thanos, king of wrecking everything he touches, had a hand in killing Moondragon’s parents... but it turns out her father survived the car accident Thanos caused -- or rather, his brain did and was transferred into everyone’s favorite “taking things too literally” hero, Drax. The father/daughter bonding is cut short when the two travel to a war-torn planet. Moondragon decides to fix things... by mentally enslaving everyone to force them to live in peace. That doesn’t sit well with, well, anyone, and the Avengers -- along with Drax -- have to face Moondragon, which leads to Drax’s death at the hands of his own daughter.
When you’re the daughter of a malevolent villain like Trigon, you’re kinda destined to spend your life trying to keep him at bay. It’s because of him that Raven tries so hard to keep her emotions in check, worried that if she goes unchecked, she’ll turn out just like him. After teaming up with the Teen Titans and gaining a real sense of family, they manage to trap Trigon in an interdimensional prison which, of course, doesn’t work. It takes the souls of Azarath using Raven’s body as a vessel to finally put an end to Trigon’s reign of terror.
Another case of a hero with a supervillain for a father, Orion is the second son of Darkseid, though he’s nowhere near the tyrannical threat his father is. It probably helps that he wasn’t raised by Darkseid, nor did he grow up on the fiery warscape of Apokolips. After being traded for the world’s greatest escape artist, Scott Free, Orion grew up on New Genesis with Highfather Izaya acting as his father. By the time he confronts his biological dad, Orion’s learned how to control his rage and is able to face him in combat. Not only does he defeat him, he rips out his heart.
Surprisingly, the king of the Inhumans and the leader of the Royal Family is responsible for the death of his parents... even if it was an accident. When your voice is a weapon of mass destruction, you gotta be careful how you use it, a lesson Black Bolt learns the hard way. After learning his brother Maximus had made a deal with the Kree, Black Bolt used his voice to stop the Kree ship from leaving, but the ship crash lands on Earth killing his parents, Agon and Rynda.
Despite being such a comical character, Deadpool’s backstory is an emotional kick to the nads... at least it is if Wade’s actually telling the truth. The “Merc with a Mouth” has a tendency to change his story, which is to be expected when you’re able to break the fourth wall. There is one story, however, that’s a bit too devastating for him to be making it up. After “The Butler” takes control of his mind, he sends Deadpool on a mission to burn down a house. Unfortunately, Deadpool doesn’t realize that the house belongs to his parents, and he burns them alive, unaware of who they even are.
We can’t believe we’re saying this, but... X-Men Origins: Wolverine actually got this story right... for the most part. A young James Howlett witnesses the groundskeeper murdering his father. In a fit of rage, his dormant mutant powers are unleashed, and what better target than the man who killed his dad... only it turns out the groundskeeper’s his real dad. Oops. Though let’s be honest, Thomas Logan wasn’t exactly a shining example of a father figure. In a kind of morbid twist of fate, the parent killing apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as X-23 would later end up killing her surrogate mother.
Usually, when parental units get together, it’s for something wholesome like a PTA meeting or potluck. In the case of The Runaways, those meetings are for pure, unadulterated evil -- much to the horror of their children. Their parents are part of the supervillain team known as the Pride, and their children must come together to put a stop to them while trying to figure out their own set of abilities. While the television series is still ongoing, in the comics, the kids cause their parents’ secret lair to collapse, killing them in the process.
Abused by his father as a child, Bruce Banner witnessed him violently kill his mother. After threatening his son to keep quiet, Bruce lied about the cause of his mother’s death... but his father ended up telling on himself after having too much alcohol. Father and son reunited 15 years later when Brian Banner was released from the mental hospital, which led to an argument at Rebecca Banner’s grave. In a true sign of poetic justice, Bruce shoved Brian away, and the man was killed when he tripped and hit his head on Rebecca’s gravestone.
For this list, it’s the heroes who do the killing, whether it was intentional or accidental. We’re only counting heroes, not villains, and we’re only counting characters who are the direct cause of death -- sorry Uncle Ben enthusiasts, but Peter technically didn’t pull the trigger.
#10: Marvel Boy/Justice
Vance Astrovik, formerly known as Marvel Boy, had two choices when his powers surfaced: he could continue to deal with his abusive father, or he could run. Fortunately, Vance chose the latter option, and eventually found a place with the New Warriors. As he became more of a hero, his father’s anger and shame grew, but this time, Vance stood up to his abuser... and ended up killing him. This led to a murder trial, and while he was acquitted of the murder charge, he did have to serve time for negligent homicide. Once he served his sentence, he changed his name to, you guessed it, Justice.
#9: Wither
Despite our wildest dreams of what it’d be like to have supernatural abilities, the discovery of mutant powers in the X-Men franchise hasn’t always been... cheerful. One rather tragic tale is Kevin Ford’s, aka “Wither.” As his name suggests, Wither has the ability to disintegrate organic matter. Useful against enemies, but not so much your father when he’s trying to comfort you when you start to freak out about your abilities. All it takes is one touch for Kevin’s father to crumble away, leaving behind a traumatized son.
#8: Moondragon
Thanos, king of wrecking everything he touches, had a hand in killing Moondragon’s parents... but it turns out her father survived the car accident Thanos caused -- or rather, his brain did and was transferred into everyone’s favorite “taking things too literally” hero, Drax. The father/daughter bonding is cut short when the two travel to a war-torn planet. Moondragon decides to fix things... by mentally enslaving everyone to force them to live in peace. That doesn’t sit well with, well, anyone, and the Avengers -- along with Drax -- have to face Moondragon, which leads to Drax’s death at the hands of his own daughter.
#7: Raven
When you’re the daughter of a malevolent villain like Trigon, you’re kinda destined to spend your life trying to keep him at bay. It’s because of him that Raven tries so hard to keep her emotions in check, worried that if she goes unchecked, she’ll turn out just like him. After teaming up with the Teen Titans and gaining a real sense of family, they manage to trap Trigon in an interdimensional prison which, of course, doesn’t work. It takes the souls of Azarath using Raven’s body as a vessel to finally put an end to Trigon’s reign of terror.
#6: Orion
Another case of a hero with a supervillain for a father, Orion is the second son of Darkseid, though he’s nowhere near the tyrannical threat his father is. It probably helps that he wasn’t raised by Darkseid, nor did he grow up on the fiery warscape of Apokolips. After being traded for the world’s greatest escape artist, Scott Free, Orion grew up on New Genesis with Highfather Izaya acting as his father. By the time he confronts his biological dad, Orion’s learned how to control his rage and is able to face him in combat. Not only does he defeat him, he rips out his heart.
#5: Black Bolt
Surprisingly, the king of the Inhumans and the leader of the Royal Family is responsible for the death of his parents... even if it was an accident. When your voice is a weapon of mass destruction, you gotta be careful how you use it, a lesson Black Bolt learns the hard way. After learning his brother Maximus had made a deal with the Kree, Black Bolt used his voice to stop the Kree ship from leaving, but the ship crash lands on Earth killing his parents, Agon and Rynda.
#4: Deadpool
Despite being such a comical character, Deadpool’s backstory is an emotional kick to the nads... at least it is if Wade’s actually telling the truth. The “Merc with a Mouth” has a tendency to change his story, which is to be expected when you’re able to break the fourth wall. There is one story, however, that’s a bit too devastating for him to be making it up. After “The Butler” takes control of his mind, he sends Deadpool on a mission to burn down a house. Unfortunately, Deadpool doesn’t realize that the house belongs to his parents, and he burns them alive, unaware of who they even are.
#3: Wolverine
We can’t believe we’re saying this, but... X-Men Origins: Wolverine actually got this story right... for the most part. A young James Howlett witnesses the groundskeeper murdering his father. In a fit of rage, his dormant mutant powers are unleashed, and what better target than the man who killed his dad... only it turns out the groundskeeper’s his real dad. Oops. Though let’s be honest, Thomas Logan wasn’t exactly a shining example of a father figure. In a kind of morbid twist of fate, the parent killing apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as X-23 would later end up killing her surrogate mother.
#2: The Runaways
Usually, when parental units get together, it’s for something wholesome like a PTA meeting or potluck. In the case of The Runaways, those meetings are for pure, unadulterated evil -- much to the horror of their children. Their parents are part of the supervillain team known as the Pride, and their children must come together to put a stop to them while trying to figure out their own set of abilities. While the television series is still ongoing, in the comics, the kids cause their parents’ secret lair to collapse, killing them in the process.
#1: The Hulk
Abused by his father as a child, Bruce Banner witnessed him violently kill his mother. After threatening his son to keep quiet, Bruce lied about the cause of his mother’s death... but his father ended up telling on himself after having too much alcohol. Father and son reunited 15 years later when Brian Banner was released from the mental hospital, which led to an argument at Rebecca Banner’s grave. In a true sign of poetic justice, Bruce shoved Brian away, and the man was killed when he tripped and hit his head on Rebecca’s gravestone.
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