In DC Comics, many superheroes have kids who follow in their heroic footsteps. But some kids have less-than-stellar upbringings because their parents are among DC’s most notorious and malevolent supervillains. But a person’s bloodline doesn’t always define them or predict their futures, as these kids showed that they have the capacity for good and defining their own paths. Rebelling against their evil parents, these kids struck out on their own to become heroes. Often, they do this to atone for their family’s crime or to spite their evil parents. Whatever the case may be, these kids have dedicated their lives to ensure that their supervillain parents never hurt anyone ever again.
Many children, because of their warped upbringing, decide to become supervillains like their parents. However, sometimes the DC Universe’s greatest defenders are the kids who dared to fight back and renounce their villainous lineages.
Unlike other kids on this list, Stephanie Brown isn’t the offspring of a major DC supervillain. Instead, she’s the daughter of the C-List Batman villain, Cluemaster. Because her father Cluemaster was in prison during most of her early life, Stephanie grew to resent him. When Cluemaster got out of jail and decided to drop his whole gimmick of leaving clues behind at crime scenes, Stephanie decided to ensure that her deadbeat dad would go back behind bars. After spying on Cluemaster and figuring out his schemes, Stephanie would don a costume and spoil her father’s plans by leaving clues just as he had done himself prior to his prison jaunt. These clues ensured that Batman and Robin could track down and catch Cluemaster. But Spoiler’s crimefighting didn’t stop with getting her dad arrested; she was soon recruited into the Bat-Family. She would even have stints as both Robin and Batgirl. Whereas her father was a C-List criminal nobody, Spoiler rose above to become one of Batman’s most important allies.
Aquaman and Black Manta have one of the most bitter feuds in DC Comics. This ongoing hostile relationship made it especially surprising when Aquaman took Black Manta’s son, Jackson Hyde, as his protégé. Black Manta unknowingly sired a son from a fling with an Atlantean woman. Jackson’s mother raised their son on land to keep him safe from Black Manta. But when Jackson eventually discovered his Atlantean physiology and connection to Aquaman’s archnemesis, he sought to atone for his father’s sins. After mastering his hydrokinetic and electrokinetic abilities, Jackson became Aqualad, Aquaman’s new sidekick. This decision would ultimately lead to Aqualad and Black Manta to fight numerous times. Even when they’re forced to work together, there always remains underlying tensions and the ever present threat of a double-cross. Essentially, Aquaman became the father figure Aqualad never had. Aqualad broke free of Black Manta’s legacy and chose compassion over vengeance.
The fourth Robin, Damian Wayne, may be Batman’s son, but he spent much of his life being raised by his villainous mother and grandfather, Talia and Ra’s al Ghul. For ten years, Batman had no idea he even had a son. During that time, Talia raised their son to be a ruthless killer, a future member of the League of Assassins, and a ruler of Earth. As part of this scheme, Talia dropped Damian off with Batman to distract the Dark Knight from her master plan. However, Talia didn’t account for Batman’s compassion, restraint, and no-killing rule, which rubbed off on Damian. As the fourth Robin, Damian rejected Talia and stayed with his father. This development would lead to Damian battling both his mother and grandfather countless times as they tried to kill the child that they viewed as a disappointment and traitor. Luckily, Damien found a new family with the Bat-Family and is now a defender of Gotham.
Darkseid is evil incarnate and has spawned many demented offspring who view his word as law. But one of his children was spared being raised on Apokolips: Orion. As part of a peace treaty with New Genesis, Darkseid gave Orion to his archenemy, the benevolent Highfather, to be raised. At first, Orion intended to tear New Genesis apart from the inside. However, after being reared in a peaceful environment with friends and family, Orion learned to move past his baseline and malevolent urges to become a true hero. Now, as the Dog of War, Orion is New Genesis’s primary defender. Orion absolutely loathes his biological father and won’t rest until he’s dead. Orion is even destined to kill Darkseid in the final battle between Apokolips and New Genesis. In a cosmos full of gods and heroes, Orion is the first line of defense against his father’s mad schemes for multiversal domination.
No hero in DC Comics has a worst relationship with their parent than Raven. The mighty Teen Titan member is the daughter of the malevolent demon conqueror Trigon, who has sadistically butchered entire universes. Trigon sired Raven with a human woman so their daughter would act as a gateway for his invasion of Earth. However, Raven’s mother stole her away to the peaceful realm of Azeroth. Here, Raven was safe from Trigon’s prying eye and could learn to use her magic for good. When Raven discovered that Trigon was her father, she fled to Earth. She assembled the Teen Titans to help stop her father’s invasion. Trigon constantly tries to corrupt Raven and get her to join his side. However, Raven always fights back against this attempted corruption and overpowers Trigon. Raven may be the child of a demon, but her human heart has made her one of DC Comics’ most powerful heroes.
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