The superheroes of Marvel Comics have, over the years, produced all-new generations of heroes to continue their legacies. But while having superhero parents can be tricky, having supervillain parents can often be far worse. As one can imagine, serial killers and alien tyrants don’t make the best parents, with many of their children growing up either abandoned or trained to become supervillains themselves. With such dark upbringings, the children of Marvel villains often fall into one of two outcomes. One is that they reject their twisted upbringing and become heroes. The second is that they fully embrace their dark sides and become just as evil as their villainous parents, if not more so.
These children of Marvel’s deadliest villains grew up to be some of the greatest superheroes or the worst supervillains.
Daisy Johnson, aka Quake, is the illegitimate daughter of the savage supervillain Mr. Hyde. Thankfully, Daisy didn’t inherit her father’s monstrous appearance and savagery. Instead, she inherited her mother’s Inhuman DNA and developed the ability to generate powerful seismic vibrations.
When Nick Fury found the young girl, he took her in under his wing as his protégé. As Fury’s top student, Daisy quickly rose through the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. and became one of their best agents. She later led both the Secret Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., but she lost the latter position after her power went to her head, when she made several reckless decisions that led to an international incident. Still, Daisy is a selfless and courageous hero who has moved past her dark lineage.
Sinthia Schmidt, aka Sin, was born and raised to be as ruthless and hate-filled as her father, the Red Skull. At first disgusted because he desired a male heir, the Red Skull nearly killed the infant Sinthia, but he was convinced by his minion Mother Night to train the baby to be a killing machine instead.
Sinthia was raised to be a remorseless killer and trained in various fighting styles and weapons. The Red Skull eventually used a machine to artificially age Sinthia into an adult so that she could aid his plans for world domination. Sin is a high-ranking member of Hydra and has battled Captain America many times. She killed Bucky Barnes and worked with Crossbones to assassinate Captain America after the events of Civil War.
Hela is the Goddess of Death, and the daughter of Loki and a Frost Giant. Odin appointed the young Hela to act as the queen of Hel and Niffelheim, a realm populated with doomed and lost souls. Still, even with countless subjects, Hela is always seeking to expand her kingdom and take over the land of the living.
She has worked both independently and in collusion with her father to conquer the Nine Realms. With her Asgardian physiology, mystical powers, and hordes of undead soldiers, Hela is one of Thor’s strongest adversaries and one of the greatest threats to Asgard.
Megan Gwynn, aka Pixie, is a young member of the X-Men with fairy-like wings and the ability to teleport and produce hallucinogenic dust. Although Megan grew up believing that her father was a deceased coal miner, her mother eventually revealed the truth of her origin. Megan is the daughter of the illusion-casting supervillain Jason Wyngarde, aka Mastermind, who was a founding member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The discovery shocked Megan, but she didn’t allow it to change how she viewed herself.
Over the years, Megan has evolved from an inexperienced student to a fan-favorite, skilled and powerful member of both the X-Men and the Legion of X, while still maintaining her cheerful attitude.
Even though Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were retconned into no longer being Magneto’s children, the Master of Magnetism still has an offspring: Lorna Dane, aka Polaris. Lorna inherited her father’s magnetic powers and his tendency to be both an enemy and an ally to the X-Men. When Lorna was first introduced, she was brainwashed by the villain Mesmero to battle the X-Men. The heroes managed to free Lorna from her brainwashing, and she joined their ranks.
She’s been an on-again, off-again member of the X-Men, as well as the government mutant task force known as X-Factor. Lorna has often been the victim of brainwashing and forced to attack her allies, but she does her best to stay on the path of righteousness.
Harry Osborn is both Peter Parker’s childhood friend and the son of Spider-Man’s archnemesis, Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin. Although Harry initially did not know his father’s supervillain persona, he eventually discovered the truth. When Norman died fighting Spider-Man, Harry discovered that Peter was the Wall-Crawler. The revelation drove Harry temporarily mad, leading him to don the Green Goblin suit and begin taking the Goblin serum to enhance his strength.
As the new Green Goblin, Harry tried to kill his former friend to avenge his father’s death. He would eventually reform and start a family with Liz Allen. Sadly, in one of the most tragic events in Spider-Man’s life, Harry developed an addiction to the Goblin serum and eventually died from the side effects.
Helmut Zemo is the latest in a long line of Baron Zemos who have sought to take over the world. Helmut’s father, the 12th Baron Zemo, fought Captain America during World War II as a Nazi war criminal before dying in battle during the modern age; to avenge his father, Helmut dedicated his life to destroying Captain America.
During one of his many fights with America’s hero, Helmut fell into a vat of chemicals that severely disfigured his face. He possesses an incredible tactical mind and is an expert swordsman. As the founder of several iterations of the Masters of Evil, Helmut Zemo is one of the Avengers’ most dangerous recurring enemies.
Gamora and Nebula are the adoptive daughters of Thanos, who trained them to be the deadliest women in the galaxy. Thanos adopted Gamora after she survived the destruction of her universe and raised her to be his personal assassin. In contrast, Nebula wasn’t presented initially as Thanos’ adoptive daughter. However, Marvel retconned it so that she was raised alongside Gamora to mirror their MCU counterparts more closely.
The two women eventually rebelled against Thanos. Gamora became a hero and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy; Nebula became a notorious space pirate before eventually reforming to become an antihero like her sister. Although the two hated each other for years, they learned to move past their twisted upbringing to become real sisters.
The Carnage Symbiote is the sadistic spawn of the Venom Symbiote. When Venom’s host, Eddie Brock, was put in jail, he was made the cellmate of the notorious serial killer Cletus Kasady. The Venom Symbiote eventually broke Eddie out of jail, but not before leaving behind an offspring. This new Symbiote bonded with Cletus through a cut in his hand, causing it to merge with his blood.
Together, the duo became the bloodthirsty supervillain known as Carnage. Stronger, faster, and deadlier than Venom, Carnage became one of the most dangerous supervillains in New York. Carnage is so evil that Venom put aside his grudge against Spider-Man to team up with the Wall-Crawler to stop the superpowered serial killer.
With their unique abilities and/or appearances, Nightcrawler and Rogue are two of the most iconic X-Men of all time. They also come from one of the most dysfunctional families in Marvel history.
Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler, is the son of the infamous X-Men member Mystique, who abandoned him as a baby when an angry mob tried to kill him for his demon-like appearance. Nightcrawler grew up into a jovial teleporting hero and long-time member of the X-Men. Mystique later adopted Anna Marie LeBeau, aka Rogue, who was a runaway. Mystique raised Rogue to use her power-draining abilities to battle the X-Men. However, after a change of heart, Rogue joined the X-Men. Now, Nightcrawler and Rogue have moved past their respective tragic upbringings, made peace with their moms, Mystique and Destiny, and embraced the X-Men as their found family.
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