There are a surprising number of dads in the DC Universe, and while we wish there are all amazing and loving, the simple truth is that could never be the case. Some fathers of DC are outright evil, going so far as to become supervillains. Meanwhile, others are content to stay within the bounds of human evil, which is bad enough. For every Jonathan Kent, there’s a horrible father lurking in the shadows. It’s safe to say that these fathers will not be winning any Father of the Year awards. Frankly, even sending them a Father’s Day card is more than any of them deserves.
Realistically, most fans wish their favorite characters could have happy beginnings, but superhero comics have taught us that sometimes, a hero need to rise above their past. Likewise, there’s no natural order preventing supervillains from becoming biological parents, though we stand by their kid’s decisions to walk away from that mess, no matter how challenging their path forward will be.
Father of: Sapphire Stagg
Simon Stagg is the CEO of Stagg Enterprises, so most comic readers already have enough information to guess how this guy acts. He has an overwhelming desire to control everything, from his business to the world. Yes, that includes his daughter, Sapphire Stagg. When his daughter began to show signs of falling outside of his control (translation: having the nerve to fall in love with somebody he didn’t hand-pick or approve of), Simon went off the deep end. He schemed to keep them apart and even tried to have Sapphire’s love, Rex Mason, killed.
Ironically, the latter move is what backfired on Simon Stagg, as Rex survived and became Metamorpho. Sapphire would later marry the love of her life, though Simon Stagg hasn’t been too quiet about his displeasure here. Frankly, it’s only a matter of time before she cuts him out of her life.
Father of: Su-Lehmon, Crush, and countless others
Readers looking for fun chaos know to follow Lobo’s story, but that doesn’t mean he’s a good father. Lobo’s children hate him, going so far as to create a literal army to try and take him down. Think about that for a moment. First, he had enough children to create an army, and then he treated them poorly enough to make them want to kill him. Multiple mistakes have been made, and it only gets worse.
Su-Lehmon became the leader of this little army, not that things went well for any of them. Lobo may have sired them, but he felt nothing toward them, as evidenced by how easily Lobo killed his children. Even named characters failed to survive what followed. Since this is Lobo we’re talking about, more children have already begun to step into the scene, including Crush.
Father of: Conner Kent, Lena Luthor
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that characters such as Lex Luthor are parents, especially when it’s not relevant to their plots. Lex has become a father on several occasions, and he’s botched it every time. For example, he had his DNA combined with Superman’s to create Conner Kent, whom he hoped to control. He would later disown the boy, which is tragic all around.
Then there’s the whole mess with Lena Luther. She’s the daughter of Lex and Contessa Erica Del Portenza. She was the long-lost daughter of Lex, reappearing when she was a teenager. She’s probably lucky that he wasn’t present for much of her childhood, given how things went with Conner. Lena’s story has since had her story unwritten, for the moment.
Father of: Stephanie Brown
Arthur Brown, aka Cluemaster, is a game show host turned criminal, and yes, there’s a connection between those two careers. He couldn’t resist following a path similar to The Riddler, though he never reached that threat level. Unsurprisingly, he quickly fell under Batman’s radar. While he kept his identity a secret for a time, this is the World’s Greatest Detective we’re talking about. Batman always finds his target. Truthfully, Cluemaster was given all the chances in the world to walk away from a life of crime. He was even spared by Batman, who hoped Arthur would finally choose his family over this criminal life.
That hope was in vain. Eventually, his daughter hit her breaking point. When Stephanie learned that her father was planning on destroying Gotham, she knew she had to act. So she picked up her own mantle, Spoiler, teasing her intentions of spoiling her father’s plans. She has since joined a new family, the Bat Family, where she has found best friends and people who truly care for her. If only Arthur could have learned his lesson before it was too late.
Father of: Rose Wilson, Grant Wilson, Joseph Wilson
Deathstroke is one of the most famous assassins in DC Comics, but he’s also a dad. Granted, he’s a pretty terrible dad, so people shouldn’t go around giving him credit on this one. Grant Wilson is the oldest of Deathstroke’s children, though he hasn’t been around in quite some time. This is because he died while trying to follow in his father’s footsteps. This is really the thing that a good parent would have tried to prevent.
Next came Joseph Wilson, who was possessed by Trigon. That’s bad enough, but Deathstroke showed no mercy to his possessed son and killed him without question or hesitation. Unfortunately for Deathstroke, Joseph’s spirit wasn’t in his body at the time, so he not only knew what happened but tried to get revenge. Lastly, there’s Rose Wilson. Slated got her to drink the same formula that gave him an upgrade, only it didn’t work out so well for her. Deathstroke kept pushing his daughter until she gouged out her own eyes, as she perceived it as the only way to prove herself to him. Translation: Deathstroke failed all three of his children in vastly different ways.
Father of: Cassandra Cain, Marque
David Cain is a dangerous assassin, affiliated with the League of Assassins. Like many other fathers on this list, he encouraged (i.e., forced) his children to follow in his footsteps. The best example of this is Cassandra Cain’s story. Her name should be familiar, as she abandoned David Cain and joined the Bat Family. This found family has treated her better than her father ever did.
Part of what makes David Cain’s treatment of his children, Cassandra included, is how horrible yet human his actions were. He raised Cassandra to be a weapon, stealing her voice, handing her weapons, and forcing her into training left and right. He stole her childhood and then was shocked when she walked away from the life he so “kindly” gave her.
Father of: Talia al Ghul, Nyssa Raatko
On the surface, it may look like Ra’s Al Ghul is a good father, but even two seconds of inspection will reveal the truth. Ra’s Al Ghul did bring Talia into his inner circle, which gives the appearance that he’s a loving and caring father. The problem is that he infamously runs the League of Assassins, so it’s not like he brought Talia into a happy or safe life. Worse, when push comes to shove, Ra’s Al Ghul will always put himself above all others. Events in Batman Beyond made it pretty clear how far Ra’s is willing to go, going so far as to steal his daughter’s body to continue his life.
Given how old Ra’s Al Ghul is, it shouldn’t be terribly shocking to learn that Talia al Ghul is not the only child he’s sired. Nyass Raatko came before Talia, and she didn’t get any special treatment from her father. She was once sent to a concentration camp during WWII (yes, really) and would later team up with Batman against her father. We can’t exactly blame her for that one.
Bonus points: Ra’s Al Ghul isn’t going to be winning Grandfather of the Year either, given his track record with Damian Wayne. He once plotted on stealing Damian’s body as a way of coming back to life, which sounds about right for this guy.
Father of: Lor-Zod
General Zod is another well-known supervillain in DC Comics, and while some of his ventures more famously included his family, that doesn’t mean he’s a good father. During the time that General Zod and Ursa were trapped in the Phantom Zone, they had a child. That may sound like a sweet thing, the whole finding a bit of happiness in a dark place. Unfortunately, that isn’t the reality of this situation, as General Zod had Lor-Zod as a means of breaking out of the Phantom Zone. He used his son to create a doorway, which is horrible enough as it stands. What makes it worse is that Lor-Zod was cast away from his father as part of this plan, made to live a happy life outside of his family.
This is one of many ways in which General Zod failed his son. Even after escaping prison (because of his son, remember), Zod continued to look down on Lor-Zod. He has stated, on more than one occasion, that he can make another, thus implying his lack of concern about Lor-Zod’s well-being or even survival. Great father material, there.
Father of: Raven and several demonic offspring.
It should come as no surprise to see Trigon near the top of this list. Trigon is the definition of a demonic father. Also known as Trigon the Terrible, he is a demon spawned from the likes of Azarath. Always the ambitious sort, Trigon has held a long dream to take over as many dimensions as possible. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Trigon’s obsession led to him creating at least one daughter, an iconic and beloved character in DC Comics. That’s right, Raven! He had a child with a mortal woman to create a new portal to Earth. Unfortunately for him, Raven is a kind-hearted soul, and since her powers included empathy, Raven was never going to help him enslave all of humanity.
Trigon has killed many people in his quest for power, including Raven’s mother. Strike one on the bad father charts. He forced her to work by his side for years before she finally escaped and fled to Earth. Ironically, in his thoughtless quest for a portal to Earth, he created the one person who could protect it from him, so that’s some satisfying karma for readers.
Father of: Orion, Grail, Grayven, Kalibak
Anybody who has spent any time reading DC stories will probably place Darkseid at the top of any worst list, including being the worst father. We don’t know what’s worse, his horrible ways, or the fact that he failed several attempts at being a parent. To start with, Darkseid traded his son, Orion, with his enemy. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t really work out for anybody.
Next came Kalibak, a dedicated and talented warrior whom Darkseid belittled and eventually killed. He would continue this trend with Grayven, whom he almost killed for a different “failure.” Later, Grail would come along, portraying another violent yet complicated family dynamic. Darkseid has even failed his adoptive charges, such as Mr. Miracle. This villain is simply a lousy and brutal father who will never change.
There are a surprising number of dads in the DC Universe, and while we wish there are all amazing and loving, the simple truth is that could never be the case. Some fathers of DC are outright evil, going so far as to become supervillains. Meanwhile, others are content to stay within the bounds of Read More