Marvel Comics is full to the brim of memorable and amazing characters. Some of them have been fortunate enough to become fathers, though it’s safe to say that not all dads in Marvel are created equal. For every amazing father like Luke Cage, there are a dozen more who don’t deserve the title. What’s more concerning is that not every horrible dad of Marvel can be labeled a villain. We’d like to think that only supervillains could earn such a title, yet here we are. It’s clear that even humans and heroes alike can play the role of worst dads in comics, and Marvel likes to remind readers of this fact.
Thanks to Marvel’s long history, even some beloved heroes could be considered bad parents. Sure, they may be fully capable of saving the world day in and day out, but that doesn’t mean they understand the first thing about being there for their kids. Fans may not like to admit that, but runners-up for the title of worst dad include heroes like Cyclops, Hank Pym, Wolverine, and Vision.
10) The Pride – Geoffrey Wilder, Dale Yorkes, Victor Stein, Frank Dean, Dr. Gene Hayes, and Robert Minoru
Fathers of: Alex Wilder, Gert Yorkes, Karolina Dean, Chase Stein, Molly Hayes, and Nico Minoru
The Pride is a group of villains in the Marvel Universe, as portrayed in The Runaways. Lumping them all together may technically be cheating, but all the dads in this group are equally horrible. Included in this list are Geoffrey Wilder, Dale Yorkes, Victor Stein, Frank Dean, Dr. Gene Hayes, and Robert Minoru. They are all fathers of the iconic members of The Runaways, and it’s safe to say that they’re no good people, and worse parents.
The Pride serves the Gibborim, who promised them wealth in exchange for human souls. Likewise, the Pride was promised that they would survive the Gibborim’s destruction of the planet, though technically they were allocated a set number of slots. The birth of their children raised some questions about who would survive, causing some infighting. Said children rose up against their parents, putting a stop to their plans to sacrifice more souls. It’s a sad day when children have to give their parents a butt-kick and a morality lesson in one go.
9) Howard Stark
Father of: Tony Stark
For every father who is truly evil on this list, there’s another who just…isn’t there for his child. Enter Howard Stark, a man who was more committed to raising his company than his own child. At best, one could say that Howard was emotionally distant from Tony. This is true in nearly every iteration of the pair, from the comics to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and beyond.
There are a few compounding factors that make Howard Stark an even worse father, including his controlling behaviors, his impossible expectations of Tony, and his unwillingness to be available for his son. Despite all this, Tony continued down a path toward technology, though it’s safe to say he always feels the specter of his father.
8) Red Skull
Father of: Sinthia Schmidt
It might be easy to forget that The Red Skull is a father. To be fair, he wants it that way. Sinthia Schmidt is the daughter he never wanted, and he wasn’t afraid to let that be known. More accurately, Red Skull wanted a child, just not a daughter. So when he learned that the baby was a girl, he didn’t hide his anger. This scene is even more tragic than it sounds, as Sinthia’s mother died during childbirth. While he didn’t leave Sinthia to fend for herself or kill her, he didn’t show her much kindness beyond allowing for her survival.
As with many supervillains, Red Skull threw his child into his world. He trained her in his philosophy and even used his access to technology to force Sinthia to grow up quickly (in a very literal sense). While he was willing to put this much effort into Sinthia’s life and training, he refused to consider her a potential heir to his kingdom.
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7) Norman Osborn
Father of: Henry Osborn
Nobody is lining up to defend the actions of Norman Osborn, especially in regard to how he cares for his family. Through the years, Norman has done many horrible things, some of the worst of which were saved for his family. Naturally, retcons and continuity changes make some of these things less relevant, but he still did them, in one part of Marvel’s story or another.
For example, Norman once told Henry Osborn’s soul to Mephisto. Yes, really. He did it in exchange for wealth. More human examples of his horrible parenting include neglecting, belittling, and abusing Henry. It’s clear that even when he isn’t looking to do something as horrendous as selling his son’s soul, he’s not up for treating his child like a human being.
6) Brian Banner
Father of: Bruce Banner
Anybody who has spent time reading Hulk’s comics knows that Brian Banner is a horrible father. Brian Banner’s story is that of cyclical abuse and violence. He was an abused child, so initially he never intended to have any children. Then along came Bruce, whom Brian was convinced was secretly a monster. That’s not a metaphor, sadly, as Brian truly did believe his child had a secret “monster gene” and treated Bruce accordingly.
It isn’t hard to guess what sort of life Bruce Banner had growing up in this household. Multiple series have delved into Bruce’s psyche, and they usually address the trauma he experienced at this time.
5) Kingpin
Father of: Richard Fisk, Butch Pharris, Princess Fisk
The Kingpin may be a natural leader when it comes to organized crime, but he’s a horrible father. Readers are welcome to debate about his rating as a husband, but there’s no denying that his parenting skills leave something to be desired. His first child to enter the scene is Richard. Richard quickly denounced his father’s legacy, but not in the way readers might expect. He took up his own mantle, The Schemer, and set to steal everything that Kingpin had built. He did make one attempt to rule a criminal empire with Richard, though that resulted in Richard’s death.
Conversely, there’s Fisk’s illegitimate son, Butch Pharris, who would later take his father’s last name. Ironically, Fisk did better by Butch, even giving him the name, legacy, and mantle, for a time. None of this makes up for the horrible things he’s done to the public or his children.
4) Odin
Father of: Thor, Loki, Tyr, Ullr, Honir, Bragi, Hermod, Balder, Adrif, Laussa
Odin may be the All-Father, but he’s often a pretty garbage dad. Think about it, this man consistently lacks faith in his children, hence all the tests they have gone through. Meanwhile, he always thinks he’s right, causing more than one fracture in the family. He once locked up Thor’s personality into Dr. Donald Blake. It was meant to give his son a lesson in morality, but it’s a pretty major thing to do to a person, especially without their consent.
Then there’s the way Odin treats Loki. It would be easy to say that Odin shouldn’t have adopted Loki if he planned to treat him this way, but it’s more complicated than that. It always is. At the end of the day, this man doesn’t know how to connect with or trust his children. As such, he’s pretty much made it the universe’s problem.
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3) Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross
Father of: Betty Ross
Thaddeus Ross is a familiar story, as he is a man so driven by his goals that he loses sight of what is truly important in his life. In this case, he got so caught up in chasing all things Hulk that he lost sight of his family, especially his daughter, Betty Ross. Worse, he refused to listen to Betty, even when she begged and pleaded for him to back down.
One could argue that this is enough to earn him a spot on the list, but sadly, that isn’t even the end. Ross’ actions against Banner directly put Betty in harm’s way, and that’s an unforgivable action for any loving parent. In one story (Death of Betty Ross), his single-minded hunt even resulted in Betty’s death.
2) Kraven the Hunter
Father of: Sons of Kraven (87 clones), Vladimir Kravinoff, Alyosha Kravinoff, Ned Tannengarden, Ana Tatiana Kravinoff, Gog, Gregor Kravinoff
Kraven is most famous for his title of hunter. He is obsessed with power, recognition, and legacy. Kraven has had many children over the years, including a whole host of clones, courtesy of the High Evolutionary. He has infamously beaten many of his children, his eldest among them.
When it comes to the clones of Kraven, he demands they fight for supremacy. To put it another way, Kraven ordered his cloned children to battle to the death. Given what they are made of, the clones obey this demand, with one rising above the rest, much to Kraven’s disgusting delight. This is a man who should never be given authority over another person’s care, especially his own children.
1) Thanos
Father of: Zorr, Black Dwarf, Nebula, Corvus Glaive, Ronan, Proxima Midnight, Gamora, Thane, and many more
Realistically, most readers are going to agree that Thanos is the worst dad in the Marvel universe. He’s a genocidal maniac who believes he’s morally right, two things that really don’t go hand-in-hand. He’s also an abusive father figure, both to his biological children and those he’s adopted.
They don’t call him the Mad Titan for nothing. He has historically gathered adopted children from the worlds he conquered. It’s far from the ideal foundation for a healthy relationship, but then again, nothing Thanos does to these children falls under the category of healthy. He forces them to train and fight and has even forced many to undergo involuntary procedures to make them more competent fighters (in his mind).
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