Every good superhero needs a villain just as memorable, and oftentimes, writers don’t
look much farther than the hero’s immediate family.
Those family bonds don’t always make the jump from comic books to blockbuster films,
but these days, even casual comic fans will be shocked to learn that even the most heroic
superheroes have a villain in their family tree.
Here are 10 Superheroes You Didn’t Know Were Related to Villains.
Aquaman & Ocean Master
Everyone knows Aquaman, the half-human, half-Atlantean king, but his arch-enemy Ocean Master doesn't
get the same amount of fame.
His origin has changed over the years, but whether it's the fully-human brother of Aquaman
building a helmet to let him breathe underwater and rule Atlantis, or the fully-Atlantean
brother ruling with Aquaman's permission, they may be the most complicated brothers
in DC's Universe.
Cyclops & Vulcan
The leader of the X-Men, Scott Summers a.k.a.
Cyclops is a household name - and thanks to the modern X-Men movies, so is his brother
Alex a.k.a.
Havok.
But it's the third Summers brother, Gabriel, who is the real powerhouse.
Able to manipulate all forms of energy, and ruling an alien race as emperor, his villain
alter ego Vulcan is one of the most powerful mutants in the X-Men universe.
Professor X & Juggernaut
The helmeted, hulking Juggernaut is hard to forget, but most X-Men fans would never guess
that he's actually Professor X's brother.
Step-brother, to be exact.
Juggernaut actually made his debut in just the 12th issue of the X-Men, where Charles
Xavier explained their childhood, when their parents married after Xavier's father was
killed in a lab accident.
Kind of poetic though: one got the brains, and
the other got the brawn.
Supergirl & Cyborg Superman
Classic comic book fans know the Cyborg Superman as Hank Henshaw, but the character got a new
origin in DC’s New 52 universe – as the father of Supergirl, Kara Zor-El.
It turns out her father didn’t die on Krypton, but wound up rescued by Brainiac – if you
can call being turned into a half-robot killing machine a rescue.
Still, Superman’s powers and an arm that can transform into nearly anything are more
of a gift than a curse.
So there's someone in your chemistry class that you're totally in love with.
Nightcrawler & Mystique
Nightcrawler may be best known for his blue skin and teleporting, but his parents are
the real bombshell.
It's a twist movie fans can enjoy too, since his mother Mystique and father Azazel both
showed up in X-Men: First Class.
The movies stopped short of confirming the pair would produce a son, but it hasn't been
a secret in the comics for years.
Batman & Lincoln March
The New 52 dropped a huge twist on Bruce Wayne when a mystery man arrived in the costume
of Court of Owls, bearing a serious grudge.
The man called himself Lincoln March, but claimed Martha Wayne had been pregnant with
a second son born prematurely.
When the Waynes died, Thomas Wayne, Jr. was lost to the system.
Lincoln was defeated, but Batman was unable to tell if it was all madman's story... or
the truth, since his parents DID give him a brother who died hours later, officially.
Superboy & Lex Luthor
The Man of Steel and his arch-enemy aren't known for building things together, but Superboy
is the exception.
While originally introduced as a clone designed to LOOK like Superman, later comics would
reveal that Kon-El, the clone Superboy was actually a hybrid.
Scientists couldn't clone Kryptonian DNA, so they blended Superman's with, you guessed
it, Lex Luthor.
Superboy and Lex would fight eventually, making it a seriously weird case of the son rebelling
against the father.
Batgirl & Jim Gordon, Jr.
Commissioner Gordon became an integral part of the Batman Family when his daughter, Barbara,
became Batgirl.
But Jim Gordon’s other child, James Gordon, Jr., is just as important…
since he turned out as villainous as Barbara is a hero.
Growing into a serial killer and trying to poison all of Gotham’s newborns, James wound
up in prison – and eventually even a member of DC’s Suicide Squad.
The Flash & Cobalt Blue
The last thing Barry Allen needs is more tragedy, but the night he was born, he was actually
one of two identical twin boys.
When a drunk doctor failed to deliver another baby alive, he swapped Barry’s twin out
so neither couple left emptyhanded.
That twin would grow up to be Malcom Thawne, the villain known as Cobalt Blue.
Wally West ended up defeating him, but it was Malcolm Thawne’s descendant Eobard who
would take his revenge on Barry, centuries into the future.
Scarlet Witch & Magneto
She's been a comic book mainstay of the Avengers for years, but Marvel's movie universe brought
Scarlet Witch and her brother Quicksilver to the attention of the entire world.
Due to studio rights issues, Marvel needed to rewrite their origins - in the original
comics, they weren't test subjects, but mutants.
Mutants who got their genetic gifts from their father: Magneto, the X-Men's most famous villain.
So if Fox and Disney ever cross over their franchises...
things are going to get awkward.
Those are the cases of superheroes and villains sharing a family link that we could find,
but which ones have we missed?
Let us know in the comments, and remember to subscribe for more videos like this one.