Parents are the most significant people in a child’s life. They nurture, protect, and love their kids unconditionally. It’s unbelievable what parents can do and sacrifice to provide for their children. But, that is not always the case for Marvel parents. Certainly, there are some good ones, but the ones we know are popular because of their bad parenting.
Some of these kids grew up becoming heroes (or villains) with issues that have become a part of their character’s personalities. What these Marvel parents did were mostly unforgivable but, without it, we won’t have the superheroes that we love today.
Howard Stark
Howard Stark was not quite the father figure that Tony Stark hoped he would be. His dad was always absent from his life, and he focused on work too much to pay attention to Tony’s needs. The kid grew up feeling insecure and tried to cover it up with arrogance and an extremely boosted ego.
Tony never got the chance to say goodbye to his father, and the old man never got to see his son succeed. It is indeed one of the saddest moments in Iron Man, and the only consolation Tony got was a video of his father telling him that he was “his greatest creation.”
Thanos
If there is an award for the worst father, Thanos would be the recipient. He is irredeemable as a parent and as a villain. He tortured his children until they grew up rough and unsympathetic. And, what kind of parent would pit his children against each other? That is exactly what he did to Gamora and Nebula.
The worst thing also happened at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. He sacrificed his daughter’s life in exchange for a stone that would complete the Infinity Gauntlet.
Yondu
Yondu took Peter Quill from Earth and turned him into something useful. The young man became a thief, which is advantageous to him. Yondu also threatened Peter if he did not follow his orders.
Although at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, Yondu sacrificed himself for Peter. Some view this as his act of redemption, while others still have doubts. Either way, Yondu was a much better dad than Ego, Peter’s real father.
Odin
Odin may not know that, at one point, he was not a good father to both of his sons. Indeed, all he wanted was the prosperity of Asgard, and he saw that Thor was the more suitable heir than Loki. He constantly compares the two, which leaves the latter feeling bitter and insecure.
And, as a revelation in Thor: Ragnarok, Odin had a daughter named Hela whom he banished for revolting against him. Clearly, there must be something odd in her upbringing that made her the evil she has become.
Dreykov
Causing trauma on your daughters is madness, but that’s exactly what Dreykov did to Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova. More than that, he even did worse to Antonia.
He forced them under rigorous training and stripped them of their free will. Dreykov tortured lots of young girls for his benefit and turned them into professional assassins.
