Comics 411: Marvel’s Most Twisted Father & Son Relationships

Welcome back! I’m Steve Gustafson and if you enjoy discussing anything comic book related, you’ve come to the right place. Each week we cover something in the industry and I always enjoy your input in the comment section below.

Previously on…

 
Last time we discussed our Thoughts on the Death of Doctor Strange. Here’s what some of you had to say:

Benjamin Kellog: “My big question regarding this story concerns what kind of legacy MacKay and Garbett have in mind for Stephen Strange. I think this could go down three ways.
1. Stephen himself is considered vital to the MU’s survival and is brought back with fuller power than ever before. Status quo restored, no questions asked. Not the one I’d go with.
2. Stephen’s power is important, but he himself isn’t required to wield it. He stays dead, and someone from his inner circle is called upon to be the new “permanent” Sorcerer Supreme, preferably Wong or Clea. My money’s on Wong, with the requisite personality shift to reflect Benedict Wong’s great take in the MCU films. (And the one-off team-up issue guest starring Beyonce would be sublime.)
3. Stephen’s entire legacy is way too toxic for contemporary audiences. A bunch of the younger heroes, led by Miles and Kamala, complain of “white mage privilege,” and whatever force currently governs the conditions of magic in the MU seeks out a new Sorcerer Supreme completely separated from the average Strange continuity. My top two candidates in this regard: Kristoff of Latveria in a younger take on Victor von Doom’s recent stint in the Sorcerer role (that is where the “Infamous Iron Man” bit came from, right?), or some distant cousin of Shang-Chi we’ve somehow never met before who splits his time between Kun-Lun and Kamar-Taj as he seeks to find his own distinct path through magic. I think Stephen’s spirit could serve whomever it turns out to be as a new Ancient One. Or we could just pull a “Secret Wars 2015,” forgo any ties to the Strange mythos, and strike out on a completely different path, which, given the problematic elements still present in Stephen’s origin and ongoing adventures, might be the best option.”

Solomon Grundy: “Between the retailer incentives, endless variant covers and multiple printings of books, I think we could do without another gimmicky death book. Dr. Strange is an interesting character, if you can’t find a good story to write about him and instead fall back on oh…lets kill him…ugg it’s just lazy.”

William Jansen: “In a multiverse with different timelines, they could easily have a secondary continuity – say Earth-617 – where death is permanent. If a character dies in that timeline, he never returns to Earth-617. Just to have somewhere where storylines have stakes.”

Elia Notari: “It’s one of those “nobody is buying our comics anymore, so let’s announce a character’s death that isn’t going to last””

Dresden: “I’d say it’s even odds – either he’s faking his death to solve some big mystery / draw out some hidden threat or he’s deemed “too important to die” by the primal magic forces of the universe and is brought back to life.”

Some awesome comments last week! Thanks for the input and keep it coming!

This week we discuss our…

Marvel’s Most Twisted Father & Son Relationships
Father’s Day is almost here and what better way to celebrate than taking a look at some of the more twisted Father/Son relationships in the Marvel universe? I combed through and found some of the bigger daddy/son relationships that begs the question: Should this character be having kids?

One thing that stood out was how often time travel plays into these relationships. Lesson: Don’t time travel if you want to be a good dad!  

THOR/ODIN
Let’s start with some Norse family drama. Thor and Odin’s relationship is a mix of emotions and stems from them being stubborn and so alike. Thor and Odin employ the “tough love” technique, especially when you consider how Odin banished Thor to Earth to teach him a lesson. Add Loki to the mix and I wouldn’t want to be around the table on Thanksgiving. Some of you might ask why I didn’t put Loki in this spot and I answer that the dynamic between Loki and Odin is pretty clear cut. Loki is the wayward son and Odin is the loving but disapproving father. With Thor, Odin does some funny things to show compassion to his son and the more we know, the more we give Odin the ole side eye. 

QUICKSILVER/MAGNETO
Have you read House of M?

Just know that when you have two of Marvel Universe’s most arrogant and aggressive types, you’re going to have trouble.

CABLE/CYCLOPS
Once upon a time, Cyclops had a son who got really sick with an alien virus. What does he do? Abandons him by sending him into the future to be cured. What did we get? Cable. You’d think Cable would hold a grudge against dad but while he wasn’t a fan of Cyclops, he didn’t make it his life’s obsession to kill him so there’s that. .

MR. FANTASTIC/NATHANIEL RICHARDSHere’s another one that has time travel in the mix. Reed Richards’s father was investigating traveling through space, disappearing while his son was a child, to a far future where he rebuilt humanity before returning to the present day with a simple aim: To remove his own grandson from the timeline for the good of mankind. Reed wasn’t cool with the idea of losing his son to his father and drama ensued. Reed’s relationship to his son, Franklin, isn’t the best either but never reached this level of family fiasco.

BARON ZEMO/BARON ZEMO
The Zemos! Follow this one closely. The rivalry between the two Baron Zemos is centered on Captain America. No surprise there. Son Helmut has been mentally tortured by his father Heinrich’s legacy from beyond the grave and has seeked to outdo him as he tried to complete his father’s dream of destroying Captain America. What’s this? Another time travel footnote? Yes, thanks to the help of time travel, these two met face-to-face as Helmut traveled through time meeting various earlier Zemos. It wasn’t the Field of Dreams moment you think it is.

SKAAR/THE HULK
Who could have guessed that the Hulk would be an absentee father? And he is partially responsible for the death of his baby mama? You really can’t blame Skaar for traveling to Earth with the intent to kill the Hulk. The two did eventually clash but Skaar realized that maybe his dad wasn’t all bad, after all. Then again…

LEGION/PROFESSOR CHARLES XAVIER
It’s no secret that Professor X is a terrible dad. Just ask his son, David. David was raised halfway across the world, never meeting his father until he grew up and became an Omega level mutant capable of destroying the world. Even after he did meet pops, he was sent to Muir Isle to stay, separate from his father. He did the only thing a normal kid would do. Traveled back in time and accidentally changed reality. There’s more to this story but isn’t that enough?

WOLVERINE/DAKEN
Is anyone surprised Wolverine isn’t winning any parenting awards? Daken needs guidance, Logan isn’t the one to give it. Living in the shadow of Wolverine is enough to give anyone a complex and Daken was facing an uphill battle from the start. 

NORMAN/HARRY OSBORN
Pity Harry Osborn. When you have a dad like Norman, it’s nearly impossible to have a normal life. Both as the Green Goblin and himself, Norman has made the lives of Harry and just about everybody he cares about miserable, mixing his fatherly attention with both dismissal and disdain.

Who did I miss? Vote and comment below!   

That’s all the time I have. See you next week!