So, earlier this week we decided to unleash a salvo of the absolute worst fathers in the history of the superhero world. Some of you may wonder why we chose such an odd topic for Father's Day weekend. Well, the fact of the matter is that we wanted this following list to look that much better! After all, looking at the most awful examples of parenting tends to make the 'good' ones look infinitely better. Oddly enough, as we sat around brainstorming the characters that would make it to this list we saw an interesting pattern begin to happen – it is far easier to find a crap dad than one that shines. Another glaring construct also stared at us directly in the eye; most of the 'fathers' aren't genetically fathers! I think the superhero world was attempting to tell us something, fathers in our life do not have to be biological, and it is the amount of personal energy invested in their respective 'children' that makes them a father!
Oh, where to begin with this list? Let's start in the Marvel Universe since DC got to start off the bad list! Uncle Ben and Spiderman is a perfect example that a father does not need to be by blood. Uncle Ben instilled all of his morals and reasoning into a burgeoning Peter Parker at the exact right time. Those classic words, "With Great Power..." have now become synonymous with fortune cookie like wisdom. Spiderman probably doesn’t go a day without recollecting on his lost Uncle, and Uncle Ben almost works as a morale compass for Spiderman. When Venom was coursing through Spiderman's veins, whose voice was in Spiderman's head and soul that let him know just how wrong that suit was for him?
An interesting dichotomy of 'fatherhood' tends to happen in the DC multiverses. Bruce Wayne, AKA The Batman, had a shining example of a decent father. Thomas Wayne and his Wife, Martha, were both high end socialites in Gotham and loved to spread out their wealth to help out the destitute. This probably lit the urge to help people in young Wayne's heart. Unfortunately, and like all tragic happenings, Bruce Wayne loses both of his parents to Joe Chill, and is left traumatized and vengeful. However, here we see the first step to control in his new father figure, Alfred. You guys probably never even thought of Alfred as his father, but does he not fill all of the major roles? He guides Bruce Wayne, he offers him non-judgmental advice, and he even brings him food and stitches him up! "Why do we Fall? To learn to pick ourselves back up!"
What about non human children? Poor Hellboy was summoned by Nazis to destroy the world. If you ask me, that's a pretty bum wrap. All I had to do was go to college, not destroy the world. Luckily for our demon spawned friend, he was picked up by the compassionate and understanding Professor Trevor Bruttenholm. Hellboy shows no evil or malice present in all of the demons due to the love of his adoptive father. Hellboy tries his very best to fit in, and considers himself closer to human than demon. That, my friends, is a force of personality on Bruttenholm's position. We've all seen 'demon' kids, but to take it literally and then to make him a better person takes an exceptional amount of willpower. Perhaps we should deputize Bruttenholm as a Green Lantern!
Now, I’ve seen some of you commenting on our first piece claiming that Jor-El was a bad father! Well, I'm here to offer a slightly different perspective and putting him on the good father list. The reasons why he is on this list is because Jor-El tried to save all of Krypton, he tried to warn the council that they had to get off the planet. They shrugged him off and told him not to worry. When he had suggested travelling off the planet, he was reminded that space travel was forbidden due to some cataclysm in the past. After all of these warnings, Jor-El could only chose to save one person, that of his infant son. He would never see him grow up, or become the person he is in the conventional sense; but he knew young Superman had to survive. The good thing for Superman was the amount of technology present in his spacecraft on his way to Earth. He was essentially trained by Jor-El and after making his Fortress of Solitude he made a statue of his original parents holding up a globe of Krypton. Awwww, how cute! Like Batman, Superman was left bereft of actual parents, and gained some adoptive ones in the Clarks. They taught him what it was to be human, and showed him the simple life of the Midwestern United States. His love of humans and overwhelming compassion allows Superman to be our tireless defender. I suppose he needed two sets of parents for that!
Our last superdad was the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott! When you've learned to use a power that the sky is the limit, your kids may seem like a bit of a handful; especially when you have your kids with a split-personality woman. Jade, the daughter that gained the most from the father, become the Earth's first female Green Lantern. That's a pretty big title, and it shows that Alan Scott must have some good genes! Jade even has chlorophyll in her skin, making her truly 'green'. She was so pure of heart that she got to be resurrected after that nasty little hiccup of the blackest night. So while you spend time with your significant father figure, remember what it takes to make somebody a father, and to honor them properly!