Children of comic super hero/villains...who didn't become supers themselves?

Cafe Society
#1

It seems like one of the staples of expanding a comic book universe is eventually giving the super-characters of fame children…who, predictably, tend to “take up the family business,” at least from what I’ve seen.

But I was just wondering: how many children of comic superheroes or villains are there who didn’t become heroes or villains themselves?

Powered or unpowered, there have to be at least a couple—but all I could recall, off the top of my head, was a daughter of Loki who became a stockbroker in an Spider-Man comic, about a decade back.

Offspring from alternate universes/hypertime/“what ifs” count, at least for an honorable mention. And, just to be inclusive, characters that had a long history as “civilians” but only very briefly or very recently became supers count, if noted. (e.g. “Jane Smith, daughter of Skeleton Man, who’s been a pastry chef since she was introduced in the comics in 1966…except for regrettable a six month period in 1995, when she became ‘Lady Coccyxx the X-Treeeme’ for a limited series, which was cancelled when the editor got into rehab.” Stuff like that.)

And characters who have always been children, or just appeared so they could tragically die as children do not count.

So…anyone have any contributions?

#2

Cameron Chase, who briefly had her own DC series and I believe is now a supporting character in Batwoman, is the daughter of a hero called the “Acro-Bat” (though he himself was only invented to be part of her back-story). She’s a secret agent, but not a super-hero.

Amazing Man, a hero who was a member of the All-Star Squadron, had two grandchildren who became super-heroes, but I don’t believe his children themselves were anything but ordinary folks. Ditto for Commander Steel.

#3

Although Animal Man’s daughter became the avatar for the red, he also had a powerless son.

Tombstone has a daughter who’s also a criminal, but IIRC lacks any of Dad’s meta abilities.

#4

The Punisher has a daughter in foster care. He went to great lengths to keep her out of the family business.

Batman Beyond’s coolest villainess, Inque, has a normal daughter with money management issues.

Dr. Doom has a son (I think his name is Alexander Flynn) who tried to be a super-villain but really lacked the aptitude. Doom made a foundling, Kristoff Vernard, his heir instead.

Colossus has a secret son with a Savage Land woman. He seemed pretty normal the one time I recall him appearing, but who really knows?

#5

Aaron Williams does a comic called PS238 about a school that caters to the children of superheroes (and villians). It started out as comedy, but gradually became more drama. The early stuff is great. One of the kids is enrolled by 2 powerful supers but doesn’t have any powers, they insist he just hasn’t developed them yet, and things are a bit different for him.

#6

Reed & Sue’s daughter, Valeria, is very intelligent and precocious but AFAIK hasn’t shown any signs of powers yet. Franklin, yes, but not Valeria.

#7

Luke Cage has a baby with Jessica Jones although I suppose she’s too young to begin a hero career.

#8

Professor Pepperwinkle:

The OP excluded characters who have thus far remained children.

BTW, how are you feeling?

#9

He still ends up becoming a superhero, though, in the Batman style. He also eventually ends up with a clone-brother who’s nigh-omnipotent-but-with-fine-print

On the other hand, several of the other students, even with powers, don’t have any particular interest in going into the hero (or villain) business, and the school works hard to make it clear that there are plenty of civilian options too.

#10

Jack-in-the-Box from Astro City encountered three time-traveling, possible future versions of his unborn son. Two were supers (and murderously crazy), but one was Jerome Johnson, an unpowered college professor who’d just made an unauthorized use of a time machine to see his dead father.

#11

Tyler doesn’t have powers, and he certainly doesn’t want to become a superhero.

However, during his first visit to the Castle, we see him in his (upgraded) Moonshadow costume 15 years in the future, working with Revenant. Reluctant as he may be, being Moonshadow probably disqualifies him.

Edit: Or, what Chronos said.

We don’t necessarily know if the other students with no heroic ambitions have superhero parents, I don’t think. I don’t believe we’ve met any of the Rainmaker kids’ parents, for example, and a fair number of the kids are first-generation metas.

#12

A teenaged version of her (from the Claremont/Larrocca days) had force field abilities.

#13

Graydon Creed, son of Mystique and Sabretooth, might count. He briefly had a powered suit, but for the most part has been a completely normal human whose villainous machinations were strictly as an influential political bigot.

#14

Magneto and his first wife Magda (birth mother of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch) had a daughter before the twins were born named Anna. The daughter was named Anna, and died under mysterious circumstances. Magneto alluded to the first major use of his powers was when he “avenged” his late daughter on an angry mob who (may have) caused her death. (Magda ran away from him when she was pregnant with the twins.) Anna died young apparently, so never had a chance to become a hero/villain, but at any rate there is no record that she had mutant abilities of any kind.

#15

I recently learned about Ma Hunkel slash Red Tornado. She was a working mom with a son and daughter. The daughter and a neighbor boy become her sidekicks, but no mention that the son takes up heroing. Later her superpowered granddaughter, Maxine Hunkel, becomes a superhero. Since she has the same last name Hunkel, I’m assuming she’s the son’s daughter, so superheroing must have skipped a generation on his side.

#16

The biggest irony with this is the fact that the character Ma Hunkle started out as a supporting player in an ongoing series called “Scribbly” - named after was her non-superhero son, the ostensible main character of the series. It was originally intended as a comedic back-page filler for “All-American Comics” (a monthly anthology whose star character was the Green Lantern.) Of course, the only reason that series is remembered at all any more is because of the Red Tornado (Ma Hunkle.)

#17

Kate Spencer, from DC’s excellent Manhunter series, is a special case. Kate is a costumed vigilante but has no powers other than being slightly tougher than normal. She has a normal son, Ramsey.

Kate’s father, Walter, was himself a normal (but murderous) human, but interestingly his parents – Kate’s grandparents – were Golden Age superheroes Phantom Lady and Iron Munro (and Iron Munro’s father was Hugo Danner, who appeared in the 1930 novel Gladiator and later on in comics as well. Danner may well have been one of the inspirations for Superman!). Additionally, Phantom Lady’s cousin was Ted Knight, aka Starman, which makes Ted’s son Jack (who took over his father’s role as Starman but later retired) Kate’s second cousin once removed. Jack Knight also fathered a son with the supervillainess Nash, the daughter of his father’s old nemesis, The Mist. As far as I know neither Kate’s son Ramsey nor Jack’s son Kyle have any superpowers.