25 Worst Fathers in Comic Books

#14: MULTIPLE MAN

Jamie Madrox AKA Multiple Man possesses the power to create duplicates of himself upon physical impact. The dupes literally have a mind of their but Madrox can absorb them and their memories. He accidentally uses his superpower on his own son in X-Factor #39. Theresa Cassidy AKA Siryn gives birth to his son, Sean. Madrox involuntarily absorbs the baby while holding him in the delivery room. He theorizes that the child was conceived with one of his dupes while he was drunk.

“The offspring of a dupe isn’t really anything more than a–” he callously explains but before finish Terry breaks his finger and threatens to break his neck if she ever sees him again.

#15: WOLFSBANE’S FATHER, REVEREND CRAIG SINCLAIR

Reverend Craig Sinclair was the legal guardian of Rahne Sinclair AKA Wolfsbane, whose mother died during childbirth. He told Rahne her mother was a “dock worker’s whore” but left out the fact that he was her father. When Rahne’s mutant power of lycanthropy manifests, he leads angry villagers to hunt her down. X-Men ally Moira MacTaggert saves and adopts her. Reverend Craig joins up with the mutant hate group the Purifiers in X-Force #2 “Angels and Demons.”. His one condition is that he be the one to kill his daughter. He brainwashes her to chew off Angel’s wings so they can weaponize them. Reverend Craig attempts to execute Rahne after she completes the mission but she escapes and peacefully walks away from him. He shoots at her again and when she turns around she sees him standing in front of the wings, which triggers her programming. Rahne lies in the fetal position covered in her father’s blood. “There is no sin so terrible that God’s love cannot forgive,” the traumatized woman repeats to herself over and over.

#16: GRAYMALKIN’S FATHER, CHARLES GRAYMALKIN

X-Man Jonas Graymalkin reveals his dark origin in X-Men: Manifest Destiny #3. Jonas’ superpower to absorb darkness was supercharged when his father buried him alive for over 200 years! Charles Graymalkin calls his son an abomination after catching him sneaking off to have sex with a boy. He beats him unconscious then digs him a shallow grave at what would one day become Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. The grave was unearthed following a Sentinel attack. Jonas’ teammate Anole, who is also gay, tells him it’s not his fault for being gay nor his father’s fault for being homophobic because tolerance was unheard of at the time.

#17: THE MAGUS

Magnus is the ruler of the Technarchy, an entirely male techno-organic species that instinctively fights to the death with its offspring. His son Warlock is the only aberration among his people. Warlock flees to Earth rather than fight. This enrages Magus who hunts him down in New Mutants #50 “Father’s Day.” Professor Xavier distracts Magus by creating a mental image that makes Warlock appear as large as Magus. Warlock infects his father with a virus that reverts him to infancy. Warlock corrects his teammates on their terminology. He states Magus is his sire but he considers Xavier his father.

#18: THE COMEDIAN

Eddie Blake is the amoral superhero known as the Comedian. He brutally rapes his teammate Sally Jupiter AKA Silk Spectre in Watchmen #2. Eddie claims she was asking for it by the way she dressed and acted. She internalizes this and starts to blame herself. They later have consensual affair while Sally is married to her manager Laurence Schexnayder, who convinced her not to press charges because it would be bad publicity for the superhero team. Sally tells Eddie to stay away from their daughter, Laurie Juspeczyk. She implies that he might rape her when Laurie takes on the mantle of the Silk Spectre.

Sally resorts to asking Eddie to help get her daughter back in a prequel story in Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #3. The Comedian kidnaps Laurie’s druggie boyfriend, Greg, and threatens to kill him unless he writes a letter breaking up with her and signs up to go to Vietnam. Greg agrees but it’s unknown whether the Comedian honors the deal and even if he did, there’s a good chance he died in Nam.

The Comedian will never be able to redeem himself in the eyes of his youngest child. He murdered his unborn child when the Vietnamese mother disfigured his face for abandoning them after the war. It’s worth noting that she cuts him in the same spot that Sally scratched. Laurie describes the scar as giving him the appearance of sneering when she later confronts him about the rape of her mother.

#19: WOLVERINE’S FATHER, THOMAS LOGAN

The real father of James “Logan” Howlett AKA Wolverine is revealed in Wolverine: Origin #1. His mother had a secret affair with the groundskeeper Thomas Logan, who had another son named Dog. Thomas is reprimanded for allowing Dog to play with James. He disciplines his son with a beating then offers him alcohol. He gets fired when Dog starts harassing James and his friend Rose. Thomas attempts to rob them and take James’ mother with him but her husband interferes and is killed. The traumatic event triggers James’ claws and he kills Thomas.

Wolverine goes to Hell and reunites with his father in Wolverine #5. Thomas says he initially thought of nothing but revenge until he realized Wolverine was a true Logan as demonstrated by all the people he’s sent to Hell. He tells his son that he’s proud of him and that together they can rule Hell with the sword known as the soulcutter. Wolverine responds by throwing the sword away, then agreeing with his angry father that he’s not his son.