Marvel Studios has showcased many father and child relationships in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but some of these fathers have been much worse than others. Marvel Studios has introduced dozens of characters from Marvel Comics into the MCU since the franchise kicked off with 2008’s Iron Man, and one of the joys of the MCU is that these characters have very human qualities. One aspect of this involves exploring these characters’ family histories, fleshing them out into normal figures that could feasibly exist in the real world. However, not all of these familial relationships have been positive.
In the 16-year history of the MCU, Marvel Studios has put the relationship between many fathers and their children on display. All too often, however, these fathers are inadequate, and sometimes even villainous, being introduced as the antithesis of their more-heroic children. While some, such as Hank Pym and Howard Stark, are simply guilty of neglect, others, including the likes of Xu Wenwu, Ego, and the Mad Titan, Thanos, have abused these familial connections to enact their nefarious plans. This has often made the MCU’s most powerful characters even stronger, as many fathers have taught their children what to avoid.
In the grand scheme of things, Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym is far from the worst father in the MCU, but he certainly doesn’t have the best track record when raising his daughter, Hope van Dyne. After Janet Van Dyne became trapped in the Quantum Realm in 1987, Hank Pym distanced himself from his daughter, as he engrossed himself in his research, trying to find a way to save Janet from the Quantum Realm. This continued into Hope’s adulthood, and this worsened when Hank chose Scott Lang to become Ant-Man instead of Hope.
Despite their strained relationship, Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne began to rebuild their connection when Scott Lang appeared in 2015’s Ant-Man. Hank eventually revealed the truth about Janet’s disappearance to Hope, and the pair have since become closer, particularly after Janet’s triumphant return. Hank has redeemed himself as a good father, and surrogate grandfather to Cassie Lang.
Howard Stark has been a pivotal force in the evolution of Tony Stark into Iron Man, and informed many aspects of his storyline throughout his MCU career. Portrayed most regularly by John Slattery, Dominic Cooper played Howard Stark in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, and was shown to be closer to Steve Rogers than to his own son. Howard struggled to show affection for his son, and was killed before the pair could reconnect.
While Howard Stark may have favored tough love, this may have actually been beneficial to Tony Stark. 2019’s Avengers: Endgame proved that Tony valued his father’s attempts at being a good parent, and took important lessons from his father, including “no amount of money ever bought a second of time.” Howard even helped discover an element that saved Tony’s life in 2010’s Iron Man 2, so he certainly wasn’t the worst father in the MCU.
Michael Rooker’s Yondu wasn’t actually anyone’s father, but he did become a father figure to Peter Quill after abducting him from Earth in 1988. However, while Yondu may have saved Quill from falling into his more-villainous father’s clutches, his own raising of Quill wasn’t much better. Yondu trained Quill to be a Ravager, no life for a child, and even threatened to kill him repeatedly over the years, particularly during the events of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Yondu’s raising of Peter Quill was certainly questionable, but the events of 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 marked a massive redemption for the blue-skinned Ravager. After briefly joining the Guardians of the Galaxy to take on the Celestial Ego, Peter Quill’s biological father, Yondu sacrificed his own life to save his surrogate son. Claiming himself to be Peter Quill’s real “daddy,” this marked one of the MCU’s most emotional moments.
While Yondu trained Peter Quill to be a Ravager out of love for his surrogate son, General Dreykov turned his daughter into a soldier simply to express his control. Ray Winstone’s Dreykov was the leader of the Red Room who kidnapped and raised young girls to be Black Widow assassins, but his daughter, Antonia, got special treatment after almost being killed by Natasha Romanoff. Antonia’s injuries prompted Dreykov to transform her into Taskmaster, stripping her of her personality, and making her just another pawn in his plan.
Thankfully, Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova’s actions during 2021’s Black Widow led to General Dreykov’s death and Antonia Dreykov being freed from her father’s control. As the Red Room’s top Black Widow soldier, however, Antonia Dreykov may have a bright future in the MCU. Antonia is returning as Taskmaster in Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts, which could be the start of a lengthy redemption arc.
Marvel Television’s Daredevil season 1, episode 8, “Shadows in the Glass,” detailed the backstory of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, introducing his father, Bill Fisk, to the MCU. Domenick Lombardozzi’s Bill Fisk was introduced as a political candidate for the Third District Council in New York City back in the 1970s, but was also shown to be an abusive husband to Marlene and father to Wilson. Bill Fisk’s abuse prompted Wilson Fisk to murder him with the now-infamous hammer, beginning Fisk’s descent into the criminal world.
In conjunction with the premiere of Echo in 2024, Marvel Studios integrated the Defenders Saga into the MCU’s timeline. The Defenders Saga’s canon status was later confirmed by Marvel Studios’ Brad Winderbaum, meaning Wilson Fisk’s tumultuous relationship with his father is canon. Echo featured the hammer’s return, and a glimpse at Fisk’s childhood, proving that this relationship will still be important in the MCU’s future.
Anthony Hopkins’ Odin was always under a lot of pressure, as he raised three children while also operating as the King of Asgard and the protector of the Nine Realms. This massive responsibility unfortunately meant that his children, Hela, Thor and Loki, were often neglected, though sometimes toyed with by their father. Odin raised Hela to be a bloodthirsty warrior, groomed Thor to take over the Asgardian throne, and belittled Loki after stealing him from his real family, the Frost Giant King Laufey, and these actions were always on a universal scale.
Despite being steadfast and often cold towards his children, Odin did have a heart when it came to his kids. This was evident in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, in the moments before Odin’s sudden death. Odin showed respect for both Thor and Loki, though he could do nothing to help them in the battle against his villainous daughter, Hela.
General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross has proven time and again that he is one of the worst fathers in the MCU. Previously portrayed by the late William Hurt, Ross debuted in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk as the father of Betty Ross, Bruce Banner’s partner prior to his failed experiment and transformation into the Hulk. Ross became obsessed with hunting down Banner, against his daughter’s wishes, and even put her life at risk in an effort to obtain the power of the Hulk. Since then, Ross hasn’t once mentioned his daughter, suggesting they are still estranged.
This may change in Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World. Liv Tyler is returning as Betty Ross for the first time since The Incredible Hulk, and Harrison Ford will play her father, United States’ President Ross. A new dynamic between father and daughter will be put on display, though it could be just as volatile.
Introduced in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Tony Leung’s Xu Wenwu was revealed to be the MCU’s real “Mandarin”, and the father of Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing. After meeting Ta Lo resident Ying Li, Wenwu abandoned the powerful Ten Rings, giving up his immortality and influence to raise a family. However, after Ying Li’s death, Wenwu reclaimed the Ten Rings, and trained his own children to be cold-blooded killers, even forcing his son to murder someone responsible for Ying Li’s death.
Xu Wenwu failed both his children in different ways, as he forced Shang-Chi to become a killer, but ignored the talents of Xu Xialing. This forged Shang-Chi into a powerful yet positive force in the MCU, though Xialing went her own way and formed her own group. Xialing even took over the Ten Rings, setting her up as a powerful villain in the MCU’s future.
While Yondu was a questionable father figure for Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill, he was the lesser of two evils. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 introduced Star-Lord’s biological father, Kurt Russell’s Ego, who was revealed to be a Celestial in the MCU. While initially a friendly presence, Ego later revealed his plan to spread himself across the universe. Ego threatened the entire universe, and wanted to use his son as a battery to power this expansion, seeing Quill as nothing more than something he could use.
During Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Gamora and Nebula discover that Ego had fathered many children. Each had been tested to be used for his expansion scheme, and, when they failed, had been killed by the Celestial. Peter Quill was the only one that could harness his Celestial abilities, but, had he not been able to, Ego certainly would have killed him, too.