credit: Marvel Comics
It’s a funny thing that many moms in the comics are actually kind of terrible in their own way, but only the worst ever get mentioned since they end up doing things that are unforgivable. But there are plenty of bad moms in the Marvel Universe, especially since, much like fathers, they could have a hard time balancing their superhero identity with their family life, or they could be the worst villains around.
But calling out bad moms has become kind of a problem over the years, as mothers are considered to be above reproach at times and are often bound to be given a great deal of sympathy so long as there’s a reason that can be used to explain why they aren’t the best parent in the world. In the comics, though, kind of like in real life, it’s been seen that there are women who quite honestly should never have been mothers in the first place, even if they had their reasons for not being the best example of what a mother could be.
Just like fathers, some mothers can be truly terrible for reasons that aren’t always known but don’t negate the fact that an individual should care for their children.
With that in mind, here are five of the worst mothers in the Marvel Universe.
5. Mystique
credit: Marvel Comics
It’s funny to think that Mystique has been given a villainous arc over the years and a heroic one as well since, in the comics, she was usually more villain than anything, especially since she was typically out to save herself. But while she did save her son, Nightcrawler, from being killed initially, she ended up abandoning him not too long after.
Not only that, but as the adopted mother of Rogue, she taught the young woman how to be a villain since, for a while, Rogue wasn’t exactly a heroic figure. Then, when the time came, Mystique did what she tends to do best in the comics. She abandoned another individual that depended on her.
4. Scarlet Witch
credit: MCU
Grief is the number one enemy of Wanda Maximoff since while she can hold her own against the likes of Thanos, she can’t overcome her own grief since it leads her to enslave an entire town and even warp her own mind into thinking that everything was okay. One would think that after such a horrendous show of power that she might end up secluding herself in a far-off land to atone or at least just stay away from people.
But her desire to have her kids back was so strong that she ended up corrupting an entire countryside while studying the Darkhold and also alienated herself from the two boys she believed to be hers when she dominated their mother, her counterpart from another universe. Yeah, grief counseling might not cut with when it comes to dealing with Wanda’s issues.
3. Emma Frost
credit: Marvel Comics
While the Stepford Cuckoos might not have been her actual children, Emma Frost did play a large part in their upbringing, and they did turn out to be almost just like her, which is unfortunate since Emma is not the best role model in the world. From the manner of games she plays with people to the fact that she is a very manipulative individual, Emma is the type of person that might see a child as an extension of herself, meaning that she would make certain that the child would exemplify and amplify her in one way or another, standing out more a status symbol than anything else.
2. Madelyne Pryor
credit: Marvel Comics
So here’s the thing, Madelyne did defend her son, who she had with Cyclops, from Mister Sinister, but at the same time, she was saving the kid so that he could be a sacrifice to keep a hellish portal open so that demons could keep flooding into the earth. Whether or not she actually cared for her kid, it’s hard to say, she ended up being one of the worst mothers since conquest was definitely on her mind, and there was nothing that was going to stop her from bringing the hordes of hell into the world, not even her own son. The difficulties that were faced between the X-Men and Madelyne were enough to make some people feel that there was no way to settle this situation.
1. Elizabeth Howlett
credit: Marvel Comics
Let’s just put things this way, Elizabeth Howlett was not a woman in her right mind, especially since at the lowest moment of young James Howlett’s life, when he could have used his mother’s love to keep himself from utter despair, she rejected him and even struck the boy as a sign that she wanted nothing to do with him.
To make matters worse, James killed his biological father and had to watch the man he knew as his father being killed in his own home. This was the moment when Elizabeth could have redeemed herself in a big way, but of course, that would have been a little too easy.