The evil sibling trope is a time-honored tradition, and superhero siblings are no exception. Most caped crusaders have at least one rogue relative in their history. DC and Marvel Comics heroes alike often face off against a family member. Siblings tend to move toward opposite moral poles, whether they share one parent or two, or are born at the same time or years apart. The draw of familial drama is often too strong for writers to resist, making the 'secret and sinister sibling' reveal a common plot twist.
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Wonder Woman has a twin brother.Jason.They are both children of Queen Hippolyta and Zeus; this fact surfaced in a 2016 post.Rebirth.The Rebirth storyline brought fast revelations. Jason and Diana initially got along well. Then, Jason revealed he allied with Grail.Grail.Grail is the daughter of Darkseid.
Jason gets pulled into Grail's dark plot to bring back her father. This puts him against his sister. Jason chooses his better nature, stopping Grail from killing Wonder Woman. His final moral choice remains unclear.
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Few know Doctor Stephen Strange has a sibling. This sibling is a vampire named Baron Blood.Victor Strange.Victor Strange rarely appears but always causes an impact. He affects readers and his targets. Victor died years earlier. A distressed Stephen put Victor in cold storage, but he woke up later as an undead being hungry for blood.
Victor takes the Baron Blood mantle from a WWII rogue. Victor struggles against his sorcerer brother. This makes him a tragic supervillain. He stakes himself in his heart to stop harm from reaching his sibling in Doctor Strange.Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme.#56; he has not returned since.
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The Bat Family has no evil siblings, and Barbara Gordon is no exception. Her brother is Jim Gordon's oldest child, featured in Batman: Year One.Batman: Year One.He spends much of his life in psychiatric care. Eventually, he leaves and becomes a serial slayer.
During the "Black Mirror" storyline, this happened."Black Mirror" storyline,Barbara Gordon's misdeeds come to light.James Gordon Jr.He is briefly brought to justice, then escapes to terrorize Gotham City again. Batgirl appears to slay her brother with a Batarang to the face, but he survives, losing an eye. He later joins Task Force X as X-Strike; his motivations remain malevolent.
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Reed Richards’s father, Nathaniel, travels through time. This causes family problems for Mr. Fantastic. Nathaniel usually aids the Fantastic Four but complicates their work at times, like revealing Doctor Doom’s adopted son is Reed’s half-brother.
Kristoff VernardNathaniel says the result stems from a time-bending affair with a Latverian woman. He becomes orphaned and Doctor Doom adopts him. Kristoff occupies the Latverian throne during Doom's absence. Kristoff once thought he was the real Doom. Overall, Kristoff appears friendlier than his father.
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Jakarra results from an affair between King T’Chaka and a spy named Mateena. This gives Jakarra a claim to the Wakandan throne, even though his birth is illegitimate. He demands this when his older brother, T’Challa, takes the regency. T’Challa rejects his demand.JakarraJakarra does not accept this.
T’Chaka’s second son attacks the Black Panther multiple times. When those attacks fail, he injects Vibranium into himself seeking superpowers. Jakarra’s plan works. It transforms him into a purple scaly monster. This monster still cannot beat T’Challa and his ally Ororo Munroe. They toss Jakarra into a volcano. No one hears from him after that.
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Batman has been around almost a century. He has faced many evil siblings over the years. Lincoln March is one notable example.Lincoln MarchLincoln March was a mayoral candidate for Gotham City. He acted as a sleeper agent for the Court of Owls. He was a disturbed person who thought he was Bruce Wayne’s abandoned younger brother. We do not know if he was completely delusional.
There is also a short story whereBaneBane starts suspecting he is Thomas Wayne’s illegitimate son. He seeks a temporary brotherly partnership with the Dark Knight. DNA testing later proves his theory wrong. This mirrors the plot of the 2019 film.JokerThe Joker film shows Arthur Fleck trying to prove he is Batman’s brother.
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At various points in the continuity,Mary BatsonMary Batson is Billy Batson’s direct blood relative and adopted sibling. She is his sister and his partner in crimefighting. As Mary Marvel, she gains the same godly powers as her brother, who was Captain Marvel and is now Shazam.
Mary Marvel’s portrayal in the 2019 Shazam film differs from reality.ShazamMary Marvel has a bad side. This emerges during the events of Countdown.CountdownIn Countdown, Mary gains the power of Black Adam, a long-time Shazam foe. Mary starts showing Black Adam’s traits. She becomes a supervillain for a time. She eventually changes her ways.
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Kate Kane faces the evil twin trope unconventionally. She already fought Alice, the villain, before learning her foe is her long-lost sister.Beth is in the list 'Superheroes With Villainous Siblings'.Beth survived an abduction gone wrong at a young age. She grew up in a lawbreaking cult. This led her to a dissociative identity and an enemy relationship with Batwoman.
Alice’s true identity surfaces in the "Elegy". This storyline hits Kate hard. Her fight ends in Beth’s death. Kate resurrects as Red Alice. This second near-death experience changes her. She returns as a reluctant ally to Batwoman. Kate enters a sanatorium and therapy helps her find Beth again.
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Alex Summers, Scott's younger brother, first appears in the pages ofX-Men is in the list 'Superheroes With Villainous Siblings'.The reveal is a big deal. The two joined Marvel’s top mutant team for years as Havok and Cyclops. They did not know Charles Xavier knew about a third Summers brother and hid him.
When X-Men, Gabriel Summers.Gabriel Summers is in the list 'Superheroes With Villainous Siblings'.Gabriel Summers reappears as an outright villain seeking revenge on Professor X. The X-Men beat him back, sending him into space. He fights intergalactic groups there. Black Bolt defeats and kills him, but he returns for a family reunion in Jonathan Hickman’sX-Men is in the list 'Superheroes With Villainous Siblings'.Gabriel Summers appears as an ally this time.
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As an S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, Nick Fury often fights the secret society Great Wheel of the Zodiac. Scorpio leads them; Fury learns Scorpio is his brother, Jacob.
Jacob Fury is in the list 'Superheroes With Villainous Siblings'.Jacob Fury appears to die and returns unexpectedly. He returns to target Nick and his Secret Warriors under the Kraken. Jacob is a double-agent working for his brother all along; he will soon return to villainy.
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The often-confusing continuity of Fox’s Wolverine.X-Men is in the list 'Superheroes With Villainous Siblings'.Fox X-Men films make fans think Wolverine and Sabretooth are related. Comic book canon shows no blood relation. Wolverine has a semi-villainous sibling inDog Logan is in the list 'Superheroes With Villainous Siblings'.Their twisted history is very complicated.
The brothers shared an origin over a hundred years ago in Canada. Wolverine was James Howlett, a sickly, rich boy. Dog is the vicious son of the Howlett groundskeeper, who became Wolvie’s real father through a scandalous affair. Thomas killed John Howlett. James popped his claws for the first time and killed his biological dad in revenge. Then, young James ran away from home with Dog chasing after him. This ended with the death of Rose O’Hara, whom both James and Dog loved.
Dog's quest for revenge later moves into the modern era through time travel. Dog hassles Wolverine while he works as a school headmaster. By then, Dog acts more like a pest than a true supervillain.
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Matthew Murdock pretends to be his twin brother, Mike, in a silly Man Without Fear storyline. This move aims to distract his girlfriend, Karen Page, from his life as Daredevil. Matt acts like Mike for months, claiming Mike is the vigilante. Karen learns the truth and forces him to stop the act.
Years later, bizarre events involving the Inhumans pull Mike Murdock's persona from Daredevil's mind. It appears as a "fragment" in reality.MikeMike immediately faces an identity crisis and turns bad. He teams up with the Kingpin against his "twin brother."
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Dazzler has a sillier origin than most comic book characters. She is a disco-themed mutant created after disco died. Still, she faces the "evil sibling" trope. Alison Blaire’s rogue relative isLois London, her half-sister.
Lois London starts a peaceful relationship with her sister, but London becomes the supervillain Mortis. She gains molecular disruption powers. London joins the necromancer Selene and her Inner Circle. She remains a problem for Dazzler and Marvel's mutant population.
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Professor Xavier has a known villainous sibling inCain MarkoCain Marko is known as the unstoppable Juggernaut. The two are step-siblings. Marko hurt Xavier before he met the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. Their rivalry became very vicious once superpowers appeared. Now, Juggernaut might team with the X-Men or fight them, but the bond between Cain and Charles stays weak.
Xavier and his twin sister have more to say.Cassandra NovaCharles erased his sibling, "Mummudrai," from existence sensing her pure evil while in utero. Later, she used her psychic powers to manifest a body. Cassandra Nova clashes with Marvel’s mutants, wiping out many homo superior on Genosha.
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People often mock Starfire because her alien name, Koriand’r, sounds like an earthly spice. Her villainous sister, Blackfire, shares this trait; she is properly known asKomand’rQueen of the Tamaraneans.
Blackfire betrayed her sister and their people early in life. She then enslaved Koriand’r for years. They have clashed since, with the Tamaran throne being the main fight, plus Komand’r’s clear malice.
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