The MCU made history on Disney+ by having the first-ever supervillain family connection reveal in one of Marvel Studios' streaming series. Family has always been a major underlying plot point throughout the MCU's history, with nearly every project touching on the theme in some form or another. Oftentimes, this is seen on the villain side of the story as well, with those reveals making for some shocking and memorable moments through the years.
In Episode 3 of Ironheart, Alden Ehrenreich's "Joe McGillicuddy" was revealed to be Ezekiel Stane. After Riri Williams met him at his house to get help with her next job with Anthony Ramos' The Hood and his crew, she came across a bag with the remains of what Joe said was his deceased father. The shot then moved to the side of the bag, revealing the name "Obadiah S."
Fans who have been with the MCU since its earliest days will recognize this as a reference to Obadiah Stane, portrayed by Jeff Bridges in the franchise's first movie, 2008's Iron Man. Originally taking over Stark Industries in the wake of Tony's parents' deaths, he reluctantly took a lesser role behind Tony once Tony took his role as CEO. Obadiah then secretly used the Ten Rings to kidnap and try to assassinate Tony. Eventually, he took Tony's first Iron Man suit and modified it into the Iron Monger armor in an attempt to kill Tony himself, losing that battle.
In Marvel Comics, Ezekiel is often portrayed as a supervillain in his own right, and Ehernreich's version is heavily rumored to become an enemy of Riri Williams in the second half of Ironheart. Should that happen, this would be the first time in MCU history that a Disney+ show has confirmed a parent/child supervillain connection. Ahead are other villainous parents from other corners of MCU history.
Every Villain With Children in MCU History
N'Jobu - Father of Killmonger
Introduced in a handful of key scenes in 2018's Black Panther, Emmy-winner Sterling K. Brown joined the MCU as N'Jobu. Revealed to be on a mission to the United States as a member of the Wakandan War Dogs, viewers also learned quickly that his son was Michael B. Jordan's Erik Stevens, better known as the villainous Killmonger.
Flashback scenes showed T'Challa's father, T'Chaka, killing N'Jobu after N'Jobu attempted to kill the young Zuri in the wake of his work with Ulysses Klaue being discovered. This eventually led to Killmonger's attempt to take over the throne of Wakanda, wanting revenge for his father's death and putting forth his best efforts to take out his cousin, T'Challa, and turn the country into a true world power forcefully.
Wenwu - Father of Shang-Chi and Xialing
After years of questions about the Mandarin in the wake of Iron Man 3's Trevor Slattery reveal, 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings delivered the real Mandarin in Tony Leung's Wenwu. Confirmed to be about a thousand years old due to the Ten Rings keeping him immortal, the story went on to show his time building a family with his wife, Ying Li.
The story went on to reveal that the Mandarin's children were none other than Simu Liu's Shang-Chi and his sister, Meng'er Zhang's Xialing. The two joined forces to stop Wenwu and the Ten Rings from further taking over the world, with Wenwu even sacrificing himself to the Dweller in Darkness, but Xialing was later revealed to have taken over the Ten Rings herself.
Thanos - Father of Gamora and Nebula
Known as arguably the MCU's most famous villainous father is Josh Brolin's Thanos, the ultimate big bad of Marvel Studios' Infinity Saga. Making appearances in four MCU movies, culminating in leading roles in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, he quickly became known as one of the MCU's most famous fathers as well.
Through his travels, he "adopted" both Zoe Saldaña's Gamora and Karen Gillan's Nebula, taking them from their families after destroying their homeworlds. He also tortured and heavily modified both of them to make them both dangerous weapons, but they eventually teamed up against him as the Avengers defeated him.
Ego - Father of Star-Lord
Kurt Russell (part of a real-world father/son actor pairing in the MCU) took on a leading role as Ego the Living Planet in 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Shortly after first appearing on screen and taking the Guardians to his home planet, he revealed that he was Peter Quill's long-lost father and that he had been searching for his son for years.
Unfortunately, he was later revealed to be the villain of Guardians 2, wanting to use Peter as a conduit for his incredible power so that he could spread his physical form across every planet he'd visited over thousands of years. Peter and the Guardians had to take out Ego after this in order to keep him from making the universe completely in his own image.
Gorr - Father of Love
Following his run as Batman, Christian Bale moved over to the Marvel world by playing the villainous Gorr the God Butcher in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder. At the start of the movie, fans also find out that he is a father to a young girl named Love (played by Chris Hemsworth's daughter, India).
While Love dies in the opening scene, Gorr spends the movie searching for Eternity in the hopes of bringing her back to life and getting his family back. Dying in pursuit of this goal, he does manage to get Love back from the dead, and Thor even promises to raise her as Gorr meets his end.
Eleanor Bishop - Mother of Kate Bishop
Vera Farmiga made her MCU debut in 2021's Hawkeye with a role as Eleanor Bishop, whose daughter, Kate Bishop, was also introduced with Hailee Steinfeld's addition to the franchise. While Kate's path led her to an encounter with Clint Barton, who eventually started training her to be a hero, Eleanor was revealed to be on a much darker path.
In later episodes, Eleanor is revealed to be the one who paid Yelena Belova to take out Clint Barton, all while working with Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin. After Kate saved her life, she was arrested for murdering Armand Duquesne III, leaving her future in the MCU uncertain.
Verussa Bloodstone - Stepmother of Elsa Bloodstone
Lady Verussa Bloodstone (played by Harriet Sansom Harris) joined the MCU with a role in the Werewolf by Night Disney+ Special Presentation, leading a horde of monster hunters. This group included her own stepdaughter, Laura Donnelly's Elsa Bloodstone, who disapproved of her mother's methods and entered that gathering so she could compete to inherit her family's Bloodstone.
Teaming up with Man-Thing and Jack Russell, Elsa led the duo to her stepmother, with Man-Thing burning her to death and ending her reign of terror. She then helped Russell escape after he turned into his werewolf form, taking the Bloodstone for herself and reflecting on what she would do next.
Wanda - Mother of Tommy and Billy
Longtime MCU veteran Elizabeth Olsen made a name for herself as the Scarlet Witch throughout the Infinity Saga. In Phase 4's WandaVision, she gave birth to her twin sons, Julian Hilliard's Billy and Jett Klyne's Tommy, before losing them when she had to take down the Hex she built around Westview, New Jersey.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda took a villainous route by using the Darkhold to find a way to reunite with some version of her twins, jumping through dimensions and Dreamwalking to make it happen. Eventually realizing the error of her ways, she gave up that quest and buried herself under Mount Wundagore in order to keep anyone from accessing the Darkhold's spells again.
Thunderbolt Ross - Father of Betty Ross
Recast with Harrison Ford in Captain America: Brave New World, former General (now President) Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross has been a long-standing antagonist for the Hulk and the Avengers across the MCU's history. He is also know for his complicated and contentious relationship with his daughter, Liv Tyler's Betty Ross.
This relationship was revisited in Brave New World, with Ross eventually turning into the Red Hulk and meeting Betty again after he was imprisoned in the Raft. While both of their MCU futures are uncertain, their father/daughter bond has lasted for more than a decade and a half as the MCU pushes forward.
Starring Dominique Thorne, Alden Ehrenreich, and Anthony Ramos, Ironheart is the latest release for Marvel Studios and the final project in the MCU's Phase 5 slate. Picking up with Riri Williams at MIT after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, she also returns to her Chicago roots while getting entangled in a massive story focused on the idea of tech vs. magic. The first three episodes of Ironheart are now streaming on Disney+, and the second three will debut on Tuesday, July 1.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
