Marvel has an extensive history that spans several decades, from the late 1930s with the comics division, to the present, with various divisions in movie, television, comics, and other entertainment.
Stan Lee is considered the face of Marvel, having started out back in the early days of the organization and becoming editor-in-chief, publisher, chairman, and currently chairman emeritus.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has enjoyed unprecedented success over the past several years. With Disney, Marvel and its various divisions, including Marvel Television and Marvel Animation, have multiple properties across entertainment, helmed and worked on by a a massive array of talent behind the scenes and in front of the camera.
These include the Avengers movies (TheAvengers, Iron Man, Thor, etc.), as well as television shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Legion, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, The Defenders, and many, many more.
In the world of the comics, many of the storylines also stretch back for decades. There’s no shortage of superhero and supervillain relatives - from marriages, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, and so forth.
There are somewhat larger ones like the family of Emma Frost (played by January Jones in X-Men: First Class) and smaller ones like that of Doctor Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange, etc.).
This list is by no means the end-all, be-all of superhero and supervillain relatives and respective storylines within the Marvel Universe.
For your reading enjoyment, here are the 20 Marvel Superheroes And Villains Who Are Actually Related.
PROFESSOR X AND JUGGERNAUT
Juggernaut (most recently voiced by Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2) was originally introduced in back in the 1960s. He’s had numerous roles since then, as both villain, hero, and anti-hero.
Introduced as the abused half-brother of Xavier (Professor X), he gets his power from the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak.
Juggernaut’s original name is Cain, and due to their situation growing up, he develops a jealousy and hatred of Xavier, as he believes that Xavier is favored over him.
However, in the comics and movies, his allegiance switches back and forth.
At one point, he was aligned with Professor X, but he realized that if he continued to associate with his brother and do good deeds his power would wane, so he returned to being a villain.
LUKE CAGE AND DIAMONDBACK
In Netflix’s Luke Cage (played by Mike Colter), Power Man is updated and brought to life in the series that follows the bulletproof superhero as he adjusts to life and tries to stop the bad guys in Harlem.
To his brother (Willis Stryker, also known as Diamondback and played by Erik LaRay Harvey in the series), Luke Cage was no hero – instead he was the man who took what he felt should have also been his.
Through no fault of their own, the brothers were raised in separate lives, and this left Diamondback bitter.
Stryker re-enters Luke Cage’s life, and attempts to end him, though this does not go well for Diamondback.
TONY STARK AND GREGORY STARK
While the MCU has yet to introduce a sibling of Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.), outside of the sibling-like rivalry between Iron Man and Captain America (played by Chris Evans), in some of the comics he does have a brother.
Gregory Stark is far more ruthless than Tony, willing to manipulate and harm people in order to get what he wants.
At one point he attempted to eliminate Nick Fury, and he also maneuvered to become the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Like Tony, he’s incredibly intelligent and used that intelligence to make himself into a superpowered villain.
He used nanites inside of his system in order to defeat the Avengers and the Ultimates, but his plan backfired and his nanites were disabled, which allowed Thor to end him.
MYSTIQUE AND NIGHTCRAWLER
In the movies, cartoons, and comics, the background of Mystique (played by Rebecca Romjin and Jennifer Lawrence in the X-Men movies) is typically that she became angry about her treatment from humans due to her appearance.
She left Professor X’s crusade in order to join Magneto in his quest to eliminate humans.
At different times, it’s revealed that Nightcrawler (played by Alan Cumming and Kodi Smit-McPhee in the X-Men movies) is in fact her son.
Both were erroneously seen as demons, though at times Mystique embraced that idea in her hatred for humanity.
Nightcrawler’s father, Azazel (played by Jason Flemyng in X-Men movies), is an immortal who also bred a group of mutants known as the Neyaphem.
In the most recent X-Men movies, both Mystique and Nightcrawler have worked with the X-Men.
NICK FURY AND SCORPIO
Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) was the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. but was later presumed to have passed away. He was, in fact, alive.
However, after the events of Infinity War that status is questionable, as it’s not known yet which characters might return from the destruction caused by Thanos.
Nick Fury also became known for having multiple contingency plans in place in case of any disaster. Jake or Jacob Fury, also known as the supervillain Scorpion, is Nick’s brother.
While he was largely known as a supervillain, in another comic arc it was revealed that he was in fact a spy for Nick within HYDRA.
The two were working together, while the villain known as Scorpio was actually a clone.
MILES MORALES AND THE PROWLER
The Prowler (played by Donald Glover in Spider-Man: Homecoming) has had multiple versions, but is most well-known as Hobie Brown/Aaron Davis and the uncle of Miles Morales, who is one of the versions of Spider-Man after Peter Parker (played by various actors, including Toby Maguire and Tom Holland).
Miles became Spider-Man after being bitten by another engineered spider, much like Parker. Miles is later recruited for S.H.I.E.L.D. and meets both an alternate-dimension Peter Parker and the Peter Parker of that dimension resurrected.
Miles later fights his uncle Aaron, whose weapons malfunction and end his life.
However, there are alternate-universe versions of Aaron as well, one of which became a punk-rock version of Spider-Man after also being bitten by a radioactive spider.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is an upcoming animated movie featuring Morales.
SABRETOOTH AND WOLVERINE
There are different origin stories about how supervillain Sabretooth (played by Tyler Mane and Liev Schreiber in X-Men movies) and Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman and Troye Sivan as a younger Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) are related.
In some of the movies, Wolverine and Sabretooth were supposed to be brothers. In the original comics, they were father and son.
Throughout the years different writers have had differing views on their relationship. Sabretooth is portrayed at times as not having much in the way of a healthy support system, while Wolverine had the X-Men.
Additionally, in the movie Logan, Wolverine has a daughter. She was made from his DNA for a super soldier program.
Once the children created by the program were no longer needed they were to be eliminated, but instead escaped with some assistance. Like Logan, she had superpowers such as super healing and razor-sharp claws.
BLACK PANTHER AND SHURI
First introduced in 1966, Black Panther has recently gained popularity due to the highly successful movie released by Marvel.
Of the many relationships portrayed in the movie, one of the most popular is that of T’Challa (played by Chadwick Boseman) and his sister Shuri (played by Letitia Wright).
Black Panther, with the powers given to him by the “heart-shaped herb, is the new king of Wakanda and Shuri is his super intelligent sister, who is in charge of all of the technology of Wakanda.
Shuri created all of Black Panther’s outfits and helps him utilize the technology at Wakanda’s disposal.
While Shuri doesn’t exactly have up a superpower, her higher level of intelligence could be considered a superpower as she is said to be “smarter than Iron Man.”
Their father, T’Chaka (played by John Kani) was the previous Black Panther.
NEBULA AND GAMORA
Guardians of the Galaxy was a relatively obscure Marvel comic before the series was found a wider audience as major blockbuster MCU movies.
In the films, the sibling rivalry between Nebula (played by Karen Gillan) and Gamora (played by Zoe Saldana) was brought to life like never before.
Nebula was angry that Gamora, in her eyes, had things easier simply because she won the fights that Thanos (played by Josh Brolin) put them through. However, Gamora viewed Nebula as her sister and wanted to keep that bond alive.
The conflicting goals between the two lead to some grand battles, until finally, Nebula grudgingly more or less became one of the good guys.
After Gamora’s presumed demise at the hand of Thanos in the Avengers: Infinity War, it appears that Nebula and and Rocket (motion-captured by Sean Gunn and voiced by Bradley Cooper) are the last of the original Guardians.
THOR AND LOKI
While mystical hammer-wielding Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) are not blood related, for a long time neither of them knew that that was the case.
They had a deep sibling rivalry, largely due to the fact that Loki felt that he should’ve been favored over Thor.
In mythology, both Odin (played in the Marvel movies by Anthony Hopkins) and Loki are considered tricksters.
In the MCU movies like The Avengers and Thor, Loki is still portrayed as a trickster – it’s one of his many talents.
He enjoys pulling tricks on his brother, and while that might seem harmless on the surface, many of those tricks had disastrous consequences – most notably the presumed end of Agent Phil Coulson (played by Clark Gregg), who was later brought back to life in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
BROTHERS GRIMM (BROTHERS GRIMES)
Initially, the criminal supervillains known as the Brothers Grimm was actually one person, Nathan Dolly.
His wife, Priscilla, assisted him with his exploits at times, and was instrumental in saving him after he accidentally trapped himself in two skull dolls.
Using mystical means, he eventually transferred his consciousness into two life-sized dolls, or mannequins, and continued to commit crimes as “twin” brothers.
Eventually he is defeated, but the magic that animated the figures was still active within their clothing.
When two actual brothers – Percy Grimes and Barton Grimes – get hold of the mannequins, they become the Brothers Grimes, committing crimes as both more mercenary supervillains and as part of a gang.
VULCAN, CYCLOPS, HAVOK
Of the brothers, Cyclops (played by James Marsden and most recently Tye Sheridan in the X-Men movies) is probably best known through his work with the X-Men.
The movies and cartoon series have delved into his background, though perhaps not as much as Wolverine, Professor X (originally played by Patrick Stewart and also played by James McAvoy, etc.), Magneto (played by Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender, etc.), and other mutants and X-Men.
In the X-Men movies, his brother Havok (played by Lucas Till), was considered an integral part of the team before he presumably passed away.
Vulcan is a supervillain who can absorb and control energy, and can even manipulate Cyclops’ blasts.
MAGNETO, QUICKSILVER, SCARLET WITCH
Magneto is the father of Quicksilver (played by Evan Peters in the X-Men movies and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the MCU) and Scarlet Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen), both mutants with strong powers.
However, in the movie Avengers: Age of Ultron, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were given different backstories and portrayed as being made by an elite/secret program.
In X-Men: Apocalypse, Quicksilver was aware that Magneto is his father. However, Magneto is not aware that Quicksilver is his son.
Due to previous complications with the rights to X-Men, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s stories needed to be changed, and there’s some speculation as to how their storylines will progress given the new Disney/Fox deal.
AZARI, STORM, BLACK PANTHER
Azari is superpowered son of Black Panther and Storm (played by Halle Barry and Alexandra Shipp in the X-Men movies).
He has abilities from both his parents, including the ability to shoot lightning and the superpowers bestowed upon Black Panther.
He is a member of Kid Avengers/Avengers and was raised by Tony Stark/Iron Man after the fall of the Avengers, and does not know his parents directly.
He later helps to defeat Ultron after he is alerted to Iron Man and the Kid Avengers’ location.
Despite having the ability to manipulate electricity, it is not yet known if he inherited Storm’s full abilities as well, though he seems to have inherited all of Black Panther’s abilities.
JUBILATION LEE AND HOPE LEE
Jubilation Lee, known as Jubilee (played by Katrina Florece and most recently Lana Condor in the X-Men movies) is a mutant with the power to create various levels of energy blasts.
She was orphaned as a child and later joined the X-Men. At one point in the comics, she gained vampire abilities.
She’s had several appearances in the X-Men movies, and in the comics she is portrayed as having a daughter/father type of friendship with Wolverine.
Hope Lee is Jubilee’s aunt and is an assassin with a cyber-biotic upgrades, though she is not considered a supervillain.
She was presumed to have passed away, but she survived an explosion intended to keep other assassin’s off of her trail since she wanted to leave the business.
JESSICA JONES AND DANIELLE CAGE
Danielle Cage is the progeny of superpowered couple Luke Cage and Jessica Jones (played by Krysten Ritter in the Netflix series, etc.).
In their respective shows, Jones and Cage are currently not a couple anymore and are seeing other people.
In the comics, however, they are together and eventually have a baby that they name after Daniel Rand (Iron Fist, played by Finn Jones in the Netflix series, etc.).
Like her parents before her, Danielle has superpowers. She has the combined strength of both of her parents, and eventually she goes on to join the Avengers.
In Ultron Forever #1, it’s revealed that she becomes the future Captain America. She also calls herself “The Shield” because of the toughness of her skin, a result of the combined superpowers of her parents.
WARPATH AND THUNDERBIRD
James Proudstar (Warpath, played by Nils Allen “BooBoo” Stewart in X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Thunderbird (John Proudstar, played by Blair Redford in The Gifted) are brothers.
After his brother passed away, Warpath took on the name Thunderbird for a while, even though he didn’t know his brother that well initially.
He sought revenge against Professor X but later realized that his brother’s death wasn’t the X-Men’s fault.
Unfortunately, the rest of the members of his tribe end up not surviving an attack by Cable’s future clone.
He travels to hell and back to avenge those he lost. Thunderbird was later resurrected, but for nefarious reasons.
After Warpath defeated him, he was temporarily brought back to life again, fighting on the side of the X-Men.
PSYLOCKE AND CAPTAIN BRITAIN
Psylocke (played by Oliva Munn in X-Men: Apocalypse) and Captain Britain are sibling superheroes, though estranged.
In the comics, Psylocke’s powers varied, as she was originally a psychic but then went on to become a ninja after having her consciousness placed in a new body.
This changed her personality somewhat, but it wasn’t the only time Psylocke was changed, as she was captured and her skills enhanced against her will before she was fittingly rescued by Wolverine.
Captain Britain started life as an ordinary person who was later given extraordinary powers by Merlyn and his daughter Roma.
He went on to become a superhero, fighting supernatural villains and supervillains alike, as well as teaming up with the X-Men and forming his own team.
CAPTAIN MAR-VELL AND HULKLING
Hulking (known as Teddy Altman) is the son of Princess Anelle and Captain Mar-Vell (played by Jude Law in the upcoming Captain Marvel movie, along with Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel).
Hulking doesn’t know his origin at first, and only learns of his lineage after being taken by Super Skrull and learning of the Kree-Skrull war.
He is both Kree and Skrull. His father, Captain Mar-Vell, is a Kree soldier who decided to protect humanity.
After numerous battles, he succumbs to cancer but is resurrected several times. Mar-Vell fought with various teams at one point or another, and at his initial passing even his enemies paid their respects.
Later, his son Teddy is shown as having a child of his own, his daughter Katie.
COLOSSUS AND MAGIK
Magik, known as Illyana Rasputin (played by Anya Taylor-Joy in the upcoming The New Mutants), is the younger sister of Colossus (portrayed by Daniel Cudmore in X-Men movies and voiced by Stefan Kapicic in the Deadpool movies).
She is a sorceress and has been trained in hand-to-hand combat and other skills. Though she was tortured and attempts were made to corrupt her soul, she was rescued and continued to be a superhero.
Her brother, Colossus, is a metallic mutant and also a member of the X-Men.
At one point, after entering a mystical gateway, his memory was wiped clean and he lived life as an artist. His memory was eventually restored and he returned to fighting battles alongside the X-Men.
Can you think of any other Marvel heroes or villains who are related? Let us know in the comments!
