Everyone in the Marvel Universe is Related!
The title’s a slight exaggeration. But, thanks to marriage, robots and time travel, there are a lot of characters in the Marvel Universe who can be considered to be part of the same family. A scary amount, in fact. It’s made me think that, maybe, the Marvel Universe is actually a little creepy.
It all starts with Professor Phineas Horton, the creator of the Original Human Torch. Well, co-creator, since he was assisted by Doctor James Bradley, who would also go by the moniker of Doctor Death. Catchy. This means that Horton and Bradley are the Torch’s two dads. It also means that Horton and Bradley’s later creations, Adam II and Volton respectively, are the Torch’s brothers. Then there’s Toro, who the Torch took on as his sidekick and ward. With me so far? Good, because here’s where it gets weird.
Through the machinations of Immortus, there are two versions of the Torch in the present day. He used the Forever Crystal to create a duplicate, but because of time travel, both Torch’s are the real Torch. One of them would remain the Human Torch, and serve in the present day as an Avenger, the other would be rebuilt by Ultron and Professor Horton as the Vision. So, now, technically, Ultron is also the Torch’s dad, and the Torch and the Vision are brothers. So, that’s the Torch, Adam II, Volton and the Vision. But it doesn’t end there. Vision is also the brother of Wonder Man, since Wonder Man’s brain patterns were used in the creation of the Vision. This also means that Vision is the brother of Avengers bad guy, the Grim Reaper, who is Wonder Man’s biological brother. So, we’ve got a lot of brothers there, and three fathers. Crazy. And it doesn’t end there. There’s a second Vision who was created from the remains of the original Vision combined with the armour and brain patterns of Iron Lad, who was an earlier version of Kang the Conqueror. This Vision is another brother of the Human Torch, the Vision, Adam II, Volton, Wonder Man and the Grim Reaper. It also throws Kang into the family as yet another father, and quite possibly Doctor Doom, rumoured to be one of Kang’s ancestors, a distant relative.
Now, the Vision (the first one) also married the Scarlet Witch. The Scarlet Witch’s brother is Quicksilver, her sister is Polaris, and her father is Magneto. She and the Vision also had children who weren’t real, but who had souls and would come back as Wiccan and Speed of the Young Avengers. Meanwhile, her brother, Quicksilver, married Crystal of the Inhumans, and had a daughter with her in the form of Luna. Crystal is a member of the Inhuman royal family, and is therefore related to Blackbolt, Medusa, Maximus the Mad, Karnak, Triton and Gorgon. So, the family’s pretty big now, huh.
But wait, we’re not done yet! Professor Horton ended up marrying, but his wife already had a daughter. His step-daughter (and the Human Torch’s step-sister) was Frankie Raye, who would go on to be Nova, a herald of Galactus.
So, for those keeping track, our family currently consists of Professor Horton, Doctor Death, Ultron, Kang the Conqueror, Doctor Doom, Iron Lad, the Human Torch, the Vision, Adam II, Volton, Wonder Man, the Grim Reaper, the other Vision, the Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Magneto, Polaris, Crystal and all the other Inhumans, Luna, Wiccan, Speed and Nova.
But then factor in that most artificial life forms in the Marvel Universe are somehow related to the Human Torch, and you’ve at least doubled the size of this most interesting family. I may have missed some characters out, but does anyone else now really want Marvel to show us their next Christmas family party?
About the Author
PJ Montgomery Writer of various things, lover of comics, films, books and computer games, loveable rogue and proud Sidekick.
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I believe there are more…this could become a thing. Loved this piece, you should write more often on a Tuesday
Yeah, I just realised I completely missed out Hank Pym and the rest of the Ultron line (Jocasta, Alkhema, the Runaways Victor Mancha). It doesn’t end!
LOL a brilliant article. Its amazing how often your head spins around when you start delving into back story and relationships within the MU. Definitely shows its roots in 50′s romance titles.