Super-siblings!

A thread in the Mr. Silver Age thread (RIGHT HERE) about Lana Lang's occasional little brother reminded me once of something I read about adventure heroes, by necessity, not having much in the way of family. You can't go running off to fight evil in the South Seas if you have an infant, or aging parents, or impoverished siblings to deal with back home. It extends to supporting characters, too, pretty often.

So instead of making a list of heroes and supporting characters who are only children, it might be easier to list those characters who have siblings. I'll try to get us started, Here's a beginning list. Correct me where I'm wrong, Legionnaires!

ARCHIE COMICS

  • Betty has two older siblings, Polly and Chic.
  • Jughead has a younger sister, Jellybean. (Souphead was a cousin.)
  • Mr. Weatherbee has a twin brother with a full head of hair.
  • Cheryl and Jason Blossom are, of course, twins.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES

  • Cosmic Boy has a younger brother.
  • Lightning Lad, Light Lass and Lightning Lord are all siblings.

GREEN LANTERN

  • Hal Jordan has two brothers.
  • Guy Gardner has a sister and a brother.

SPIDER-MAN

  • Liz Allan and the Molten Man are step-siblings.
  • Mary Jane has an older sister, Gayle.

SUPERMAN

  • Jor-El and Zor-El were brothers.
  • Lois Lane has a sister, Lucy. In the Golden Age, Lois was bedeviled by a niece, Susie Thompkins, of unknown provenance. In 1982, all the Susie Thompkins stories were relegated to Earth-Two, so that Lucy ("Lucille") could be her mother.
  • Lex Luthor has a sister, Lena.
  • Lana Lang, as noted in The Baron's thread, had an occasional younger brother.

Next!

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  • BATMAN

    • Bruce Wayne has an older brother, Thomas Wayne Jr. (He's been mopeed away, but keeps coming back!)
  • HAWKEYE

    • Clint Barton has an older brother named Barney.
  • X-MEN

    • Cyclops and Havok are brothers.
    • Charles Xavier and Cain Marko are step-siblings


    ClarkKent_DC said:

    X-MEN

    • Cyclops and Havok are brothers.
  • X-VERSE

    I think there have been several Guthrie's associated with the X-Men/Mutants.

    Colossus and Magik.

    While they are step-brothers (assuming this hasn't been retconned)  Charles Xavier and Cain Marko are brothers.

    Of course, you have Thunderbird and Warpath as well.

    Oh yeah, Xavier and Cassie Nova.

    X-villains Fenris are brother and sister.

    Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.

    INHUMANS

    Black Bolt and Maximus

    LEGION OF SUPER HEROESCosmic Boy and Magnetic Kid

  • I need two fixes so far:

    • What's the story on Thomas Wayne? I remember a couple of stories where he existed, but whernever I look one up, it's an Imaginary Tale or something. Was there ever a "real" continuity where he existed? Golden Age, Silver Age, Zero Hour, whatever?
    • How many Guthries were there? It was a cliched Kentucky too-big family, but many were killed. I know Sam and Paige, but am unfamiliar with any others.

  • Adding to Inhumans:

    • Crystal and Medusa are sisters



  • ClarkKent_DC said:

    X-MEN

    • Cyclops and Havok are brothers.


    Ed Brubaker introduced a third Summers brother named Gabriel (who goes by Vulcan) in X-Men Deadly Genesis.

  • Oh yeah, Gabriel. Boy, that sucked out loud.

    I read on CBR the other day that the plans were for the third Summers brother to be Maggot or Caliban or something. I think I would have preferred that, since Gabriel was such a waste of paper.

  • Captain Comics said:

    I need two fixes so far:

    • What's the story on Thomas Wayne? I remember a couple of stories where he existed, but whernever I look one up, it's an Imaginary Tale or something. Was there ever a "real" continuity where he existed? Golden Age, Silver Age, Zero Hour, whatever?

    Thomas Wayne Jr. is from the Bronze Age, but planted in the Haneyverse -- he first appeared in World's Finest #223 (May-June 1974) in a story written by Bob Haney and drawn by Dick Dillin and inked by Vince Colletta.

    Superman and Batman are on the trail of a serial killer -- Clark Kent is covering the story for WGBS, and back then, Batman actually did detective work. For no good reason, Deadman is helping out, too. They hone in on a suspect by the name of Thomas Willowood ... and then Superman notices Batman's been holding out on some of the evidence. 

    It turns out, Bruce had a brother who was about three years older, but he suffered brain damage when his pram was hit by an out-of-control car. Times being what they were, Thomas Sr. and Martha had Thomas Jr. admitted to the Willowood Asylum. They probably intended to tell Bruce about Thomas Jr. but never got around to it, having been murdered some years later. I suppose original butler Wilfred (Alfred's father) was sworn to secrecy. 

    In any case, it looks like Thomas Jr. has escaped and has been committing the murders, but our detectives learn that he was being framed. At story's end, Deadman thinks he'd like to live something like a normal life, so he uses Thomas Jr.'s body to do so and disappears.

    A sequel in World's Finest #227 (February 1975) has Batman looking for his missing sibling, and finds he's now a circus acrobat -- which is Deadman's schtick. The World's Finest duo also comes across gold smugglers, and in the end, Batman orders Deadman to give up his brother's body, a sniper tries to shoot Batman moments later, and Thomas Jr. jumps in front of him, takes the bullet, and dies.

    Thomas Wayne Jr. was mercifully forgotten about for nearly 40 years until the Court of Owls storyline in the Batman titles in 2012.

    Details here:

    DC Database entry: "Thomas Wayne, Jr. (Earth-One)"

    Comics Alliance: "A Brief (and Insane) History of Batman's Newest Foe"

    Babblings About DC Comics 3: "'World's Finest' 223 -- Deadman Uncovers Wayne Family Secrets"

    Babblings About DC Comics 3: "'World's Finest 227 -- The Return of Thomas Wayne"

    Hope this helps. 

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