"Brave & Bold" #35 features the team-up of the Legion of Substitute Heroes and the Inferior 5 which is inspired madness. The Inferior 5 were created in 1966's "Showcase" #62 as children of retired super-heroes, the Freedom Brigade who were based on regular DC heroes. This concept was done more seriously by Roy Thomas in "Infinity, Inc." featuring the children and protoges of the Justice Society. But what if the Inferior 5 WERE the children of the main DC characters?? If they were 20 in 1966, then they were born in 1946, the offspring of the Golden Age. I will place them on Earth-1.75, removed from Earth-One but not quite Earth-Two.
Merryman is Myron Victor, an intelligent and clever man who has a good knowledge of strategy and martial arts though he is a physical weakling. His parents are the Patriot and Lady Liberty, take-offs of the various flag based heroes of the 1940s. He is well aware he's not cut out to be a super-hero but tries in order to please his parents. His costume is that of a jester's since, as he says, "As long as I'm going to make a fool of myself, I might as well look the part!"
But what if he were Myron WAYNE, the son of Bruce Wayne and the former Kathy Kane(Batman and Batwoman)? With his lack of physical skills, Bruce may not want his son to follow in his footsteps and may be disappointed that he can't be the next Batman. Perhaps Myron is trying to prove his father wrong with his mother's encouragement since she never liked his lectures either. His costume could then be seen as a rebellion, resembling the Joker more than his father. Of course this would be the wacky Joker of the late 40s and 50s, not the murderous one.
Awkwardman is Leander Brent, beachcomber and writer who posesses incredible super-strength and invulnerabilty. Unfortunately he is THE clumsiest man on the planet and a walking disaster area. His parents are Mister Might and the Mermaid, from whom he inherited the need to douse himself with water periodically. Since his parents are stand-ins for Superman and his mermaid sweetheart, Lori Lemaris, let's make him Leander KENT.
Being the son of Superman must put a lot of pressure on him to excel. This could make him nervous which would only increase his clumsliness. His boots have flippers on them. What if his feet are really shaped like that? That would be a reason for his awkwardness on dry land. Would he be more graceful underwater??
More to follow!
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Herman Cramer's father is Captain Swift, the world's quickest man. Unfortunately Herman is overweight and can only hover and move with a good breeze, hence he calls himself the Blimp! But what he were Herman GARRICK, son of Jay (the Flash) garrick and the former Joan Williams? His father got his speed from inhaling hard water gas which could explain the Blimp's buoyancy and maybe he loves Mama Joan's cooking, lacking Flash's hyper-metabolism. He could be more effective if he had a small propulsion device on him. He could be attempting to overcome the criticism about his weight to be a real hero. Or he could be waiting to meet Bouncing Boy, Fatman, the Fat Fury and the Blob!
Lastly there is William King, the White Feather. He is the son of the caped Bowman who is Green Arrow's twin. It's not hard to call him William QUEEN. He's a superb archer with a heroic physique. He has one, life-consuming flaw: he's afraid of everything! The only reason he's part of the I5 is that he's afraid of disappointing his father more. Remember this is a pre-liberal Oliver Queen here. Perhaps his mother babied him or made him so fearful that he wouldn't become the risk taker his father was.
There are many questions, problems and flaws with this, obviously. It alters the parent heroes' personalities and mahkes them unsympathetic. It changes established continuity. It glosses over sidekicks like Robin and Speedy and ignores any more heroic offspring of the other heroes.
Any comments??
You say that like it's a bad thing ...
The closest thing I can think of to what you propose is "The Super-Sons" feature in World's Finest (a description here and here, with links to some actual stories here). Granted, the Super-Sons are a product of their time -- and very much a product of Bob Haney's particular brand of creativity -- but I think they reflect an attempt to answer the kinds of questions you raise.