Antagonistic Offspring



Some children just don't see eye to eye with their parents. They may argue with them, flout their authority, or pretend they don't exist. An Antagonistic Offspring, however, goes that extra mile. They're not only on a different page from their mom or dad, but a different side morally as well — and since the parent in question is at least nominally heroic, there is no way this is going to end well. Mom or dad might be a force for good, but their child is not, and is willing to let them know it. They're not Self-Made Orphans, but if they get their way, they will be soon.

This trope is the inverse of the situation found in the Archnemesis Dad and Evil Matriarch tropes: one of the protagonists has a child who also happens to be pretty darn evil, and an opposing force within the story. Why this happens can vary wildly. Maybe the child is the result of abuse, abandonment, or neglect. Maybe they were mentored or raised by one of their parents' enemies and just don't know any better. Maybe their parents are separated, and it's the evil one who got custody. Or maybe they were just born bad. Whatever the case, expect a lot of angsting about Where Did We Go Wrong? on the part of the heroic parent or parents.

Since most heroes in fiction are younger, this trope isn't as common as the Archnemesis Dad and Evil Matriarch tropes. See Offing the Offspring and Self-Made Orphan for what this might lead to. Can easily overlap with Enfante Terrible and Teens Are Monsters, although it doesn't have to. If one party is unaware of the relationship, it might lead to a Luke, I Am Your Father/Luke, You Are My Father moment. In fantasy works, this character stands a good chance of being a Bastard Bastard or The Evil Prince. See Evil Orphan, for when the kid isn't actually yours, and Cain and Abel, for when they go gunning for their siblings instead of mom and dad. See also A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil and Older Hero vs. Younger Villain.

Anime and Manga

 * In Fullmetal Alchemist, the main villain, 'Father,' self-identified as Van Hohenheim's son back before he got godlike powers, and seems to have had a love-hate relationship with Hohenheim. For his part, Hohenheim had no idea about the hate until the Homunculus tricked the emperor into killing his entire country and funneling their souls into it, giving it the power to create a body. It shares half the souls with Hohenheim, then revels in his horror at his entire country being Doomed Hometown and his new catchphrase. The next time they meet, they are enemies, with Hohenheim as the Big Good, and his son, mentor, Evil Counterpart, and creator as the Big Bad.
 * In the 2003 anime version, psychopathic Jerkass and Green-Eyed Monster Envy is revealed to be the failed reincarnation of the son that wannabe Big Good Hohenheim had with Dante. With his Disappeared Dad as a built-in Freudian Excuse, Envy makes several attempts on the lives of his father's children, Ed and Al, before discovering that Hohenheim is, in fact, alive. This results in him tracking Hohenheim to our world, where they kill one another in The Movie.
 * Incidentally, this means that in the 2003 anime Envy turns out to be Ed's older brother, and in the manga it, and all the other Homunculi, turn out to be his nephews and nieces.

Comic Books

 * Stryfe, from Cable, is an odd example, being a clone of Cyclops' son, Cable, who was captured and raised by a future version of Apocalypse to be his son and heir. Ultimately rebelling, Stryfe seeks to slay both Cable and Cyclops and Apocalypse, whom he regards respectively as his biological and spiritual parents. He has repeatedly clashed with all of them in pursuit of his insane agenda.
 * Continuing this trend, Stryfe later captured Cable's son by Aliya Summers, Tyler Dayspring,  and raised him to hate his father. As one of Stryfe's soldiers, Tyler attempted to murder Cable's friend, Dawnsilk, and was shot by his father for his efforts. Tyler's hatred for Cable turned personal after this, and he travelled back to the past, adopting the identities of "Mister Tolliver" and "Genesis". He forced his father's team, Six-Pack, into conflict with Stryfe, leading them to disband, attempted to infiltrate and subvert X-Force, which Cable was leading, and again confronted his father when the latter was possessed by Stryfe, an altercation which led to Stryfe's "death" and left Cable very traumatised. Tyler later declared himself Apocalypse's heir and was killed by Wolverine; his ghost meets with Cable during a near-death experience and the two seem to have reconciled.
 * Then there's Cyclops' who tries to kill  right after meeting him.
 * Daken is Wolverine's son, and an Axe Crazy Manipulative Bastard and Depraved Bisexual to boot, thanks in no small part to Parental Abandonment and being raised by the murderous Cyber. He desperately wants to kill his father, though despite what he might think, he's not quite good enough to pull it off yet. Averted by his "sister", X-23, who, despite her issues, views Wolverine as a father figure and gets along with him fine.
 * Obsidian, the son of Green Lantern Alan Scott and supervillainess Thorn, seems to have inherited his mother's disposition towards mental instability. Initially a superhero, Obsidian suffered a mental breakdown and turned to evil under the influence of Ian Karkull, from whom his powers were derived. During this time, he attacked his father's team, the Justice Society of America, blaming Scott for abandoning him to be raised in an abusive foster home; he was defeated, fittingly enough, when his alcoholic foster father sacrificed himself to save Scott. He later allied with Eclipso and The Dark Lord Mordru in an attempt to plunge the entire world into darkness; Scott confronted his deranged son during this battle, defeated him, and was ultimately able to cure him of his madness.
 * Tom Strong's son Albrecht Strong, who his evil Nazi villainess Ingrid Weiss conceived (after what may well have been a rape) and raised without his consent. Their main antagonistic realationship is shown in a Flash Forward to 2050; as a would-be world-conqueror and a Nazi to boot, Albrecht repeatedly clashes with his Science Hero father.
 * The Incredible Hulk: Hulk had issues with his son, Skaar, who came to Earth and waited around for Bruce Banner to return to being the Hulk so he could kill him. He eventually mellowed and got along with his father. His other son, Hiro-Kala, hates Bruce and the Hulk, and tried to wipe out Earth in his rage, using brainwashed slaves to do his dirty work; it takes Bruce and Skaar to take him down.
 * David Haller, aka Legion, is the son of X-Men founder Charles Xavier and Holocaust survivor Gabrielle Haller. He's also a deeply disturbed young man with vast psionic powers and multiple personality disorder, including an alt that is modelled on a crazed terrorist who tried to kidnap him as a child. Institutionalised as a child, David eventually broke out, clashing frequently with both the X-Men and the New Mutants, both of whom were led by Xavier. David eventually integrated his personalities and tried to redeem himself, but this only created worse problems, as his attempted assassination of Magneto in the past resulted in Xavier's death and the creation of the Age of Apocalypse timeline. David was briefly killed by Bishop following this; he has since returned to villainy.
 * Xavier's ex, Moira McTaggart, has had her own problems with her son, Kevin, alias Proteus. Conceived when Moira's estranged husband Joe raped her, Kevin was born with Reality Warper and Demonic Possession abilities, and severe emotional problems, and was imprisoned by his mother. Kevin broke out when his cell was damaged, and went on a rampage, during which he killed several people (including his father), tried to kill his mother and the X-Men, and was seemingly killed by Colossus. Since then, he has infrequently returned to attack the X-Men and Moira, who he blames for his problems.
 * In Ultimate Marvel, Captain America's Arch Enemy The Red Skull, is his son by Gail Richards. Growing up on a military base following his father's apparent death, the Skull hid his resentment of Cap until he was 17; he then snapped, killed upwards of two hundred people on the base, and, in a final act of rebellion against his father, mutilated his own face by skinning it. He would go on to become a hired assassin, undertaking numerous missions for terror groups like AIM—including assassinating JFK—before coming up against the resurrected Captain America after being hired to steal the Cosmic Cube. The battle between father and son left numerous people dead, and ultimately ended in the Skull's death, after he was hospitilised by Cap and then killed by the mother of one of his victims.
 * Marvel Comics really likes this trope: there's also Hyperstorm, the possible-future son of Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers, who travelled to the present to destroy the Fantastic Four, an act that might very well have prevented his own birth. At one point in the MC-2 verse he even went after his father, Franklin, ignoring the potential grandfather paradox.
 * On the very recent run of Detective Comics, Batman had to deal with the psychopathic.
 * Some Spider Man comics portray the relationship between the original Venom (a delusional Type V Anti-Hero who only targets Spider-Man) and his symbiote's offspring, Carnage (an Axe Crazy Serial Killer and indiscriminate mass-murderer) this way, complete with Carnage referring to Venom as dad. It should be noted that his appearance was one of the few things that was all but garunteed to force an Enemy Mine between archenemies Venom and Spider-Man.
 * Ultron, a homicidal robot created by Hank Pym of The Avengers refers to Pym as his father. It has also tried to kill him, The Avengers, and most of humanity at one point or another, and is rightly considered by Pym to be his Arch Enemy. Ironically, Ultron's attempts at creating it's own offspring have also met with failure and Heel Face Turns, making Ultron both an Antagonistic Offspring to Pym, and an Archnemesis Dad towards The Vision and Victor Mancha.
 * One of Ultron's incarnations averted this and wanted to have a good relationship with his "father" Hank. Sadly, this Ultron sacrificed himself to save Hank.

Film

 * In Beowulf, the dragon that Beowulf faces at the end is actually his bastard son by Grendel's mother.
 * Excalibur takes the "Mordred is Arthur's bastard" version of the story and runs with it, playing Mordred as a half-crazed Bastard Bastard who wants his father's throne, sword, and power, but rejects his love, ultimately leading to a very messy Mutual Kill.
 * Tron: Legacy: from a certain point of view, Clu 2.0 was just as much Kevin Flynn's son as Sam was. A combination of jealousy, poorly-worded directives, and just plain malice turned him into the Complete Monster we see in the present-day.
 * In the original The Omen, as well as its 2006 remake, the protagonist is a father who comes to realize that his son is the Anti Christ.
 * The Big Bad of Kung Fu Panda is Tai Lung (a snow leopard), the adopted son of Master Shifu (a red panda).
 * In Blood Diamond, Solomon's son Dia is brainwashed into joining the local militia.

Literature

 * In Death Wish, the fourth book in the Cal Leandros series, Promise Nottinger's daughter, Cherish, is one of these, deliberately manipulating her mother, as well as Niko and Cal, for her own selfish ends, while continuing to prey on humans and sleep with her mom's ex, Seamus. She is ultimately disowned by Promise and.
 * In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Jacen Solo/Darth Cadeus becomes this to his mom and dad, Han Solo and Leia Organa-Solo, following his turn to the darkside. He also manages to hit A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil with his uncle Luke, and Cain and Abel with his sister Jaina, which is the relationship that gets the most focus. Isn't he just a little overachiever?
 * In The Bad Seed, Creepy Child, Stepford Smiler, and Enfante Terrible Rhoda Penmark is this to her otherwise normal mother, Christine. Discovering that her own mother was, Christine eventually realises that it's been passed on to Rhoda, and does her best to stop her sociopathic daughter before the situation gets completely out of control.
 * In Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, Mordred is this to.
 * In Harry Potter, Death Eater Barty Crouch Jr. is this for his father, Ministry Official (and dark wizard hater) Barty Crouch Sr.
 * In The Quest for Saint Camber, Prince Nigel Haldane's eldest son, Conall, is this, going so far as.
 * Breezepelt in Warrior Cats: Power of Three and Omen of the Stars. He's the son of Crowfeather, but he
 * The Chronoliths: Adam Mills is the son of secondary protagonist Ashlee Mills, and is therefore protagonist Scott Warden's stepson. He's also a pure psychopath with no concience, delusions of grandeur, and an unshakeable faith in Kuin, a mysterious conqueror who will supposedly Take Over the World at some point in the future (it is hinted that Adam believes himself to be Kuin). Born with his brain chemistry out of whack, Adam has no problem torturing his mother for information, having his stepsister gangraped for the hell of it, and attempting to murder his stepfather, all in the name of his crazed religious agenda.

Live Action TV

 * On Smallville, Lionel Luthor's relationship with his son, Lex, began as one between an abusive Archnemesis Dad and a tortured "Well Done, Son" Guy. Following Lionel's Heel Face Turn in Season 4 (and Lex's own Face Heel Turn shortly afterwards), the nature of the relationship changed to this, with Lex as The Big Bad, and Lionel as the Reformed but Rejected parent (and Mentor to The Hero) who tried to throw a monkey wrench into his son's Evil Plans. It ultimately gets Lionel killed in Season 7, as Lex finally crosses the Moral Event Horizon.
 * Angel: courtesy of a kidnapping by murderous vampire hunter Holtz and a subsequent stay in the hellish dimension of Quor-Toth, Angel's son Connor goes from baby to emotionally-stunted, angry eighteen year old in the space of a few weeks, and carries a correspondingly huge grudge against his father, whom he blames for his situation and Holtz's murder (actually a frame job/suicide). He tries to kill Angel several times, even going so far as to trap the vampire in a steel box and sink him to the bottom of the ocean. He eventually pulls a Heel Face Turn, but it's not until he's had his memories wiped (at Angel's request) that he is able to let go of his anger and find something approaching a normal life.
 * Later in the series,
 * Morgana on Merlin after she found out Uther had lied to her for years about Gorlois being her father when in fact Uther himself was her father. After that, she wanted him dead, no matter what.
 * Andrew Van De Kamp started out like this in Desperate Housewives towards his mother. It is revealed that he has somewhat of a Freudian Excuse in the second season, as one flashback shows Bree calling his much younger self a criminal and forcing him to memorize a Bree-serving apology after he swipes a lawn ornament from Mary Alice's yard out of curiosity.
 * Brenda Mensah to the father who abandoned her, Fred Ade-Williams in Tinsel.
 * The Season 2 storyline of the American Being Human (UK) features Aiden forced to confront a vampire "son" he exiled almost a century ago. Aiden hopes to find a way to reconcile and help his son return to vampire society, but warns him about this trope. He even predicts that the son will always kill the father in such a conflict because, while a son might grow to hate his father, the father will always love the son he chose and created and never be able to choose to destroy him.
 * Bam Margera loves to mess with his father Phil in Jackass, and ambushing him and slapping him silly and unscrewing the bolts on his chair so he'll fall out of it are some of the many pranks he pulls on him. Given the nature of the show though, it's all in good fun and definitely Played For Laughs.

Music

 * Heather Dale's "Mordred's Lullabye" focuses around Evil Matriarch Morgana Le Fay's attempts at turning her son, Mordred, into one of these. She reminds him that his father (her brother!) is a thief and a traitor who has taken what is rightfully theirs, and that he, Mordred, is to die gaining them their revenge.

Myth & Legend

 * In some versions of the King Arthur mythos, the treacherous Mordred is Arthur's son as well as his nephew. This never ends well.
 * In fact, that final battle against his own son is one of the older parts of the Arthur legend. Before his and Merlin's stories fused, long before Gwenhwyfar and round tables and lake ladies and even his having any particular knights, there's a record of that battle against his son.
 * In Greek Mythology, Zeus worries that his and Metis' son will overthrow him, as he overthrew his father (who overthrew his own father) before him. Fortunately for Zeus, they had a daughter (Athena) instead.
 * Russian Mythology and Tales include the tale of Sokolnik, a bastard son of Ilya Muromets (the Badass among badasses), who turned to a life of crime and eventually tried Calling the Old Man Out, with less than pretty results.

Religion

 * Older Than Feudalism: In The Bible, King David's son, Absalom, murdered his half-brother Amnon at a feast to which he had invited all of King David's sons. This was rather understandable, as Amnon had had raped Absalom's full sister, Tamar. David eventually forgave Absalom...but all was not well. Absalom built up support in Jerusalem, promising justice for all, and showing a humility that his father never did. With all of Israel and Judah behind him, he revolted against David and seized the city, driving David beyond the Jordan River. He ruled for years as regent, eventually declared himself king, and was slain by his father's Number Two, Joab, in the Battle of Ephraim Wood. David, despite everything Absalom had done to him, wept for his death afterward. A lovely combination of this trope, The Evil Prince, and Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.
 * Would God that I could die for thee, o Absalom!

Tabletop Games

 * Dahak the dragon god of treachery and evil is this towards his father, dragon creator god Apsu the Waybringer in Pathfinder. Running on hatred, Dahak hopes to destroy everything his father has built and targets his creations for the sheer pleasure of ruining them

Video Games

 * In Mass Effect 2, Samara's loyalty quest involves her evil progeny Morinth.
 * Sirrus and Achenar in Myst, to Atrus. Of course, they're ultimately enemies to everyone, including each other.
 * Tekken's main story line is derived from the battles between father and son, grandfather and grandson, and eventually all three manipulating and trying to destroy one another. While the grandfather, Heihachi, started it, his son Kazuya has more than exceeded his father's malevolent endeavors, and often acts more prominently as the antagonist in the series now. The grandson, Jin, is the only good one of the bunch, but now as of Tekken 6 played the role of antagonist as well.

Western Animation

 * The 90's X-Men cartoon featured an adaptation of the Proteus arc, albeit one with a more positive ending: Kevin is ultimately calmed down and reconciles with his mother and father.
 * X-Men: Evolution: Season 4 Episode 4, "The Sins of the Son", featured Charles Xavier's son, David, who's resentment towards his father for his perceived abandonment of him has created two alterante personas: Ian and Lucas. Lucas, who hates Xavier, orchestrates David's apparent kidnapping as a way to lure Xavier to him; during their confrontation, Ian and David are accidentally erased, leaving the telepathic and telekinetic Lucas free to do as he pleases...exactly as he planned it.
 * Wolverine's Opposite Gender Clone, X-23, behaved like this during her first appearance, targeting Wolverine for the role he played in her creation and subsequent misery. It's very much portrayed as an angry daughter attacking her father; unlike the incident with David, it has a happier resolution, with X-23 ultimately pulling a Heel Face Turn.
 * The series also featured an Eviler Than Thou variation: the Scarlet Witch, who was institutionalised by her father, Antivillainous Noble Demon Magneto, due to her mental instability and Reality Warper powers. Broken out by rival Big Bad Mystique, the Scarlet Witch spends the rest of the show trying to hunt down her father, who ultimately . The fanbase is divided as to whether he or his daughter deserves more sympathy.
 * Played for Laughs by Family Guy's Stewie Griffin, a sociopathic Child Prodigy and Sissy Villain who antagonises both his mother and father with varying results.
 * On Gargoyles, Thailog, a clone, has this relationship to his "father" Goliath, and to a lesser extent his other creators, Xanatos and Dr. Sevarius. While he considers Goliath "weak," he rejects the latter two for trying to control him, but he certainly inherits their propensities for manipulation and evil.
 * Spider-Man: The Animated Series features an adaptation of the Carnage storyline. When Dormamuu returns The Symbiote to Venom, a part of it attaches to his cellmate, Kletus Cassady (who in this adaptation is a Mad Bomber rather than a Serial Killer), creating Carnage. The two of them briefly work together as Dormamuu's Co-Dragons, referring to one another as "offspring" and "dad". Following Carnage's attack on Venom's crush, however, and the latter's subsequent capture by Spider-Man, Venom undergoes a Heel Face Turn and ultimately sacrifices himself to destroy Carnage and end Dormamuu's Evil Plan.
 * Manny Rivera's Granpapi wants him to become this. Granpapi himself was this to his own father, whose father was this to his father.