Mommy Issues: Difference between revisions

The villain is a [[Villain by Default|basement-dwelling, creepy, perverted sociopath]] with nothing but contempt for his chosen target villain group ([[Women in Refrigerators|almost always women]]). Rather than give the character just any [[Freudian Excuse]], the creators have decided to give the character a mother who is unstable, cruel, [[My Beloved Smother|demanding, possessive, controlling]], and sometimes outright insane. She isn't the [[Evil Matriarch]]... she isn't a true villain in her own right. But she's twisted her son's psyche from birth through years and years of psychological and physical abuse. Bonus points if [[Parental Incest|the relationship is incestuous]].

 

 

Sadly, this is sometimes [[Truth in Television]]. A subtrope of [[Freudian Excuse]], almost always reserved for characters who are sexual deviants of one stripe or another, or else [[Serial Killer]]s.

 

Compare [[Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas]]. For the other type of Mommy or Daddy Issues, see [["Well Done, Son" Guy]].

 

* In ''[[Fruits Basket]]'' (the manga, at least; the anime didn't get this far), Akito's issues stem from the fact that {{spoiler|her mother insisted that she be raised as a boy out of insane jealousy.}}

* Seishirou's relationship with his mother in ''[[X 1999]]''. This would be the incestuous kind.

* Azula in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''. [[Alternate Character Interpretation|Interpretations]] of [[Mama Bear|Ursa]] vary: the only time she appears, it's from Zuko's perspective of past events and, therefore, likely idealized and slightly unreliable. Azula, with her mind twisted by [[Freudian Excuse|Ozai's]] emotionally abusive and violent tendencies, could only fixate on her belief that 'Mother loved Zuko best' and that 'my own mother thought I was a monster'. [[Lampshade Hanging|She points it out herself]], but it's very clear she was always yearning for her mother's approval and love—and just as clear that Ursa was concerned for her. Fortunately, none of this is pertinent because the only thing you really need for Mommy Issues is the perception of an uncaring mother.

** As for Zuko, he has his own paternal issues, what with the [["Well Done, Son" Guy|need for retribution in his father's eyes]] and all.

* Gazpacho from ''[[Chowder]]''

* In ''[[Adventure Time]],'' the relationship between Princess Bubblegum and her son Lemongrab is... complicated, at best. She sees him as an obnoxious jerk and is blatantly ashamed of his existence, while Lemongrab sees the princess as "unacceptable," and has absolutely no problem with sending her to the dungeon for one million years. Granted, he was the first of her science experiments gone wrong, and has an unpleasant, strange personality, and we haven't seen the princess do a whole lot to help him. He sent innocent people to the dungeon for committing the pettiest of crimes, and to make him leave her people alone, she punched him, caused him physical pain and discomfort in other ways, (even making him cry,) and called him a "butt" right after firing him. We'll be learning more about their weird mother/son relationship in Season 4.

* ''[[Archer]]''. The title character certainly has issues with his mother. Made clear in the first episode where he {{spoiler|gets an erection when the man threatening his mother's life describes her dead in the gutter.}}

* [[Metalocalypse|Skwisgaar Skwigelf]] has a few problems with his [[Son of a Whore|mom]].

* Luanne's mother from [[King of the Hill]] was very abusive to her father causing him to flee and is implied to have neglected her in the past, when she comes back she is okay as long as she doesn't have any alcohol when she does she's borderline psychotic and will attack anyone who provokes her in the slightest and according to her she views Luanne more as a sister than her daughter.

* Grimes' mother on [[Ugly Americans]] pulls a [[Visual Pun]] (with being a literal mummy) ''definitely'' falls into this trope, as she doesn't approve of his (fake) demon girlfriend, Callie, and even tries to one-up her by showing how to ''really'' [[Squick|kiss her little boy.]]

 

== Real Life ==

* Unfortunately, abusive or neglectful parenting situations do make it more likely that the child will have mental or behavior issues when they become adults, so this is [[Truth in Television]].

* Augusta Gein, mother of [[Ed Gein]]. It's questionable who was more unstable.

* The reason Freud believed in this so strongly was because it actually applied to him. He really did have incestuous feelings for his mother. However, one critic pointed out a reason for this. Since Freud had a wet nurse, he instead recognized ''her'' as his "mother", and recognized his biological mother as just an attractive woman who cared very deeply for him.

** Similarly, many Freud biographers say there is evidence he was sexually or at least physically abused by his father, meaning he has a, [[A Worldwide Punomenon|well]], [[Freudian Excuse]] for both halves of the Oedypus Complex that's so bizarrely prominent in his theories.