Unless necessary for the superhero’s storyline, the MCU tends to kill off nearly every parent figure. The death of parents is often used as a driving factor in the hero’s journey; the needed tragic event which usually pushes them to evolve and succeed. Or, as Stan Lee used to say: the parents aren’t usually around, so they couldn’t constantly ask and worry about their child’s whereabouts.
The MCU has orphaned most of its superhero characters, which is something She-Hulk poked fun at in its first season last year. While there’s nothing necessarily wrong with having orphans as characters, it is nonetheless interesting that most of the franchise’s main, beloved characters can describe themselves as such. Indeed, these are the top 12 orphans in the MCU.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
12 Mantis
Marvel Studios
Although there isn’t much known about Mantis or her people, we first get introduced to her in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. After Quill’s new-found father Ego leads Quill’s crew to his planet, we meet Mantis, an insectoid person whose ability is intense empathy. It’s briefly mentioned that Ego found her orphaned on her home planet, still in her larva state. Given the questionable credibility of Ego, we can’t know for sure whether that’s true or he straight up kidnapped her to fend for his needs. Since Marvel’s not interested in making the suggested Mantis and Drax movie, we probably won’t find out. That said, the recent Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special did confirm that Ego is Mantis’ father, which makes her Peter’s half-sister.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
11 Rocket
There isn’t a definite proof of Rocket Racoon being an orphan, but it is believed he is one given the trajectory of his life. Getting named Subject 89P13, Rocket was held in captivity by alien scientists on Halfworld. To give him high levels of intelligence, he was continuously abused, torn apart, and then put back together. This has caused an intense alteration in his personality, making him very vain and chaotic, which eventually led him to become a mercenary. Director James Gunn has claimed he returned for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to tell Rocket’s story. We hope to see some new revelations about his character.
10 Black Widow
The release of a well-deserved Black Widow movie back in 2021 finally offered us a deeper look at Natasha Romanoff’s personal history. Orphaned as a little girl in the Soviet Union, Natasha was taken in and trained in the Red Room by General Dreykov to become a KGB spy. Talked about only briefly in the previous MCU films, Black Widow provided us with a deeper dive of the harsh treatment Natasha and her sister Yelena had to undergo as children: from oophorectomy to being unable to hurt their captor. We also find out that Natasha’s real mother kept looking for her and never gave up until her death.
9 Bucky
Disney Platform Distribution
It is known that Bucky Barnes tragically lost both of his parents back in 1935: his mother died when he was a child, while his father died in an accident during his basic training. Sebastian Stan himself explained the importance of Bucky being an orphan (via MTV): “Steve Rogers and Bucky are both orphans and kind of like brothers. They kind of grow up together and look after each other. It’s a very human, relatable thing.” Steve becomes the only certainty in his life, someone he’d be with until the end of line.
8 Nebula
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Nebula is one of the many MCU characters with a tragic backstory. When Thanos embarked on his mission to halve the existence on every planet, Nebula was one of the many children whose parents he killed. She was forcibly adopted by the giant and trained as an assassin for him by constantly pitting her against Gamora. Nebula did not start out as cybernetic, but gradually had her organic parts replaced to be a challenge to Gamora. It is often argued Nebula’s character’s had one of the best character arcs in the MCU.
7 Shuri
It’s only recently that Shuri became completely orphaned. As the brightest and the youngest in her royal family, Shuri first lost her father T’Chaka after he was assassinated by Sokovian radical Helmut Zemo with a bomb. Then, after Chadwick Boseman’s sudden passing, the recent movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever deals with T’Challa’s passing from an incurable illness. At such a fragile age, Shuri started losing her closest ones one by one. Lastly, an attack from Namor and the forces of Talocan saw her become orphaned.
6 Gamora
Similarly to Nebula, Gamora was orphaned as a child after Thanos annihilated half of her species right in front of her eyes. He “took her under his wing” and conditioned her to become an unparalleled warrior. Although she happily complied with his plans at first, she eventually stood up to him and ran away, pledging to get her vengeance. Gamora was sadly killed by Thanos himself before she had a chance to avenge her family and people.
5 Wanda
“Let Wanda Maximoff be happy!” is a slogan that you’ve definitely seen somewhere if you’re part of the MCU fandom — and rightfully so. Orphaned at the age of 10 along with her twin brother Pietro, their parents were killed in a missile attack from Stark Industries weapons. The twins ended up joining various radical organizations until they eventually fell into the hands of Hydra at Mount Wundagore, where they were enhanced with an Infinity Stone. Wanda kept on losing everyone important in her life after that: her brother Pietro, her boyfriend Vision, as well as her (in Earth-616) imaginary children.
4 Thor
Thor Odinson has been alive for 1500 years old, and as the God of Thunder, he has been through quite a lot. He’s been beaten, abandoned, and orphaned. In Thor: Dark World, his mother Frigga dies at the hands of Malekith the Dark Elf while protecting Jane Foster, after Loki showed him the way to his mother. As for Thor’s father Odin, he got exiled from Asgard by his son Loki. After being from Asgard for so long, he slowly started losing his power. He eventually disintegrated into pure energy and entered Valhalla. Thor then only had Loki left, who eventually was killed by Thanos.
3 Iron Man
Paramount Pictures
Tony Stark had never had a perfect relationship with his father Howard, but he did love his mother. He was never shown the love he needed and only followed in his father’s steps, which eventually worked out for him. As we all know, the murder of Tony’s parents was a major plot point in Captain America: Civil War. His parents died from a car “accident” orchestrated by Hydra to obtain the secrets of the Super Soldier Serum, with the Winter Soldier carrying it out. Given how Steve suspected this fact for a long time, but didn’t tell Tony, it intensified their feud and ended up splitting them apart as buddies and, more severely, as Avengers.
2 Captain America
Marvel StudiosDisney
Although we’ve never seen Steve Rogers’ parents, we’re aware of his life story. Born in Brooklyn, New York to Joseph and Sarah Rogers, Steve’s father a member of the 107th Infantry Regiment, was killed by mustard gas during the First World War. His mother raised him all on her own, until she died of tuberculosis when he was 18. As we all know, Steve went on to enlist just like his father and was met with his fate to become Captain America. The only person that’s always stood by his side was none other than Bucky Barnes, whom he’d go on to protect throughout his life.
1 Spider-Man
Sony Pictures Releasing / Marvel Studios
As for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, not much has ever been revealed about his birth parents. The only parental figure in his life was his Aunt May. But, now that all three versions of Spider-Man are part of the MCU, the Amazing Spider-Man has provided the most context about Peter’s parents. They dropped Peter off at Aunt May and Uncle Ben’s, and then died in a mysterious plane crash. We don’t know whether we’ll find out more about Spider-Man’s parents in the MCU, but May Parker — the person who raised him — was eventually killed by Green Goblin, leaving him orphaned and completely destroyed.
