Famous Characters With Siblings You Never Knew They Had
Popular fiction is a family affair. Some of the most famous characters in all of fiction have siblings or well-known family members. There's Luke and Leia, Sue and Johnny Storm, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, and Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes (plus sisters Enola and Eurus). That's not even mentioning basically every other character in Game of Thrones (the Lannister twins still make us cringe). But there are also a lot of famous characters who grew up as only children ... or so we thought. For years, decades even, we assumed these famous characters didn't have siblings because, well, the creators never gave us any reason to believe they did. It also made sense, as their solitary, singular natures defined their personas. After all, it's hard to imagine Batman playing video games with his brother or Wonder Woman shopping with her sister.
However, when it comes time for the writers to inject a pivotal plot twist into a character's story, they go to the old standby — give them a sibling! To make things more interesting, most of the time we find out these famous characters have a sibling at the same time they do. Some of these siblings are canon (sorta), while others take place only in "what if?" elseworld tales. Still, all of these siblings give us a deeper insight into the characters we've known and loved for years. Suffice it to say, this entire article comes with a big, fat SPOILER ALERT! Here are the famous characters with siblings you never knew they had!
Tony Stark's brother tests his mettle
Tony Stark may seem like he'd be the coolest brother ever, but let's be honest, he's also a huge jerk. Sure, he kinda played a de facto older brother to Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and he was ... okay at it. But chances are, if you're Stark's brother, you're going to be ignored while he's chasing skirts, dollar signs, and publicity. While that would make a pretty interesting (and sadly relatable) story, comic book writers had a vision that was, well, more comic booky. Turns out, Tony Stark was adopted, and his parents Howard and Maria Stark had a natural-born son named Arno Stark. Huh?
When Maria was pregnant with Arno, Howard was visited by an alien who informed him Earth would eventually be taken over by an advanced race unless he gave up his son for genetic modification into a higher-order lifeform. What's a dad to do, right? Arno was born in a vegetative state, so the Starks sent him to live in a hospice and adopted Tony as a cover-up. We're pretty sure this was an episode of The Young & the Restless, but anyway. Decades later, Tony discovers Arno, who's smarter than he is but without his social graces and charm. Also, Arno's been genetically engineered by aliens to be the only being who can pilot a universe-destroying "Godkiller" armor. It's a lot. Talk about being shown up by your brother, right?
Indiana Jones' late sister is a mystery worth exploring
We've known since 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade that our favorite fedora-wearing, Nazi-fighting, archaeological adventurer was born Henry Jones Jr. and borrowed his "Indiana" moniker from his childhood Alaskan Malamute. However, the movies don't tell us much more about Indiana Jones' boyhood, besides the fact he went to greater lengths to earn his merit badge than any Boy Scout who ever lived. To know more about the young Indiana Jones we need to go to, well, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, the short-lived, poorly rated TV series that ran for three seasons on ABC from 1992 to 1993.
In the twentieth episode, "Peking, March 1910," we discover the interesting tidbit that Indiana Jones had a sister, Susan Jones. What happened to little Susie, and why didn't she show up in later Indy adventures? Sadly, Susie died while still a child, with Indy's mother telling him, "Your sister was very little, and she was never very strong." The boy Indy, sick with typhoid fever, tells his mother he hopes his sister is in Heaven. We don't know much more about Susie, but her death paints a broader picture of Dr. Jones. The trauma of losing his sister as a boy, as well as having an emotionally distant father, can help explain Indiana Jones' rootlessness and peripatetic lifestyle. Turns out Indiana Jones is just as mysterious as any priceless artifact. Hopefully the Jones family will show up in future adventures.
The big, blue Boy Scout was also a big brother
Superman is basically pop culture's older brother, someone to look up to and admire, or as his father Jor-El put it, he's "an ideal to aspire to." But as good as Superman would be as a literal older brother, his origin story kinda puts a kink in that. You can't really be "the Last Son of Krypton" if there are other sons (or daughters). Also, Jonathan and Martha Kent being unable to have kids of their own is why they were so receptive to adopting a superpowered space alien in the first place, so step-siblings are out of the question, too. Superman has had clones (Bizarro), cousins (Supergirl), and imitators (the Reign of the Supermen story arc), but for siblings, we have to consult the non-canonical, Elseworlds tale Superman: The Last Family of Krypton.
Before Krypton is blown to bits, baby Kal-El is sent to Earth, but in this parallel universe, his parents, Jor-El and Lara, join him. The story explores what happens when a family of highly advanced extraterrestrials with strange customs and abilities navigates life on Earth ... so sort of like the Kryptonian Coneheads. Jor-El and Lara also have two Earth-born children, twins Bru-El and Valora. However, because the twins were born on Earth, they only possess half the abilities of their big, blue Boy Scout brother. While not canon, The Last Family of Krypton is a fun "what if?" story worth checking out.
Wonder Woman has equally wonderful siblings
Wonder Woman comes from a race of Amazonian warriors on a mystical, hidden island known as Themyscira, where no man, save Zeus, can step foot. So yeah, that kinda makes having brothers and sisters complicated ... or so you'd think, as Diana Prince actually does have some noteworthy siblings. First, there's her twin sister Nubia, who was kidnapped by Ares the god of war and raised outside Themyscira. Nubia, a Black woman with the same powers as Wonder Woman, first appeared in comics in 1973, and she was a longtime fan favorite, especially among comic fans of color, and she's recently seen a resurgence in popularity.
In another timeline, Wonder Woman has a twin brother, Jason, the first man to step foot on Themyscira. When Wonder Woman and Jason's mother, Hippolyta, discovers she's pregnant with Zeus' son, she fears the wrath of his wife, Hera. As a result, she sends Jason to be raised by the Argonauts (a la Jason and the Argonauts). While Diana found fame as one of the world's greatest superheroes, Jason preferred a quiet life of fishing, until fate (and comic book writer's imaginations) intervened. While having Wonder Woman as a sister would be pretty cool most of the time, playing against her in a backyard game of touch football doesn't sound very fun.
Peter Parker's secret agent sister does whatever a spider can't
If you have even a passing familiarity with Spider-Man's story, you know he's an orphan who was raised by his Aunt May and late Uncle Ben. If you're a longtime Spidey fan, you know his backstory is slightly more complicated. The Amazing Spider-Man movies touched on the fact that his late parents were actually secret agents, but the series stopped after two movies and wasn't able to explore this storyline further. Otherwise, it might've gotten around to Peter Parker's little sister, Teresa.
Teresa was orphaned along with Peter, but she was separated from her big brother. She eventually followed in mom and dad's footsteps, becoming a CIA agent who protects Peter after he's outed as Spider-Man. While The Amazing Spider-Man series never reached this point in the storyline, Teresa would be perfect for the MCU's incarnation of the world's favorite wall-crawler. For one thing, Spider-Man: Far From Home ended with Peter Parker being exposed as Spider-Man, so she could help him out, while her occupation as a secret agent means she'd fit right in with Nick Fury and the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nobody knows exactly where Spider-Man's big-screen adventures are going next, but we'd be surprised if Spidey's spy sister doesn't soon become a household name.
Thor has lots of bros
Yes, we know from the MCU movies that Thor has siblings. There's his adopted brother Loki, the god of mischief, and Hela, their older sister who's the goddess of death. In fact, we'd argue that Loki and Hela were two of the MCU's best villains. But their dad, Odin, is the freakin' king of Asgard and a Norse god, so we're pretty sure he sired a few other scions. Well, turns out "a few" is putting it mildly. Thor has lots of bros drawn from the same Norse mythology as the Marvel comic.
For one Odinson, there's Balder the Brave, who's appeared in the Marvel comic book as the king of Hel, but his story from Norse myth is even more interesting. Balder's mother demanded everything in existence swear not to hurt him except for some reason mistletoe (which must make Christmas super awkward). So Loki, being the standup guy he is, gives a mistletoe-tipped spear to Thor's other brother, the blind god Hodor, who unknowingly kills Balder with it. There's also Thor's silent, half-frost giant warrior brother Vidarr, as well as Tyr, the god of war, and Hermod, the messenger god. Most of the other "sons of Odin" have appeared in the Marvel Comics, but we'd love to see these Asgardian gods get their due in the MCU.
Wolverine's siblings are cut from the same cloth
Whether it's Jubilee or Rogue, Wolverine is never more entertaining than when he's unwittingly taking a surrogate younger sister under his wing. Okay, maybe he's more entertaining when he transforms into a trash-talking, adamantium-wielding, one-man army taking on some supervillain ... but only slightly. There's just something so endearing about seeing the habitually irritable Logan struggling to show something akin to human warmth and affection (or at least as close as he can get to it). While Wolverine is well-versed in being a surrogate older sibling to his "sisters," his relationship with his blood brothers is a bit more antagonistic.
First, there's Wolverine's arch-nemesis, Sabretooth, who's also his half-brother Victor Creed, which was covered in the comic books and on the big screen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Wolverine also has a secret older brother, though much less is known about him (especially since Logan didn't even know he existed). In Wolverine: Origin, we learned that Logan (who's real name is James Howlett) was the illegitimate son of Elizabeth Howlett and the family's groundskeeper, Thomas Logan. Wolverine's mom lost her marbles when her oldest son, Logan's big brother John Hewlett III, died, leaving her with scars and us to speculate that John shared Wolverine's mutation. In fact, when Wolverine was born with claws, his mom shouted, "Not you too!" The non-canonical Wolverine: The End dives deeper into the relationship. We'll spare you the complicated details. Suffice it to say, Wolverine's brothers don't share fraternal affection.
Selina Kyle's sister was a sister
If you've ever had cats, you know they tend to produce a lot of kittens. So it's no surprise that Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle, has a sibling. And her sister is, well, a sister — as in a nun. Or she was anyway. Hey, this is a comic book, after all, so it's never that simple. While Selina turned to a life of thievery and sex work, Sister Magdalene "Maggie" Kyle took a very different path, becoming a nun at the Immaculate Virgin Mission on Gotham City's East End. Maggie is kidnapped by Selina's former pimp in order to get back at Selina, but she's rescued by Batman and Catwoman. Years later, Maggie ditches the convent and starts exploring the world, even getting married to an investment banker named Simon Burton.
However, it isn't a fairytale ending for Maggie and Simon, as Black Mask kidnaps them both and murders her husband to get to Catwoman, driving Maggie insane. Actually, what Black Mask does is super gruesome, so we'll spare you the details, except to say Maggie losing her sanity is understandable. Maggie, blaming Selina for what happened and convinced her sister is possessed by a cat demon, murders a nun and dons her clothing to become Sister Zero, seeking to save her sister's soul by any means necessary. So now that the cat's out of the bag about Selina Kyle's sister, you can see their relationship is anything but purr-fect.
Darth Maul's siblings were savage
The two most famous siblings in Star Wars, and maybe all of popular fiction, are the twins Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa, but they're not the only high-profile relatives in Star Wars. While Emperor Palpatine's original apprentice, Darth Maul, had a sadly short-lived presence on the big screen, he plays a much bigger part in the animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. If you've seen the show, then you know about Savage Opress, Darth Maul's brother who helps bring the Sith back after he got sliced in half in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. However, even dedicated Star Wars fans may not know about Darth Maul's other brother, Feral, whose backstory is mired in tragedy.
Savage Opress and younger brother Feral were chosen by master Dark Side assassin Asajj Ventress to undergo a series of tests to determine who would be sent by her to kill Count Dooku. The brothers defeated their competition until only the two of them remained. Savage refused to kill his brother, so he swore fidelity to Ventress in exchange for Feral's life. Ventress agreed and morphed Savage's mind further to the Dark Side until he was ready for his final test ... murdering his little brother, Feral. Deranged by the Dark Side, Savage complied. Pretty dark, but that's probably why they call it the Dark Side.
Godzilla's 'brother' was worshipped as a god
We already know Godzilla somehow had a kid (hence the movie Son of Godzilla), and we also know he almost had a "wife." But did you know the King of the Monsters also had a brother ... kinda? His name was Dagon, and he was worshipped as a god. We first meet Dagon at the beginning of 2014's Godzilla, but by then, all that was left of him were his bones. How he got there is covered in the Godzilla: King of the Monsters prequel comic, Godzilla: Aftershock.
Dagon was another member of the Godzilla species, and he was worshipped by the ancient Phoenicians, who traveled to Japan in the 11th century B.C. and witnessed Dagon battle Jinshin-Mushi (an adult MUTO). Dagon lost the fight and was infected by the MUTO's parasitic young. While Dagon returned to the sea, he eventually died in the Philippines, never to be seen until 1999, when his skeletal corpse was discovered by Monarch during Godzilla's prologue. While Dagon is never specifically called Godzilla's brother, he's the only other documented member of Godzilla's species. Given these are big monsters on a small planet, it's not too much of a stretch to say they're siblings. We're just sad we never got to see the building-sized brothers throw hands in some city-smashing sibling rivalry. Let them fight, indeed.
Bruce Wayne's evil older brother is batty
We're willing to bet with 99.7% certainty you know how Bruce Wayne became Batman, so we won't go into that. But what's always been key to Batman's origin is that the silver-spooned scion of the Wayne family empire was the only son of billionaire Thomas Wayne and his wife, Martha. Yeah, about that. In 2019, Joker caught both serious cineastes and comic book fans off guard with its revelation that Arthur Fleck was Thomas Wayne's illegitimate son ... until we found out that no, Fleck's mom was just crazy. Maybe. However, the big screen isn't the only place to find Batman's brother, as the comic book pages have gone there, too, and both versions of Thomas Wayne Jr. are almost as bonkers as the Joker.
Thomas Wayne Jr. of Earth-3 helps Alfred murder Bruce and his parents (wait, what?), and he joins the Crime Syndicate as Owlman, where he assists Darkseid conquer the universe. We've never been to Earth-3, but it doesn't sound pleasant. Meanwhile, in Scott Snyder's acclaimed Court of Owls story arc, Bruce's business adversary Lincoln March claims to be Thomas Wayne Jr., who's trained by the Court of Owls to replace Batman as Owlman. Like Arthur Fleck in Joker, it's left open to interpretation if March/Wayne Jr. is Bruce's brother. But whether it's Arthur Fleck or Thomas Wayne Jr., Bruce's "sibling" plays an compelling counterpoint to his little brother, reminding us just how close Batman is to being a bad guy himself.