15 Shocking Comic Character Connections The Publishers Don't Want You To Know
They exist in the shadows of continuity, whispered about on forums, buried under decades of reboots and retcons. They are the secret links, the forbidden families, the relationships erased by editorial mandate. The comic book universes you think you know are teeming with connections the publishers would rather you forget.
Why? Maybe these truths complicate their clean narratives. Maybe they clash with lucrative movie deals. Or maybe, just maybe, they reveal a history far stranger and more tangled than the official story allows.
Forget what the glossy covers tell you; the real stories lie hidden in obscure back issues, alternate timelines, and storylines conveniently swept under the rug. Publishers use retcons—retroactive continuity changes—to erase histories they don't like, replacing them with cleaner, more marketable versions.
Prepare to have your reality shattered as we expose 15 shocking character connections THEY don't want you to know!
Want to uncover more secrets? See 50 Mind-Blowing Comic Book Secrets That Changed Everything We Thought We Knew article. You might also be interested in 4 Comic Book Retcons That Quietly Erased Horrific Backstories article.
1. Kang the Conqueror & Reed Richards - The Twisted Family Tree!
You know Kang, the time-traveling tyrant? And Mr. Fantastic, leader of the Fantastic Four? They're family... sort of. The official story gets murky fast. Kang (birth name: Nathaniel Richards) is allegedly a descendant of Reed Richards' father, also named Nathaniel Richards.
This connection first appeared in Fantastic Four #273, with Kang's birth name dropped in What If...? vol 2 #39. But here's where it gets suspicious: in one story, Reed tricked other Kangs because their genetic material was identical. Not similar—identical.
Why is this hidden? Time travel creates messy continuity. Is Kang from Reed's direct line? A half-sibling's branch? Marvel keeps it deliberately vague. The identical genetic material suggests a truth they're not fully admitting.
2. The Joker and Harley Quinn's Secret Daughter Exists (In Injustice)
Think the Joker's chaos is absolute? In the Injustice universe, Harley Quinn had a daughter, Lucy Quinzel, with the Clown Prince of Crime himself. Fearing the Joker's reaction, Harley hid the pregnancy and birth, leaving Lucy to be raised by her sister.
Lucy first appears in Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Two #7 and later in Injustice 2 Chapter #7.
"It's just an alternate universe," they'll say. Easy dismissal. But why hasn't this compelling idea ever reached the main DC continuity? This storyline adds a humanizing layer to Harley and Joker's toxic relationship. Perhaps DC prefers Joker as a pure agent of chaos, unburdened by fatherhood—or the implications are too dark even for them.
3. Mystique & Destiny Are Nightcrawler's TRUE Parents!
For decades, the story was that the demonic Azazel was Nightcrawler's father. The truth, hidden in plain sight for years: the shapeshifting Mystique and her partner, the precognitive Destiny, are Nightcrawler's biological parents.
To conceive the child Destiny foresaw, Mystique used her powers to transform into a male form. This truth, originating from Chris Claremont's X-Men run, was finally made official in X-Men Blue: Origins #1 (2023) after writers like Si Spurrier and Kieron Gillen reportedly fought editorial hesitation.
This connection was actively suppressed for decades! Was it editorial reluctance toward depicting a prominent queer couple as biological parents? They fed fans a different origin story for years. The recent confirmation feels less like a retcon and more like finally admitting a truth they tried to bury.
4. Tony Stark Was ADOPTED (And His Real Brother Hidden)!
Think Tony Stark's issues stem from his genius father, Howard? Think again. A controversial storyline revealed Tony was adopted by Howard and Maria Stark to act as a decoy for their real son, Arno Stark.
Arno was genetically engineered with help from an alien robot, Recorder 451, but complications left him needing life support. Tony discovered this earth-shattering secret years later in Iron Man Vol. 5 (2013).
Many fans hated this revelation, feeling it cheapened Tony's character. Subsequent writers often seem to conveniently forget this massive revelation, rarely referencing Arno or Tony's biological parents. It feels like a shocking connection Marvel introduced and then wished they could quietly erase due to backlash.
5. Spider-Man's Marriage to Mary Jane: Erased by Literal Deal with the Devil
For twenty years, Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson were husband and wife in the mainstream Marvel Universe, established in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 (1987). Their relationship faced countless superheroic struggles but endured as a fan-favorite dynamic.
Then came the infamous One More Day storyline in 2007. To save Aunt May's life, Peter made a deal with the demon Mephisto, the price being his marriage to MJ—erased from history as if it never happened.
This wasn't subtle. It was a deliberate editorial decision, reportedly driven by a desire to de-age Peter Parker and return him to a "classic" single status. Marvel editorial literally made a deal with the devil to undo this connection, facing massive fan backlash that continues to this day.
6. Magneto is NOT Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver's Father (Anymore)
For decades, the most accepted origin for Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver was that they were the mutant children of Magneto. This connection fueled countless stories. Then came the AXIS event (2014) and Uncanny Avengers vol 2 #4.
In a shocking retcon, it was revealed Wanda and Pietro were not mutants, nor Magneto's children. Instead, they were regular humans experimented on by the High Evolutionary.
This retcon was widely condemned as a blatant corporate maneuver. At the time, Marvel Studios didn't have the film rights to X-Men (and thus "mutants"), but did want to use Wanda and Pietro in the MCU. This change conveniently severed their ties to mutantkind, aligning the comics with the movie situation. Marvel actively erased their established heritage for synergy.
7. Batman Has an EVIL Older Brother - Owlman!
Batman's origin is built on the tragedy of losing his parents. But what if he wasn't an only child? Enter Earth-3, the twisted mirror universe where heroes are villains.
On this Earth, Thomas and Martha Wayne had two sons. The older son, Thomas Wayne Jr., orchestrated his parents' murders and became the calculating crime lord Owlman, Batman's dark reflection. Owlman first appeared in Justice League of America #29 (1964), with his Thomas Wayne Jr. identity cemented in later stories like JLA: Earth 2 (2000).
Because it exists in alternate realities, it's easy for publishers to dismiss: "That's not the real Batman." But the existence of Owlman strikes at the heart of Bruce's unique tragedy. A brother who became everything Bruce fights against is a powerful concept that publishers keep safely locked away in parallel Earths.
8. Wolverine and Sabretooth Were BROTHERS (But Only in the Movies)
In the comics, Wolverine and Sabretooth share a bloody, century-spanning rivalry built on pure hatred. But Hollywood wanted a simpler hook. The film X-Men Origins: Wolverine rewrote their history, depicting Logan and Victor Creed as half-brothers sharing a father and growing up together in the 1800s.
This connection exists only in that one, widely criticized movie. Both fans and likely the studio itself prefer to ignore X-Men Origins: Wolverine and its deviations from comic canon. The comics deliberately portray their bond as purely antagonistic, making the film's attempt at a familial tie feel forced and unearned.
9. Thor's Mother is MOTHER EARTH?!
Everyone knows Frigga as Thor's loving mother, especially from the movies. But the comics reveal a deeper truth: Thor's biological mother is Gaea, the Elder God who is the literal embodiment of Earth itself.
Odin, seeking a son who would be powerful on both Asgard and Earth, specifically sought out and mated with Gaea. This primordial connection, referenced in comics like Thor Annual #10 and recently in Immortal Thor, links Thor directly to the life force of the planet he protects.
The Gaea connection adds a complex layer of cosmic power to Thor's lineage. For simplicity, Frigga is often centered as his maternal figure, leaving his true, earth-shattering maternal heritage as deep lore easily overlooked.
10. Aqualad's Father is the Villain Black Manta!
The modern Aqualad, Kaldur'ahm (introduced in Young Justice and adapted into comics as Jackson Hyde), has a dark lineage. His biological father is none other than David Hyde, the ruthless undersea terrorist Black Manta.
Kaldur/Jackson's mother was a Xebellian, and Mera secretly brought the infant to the surface world to protect him from his father's influence. This shocking paternal link became a major source of drama, especially in the Young Justice show.
For fans familiar with the original Aqualad (Garth), this connection is a major twist. Linking the heroic young sidekick directly to Aquaman's greatest foe adds a layer of inherited darkness that fundamentally changes the character's dynamic.
11. Commissioner Gordon's Son is a PSYCHOPATH!
Commissioner James Gordon stands as Gotham's symbol of integrity. His daughter, Barbara, is the heroic Batgirl/Oracle. But the Gordon family harbors a dark secret: James Gordon Jr.
First appearing as an infant in Batman: Year One, he was reintroduced years later by Scott Snyder in the "Black Mirror" storyline (Detective Comics #871-881) as a chillingly intelligent, remorseless psychopath and serial killer. He even attempted to poison Gotham's baby formula to create a new generation of psychopaths.
This connection shatters the image of the wholesome Gordon family. While "Black Mirror" was critically acclaimed, James Jr.'s appearances since have been sporadic. Perhaps DC finds the implications too dark, leaving this horrifying family tie lurking in the background of the Bat-mythos.
12. Carnage is VENOM'S Offspring!
Venom: the alien symbiote bonded with Eddie Brock. Carnage: the psychotic, blood-red symbiote bonded with serial killer Cletus Kasady. Their connection is deeper than just similar alien parasites – the Carnage symbiote is literally the offspring of the Venom symbiote.
It spawned while Eddie Brock was imprisoned, bonding with his cellmate, Kasady. Due to being born on Earth, Carnage is typically depicted as even more powerful and unstable than its "parent."
While this is Carnage's established origin from Amazing Spider-Man #361, the direct "parent-child" language isn't always emphasized. Framing them simply as rival symbiotes misses the twisted family dynamic – a disturbing familial link sometimes lost in the shuffle of symbiote chaos.
13. The Vision Built His OWN Family (Based on Scarlet Witch)
After the dissolution of his marriage to Wanda Maximoff, the synthezoid Vision sought to understand humanity by creating a family of his own. In Tom King's acclaimed but deeply unsettling Vision series (2015-2016), he built a wife, Virginia, using Scarlet Witch's brain patterns as the blueprint.
Together, they created synthezoid children, Vin and Viv. Tragedy struck, leaving only Viv and their dog, Sparky, surviving.
This entire storyline, while lauded, is incredibly dark and largely self-contained. It portrays Vision's attempt at suburban normalcy as a horrifying failure. While Viv has become a recurring character, the full, disturbing story of her "family's" creation – especially Virginia's direct link to Wanda's psyche – is often kept separate from Vision's more straightforward Avengers adventures.
14. DC and Marvel Characters ACTUALLY Co-Exist (Sort Of)!
The Big Two comic publishers maintain fiercely separate universes... officially. But the walls are thinner than they admit. Official crossover events like DC vs. Marvel (1996) have explicitly shown these universes colliding.
They even temporarily merged into the Amalgam Universe, fusing characters like Batman and Wolverine into Dark Claw. Furthermore, Marvel has designated Earth-7642 as a reality where characters from both publishers co-exist.
Perhaps the ultimate proof is the character Access (Axel Asher), who is canonically part of both universes and jointly owned by both companies. His specific role was to ensure the two universes remained separate after crossover events.
Branding and legal complexities mean these crossovers are almost always treated as temporary events. But their existence proves the universes can and have connected – a fact deliberately downplayed to maintain the illusion of complete separation.
15. Jean Grey NEVER DIED (The First Time)!
The death of Jean Grey at the climax of the Dark Phoenix Saga (X-Men #137) is one of the most iconic moments in comic history. Jean, consumed by the Phoenix Force, sacrificed herself on the moon to prevent further destruction.
Except... that's not what really happened, according to a later retcon. Years later, when Marvel wanted Jean Grey back, it was revealed that the entity on the moon wasn't Jean at all. The Phoenix Force had placed the dying Jean in a healing cocoon at the bottom of Jamaica Bay and created a perfect duplicate that died instead. The real Jean was later recovered for X-Factor.
This is perhaps the most infamous retcon in X-Men history. It completely negates the emotional weight of the original Dark Phoenix Saga. Why do it? Simple: Marvel wanted Jean Grey back. They devised a cosmic loophole, effectively saying her defining sacrifice didn't count.
Why Do Publishers Hide These Connections?
These aren't simple mistakes or evolving narratives. Many represent deliberate choices – connections buried under controversial retcons, inconvenient truths quarantined in alternate universes, relationships ignored due to corporate synergy, or histories deemed too dark by marketing demands.
The patterns are clear:
- Movie rights drive major retcons (Scarlet Witch/Quicksilver)
- Editorial preferences erase established relationships (Spider-Man/MJ)
- Commercial interests trump character integrity (Jean Grey)
- Darker truths get locked in alternate realities (Owlman)
- Queer representation gets suppressed (Mystique/Destiny)
Publishers control the narrative, and sometimes, that means hiding the juiciest, most shocking connections deep in the archives.
The lesson? Question everything. Dig deeper than the latest reboot. The weird, forgotten corners of comic history often hold the most fascinating secrets. If these 15 connections were kept under wraps or actively erased... what other bombshells are still waiting to be uncovered?
If you liked this article, you might also like this one: https://nerdyquotes.blogspot.com/2025/04/50-mind-blowing-comic-book-secrets-that.html
Keep digging, truth-seekers. The cover-up goes deeper than you think.
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