Celebrate the Top 10 Moms in Popular Comic Books

Today, we’re taking a mom-ent to celebrate the top 10 moms in comic books. It’s no secret that moms come in all sorts — and they’re not always related by blood. Just in time for Mother’s Day, we’re singling out these hardworking women who prove they can have it all, from raising a family to fighting crime, to fleeing war and fending off reality. They protect their children and serve as a guiding influence (whether that’s good or bad) for their families.

Read along to find out which super heroes, soldiers, and survivors made our list of lovable ladies with maternal instinct. Let’s get started!

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10. Jessica Drew (Marvel Comics)

Once famously known for being repulsed by children, Jessica Drew, AKA Spider-Woman, then became a well-known Marvel mother. After the second Secret Wars event interrupted the entire Marvel Multiverse as we knew it, Drew’s story picked up in the second trimester of her pregnancy. While pregnant, she fought Skrulls in space as she prepared to become a super hero single mother.

Fans hotly debated the identity of the baby’s father, until the reveal that Jessica simply went to a sperm bank. She now parents her son Gerry, who inherited her Spider-powers (can you imagine a wall-crawling baby?) while maintaining her career as a super hero and an on-and-off private investigator. During her initial motherhood story arc, she fell in love with the Porcupine, and they now date and raise the child together. Jessica Drew, played by Issa Rae, appears in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

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9. Mystique (Marvel Comics)

Many mutants have a complicated relationship with their families, and having Mystique as your mother is certainly complication enough. She conceived Kurt Wagner, AKA Nightcrawler, with her super-villain wife Destiny. The couple used Mystique’s DNA shapeshifting and the cover of an illicit affair with the demonic mutant Azazel to conceive Kurt. Like they often do with Mystique, things got complicated and after giving birth to Nightcrawler — who had blue skin, yellow eyes, and a pointed tail — Mystique was separated from her son. Professor X would help her in suppressing these painful memories, as detailed in X-Men Blue: Origins.

Eventually, she adopted Rogue, who had run away from home in Mississippi. Mystique and Destiny raised the girl to be assertive and powerful, but often manipulated their daughter into using her powers to fight the Avengers and other X-Men. Notably, Rogue was part of a plot to kill Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers). Rogue worked for her mothers in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but Mystique eventually gave up her guardianship when Rogue joined the X-Men. Though Mystique was never the most loving mother, she certainly has a protective streak in her.

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8. Hippolyta (DC Comics)

Not only is Hippolyta the Queen of the Amazons, but she is also the mother of Wonder Woman. Strong and graceful, she is a guiding figure to all of the women warriors of Themyscira. In addition, she taught her daughter Diana the value of strength — even if she was a bit overprotective at times.

In some versions, she lied to her daughter about her true heritage, depending on which origin of Diana’s birth/creation you are reading. Hippolyta also forbade Wonder Woman from competing in a contest to determine who would go into Man’s World. However, she eventually supported her daughter’s choice to be a hero for the outside world. In 2017’s Wonder Woman film, she was played by Connie Nielsen.

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7. Black Canary (DC Comics)

The mantle of Black Canary actually belongs to two mother figures in DC Comics: Dinah Drake-Lance was first and she became the mother of the second Black Canary, Dinah Laurel Lance of the Justice League. Dinah Laurel Lance then became the adoptive mother of Cynthia Lance, also known as Sin, after rescuing the girl from the League of Assassins.

In some iterations of the story, Dinah Laurel Lance’s father trains her, but she inherits the Black Canary name and drive for heroism from her mother. Her canary cry results from a metagene in her DNA that neither parent had, but it’s clear that her abilities and passion are definitely a part of the family legacy. Black Canary is also a mother figure for Green Arrow’s son, Connor Hawke.

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6. Sue Storm (Marvel Comics)

Sue Storm’s mothering tendencies didn’t begin with her children. As a member of Marvel’s First Family, Sue took on a maternal role for her younger brother Johnny Storm when their father went to prison after the death of their mother. Once she helped form the Fantastic Four, she eventually married Reed Richards and had two children, Franklin and Valeria.

As a mother, Sue dealt with her toddler son manifesting beyond Omega-level mutant abilities as a child. Plus, her younger daughter had an extremely complicated origin involving conception in the Negative Zone, delivery by Doctor Doom, and time travel. Through it all, Sue Storm is a loving, doting mother figure to genius children, while still managing to keep the Fantastic Four mostly together (have we mentioned how much we love Secret Wars?). Vanessa Kirby will play Sue Storm in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

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5. Scarlet Witch (Marvel Comics)

They say a mother can lift a car it’s necessary to save her children. Well what about re-writing reality altogether? When Wanda Maximoff, AKA Scarlet Witch, married Vision, neither Avenger dreamed of having children together. Yet that’s exactly what happened. Through a bit of infernal soul borrowing and a dash of chaos magic, Wanda gave birth to twins. For a time, they were a happy family.

When Mephisto reclaimed the twins’ souls, Wanda was understandably heartbroken. In her grief, she once again altered reality to create a world in which the boys were still with her. But the House of M reality didn’t just affect her. All other heroes were swept up in the chaos and they eventually confronted Wanda. Everything came crashing down for her and her family during the Decimation and Children’s Crusade. However, thanks to Wanda we do have the Young Avengers. Plus, Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd, AKA Wiccan and Speed, eventually reunited with their mother. Wanda’s story is proof of the lengths a mother will go to protect her children.

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4. May Parker (Marvel Comics)

While May Parker, or Aunt May, isn’t Peter Parker’s biological mother, she certainly fits the role of a loving and supportive female role model for Spider-Man. As his adoptive mother for most of his life, she is an important source of inspiration, affirmation, and of course wheatcakes whenever Peter Parker is in need of a little boost.

Aunt May has also been an important figure in the maintenance of Parker Industries, a volunteer at the FEAST charity shelter, and has helped at Howard the Duck’s private investigation offices. She is wise but, more importantly, kind. With her motherly instincts, she is a vital guide for Spider-Man.

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3. Jessica Jones (Marvel Comics)

Marvel’s alcoholic private eye isn’t exactly the first person some would consider for a Best Mothers in Comics list. However, during her over 20-year history in the comics, she’s been a loving parent alongside Luke Cage. Her daughter Danielle, named after Danny Rand, has been protected by her super parents from gossip hounds at the Daily Bugle, Skrull imposters during Secret Invasion, and even Jessica’s own haunted past.

In recent years, Jessica Jones had to fend off the clutches of the Purple Man, who mind-controlled Danielle to get to Jessica on an even more personal level. In Purple Daughter by Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis, Jessica even confronted her fears after Dani temporarily turned purple, literally embodying her worst nightmare. Jessica’s daughter is her main soft spot, even if she’s turned her back on most of the world.

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2. Martha Kent (DC Comics)

Martha Kent, or Ma Kent, is the adoptive mother of Superman. From the rural town of Smallville, Kansas, she and her husband Jonathan adopted the infant Kal-El when they found his rocket pod after the destruction of Krypton. The baby was renamed Clark Kent, after Martha’s maiden name. According to some continuities, Superman even gets his costume from Martha, owing much of his heroic origin to her.

In fact, Martha is the woman who taught Superman patience and compassion, giving him a strong moral compass to allow him to fight for the good of humanity. She always feels a deep love and parental pride for Clark Kent, encouraging her adopted son to be the best person he could possibly be. The DC Universe owes Martha a debt of gratitude for being such a loving woman and for helping to turn Superman into one of the universe’s strongest, most compassionate heroes.

(Insert MARTHAAAA joke here!)

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1. Alana (Saga)

From Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ epic space opera Saga, Alana is many things: a runaway soldier, a Landfallian traitor, and perhaps the most devoted mother in the galaxy. What gives Alana the top spot on our list, though, is perhaps the fact that, unlike many of the others on this list, we see her story through the narration of her daughter, Hazel. And we see it all in gritty, gory, and gut-wrenching detail.

Alana is reckless enough to conceive a cross-species daughter in a warzone. On the other hand, she also has the courage to fight for her child’s survival against bounty hunters, alien monsters, and her old army regiment. In fact, Alana’s motherly love and fierce devotion to her family is one of the strongest aspects of Saga, which is 54 issues into its over-100-planned-issue run. She might not always make the right choices, but every choice she makes is for the survival of Hazel, whose narration shows her mother in a very human, very fallible light, but always with the most love.

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So, was our countdown just like mom used to make? Or did we make a list only a mother could love?

If we missed someone that you think should be on the list, let other comic book fans know over at Sideshow Social Network or at side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!