Moms. Mothers. Mums. For every hero in a cape, crusader in tights or knight with a light saber, there is a mother that got them there; willingly or not. Let’s face it, not many of our favorite heroes have fared to well in the Mommy Department– Batman: dead. Spider-Man: dead. Superman: Krypton dust. Even some of our other non-superhero crusader’s mothers have made friends with the Grim Reaper long before their time. Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker are just two more moms lost too soon.
Why do so many characters have this common angst among them? Some would say it gives each of these characters their motivation to become the heroes we all know. One could argue there are countless ways to give a character an interesting backstory without killing off their parents. Perhaps it goes back to early Greek fables where every hero seemed to have mommy and daddy issues. Now to be fair, we can add plenty of dads to the list as well. But this is Mother’s Day dammit, and they deserve at least one day!
All that said, comic book and sci-fi stories are rich with the people who stepped in for these lost moms. Who would Spider-Man be without Aunt May? Superman probably couldn’t have gotten into his tights the first time without dear Martha Kent. Even ol’ Alfred filled in as both mother and father to young Bruce until he was old enough to sprout his bat wings.
It’s too bad mothers aren’t spotlighted a little more in our heroes’ stories. Oh sure, every once in a while, you’ll get a character like Sue Richards, of the Fantastic Four, with two little tykes hanging on to each ankle, but for the most part moms are often overlooked as being a part of our hero’s journey beyond the “let’s-fight-injustice-because-somebody-killed-my-parents” story line.
On this Mother’s Day, after taking your mother figure out to her free Hooter’s lunch, (yes, this is a real thing and no you don’t really need to do that) let her know what a superhero she really is!
Martha Wayne’s Maternal Instincts