Thanos Loses The Title of 'Marvel's Worst Dad' To Surprise MCU Villain
Warning: spoilers for Devil's Reign #3 are ahead.
There is no shortage of questionable fathers in Marvel Comics, with Thanos being an ultimate example of one. While his relationship in the MCU with his daughters Nebula and Gamora are among the most high profile instances of his failures as a parent, his comics also provide plenty of reason to support his being one of the worst fathers in the Marvel Universe. In stories such as the landmark Infinity Gauntlet storyline from Jim Starlin, Ron Lim, and George Pérez, Thanos's treatment of his granddaughter Nebula evidences a chilling lack of regard for his family. Even so, with Devil's Reign #3, Marvel has brought back the children of one MCU villain whose disturbing parenting choices are second to none, even against the Mad Titan.
In Devil's Reign #3 from Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Marcio Menyz, and Clayton Cowles, the Purple Children vow to take revenge on their father, Purple Man (Zebediah Killgrave). Purple Man is best known to MCU fans as a Jessica Jones villain, tormenting her in season one of her Netflix show with his ability to control people through verbal commands. The five young children share Killgrave's power, albeit only as a unit, and are even more deadly thanks to their ability to also inflict emotions onto their targets. Their return to the story brings up one of the darkest issues of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's Daredevil, providing more evidence for why Purple Man is Marvel Comics' worst father.
Despite being young kids, the Purple Children want nothing more than to kill their villainous father. In Daredevil #8 from 2014, the group nearly succeeded in this when they overpowered Killgrave and forced him to walk in front of a moving train. This seemingly killed Purple Man until he reappeared in the next issue, battered and bloody. In an otherwise sunny Daredevil run, the Purple Children's attempted patricide is a disturbing reminder of how evil Killgrave actually is.
The Purple Children evidence Purple Man as Marvel's worst father because his actions are so abhorrent that it drives them to try to murder him in cold blood. Killgrave exhibits no discernible love or tenderness for his children, which he was only able to produce by using his powers against women, abandoning or killing them afterwards. When he screams for them to tell him they love him in Daredevil #8, the children look emptily at him before going through with their plan to kill him.
Even though the Purple Children act like otherwise normal children, enjoying arcade games, they have been exposed to a level of manipulation, intimidation, and violence from their father that has irreversibly affected them. By creating a group of small, impressionable children in order to expand his influence, Killgrave proved that he's incapable of parental love. His treatment of his children and their mothers evidences how Purple Man doesn't see other people as human beings, but potential pawns in his game of villainy.
While Thanos is a monstrously evil character, his treatment of Gamora and Nebula in the MCU could be argued as a sick attempt to prepare his children for the trials of the universe. As awful as his actions are, he still has undeniable love for his daughters. Purple Man, on the other hand, has never loved his children, and his treatment of them is driving their latest attempt to finally kill him once and for all. The fact that Purple Man can motivate a group of small children to commit a capital offense proves that he, not Thanos, deserves the title of "Worst Father" in the Marvel Universe.
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