History Main / TrulySingleParent

** There are no caveats in the [[UsefulNotes/{{Islam}} Muslim]] account. Islam accepts the Virgin Birth, but Literature/TheQuran also says very pointedly that God was not begotten and does not beget. The Muslim version of the story is that God willed that Mary become pregnant with Jesus without Him or anyone else being the father. No, this doesn't make sense: it's not supposed to. It's a miracle.

** ComicBook/WonderWoman was created this way (except in the ''ComicBook/New52'', which {{retcon}}ned her into Zeus's daughter; this was subsequently retconned back): Hippolyta, Queen of the [[ImmortalProcreationClause immortal]] Amazons, was desperate for a child despite their society having no men. She crafted a baby out of clay and prayed to the gods to give it life, and the result was baby Diana. This idea has been tweaked throughout the years:

*** In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}}, Diana and Nubia were crafted from clay by Hippolyta and brought to life by the Greek gods.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* Arceus from ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}''. In one event you can see Arceus create an egg for you ([[MindScrew using a ritual that apparently involves Google images]]). Said egg becomes a level 1 legendary, which can double as a DiscOneNuke.

* [[spoiler:Kuchiki Toko]] in ''VisualNovel/KaraNoShoujo'' has no father, though her mother didn't realize because she had been having sex with someone. However, this man was completely sterile.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'': Rusty is very secretive about the identity of Hank and Dean's MissingMom. Him making his sons into a series of clones to replaced the dead ones has made viewers speculate even the originals were made artificially with only Rusty's DNA, but the show's creators denied this early on into the show's long run. In the GrandFinale, [[spoiler:we learn the boys ''do'' have a genetic mother, [[ZigZaggingTrope but she was simply an egg donor]] and they were born from a UterineReplicator]].

** In Literature/TheFourGospels, Mary was a virgin engaged to marry Joseph when an angel (traditionally identified as Gabriel) appeared to her and informed her she would birth the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. Joseph himself planned to quietly break off the engagement to spare Mary's honor, but the angel then appeared to him as well to explain things. Joseph married Mary and raised Jesus as his own son, and for this reason Joseph is the PatronSaint of fathers and fatherhood in forms of Christianity that use a concept of sainthood (and is respected as Jesus' father-figure in Islam, which, generally speaking, doesn't do saints, at least not in the same way as Christianity). Emphasized in Catholicism, where God even made Mary immaculate[[note]] spared from the stain of original sin [[/note]] since Jesus would be drawing his flesh and blood entirely from her.

** In Literature/TheFourGospels, Mary was a virgin engaged to marry Joseph when an angel (traditionally identified as Gabriel) appeared to her and informed her she would birth the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. Joseph himself planned to quietly break off the engagement to spare Mary's honor, but the angel then appeared to him as well to explain things. Joseph married Mary and raised Jesus as his own son, and for this reason Joseph is the PatronSaint of fathers and fatherhood in forms of Christianity that use a concept of sainthood (and is respected as Jesus' father-figure in Islam, which, generally speaking, doesn't do saints, at least not in the same way as Christianity). Emphasized in Catholicism, where God even made Mary immaculate[[note]] spared from the stain of original sin [[/note]] since Jesus would effectively be her biological double.

** In Literature/TheFourGospels, Mary was a virgin engaged to marry Joseph when an angel (traditionally identified as Gabriel) appeared to her and informed her she would birth the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. Joseph himself planned to quietly break off the engagement to spare Mary's honor, but the angel then appeared to him as well to explain things. Joseph married Mary and raised Jesus as his own son, and for this reason Joseph is the PatronSaint of fathers and fatherhood in forms of Christianity that use a concept of sainthood (and is respected as Jesus' father-figure in Islam, which, generally speaking, doesn't do saints, at least not in the same way as Christianity).

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'': Rusty is very secretive about the identity of Hank and Dean's MissingMom. Him making his sons into a series of clones to replaced the dead ones has made viewers speculate even the originals were made artificially with only Rusty's DNA, but the show's creators denied this early on into the show's long run. In the GrandFinale, [[spoiler:we learn the boys ''do'' have a genetic mother, [[ZigZaggingTrope but she was simply an egg donor]] and they were born from a UterineReplicator.]]

* WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls' father, Professor Utonium, made them in a lab out of sugar and spice and everything nice, plus Chemical X. Later on, it's revealed that Mojo Jojo, the primary enemy of the girls and formerly the assistant of Utonium, was responsible for accidentally adding Chemical X into the formula that created the girls. Mojo Jojo fits the trope in another way, as he created the Rowdyuff Boys without any help from anyone. (Later, after they are brought back to life by Him, he competes with the other villain for their affection; each villain tries to prove that he is more evil than the other to win them over.)

* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', Dr. Robotnik creates a RidiculouslyHumanRobot son in the form of Robotnik Jr..
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''. This is a more ambiguous example, because of [[FlipFlopOfGod the moral differences of the writers and the disagreements between them]], but Princess Bubblegum is thought of as being this. According to Jesse Moynihan, Princess Bubblegum is Lemongrab's mom, although only in the sense that she made him and gave him life. He may share ''some'' of her DNA, according to Jesse, but most of the other writers on the show don't view the princess as being a mother to her experiments. This is supported by the fact that she doesn't act like a parent at all.
** One episode had her use some of her own DNA to create Goliad and use Finn's DNA to create Stormo, who Finn referred to as his son.

** At one point, [[Characters/MarvelComicsGalactus Galactus]] was revealed to have a daughter, Galacta, which led to some rife speculation about who her mom was. Turns out it was also Galactus. [[spoiler:It also turns out that the "parasite" that's been bugging Galacta... isn't a parasite. Not even close. And since she was born this way...]]

** Implied in the case of the Goddess (aka [[spoiler:Sothis]]) in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses''. There's no mention of her ever having a mate or a husband, and her children the Nabateans are said to have been born from her blood, implying something magical rather than a physical pregnancy.

* Geppetto carved ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' out of wood, so he definitely qualifies.

** ComicBook/WonderWoman was created this way (before the ''ComicBook/New52'', which {{retcon}}ned her into Zeus's daughter): Hippolyta, Queen of the [[ImmortalProcreationClause immortal]] Amazons, was desperate for a child despite their society having no men. She crafted a baby out of clay and prayed to the gods to give it life, and the result was baby Diana. This idea has been tweaked throughout the years:

Compare ReplacementGoldfish and HomosexualReproduction. Not related to traditional single parenthood, wherein two people were involved in the child's creation [[ParentalAbandonment at some point]]. Overlaps with MysticalPregnancy if the conception is supernatural rather than scientific. Compare OurClonesAreDifferent, as the child is likely to be this; even in RealLife, at least two donors tend to contribute their cells to cloning.

Compare ReplacementGoldfish and HomosexualReproduction. Not related to traditional single parenthood, wherein two people were involved in the child's creation [[ParentalAbandonment at some point]]. Overlaps with MysticalPregnancy if the conception is supernatural rather than scientific.

** In the [[Fanfic/TheBridge original story]], it's eventually revealed that [[spoiler: [[GodOfGood Harmony]] created Celestia and Luna, making her their mother and sole parent]].

This applies particularly to mad scientists of the [[EvilutionaryBiologist Evilutionary]] variety, and appears to be a primarily literary trope, probably because of the difficulty in finding plausible-looking pairs of actors. Some animals are able to reproduce without mating in which case the offspring receive all their genetic material from the mother, either as a perfect clone or by simply doubling the DNA of an unfertilized egg. In animals with WZ chromosomes, females have the chromosomes WZ and males ZZ, which allows a female to create both female and male offspring by herself. In humans, which have XY chromosomes, an artificial clone of a female person could only be female, while the clone of a male could be either male (XY) or female (XX) by switching the Y chromosome for a copy of the X chromosome.

** Jango Fett from ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' was the genetic template for the clone troopers that make up the backbone of the Grand Army of the Republic, and part of his payment was an extra, unaltered clone for himself to raise as a son, Boba Fett. (The mainline clone troopers were modified to age quickly so that they could be fielded faster -- most of the clones are adults and completely identical to Jango down to their ages during ''Attack of the Clones'' down while Boba is still in adolescence at the latest; ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' would later show a few surviving clones roughly contemporary to the events of the Original Trilogy, when Boba is an adult, who have grayed and balded with age despite being in their thirties or forties at best.) The clones all consider themselves brothers and, in ''Legends'' continuity, many considered Jango to be their father, but there was only "really" a family relationship between Jango and Boba; the clone troopers align much more to being a BandOfBrothers; Boba, at least, doesn't consider the genetically-identical clone troopers to be his family and denies the argument from one of his "brothers" during an arc featuring him in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' which resulted in a number of clones being killed either by Boba himself or by his allies.

* ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'' has Mack Hartford, RidiculouslyHumanRobot son of AdventurerArchaeologist Andrew Hartford, whose [[MyBiologicalClockIsTicking biological clock was ticking]].

* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', [[spoiler:John]] is ultimately the "biological parent" (or at least the midwife--shit be truly weird) of all the B1- and B2-universe players, through the [[CloningBlues ectobiology]] and [[StableTimeLoop time shenanigans]] of SBURB.

* ''WebOriginal/LoomingGaia'':

* Dr. Alison Mann (no relation to ''ComicBook/YTheLastMan'', but eventually a close friend), when she hears rumors of one Dr. Matsumori's cloning breakthroughs, decides to use her own DNA and uterus to beat him to the goal of a viable cloned infant. It did not end well [[spoiler:probably due to an agent of Dr. Matsumori slipping an abortificant into her dinner as she neared term.]] Later, she discovers that Dr. Matsumori had in fact used the same genetic progenitor for his project in an effort to [[ReplacementGoldfish have a second chance at raising the daughter he so estranged from that she renamed herself after Mann's Chinese Theater to irritate him]]. [[spoiler: ''He'' succeeds, eight times over, before his death four years after the {{Gendercide}}. In the DistantFinale we see the cloned Manns (or 'Dr Men' as Yorick quips) working in the lab. Yorrick notes "They all talk with their hands, just like her" but says they will never be as good as the original because they don't have Allison's 'a**hole father' to spur them to greater efforts.]]

** Another example is the first generation of the Jotun (i.e. the "giants"), whom were all born of from the armpits of the first Giant Ymir, who was himself created from the meeting of fire and ice in the void of Ginnungagap. There is also a meantion of a six headed son of Ymir's left and right leg (... Though this trope is averted if you count the legs themselfs as his parents, and not Ymir.)

* The ''WebAnimation/DrMonster'' video "Sinfant vs. Deady Bear" introduces Dr. Monster's son Sinfant, who appears to have been concieved without a mother to speak of.

** Mostly in insects and suchlike, but the largest creature capable of this (in extremis; mostly it uses normal sexual reproduction) is the komodo dragon. Imagine that. They do not need males to breed, just resources. And they're three-metre long armoured lizards. Be very afraid...
** Other parthenogenic vertebrates that have been recorded include boas and pythons, amphibians, sharks, turkeys, and even in condors.

* Theorized about Hank and Dean from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', but {{Jossed}} by WordOfGod. The boys were born the old-fashioned way some time ago; Rusty is just [[MissingMom very secretive about who the mother is]]. Also, [[spoiler:the Hank and Dean we know actually ''are'' clones of the original natural-born Hank and Dean who were TooDumbToLive.]] In the GrandFinale, [[spoiler:this is ultimately ZigZagged. The boys ''did'' have a mother, but she was simply an egg donor and they were born from a UterineReplicator]].

* Theorized about Hank and Dean from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', but {{Jossed}} by WordOfGod. The boys were born the old-fashioned way some time ago; Rusty is just very secretive about who the mother is.[[note]]The prime possible mother is batshit insane and an even WORSE parent than Dr. Venture is. That's saying something.[[/note]] Also, [[spoiler:the Hank and Dean we know actually ''are'' clones of the original natural-born Hank and Dean who were TooDumbToLive.]]

* In Creator/StephenHunt's ''The Rise of the Iron Moon'', Lord Starborn to Starsprite -- whom he then casts out, unnamed; it is Black and Coppertracks who name her.

* The Ullerans from Creator/HBeamPiper's ''Uller Uprising'' are a {{hermaphrodit|e}}ic race. Self-impregnation is difficult but not impossible though it is generally considered taboo. The chief of the one Ulleran tribe that practices it refers to his offspring as "little me".

* ''VideoGame/AdvanceWarsDaysOfRuin'': Caulder/Stolos is probably the most prolific Truly Single Parent this side of Jango Fett, making no less than four different clones (which didn't really look much like him except for hair color and complexion, and [[OppositeSexClone most of them aren't even the right gender]]) and then making a bunch of backup clones for each clone type. The four end up ranging the entire spectrum of good and evil. [[spoiler:On top of this, at the end we find out that he's actually a clone of the first Caulder/Stolos, the only survivor after the original and his clones decided that ThereCanBeOnlyOne of them and killed each other.]]

* WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls' father, Professor Utonium, made them in a lab out of sugar and spice and everything nice, plus Chemical X. Later on, it's revealed to be a very weird case of [[HasTwoMommies Has Two Daddies]] in that Mojo Jojo, the primary enemy of the girls and formerly the assistant of Utonium, was responsible for accidentally adding Chemical X into the formula that created the girls. Mojo Jojo fits the trope in another way, as he created the Rowdyuff Boys without any help from anyone. (Later, after they are brought back to life by Him, he competes with the other villain for their affection; each villain tries to prove that he is more evil than the other to win them over.)

* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' Dr. Robotnik creates a RidiculouslyHumanRobot son in the form of Robotnik Jr.