History Main / WhyAreYouNotMySon

* This dynamic often underlines ComicBook/SpiderMan's dynamic with Comicbook/NormanOsborn, AKA the Green Goblin, and his son Harry Osborn who is Peter's best friend:

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Yet another ''Spider-Man'' example: Norman thinks this of Peter in ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'', though it's somewhat mitigated by the fact that this version Norman does care about his own son, Harry. Becomes blatant in the episode "Carnage" though:

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'':

* Sisygambis, mother of King Darius III of Persia, resented him for allowing his family to be captured following the Battle of Issus. After UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat treated them with dignity and compassion she became fanatically devoted to him and essentially adopted him, calling him "son" and sending him Persian delicacies to sample every day. After his death, [[TheUnfavorite Sisygambis refused to mourn him]] while after ''Alexander's'' death she [[DeathByDespair died of grief and starvation days later]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': In "The Perfect Brother", Brain stays over at Arthur's house for the weekend, and Arthur's family constantly compliments him on his polite and helpful behavior, such as eating his food neatly and offering Arthur's dad a cooking tip. This leads Arthur to become slightly angry at Brain... until Arthur decides to come over to Brain's house and notices that Brain's room is actually as messy as his own room. Brain's parents even start complimenting Arthur on ''his'' good behavior.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Kendra and Giles hit it off straight away, much to Buffy’s annoyance.

* The movie ''O'' is ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' [[HighSchoolAU set at a high school]], and has the Iago character as the son of a coach and the Othello equivalent being his favorite player. Unlike the original play, this makes "Iago", if not sympathetic, at least relatable rather than acting ForTheEvulz.

* ''Series/{{Community}}'': It's no secret that Pierce is constantly frowned-upon by his racist and homophobic father in all endeavors that go against him, but this becomes even more clear when Pierce watches a commercial starring his father and his only [[spoiler: known]] son... except the son in the commercial isn't Pierce - it's a child actor. This becomes this trope when Cornelius shoos Pierce off the set where the commercial is being held while, at the same time, praising the actor who was playing as his son.

* Arulaine makes no secret of his liking for Malachi in [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/Eludoran Eludoran]], much to his own daughter's jealousy

* In ''the Boy Who Drew Monsters'', both Jack's parents see Nick more as the normal son, which they could have had and favor him in many circumstances, not that this even bothers Jack in any way (too involved with his drawings), Tim (the father) especially envisions Nell (Nick's mother) as the wife he could have had and Nick as the son he could have had, in the life he could have had (at the hospital Tim even blurts to Nell, in front of his own son, that [[LikeaSontoMe Nick is like a son to him]], Nell then points towards Jack (his actual son) telling him that he is his son not Nick, but Jack is not even aware of the entire dialogue); Holly, in contrast, envisions her life at one point without any son, or any husband for that matter. Downplayed to an extent though, and strangely zigzagged at times, because even though both parents essentially blame Jack for ruining their lives with the troubles he has caused them and their marriage, due to his suddenly new abnormal behavior, it is quite clear that they both still care for and love their son, and acknowledge him as such. They even refer to him numerous times as their son, their 'baby boy', the boy that they want back.

* Norman Osborn in the first ''Film/SpiderMan1'' film is a more unintentional example, clearly impressed by Peter's brilliance and implicitly comparing his own son, Harry, negatively to Peter. [[ItWasHisSled As everyone knows]], Norman becomes the villain the Green Goblin, and Harry ends up going crazy and following in his father's footsteps. In their battles at ''Film/SpiderMan3'', Peter -- corrupted by the Venom symbiote -- uses this trope at Harry to mock him, [[KickTheDog telling him that his father was ashamed of him as his son]].

* In ''Film/GreenLantern'', Hector Hammond's father prefers Hal Jordan, a "doer", over Hector, a "thinker".

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TwelveForever'' episode "The Mall Forever", Esther goes to the mall with Reggie and her mother Judy. Judy and Esther quickly establish a rapport sorely lacking between Reggie and her mother, [[WantedAGenderConformingChild mostly because they're both much more feminine than Reggie]] and [[WhenYouComingHomeDad Esther is wanting for a maternal figure with her mom being so busy]].

* ''Literature/SwordAtSunset'': KingArthur's estimation of the relative merits of his WorthyOpponent Cerdic of Wessex and his BastardBastard Medraut is all too apparent.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' gives some strong subtext with this. [[ParentalNeglect Gendo abandoned]] [[ClassicalAntiHero Shinji]] years ago, and continues to treat him coldly even when he summons him to become an Eva pilot. Meanwhile, Shinji is jealous of how close Gendo is to [[EmotionlessGirl Rei]], his fellow pilot and the only person whom Gendo seems to care about. It gets a lot more complicated because Shinji and Rei share some kind of attraction, Gendo and Rei's feelings could ''also'' be read as more romantic than familial, and oh yeah, [[spoiler:Rei is a clone of Shinji's dead mom]].

* In ''Literature/ChaosWalking'' [[MagnificentBastard Mayor Prentiss]] makes it clear multiple times that he prefers the protagonist, Todd, over his own son [[TheUnfavorite Davy]]. He even goes as far as saying so right after he [[spoiler: [[OffingTheOffspring shoots Davy]] to stop Todd using him as leverage in a stand-off.]]

A type of being TheUnFavorite in which a character's parent compares them negatively to one of their friends or acquaintances. It is very common for this to sow antagonism between the two people compared. The extent to which the parent shows this attitude tends to vary, ranging from an unconscious preference for the friend to an openly antagonistic attitude towards their own child.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' gives some strong subtext with this. [[ParentalNeglect Gendo abandoned]] [[ByronicAntiHero Shinji]] years ago, and continues to treat him coldly even when he summons him to become an Eva pilot. Meanwhile, Shinji is jealous of how close Gendo is to [[EmotionlessGirl Rei]], his fellow pilot and the only person whom Gendo seems to care about. It gets a lot more complicated because Shinji and Rei share some kind of attraction, Gendo and Rei's feelings could ''also'' be read as more romantic than familial, and oh yeah, [[spoiler:Rei is a clone of Shinji's dead mom]].

* In ''Manga/MutekiKanbanMusume'', Makiko says this about hard working Kankuro (Makiko's daughter is TheSlacker AdultChild Miki).

* ''FanFic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'': Chloe suspects that her father feels this way towards Goh and Ash, as they share his interest in Pokémon and are more than happy to assist him with his research, whereas she isn't nearly as enthusiastic about such matters. This has led to him unintentionally ignoring his daughter in favor of the boys, only paying attention to her when Pokémon are involved.

-->'''Mayor Prentiss:''' You were always the truer son, Todd. The one with the potential, the one with the power, [[WeCanRuleTogether the one I'd be proud to have serve by my side.]]\\

* Heihachi Mishima of ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' has this opinion of Paul Phoenix and hates his real son Kazuya, though that might have something to do with Kazuya constantly trying to kill him.

A type of being TheUnFavorite in which a character's parent compares them negatively to one of their friends. It is very common for the character in question to become antagonistic towards the friend. The extent to which the parent shows this attitude tends to vary, ranging from an unconscious preference for the friend to an openly antagonistic attitude towards their own child.

'''Amy:''' ''[With a smug look at Rory]'' Thank you, Brian.\\

* Subverted in the episode dealing with Daedalus and Icarus in ''Series/TheStoryteller''. Daedalus is frustrated by his son Icarus' clumsiness and lack of inventive genius. A cousin comes to stay with them who does have this brilliance and attracts Daedalus' favor. The twist, is that although he acts like a WellDoneSonGuy towards Icarus, Daedalus "accidentally-on-purpose" kills his nephew, both because he reminds him of disappointment in his own son, and because he sees him as a rival. This also happened in the actual myths and was much less "accidental."