The Pride
The Pride is made up of six married couples who are the parents of the six original "runaways." In The '80s, they were chosen by a trio of giants called the Gibborim to form the Pride. The Pride would sacrifice young innocents and feed their souls to the Gibborim, who would use the power gained to purge Earth of all humanity. In return, the Gibborim gave them twenty-five years of wealth and power and promised six members of the group a place in the new "paradise" that Earth would become. The other six would perish along with the rest of humanity. When Janet Stein got pregnant, she and her husband decided to donate their seat in the Gibborim's new paradise to their child. Each of the other couples in the Pride then chose to have one child each and give them their spots in the Gibborim's paradise rather than worry about possibly living forever separated from their spouses. The group's past and future are contained in a coded book called "The Abstract."
- Alas, Poor Villain: At the end of volume 1, they sacrifice themselves so that their children could escape from the Gibborim.
- Archnemesis Dad: They think they're doing what's best for their kids. With one exception the kids beg to differ, and view The Pride's members as antagonistic parents.
- Aristocrat Team: The original Pride consisted of six rich and powerful families.
- Battle Couple: Each member of The Pride is married to one of the others, and all of them can fight.
- Cosmopolitan Council: They're come from a variety of backgrounds. Justified since the Gibborim needed these specific six pairs for their rites.
- The Wilders are the Badass Normal organized crime types.
- The Minorus are magic users.
- The Yorkes are time travelers.
- The Deans are aliens.
- The Steins are Mad Scientist types.
- The Hayes are mutants.
- Deal with the Devil: They all made one with the Gibborim. In exchange for yearly ritual sacrifices to grant the Gibborim enough power to wipe out humanity, the Gibborim increased their power enough to make them the undisputed crime bosses of the West Coast and gave them all a fifty-fifty chance to live with the Gibborim in their human-free paradise for eternity.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The members of The Pride are all Happily Married, and each couple loves their particular child. Katherine Wilder also mentions wanting to save her mother from the Gibborim.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Prior to becoming a movie star, Marcus Roston was a member of the Pride, but was kicked out because he seemed to be taking an unhealthy interest Chase. Apparently, even a cabal dedicated to purging the earth of almost all life has standards.
- Evil Matriarch: The mothers tend to be rather heavy-handed when it comes to their offspring.
- Evil Parents Want Good Kids: They kept their activities a secret from their kids.
- Family-Values Villain: Although those particular values may differ (i.e. the Deans are liberal and the Yorkes conservative and all of them vary in strictness), they all frequently express typical parental attitudes in between being ruthless supervillains.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: With the possible exception of the Deans it seems none of them were originally anywhere near the threat level they became after striking a deal with Gibborim.
- Happily Married: All of them, despite being evil.
- Kill All Humans: Their overall plan.
- Knight Templar Parent: Everything they do is for the sake of their children.
- Pædo Hunt: When Roston is seen in Chase's bedroom he's kicked out of Pride
- The Psycho Rangers: Each couple is in one way or another evil reflection of their respective child. And their only appearance in books other than Runaways (an Iron Man storyline set in the past) had them serve as this for the Avengers Illuminati.
- Start of Darkness: Issue #13 of vol.1 describes their origin as a group.
- Unholy Matrimony: A group of six married couples who regularly engage in human sacrifice together.
- Villains With Good Publicity: All of them maintain covers of being fairly well-liked rich L.A. socialites.
- West Coast Team: A big part of the premise is that they are set up in an area where there is no real superhero presence, because as far as anyone knows, there are no supervillains set up there- the Pride are much better at keeping their activities secret than anyone else in the Marvel Universe.
Members
- "I know you think I'm a monster, Alex, but someday you'll understand that everything I did was done out of love."
The parents of Alex. They are two mob bosses whose organized crime syndicate controls all of Los Angeles and, apparently, California. Though they are killed during the Rite of Thunder, several of Alex's online friends accidentally transport the 1980's version of Geoffrey to the present in a failed attempt to save Alex. He convinces them that the Pride was made up of heroes and tries to sacrifice Nico to the Gibborim in exchange for resurrecting his wife and son and creating a new Pride. He is defeated and, with his memory wiped, returned to the eighties.
- Archenemy: If anybody qualifies for the status of the Runaways' archnemesis it's Geoffrey Wilder.
- Badass Normal: Don't have super science knowledge, magic, mutations, or time travel, making them The Team Normal. Geoffrey in particular. No one has done more damage to those kids than he has, despite his lack of powers. His 1985 counterpart even managed to neutralize Xavin, a Super-Skrull in training.
- Bald of Authority: Geoffrey is bald and the de facto leader of the Pride.
- Bald of Evil: Geoffrey as an adult is balding; lampshaded by Chase when they meet his past self.
- Beard of Evil: Geoffrey sports a well-trimmed goatee.
- Big Bad: Geoffrey is the leader of The Pride, in the first arc. His 1985 incarnation is the Big Bad of the second arc.
- Geoffrey is also the Big Bad for Iron Man: Industrial Revolution.
- Blade Enthusiast: Geoffrey seems inordinately fond of the sacrificial knife used in the Gibborim's rituals.
- Diabolical Mastermind: The two of them control almost all of LA, and have agents everywhere else.
- Evil Sounds Deep: According to Nico she would "recognize Mr. Wilder's baritone anywhere."
- Expy: The rest of The Pride refer to them as a pair of Kingpin wannabes and this is a pretty accurate description of Geoffrey in particular.
- Fake Brit: In-Universe example. 1985!Geoffrey impersonates British mutant Chamber in order to infiltrate Excelsior.
- Former Teen Rebel: From punk-ass bank robbers to Diabolical Masterminds.
- Hero Killer: Geoffrey, particularly in his 1980s incarnation.
- Jive Turkey: Somewhat fit this in manner of speaking in their youth, given that they were involved in organized crime.
- Knife Fight: 1985!Geoffrey briefly engages Chase in one.
- Large and in Charge: Geoffrey is an imposing man.
- Man of Wealth and Taste: Both Katherine and Geoffrey favor expensive suits.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Geoffrey briefly did this in Iron Man: Industrial Revolution; when Tony Stark came to Los Angeles after Obadiah Stane took control of his company, Geoffrey assumed that Stark came to LA to explicitly confront the Pride and sent the Serpent Society to deal with him. While the Society initially just told Stark that they were hired by a "bald guy", causing Stark to assume they were sent by Stane, Geoffrey's continued attacks on Stark led to the Pride's existence being exposed and the Pride having to briefly fight with the Illuminati.
- Pop-Cultured Badass: Geoffrey shows elements of this in his younger days, what with repeatedly referring to the Gibborim as "Big Brother".
- Satellite Character: Katherine gets very little characterization, as compared to her husband who plays a massive role in the story.
- Scary Black Man: Geoffrey is very intimidating.
- The Team Normal: Out of a team with time travelers, aliens, mutants, magic users, and super scientists, the Wilders are the only real Badass Normals.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Downplayed. Geoffrey isn't ugly, but as he's gotten older, he's lost his hair, gained weight, and grown a Beard of Evil; meanwhile, Catherine's gorgeous appearance has changed very little as she's aged.
- Villainous Friendship: Mr. Wilder and Mr. Stein seem fairly close.
- You Have Failed Me: Geoffrey shoots Lt. Flores for failing to contain the kids a second time.
- "The future is still ours."
The parents of Gert. They were recruited by the Gibborim when their time machine broke down in The '80s, which they consider the worst decade of the millennium. At some point in their travels, they went to the 87th century and created a deinonychus whom they would psychically link to their daughter Gert. They are killed during the Rite of Thunder with the rest of the Pride, but their past selves appear when the Runaways accidentally time travel back to 1907, where they lead a gang of superpowered criminals called the Sinners, who begin a war with a group of superheroes called the Upward Path. When they learn of Gert's future death, they desperately try to return to the 21st century. Nico, in retaliation for the war they caused, casts a spell on them that prevents them from acting on their new knowledge. They wield various weapons from different time periods including a samurai battle axe (from an "alternate past"), an ornate musket, and a glove that bursts into flames.
- Affably Evil: They're still a rather jovial and friendly pair in spite of their atrocities, and genuinely want their daughter to have a good life.
- And I Must Scream: Subjected to this by Nico when the team is sent back in time - despite fully knowing that their actions will lead to Gert's death, they are forced to carry on the plot by magic.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Stacey loudly objects to the Hayes' plan to mindwipe the children, especially since the process could render them braindead. They're also both enraged to discover their comrades were plotting to betray the rest of the organization for immortality.
- Evil Redhead: Stacey sports a head of curly red hair, and is just as complicit in crime as her husband.
- Face Death with Dignity: As the Marine Vivarium collapses around them, they sadly reflect on what they've been reduced to, watching their daughter escape with her friends.
- Fat Bastard: They're both on the heavy set side, and they're both unrepentant criminals.
- Give Her a Normal Life: They state part of the reason they're on board with the Gibborim's world devastation is that they've visited thousands of possible futures, each worse than the last. As Stacey says, "A world filled with fifty year old men punching one another is no place for children." Granted, she might have a point there.
- Henpecked Husband: Dale seems to be this sometimes, when Stacey harps at him.
- Kosher Nostra: Very Jewish, and deeply involved in LA's organized crime.
- The Masochism Tango: Dale and Stacey argue constantly, and often appear to be at one another's throats, but they really do love one another.
- Time Travel: They're time travelers.
- Time Travel for Fun and Profit: They steal valuables and then sell them in other times.
- Steampunk: Their costumes and equipment seem inspired by this genre.
- "We're heroes! We've dedicated our lives to making this world a better place for those kids!"
The parents of Karolina. They are extraterrestrials from the planet Majesdane, who were exiled to Earth for unspecified criminal activity. They took their new surname from actor James Dean and became Hollywood actors. When Karolina was born, they made her wear a med-alert bracelet at all times, which in actuality suppressed her Majesdanean form and made her appear human. At some point before the events of the series, the Deans fended off a Skrull invasion of Earth by giving them the coordinates to the planet Majesdane and arranging a marriage between their daughter and Skrull prince/princess Xavin, who they hoped would die before he/she could take their offer. They conspired with the Hayeses to murder the human members of the Pride, hoping to secure the six seats in the Gibborim's paradise for themselves and their children. They believed that the Gibborim, hating humans for their role in ruining the Earth, would favor aliens and mutants. However, later dialogue shows that the Gibborim detest aliens, whom they consider invasive creatures.
- All Women Love Shoes: Nico said Leslie has more shoes than a season of Cribs put together.
- Arms Dealer: Frank is in negotiations to buy Skrullish weapons when he gets the call about Karolina.
- Arranged Marriage: They set up K and Xavin's in the process of selling out their home planet.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: So very, very much. Beneath their crunchy hippie exteriors, they are cruel xenophobes whose crimes include starting a war that ended up wiping out two planets.
- Broken Pedestal: Karolina seems to have the hardest time coming to grips with her parents being evil, because that's just not how they presented themselves. When Alex reads them the Abstract, describing how their parents agreed to donate their places in the Gibborim's paradise to their children, Karolina's parents are among the few who are totally against the idea. The only reason Leslie agrees to try for a baby is because it might get her on the cover of People magazine. When the scene cuts back to the kids in the Hostel, Karolina is just muttering "... the cover of People?" in hurt surprise.
- Expy: Of General Zod and Ursa of Superman- they are criminals from another planet who have sun-powered abilities on Earth, and Alex even starts to compare Karolina's bracelet to kryptonite before being cut off.
- Even Evil Has Standards: For how much he detests Geoffrey just for being human, Frank is shocked to learn the man is willing to frame the Runaways, including his own son, for the Pride's sacrificial murder.
- Fantastic Racism: Towards humans.
- Flight: Their powerset includes the ability to fly.
- Granola Girl: Invoked as part of their personas; they play the part of hippie actors who raised their daughter vegan.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Compared to his wife, Frank is more paranoid and angry, tending to flip out and point fingers when things start to go wrong. This might be a Majesdanian thing, since Karolina is also prone to mood swings.
- Hate Sink: While none of the Pride are really nice people, the Deans come off as especially smug, cruel, and ruthless, as they openly enjoy killing and torturing humans and treat their fellow parents with hostility. Even their "love" for Karolina is self-serving, as they still forced her into an arranged marriage to appease a war they started between their kind and the Skrulls. The Hayes are just about the only members who get along with them, and that's mainly due to their shared loathing of humanity.
- Hitler Ate Sugar: When Karolina insists her parents don't eat meat, and thus cannot be evil, Gert's response is "Neither did Hitler."
- Human Aliens: As are all Majesdanians.
- Jerkass:
- Easily the worst ones in the organization. They barely hide how much contempt they have for their fellow Pride members,take sadistic joy in hurting others, and conspire to betray and kill their own teammates out of hatred and greed for immortality. Notably, while the rest agreed to be parents out of genuine love, Leslie did so because it'd get her on the cover of People magazine.
- Leslie is clearer the eviler of the pairing, because while Frank is shown getting upset upon learning Karolina's missing AND knows about her powers, Leslie dismisses Karolina right off and assures Frank their daughter's far too spineless to be a threat. The next time she sees Karolina, Leslie tries to flatter Karolina by saying how "special" and "powerful" she is, clearly for the sake of manipulating her.
- Light 'em Up: Frank and Leslie's main mode of attack is to turn their light into concussive laser blasts.
- Light Is Not Good: They have light-based powers, but are two of the cruelest members of the Pride.
- Master Actor: Besides being their day jobs, the Deans present themselves as happy-go-lucky Hollywood hippies. They're actually a lot more psychotic.
- Named After Somebody Famous: In-Universe; they took their surname from James Dean.
- Nice Character, Mean Actor: They are very popular actors, but it's all an act.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Their intent to betray the rest of the Pride (aside from the Hayeses) is what inspires Alex to found the Runaways in an effort to stop them, which ultimately leads to the thwarting of the Gibborim's plan in its entirety.
- Psycho for Hire: To the Gibborim."But what's in it for us? Beyond the usual entertainment value of wasting Earthlings of course?"
- Satellite Character: Frank, who gets little characterization compared to his wife.
- Soapbox Sadie: Invoked and subverted; they pretend to care about many social causes as expected of Hollywood celebrities.
- The Starscream: They plotted to betray Geoffrey so that the six slots could be taken by the Hayses and themselves.
- Stepford Smiler: Both, but especially Leslie. They're Brady Bunch on the outside and homicidal on the inside.
- Villains With Good Publicity: Prior to their deaths, they ran a charity, the Dean Foundation, which has somehow managed to survive the scandal of having alien warlords as its founders.
- "My son and I have had our differences, but I love Chase more than life itself. Literally."
A pair of scientists who supposedly invented a tool to easily remove the plastic wrap from CDs. In fact, they are the Pride's main scientists and have created x-ray goggles, weaponized gauntlets called the Fistigons, rocket boots that Chase dubbed the "Footstigons," and several transport ships called Leapfrogs. Victor often beats his son for reasons such as bad grades. Despite this, he claims to truly love Chase and wants him to get a place in the Gibborim's post-apocalyptic paradise. He has also been shown hitting his wife. He has a brother named Hunter, with whom he has an antagonistic relationship over his criminal activity.
- Abusive Dad:
- Victor's Establishing Character Moment is him punching Chase for getting a bad grade.
- Janet is later revealed to be emotionally abusive to Chase. When he was younger, she threw away a lacrosse trophy Chase earned because she didn't want Victor to get angry.
- Destructive Romance: They refuse immortality if it means living without each other, but throw things at each other when arguments get bad.
- Domestic Abuse: Victor regularly beat Chase for getting bad grades or for showing an interest in sports and athleticism over science, acting as a reminder of the jocks who used to pick on him when he was a kid.
- Dr. Fakenstein: Mad scientists with the name "Stein."
- Evil Genius: For The Pride as a whole.
- Famed In-Story: Tony Stark noted that he was impressed with their work when the Illuminati confronted the Pride.
- Gadgeteer Genius: They're Mad Scientists who make gadgets.
- Glurge Addict: Chase's mom seems to like cute things. When Mrs. Yorkes commented on how whimsical the Leapfrog's design was, Victor says "Blame Janet." All their other ships also resembled cutesy sort of frogs.
- Goggles Do Nothing: They've created X-Ray specs before, but the ones they're wearing don't seem to do much.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Victor gets angry at the drop of a hat.
- Hand Blast: Victor fires a laser from his watch.
- Inventor of the Mundane: This is given as a reason why the Steins are wealthy enough to hang out with families of other characters, whose parents are doctors, businessmen and famous actors, among others. Subverted because it's a lie - Chase's parents, just like those of other kids, are actually supervillains in control of the entire West Coast criminal underground.
- Jock Dad, Nerd Son: Inverted. It's often pointed out that despite being mad scientists, their kid is a straight-C lacrosse jock.
- Mad Scientist: Inventors of various devices like X-ray goggles, the Fistigons and rocket boots.
- Meaningful Name: Victor Stein's name is likely inspired by Victor Frankenstein.
- Pædo Hunt: There was a seventh member of the Pride at one point, Eli, but the Steins had him expelled after they found him hanging out in Chase's room.
- Paper Tiger: When Victor hits Chase, he responds by telling him that he hits like a girl.
- Satellite Character: Janet is far less prominent than Victor and receives little characterization.
- She did receive a bit of characterization in the Iron Man storyline... in that she's an Insufferable Genius who hates Tony Stark and Reed Richards.
- Sticky Situation: Janet's gauntlets fire glue, as Alex unfortunately discovers.
- Tricked-Out Gloves: Janet's fire glue. Then there's the Fistigons, which they invented, which are a Power Fist that enables Chase to turn himself into a walking flamethrower.
- Troubled Abuser: Victor, who is prone to taking out his anger on his son, yet is also prepared to die for him.
- Unusual Weapon Mounting: Victor has Frickin' Laser Beams in his watch.
- Villainous Friendship: All the members of The Pride at least pretend to be friends, but Victor Stein and Geoffrey Wilder genuinely seem to enjoy one another's company.
- "Yes, to the parents of the year."
A pair of telepathic mutants who are doctors by profession. They had originally thought that Molly was not a mutant. They both have a sadistic side, once telepathically forcing a rival gang leader to watch as they butchered his crew. They conspired with the Deans to murder the human members of the Pride, hoping to secure the six seats in the Gibborim's paradise for themselves and their kids.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Emma Frost of all people thinks they were monsters.
- Fantastic Racism: Towards humans (despite originally believing Molly to be one.)
- Freudian Excuse: Both were shunned and tormented for their telepathic powers. And when the Gibborim recruited them, they see the opportunity to rid the world of the cruel humans who made their life so hard.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: Their eyes glow purple when their telepathy is in use.
- Meaningful Name: A mutant named Gene?
- Mind Rape: They enjoy using their telepathic abilities to destroy people's minds. One unfortunate rival ended up being trapped in his own body for seven years after going up against them.
- Mutants: Their powers come from the mutant X-gene like the X-Men. Seems to have been retconned in the 2017 series, which revealed that Molly's grandmother genetically engineered their abilities, explaining why they had the same powers.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Their intent to betray the rest of the Pride (aside from the Deans) is what inspires Alex to found the Runaways in an effort to stop them, which ultimately leads to the thwarting of the Gibborim's plan in its entirety.
- Not Blood Siblings: Alice’s mother took Gene in when he ran away from home and they were raised together.
- Psychic Powers: They're telepaths.
- Psycho Psychologist: Alice is an evil speech therapist.
- Religious Bruiser: Perhaps not as religious as the Minorus, but they know enough to quote Proverbs, and their daughter is always asking if people go to Heaven.
- The Starscream: To Geoffrey, as they plotted to betray him and take the six slots for the Deans and themselves.
- Superhero Speciation: Not within the Pride (they would fall under the "pairs with the same power" clause, like the other couples), but among mutants. Gene says that it's very rare for two mutants to have the exact same mutation, "my own pureblood union notwithstanding." Interestingly, Molly doesn't show signs of having their exact mutation: Gene and Alice have telepathy while Molly has super-strength, but all three are characterized by a reddish-pink glow from their eyes when their mutation is in use.
- Villainous Incest: Gene and Alice were raised as siblings before becoming lovers.
- Villain Team-Up: Defied. Apparently they were once offered a place in the Hellfire Club but refused.
- "Faith is a complicated thing, sweetie."
A pair of dark magicians who are abducted by the Gibborim on their wedding day. Tina wields the Staff of One, which is taken by Nico. Robert is usually seen reading a spellbook when casting magic. According to the Witchbreaker, Robert fought something called his "Grimshape" by the time he was Nico's age. The Minorus were somehow acquainted with a Monk Theppie, a.k.a. "Mother," a male magician who worked for the California Witchcraft Community and coveted the Staff of One.
- Boom Stick: Tina wielded the Staff of One before Nico stole it.
- Combination Attack: Strangely enough, every spell they cast is this.
- Ethnic Magician: Played with. Though the Minorus are Japanese, their powers are not derived from Japanese culture. An ancestor from the 20th century, though, sports a Miko-inspired costume.
- Evil Sorcerer: They're sorcerers, and part of a supervillain group that wants to exterminate humanity.
- Generation Xerox: Inverted. In the flashback to the early years of the Pride, it's shown that Tina was genuinely enthusiastic about being a mom. Nico, on the other hand, is weirded out when Victor raises the subject of whether she wants kids.
- Religious Bruiser: Both are very Catholic.
- Satellite Character: Neither of them gets a lot of characterization when compared to the other members of The Pride. We know they pretended to be fairly religious, and that was about it.
- So Proud of You: Tina's reaction to finding out the kids have killed a vampire.
- Spell Book: Robert's weapon is a book from which he reads spells.
- Token Good Teammate: Good is a relative word with The Pride, but Robert is shown to have more hesitation about planetary genocide than his fellow members, and he and Tina are the only ones shown actively helping the kids escape when The Gibborim declares Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies.
A group formed by the Geoffrey Wilder from The '80s and several of Alex's friends from an online MMORPG. Geoffrey is brought to the present when Alex's friends attempt to transport him from the moment before he died into the present. Geoffrey convinces them that the original Pride was made up of heroes and that the runaways likely killed Alex. They are armed with gadgets and magic talismans left behind by the original Pride.
- Stretch: An overweight boy who lives with his grandmother and role-plays as scantily clad superheroines. He wielded a sword made out of the same metal as Karolina's bracelet, allowing him to cut through her force-fields.
- Hunter: A boy with overgrown hair. He is a technological expert who was able to briefly hack into both Victor and Leapfrog.
- Lotus: A girl who often dresses in archaic-style dresses and loves Renaissance fairs. She quickly gets the hang of magic and is later forced by Chase to help him find the Gibborim in hopes of bringing Gert back to life.
- Oscar: A temp worker who is often fired for playing online RPGs at work. He figures out the decoder ring and partially translates the Abstract. He is accidentally killed when they try to resurrect Alex.
