History Main / MuggleFosterParents

* Luke and Leia in ''Franchise/StarWars'', though Luke was well aware he was living with his aunt and uncle and Leia was just as aware that she was [[HappillyAdopted not biologically related to her parents]]. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, Luke's caregivers, were about as Muggleish as anyone gets in ''Star Wars'' (not only did they lack any Force powers, they also kept far away from galactic affairs and focused themselves entirely on their moisture farm). Leia's foster parents, Bail and Breha Organa, were ''royalty'' (but still not Force-Sensitive, so "Muggle" in the Star Wars sense).

* Luke and Leia in ''Franchise/StarWars'', though Luke was well aware he was living with his aunt and uncle. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, Luke's caregivers, were about as Muggleish as anyone gets in ''Star Wars'' (not only did they lack any Force powers, they also kept far away from galactic affairs and focused themselves entirely on their moisture farm). Leia's foster parents were ''royalty'' (but still not Force-Sensitive, so "Muggle" in the Star Wars sense).

* ''Fanfic/TheDogfather'' is a ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' WhatIf fic where an infant Harry is placed in foster services and HappilyAdopted to a Muggle couple, whose positive influence and close ongoing interest in his Hogwarts life cause [[ForWantOfANail major changes]] to the plot of the books. Harry corrects anyone who calls him Harry Potter and, much less politely, anyone who implies that the [=MacIntyres=] are anything less than his real parents.

* Godzilla Junior hatched inside [[Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII an institute]] and was cared for by a female biologist he saw as his mother. By time we see him all grown up in ''FanFic/TheBridge'' we see the effect. Instead of a destructive TrueNeutral like his adoptive father, Senior, adult Junior is a GentleGiant and the BigGood of the benign kaiju.

[[DoomedHometown Don't expect them]] [[FriendlyTarget to live too long]] [[DeathByOriginStory once they've served their purpose]], and their "offspring" [[AngstWhatAngst might not be]] [[ForgottenFallenFriend terribly grief-stricken either]]. On other hand, if they are still around into the hero's adulthood and you are stupid enough to ''[[TooDumbToLive threaten]]'' them, it's not going to end well for you.

See TellMeAboutMyFather, can be HappilyAdopted. Contrast MuggleInMageCustody, RaisedByOrcs, TurnOutLikeHisFather and RaisedByTheSupernatural. See also ChangelingFantasy and RaisedByNatives.

* In ''Literature/TheSanguineChronicles'', Marko is raised by distant relatives as [[ParentalAbandonment he doesn't know who his father is, and his mom is dead]]. They know ''exactly'' what he is, and help him cope.

** Nina Sakura in ''Manga/UltraManiac'', but only her foster mother is a muggle; her foster father is magical, too.

** Subverted in the Italian magical girl series ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'': Elyon [[spoiler:is the true heir and ruler of Metamoor]]; the couple she thought were her natural parents are, in fact, caregivers who have been looking after her on Earth, but [[spoiler:they aren't human, either; they are good Metamoorans]].

** ''Anime/MajokkoMegChan'' not only had a muggle foster family (except for the mother, Mami, who was also a witch): she actually had no concept of family life herself being a witch from a realm where families don't exist. The focus of the show is Meg learning what a family is like. Mami, the motherly ex-witch and ParentalSubstitute, uses what remains of her magical powers to make people believe that her protegèe is her biological daughter, including her own husband and biological kids.

** ''Anime/MahouShojoLalabel'' is similarly taken in by her muggle school-friend, Teko, and her grandparents.
** Subverted in ''Anime/MahouTsukaiChappy'': Chappy's parents actually go to fetch their daughter after she leaves the MagicalLand, but end up staying on Earth.
** Also subverted in ''Manga/SallyTheWitch'': Sally's parents do watch over her but they stay in Astoria almost all of the time since they're the RulingCouple there, while she lives and trains on Earth. Sally's friends and teachers believe that they work abroad, and a whole episode of the 1989's series is dedicated to her trying to make up an excuse when her teacher says he'll go to her house...
* ''Anime/GlassFleet'''s Vetti and Cleo were raised by these. Cleo was raised by his father's right hand man, while Vetti was raised by former subjects of his father's, [[AbusiveParents who weren't so nice to him]].
* The Arima family for Shiki in ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}''. It actually counts ''twice'' because of his mixed upbringing by the Nanaya (assassins, but good) and Tohno (half demon clan) families. When he finally goes back to the Tohnos, he uses his Nanaya abilities to quell problems related to the Tohnos to some extent depending on the route. Also vampires.

* Honoka of ''Manga/ChibiDevi'' becomes the surrogate mother of Mao, a demon baby. Slight variation in that Honoka is only 14.

* To a degree, ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed'' does this with [[DesignerBabies Kira Yamato's]] adoptive parents Haruma and Caridad, [[spoiler: though Caridad is actually his maternal aunt]]. He was created to be the perfect human, with capabilities beyond the reach of anyone else. But it was his adopted parents who raised him in a neutral nation, making him a peaceful and kind young man, rather than a weapon for war.

* Early on in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'', Kobayashi takes in a young ([[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld well, youngish]]) dragon named Kanna. Kanna also has a second mother figure in the form of Tohru (the eponymous Dragon Maid), but prefers to view her as a CoolBigSis. Kobayashi later takes in another dragon named Ilulu who fills the teenage daughter role.
* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' plays with this a bit regarding the Nakajima family. The fact that Genya is a {{muggle}} and his daughters are both mages is not an example of this trope, as magic is considered to be an everyday part of life on Midchilda. [[spoiler:The fact that said daughters are both combat cyborgs that his late wife rescued from an illegal research facility on the other hand...]]
* In ''Anime/Figure17TsubasaAndHikaru'', biomechanical battle suit Hikaru starts living with Tsubabsa, so in order to avoid awkward questions about where she came from, DD modifies the memories of Tsubasa's father to make him believe that he had twin daughters all along and that Hikaru was simply living elsewhere with an aunt.

* In Franchise/TheDCU, Jade and Obsidian, the children of the first ComicBook/GreenLantern, were raised separately by normal adoptive parents, unaware of their parentage or each other's existence until their late teens when their powers manifested.
* ''ComicBook/ElfQuest: Wavedancers'' has Wavelet, who was raised by humans from infancy. Being an elf, the "adopted" part was rather obvious, though her being one of the few treeshapers, she became very respected by the tribe that raised her as "good spirit of plenty".

* Deconstructed in ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'', where it's shown that [[SupermanSubstitute the Plutonian's]] superhuman powers frightened and isolated any potential foster parents. He did get one set of decent adoptive parents who tried to teach him to be a selfless hero, [[YankTheDogsChain but even that didn't work out]].
* Deconstructed in ''ComicBook/SupremePower''. The U.S government attempts to invoke this with Hyperion in an attempt at turning him into an obedient, All-American metahuman weapon, by making two agents raise him together as their adopted child. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. Not only does Hyperion realize what's going on by the time he's a teenager, as his enhanced senses mean that they can't effectively hide the surveillance, but it's also heavily implied that the agents not only don't love him as a son, but are actually afraid of him and his powers, and are only following orders.
* Victor and Rosa Vasquez are this to Billy and the others in the New 52 reboot of ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'' and the [[Film/Shazam2019 movie adaptation of it]].
* ''ComicBook/RunawaysRainbowRowell'' introduces Josh and Paul, Klara's new foster dads.
* ''ComicBook/AmethystPrincessOfGemworld'': The Winstons are the normal human foster parents of "Amy", who is actually the magical princess Amethyst.

* This is the big twist of the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fic ''Fanfic/MommyNearest''. [[spoiler: Rainbow Dash is actually Celestia's daughter, sent to be raised by a pegasus couple to protect her from unicorn prejudice in Canterlot. The pain in her head is in fact from her horn growing in belatedly.]]
* Godzilla Junior hatched inside [[Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII an institute]] and was cared for by a female biologist he saw as his mother. By time we see him all grown up in ''FanFic/TheBridge'' we see the effect. Instead of a destructive TrueNeutral like his adoptive father, Senior, adult Junior is a GentleGiant and the BigGood of the benign kaiju.

* ''Fanfic/TheDogfather'' is a ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' WhatIf fic where an infant Harry is placed in foster services and HappilyAdopted to a Muggle couple, whose positive influence and close ongoing interest in his Hogwarts life cause [[ForWantOfANail major changes]] to the plot of the books. Harry corrects anyone who calls him Harry Potter and, much less politely, anyone who implies that the [=MacIntyres=] are anything less than his real parents.

* Rebecca, in ''Film/BirthRite'', had foster parents before she found out about her witch heritage.
* A horrifying variation is seen ''Film/{{Brightburn}}'', where Brandon is raised by the well meaning couple that found him in his alien spaceship, but after he realizes that there is literally nothing anyone can do to stop him, [[BewareTheSuperman he decides to use his superpowers to murder and destroy]].

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'', the source of the trope name, has a strange twist since the Dursleys [[AbusiveParents hate Harry]] and vice versa.
** In an example of this trope, Hermione and all [[MageBornOfMuggles muggle-borns]] are naturally-gifted humans born to parents who are unaware of magic. Their extended families are presumably unaware of magic as well. It's mentioned a few times on how Hermione has to help her parents with magical-related things, including wizard money. It's also implied that [[spoiler: there was probably a wizard somewhere on the family tree]]; see ''Literature/TheTalesOfBeedleTheBard''.
** The opposite of this is [[MuggleBornOfMages the Squibs]]: they're unmagical humans born to magical families and are usually looked upon with disdain or at least pity. Filch is presumably mean to his students because he is jealous and bitter. An advertisement for a product that teaches magic to Squibs is presented like a Hollywood diet pill, including testimonials. It doesn't work, of course. However, Squibs do serve as excellent (if eccentric) informants, witnesses, and spies for wizards amidst Muggles. The leading explanation for the origin of muggle-borns is that they are descended from squibs who integrated into muggle society.
* Pratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' has Carrot Ironfoundersson, born human but raised by dwarves; he is in fact the legitimate heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork. He doesn't claim the title, though: he doesn't want the job, and there's a good chance Vimes would [[OffWithHisHead literally have his head]] if he did. It's the biggest OpenSecret in the city.
** Somewhat applicable to Wee Mad Arthur as well, as he's a Feegle who was carried off by a bird of prey as a toddler and was adopted by gnomes, who found him lying beside its strangled carcass. Although [[InTheBlood too much the Feegle]] to ever be TheCape, his pictsie strength and aggression made him an important defender of the gnome community until his move to Ankh-Morpork.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', Rand is found by Tam al'Thor on a battlefield, and Tam decides to take him home to his wife Kari to raise as their son. Tam isn't completely a muggle however. He is a skilled swordsman and Rand uses basic techniques Tam taught him to survive his first brushes with baddies before he can get [[TookALevelInBadass more training]]. Also subverted in that it appeared Tam was going to be a DeathByOriginStory, but he survives and becomes an active member of his hometown's resistance fighters and [[spoiler: has a heated confrontation with Rand in book 12 that leads to Rand having a MyGodWhatHaveIDone / EpiphanyTherapy moment]].
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'': Inverted, as Taran is a muggle with a Magician for a foster parent. Played straight in the third book by Eilonwy, however; as the last Princess of Llyr, she is a natural sorceress, albeit one without much understanding of her own power. In the third book, Dallben arranges for her to be fostered on the isle of Mona by the kindly but very muggle royal family.

* In ''[[Literature/SwordOfTruth The Sword of Truth]]'', Richard Cypher is kind of raised by a muggle foster father in the non-magical land of Westland, and although his mother is his real mother, she's also non-magical. It's only much later that he finds out that [[spoiler:the BigBad [[LukeIAmYourFather who is a powerful wizard, is his father]] and that the [[CoolOldGuy 'friend']] he's known all his life is actually his grandfather and a powerful wizard as well, which is where he gets all his [[GodModeSue awesome wizard powers from]]]].
** Since magic is passed down by familial lines, and Richard is explicitly said to have inherited magic from [[spoiler: both the Rahl and Zorander sides of his family]], it's very probable that his mother did have magic, but there doesn't appear to be direct evidence either way.
* {{Inverted}} in ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'', where Princess Jenna is adopted by a Wizard family.

* In ''Literature/TheSanguineChronicles'', Marko is raised by distant relatives ([[ParentalAbandonment he doesn't know who his father is, and his mom is dead]]). They know ''exactly'' what he is, and help him cope.
* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', Tobias is raised alternatively by an aunt and uncle who live on opposite sides of the country; neither was very good at it. An odd example of this trope, because while Tobias has a supernatural origin ([[spoiler:his father was an alien who {{Shapeshifter Mode Lock}}ed himself as a human]]) he was in every other way a {{Muggle}} himself before the series begins.

* ''Literature/InCryptid'': Johrlac, also known as "cuckoos", leave their babies with unassuming human families, where the infant's subconscious telepathy [[BackstoryInvader convinces them that it's their own child]]. Once their powers fully manifest at puberty their GeneticMemory[=/=]GhostMemory "hatches", imbuing them with the Johrlac species' cultural memory, and the knowledge of what they are. This usually makes them ([[BlueAndOrangeMorality from the human point of view]]) temporarily GoMadFromTheRevelation and murder their human family. When they resurface, they're fully aware of their own telepathic abilities, and their status as an ambush predator.

* Twice in ''Series/KyleXY'': In the first season, when Kyle himself is unaware of his true origins, and in the second season, when Kyle wants to live the normal life that his genetic father was never allowed to have and so returns to his old foster family.

* In ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', Paige Matthews was given to normal parents after her birth and didn't know her true heritage until her powers started manifesting in her early twenties, thanks to a spell Piper had cast to bring Prue back awakening her powers instead.
* In ''Series/TinMan'', DG believes her parents are her real parents. Later it is revealed that they [[RaisedByRobots are robots with nurturing chips]].

* In ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}''., this applies to the Uther and Morgana relationship, [[spoiler:until season 3. Then we find out [[LukeIAmYourFather Uther IS Morgana's father]] as he had an affair with her mother, though he isn't a sorcerer either]].
* ''Series/{{Grimm}}'' has a teenage [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent blutbad]] who gets adopted by humans. As a result, she ends up being unable to control her animalistic nature until she meets Monroe, who helps her.
* In ''Series/MakoMermaidsAnH2OAdventure'', we have [[spoiler:Zac, who doesn't even know he's adopted until the fact that he's a natural-born merman whose powers were locked, rather than a human who accidentally gained merman powers, comes to light. His parents remain oblivious to Zac's status as a merman for the run of the show, but in the final episode, Zac (reunited with his biological mother) declares his intent to tell them the full truth.]]
* In ''Series/BaalVeer'', the eponymous character is a boy with the power of the fairies from Fairy Lok. He lives undercover as Ballu, the adopted son of the Daglis.

* Joseph in ''Literature/TheFourGospels'' of ''Literature/TheBible'', being the literal stepfather of Jesus. Partially averted with Mary, who actually is Jesus' birth mother (being human, she still fits the "Muggle" definition though different denominations will dispute just how much bearing and raising God in the flesh affected her).

* Lloyd Irving in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' was raised by a Dwarf, unaware that [[spoiler: his mother was involved in experiments to create Cruxis Crystals (crystals that turn people into Angels) and that his father really is an Angel]]. Rumors also claim that Colette's real father, Frank, is really a Muggle Foster Parent and Colette's real father is an angel. Angel Remiel tells the party that Colette is [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope not the daughter of an Angel]] but simply a human chosen to become the new host for Martel]], and that he [[spoiler: never actually said he was her father and just played along since they assumed it was so.]]

* Subverted in the '80s cartoon ''WesternAnimation/{{Wildfire}}'', in which our heroine is a mystical princess from another dimension being raised on Earth by a Muggle foster father...who, it turns out, ''is'' her father, brainwashed to think he comes from Earth.

* In ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', Bloom is HappilyAdopted by Mike and Vanessa after being found in a house fire on Earth as a baby. She later finds out that she is not just a fairy but [[spoiler: [[LostOrphanedRoyalty a princess]] from a [[SoleSurvivor dead planet]]. Then, even later, it's revealed that her birth parents are alive. Some plot is made of the relationships between Bloom, her birth parents, and her adoptive parents.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/PeterAndTheMagicEgg'', the son of Mother Nature is adopted by two Pennsylvania Dutch farmers.

* ''ComicBook/RunawaysRainbowRowell'' introduces Josh and Paul, Klara's new foster [[HasTwoDaddies dads]].

* Early on in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'', Kobayashi takes in a young ([[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld well, youngish]]) dragon named Kanna. Kanna also has [[HasTwoMommies a second mother figure]] in the form of Tohru (the eponymous Dragon Maid), but prefers to view her as a CoolBigSis. Kobayashi later takes in another dragon named Ilulu who fills the teenage daughter role.

[[DoomedHometown Don't expect them]] [[FriendlyTarget to live too long]] [[DeathByOriginStory once they've served their purpose]], and their "offspring" [[ForgottenFallenFriend might not be terribly grief-stricken either]]. On other hand, if they are still around into the hero's adulthood and you are stupid enough to ''[[TooDumbToLive threaten]]'' them, it's not going to end well for you.

* Agatha from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' was raised by people she knew as Adam and Lilith Clay, and she referred to them as her parents, but it was later revealed [[spoiler:that they were the Heterodyne Boys' construct sidekicks, Punch and Judy (not quite Muggles, but pretending to be), and the famous Bill Heterodyne was her real father]].
** She still treats them like her parents and is enraged when Von Pinn curtly dismisses [[spoiler: their destruction at her hands.]]

* Joseph in ''Literature/TheFourGospels'' of ''Literature/TheBible'', being the literal stepfather of Jesus. Partially averted with Mary, who actually is Jesus' birth mother (though being human, she still fits the "Muggle" definition though different denominations will dispute just how much bearing and raising God in the flesh affected her.

* Joseph in ''Literature/TheFourGospels'' of ''Literature/TheBible'', being the literal stepfather of Jesus. Averted with Mary, who actually is Jesus' birth mother.

** In ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'', after landing in the USSR, Superman was raised in a collective farm in the Ukraine rather than in Russia, which later causes Supes to become a [[WellIntentionedExtremist reluctant]] EvilOverlord (after a brief, but concise, and perfectly timed written BreakingSpeech from Lex Luthor, he winds up pulling a HeroicSacrifice [[spoiler: actually faking his own death and taking on the Clark Kent identity to live a quiet life in secret]]), as mentioned above.

* In the ''Literature/AlcatrazSeries'', Alcatraz goes through [[UpToEleven 27 sets of these]].

* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}''

** Post Crisis Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers - two agents of the D. E. O. (Department of Extra-normal Operations), a Government agency created to deal with and neutralize alien threats- became Supergirl's foster parents in ''Comicbook/SupergirlRebirth''. They helped Kara understand Earthlings and adapt her new home-world.

* ''ComicBook/RainbowRowellsRunaways'' introduces Josh and Paul, Klara's new foster [[HasTwoDaddies dads]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* [[HonoraryUncle Uncle Dudley]] for [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Billy]] on ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''. Oddly he seems to be the only example, since all the other kids were either raised by their biological parents and/or adult superheroes.

* Westa Lanford in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'' is the adoptive mother of Rena, the only [[SpaceElves Nedian]] outside of their artificial homeworld. Westa figured out very early that her daughter had [[WitchSpecies powers]] that no one else on their world did, but didn't find out the full story until after the adventure was over.

** In the ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'', after landing in the USSR, Superman was raised in a collective farm in the Ukraine rather than in Russia, which later causes Supes to become a [[WellIntentionedExtremist reluctant]] EvilOverlord (after a brief, but concise, and perfectly timed written BreakingSpeech from Lex Luthor, he winds up pulling a HeroicSacrifice [[spoiler: actually faking his own death and taking on the Clark Kent identity to live a quiet life in secret]]), as mentioned above.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode [[StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E6TrueQ "True Q"]] involved a similar scenario for Amanda Rogers, except that her biological parents were self-depowered Q living as humans, although her subsequent adoptive parents fit this trope.