Well Done Son Guy / Comic Books

People desperately seeking parental approval in Comic Books.

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• All Fall Down has IQ Squared and his father, IQ. He gets his dad's respect in the end, but for something he didn't actually do.
• Subverted in Associated Student Bodies, where one of the main characters told the story of his childhood being physically abused by his drunken father so badly that he was driven to drink himself, stealing his father's booze. Eventually, the wolf cub grew up tall and strong enough to fight back effectively enough give his father a furious beating. However, even while he was lying in a pool of blood, his father's only comment was an admiring one, "'Bout time you were a man." For his part, the cub was completely disgusted by this perverse admiration of bloody violence and left his father to enlist in the military as soon he could.
• A variation occurs in the Astro City story "Her Dark Plastic Roots" with Beautie and the daughter of Dr. Gearbox. When Beautie tries to figure out why she periodically suffers bouts of amnesia, she eventually discovers that she was invented by Elaine Girbachs, the prodigy daughter of a Gadgeteer Genius. However, he denounces Beautie because he thinks engineering and mathematics are not proper fields for girls; this causes the daughter to angrily renounce Beautie, ordering her to go away and "FORGET FOREVER!"
• Batman:
  • Being the emotionally reclusive obsessive vigilante that he is, Batman is generally shown as not showing gratitude, approval, or any emotion towards his adoptive sons (i.e., the Robins), at least for anything short of saving his life. However, they've known him so long that they can tell when a small nod and an urge to get back to work really means "I'm proud of you." And it often does (how touching).
  • It also helps that he does tell them when they've done good work. He won't gush, but he'll say it. When they have been exceptionally resourceful, he isn't above saying so either:
    Batman: [to Huntress] This is good work... No. This is outstanding work.
  • And:
    Batman: Good work, Huntress.
    Nightwing: Rest easy, Huntress. That's his highest praise.
  • One of the reasons Jason Todd is so messed up (among many) is that he wants Batman to approve of him, while at the same time believing that Batman never did and wanted to replace him.
  • Soon after the introduction of Damian Wayne, Tim Drake had been feeling somewhat overshadowed, leading him to go out solo in search of information on a recent case — after getting into trouble, Batman bails him out, and immediately tells him "You have nothing to prove to me."
  • There were a lot of times Batman refused to accept Spoiler, but there were a few instances that he did. "Don't apologize and don't turn it off. I ... don't mind the company."◊
  • Batman is sometimes portrayed as torn between wanting people to carry on the fight after he croaks or retires, and wanting something better for his "kids". One of the reasons he's slow with the praise and quick with the criticism is that part of him wants his adoptive children to reject his lifestyle and go on to live normal happy sane lives. That and he's a (self-admitted) bundle of issues. They wisely refused to take the hint.
  • Dick Grayson, in particular, is adept at seeing through Bruce's rather irrational attempts at bullshitting a stern, authoritarian persona. For example, when Bruce gives Dick papers that would make Dick Bruce's legal son, he spews a long stream of flimsy qualifications, explanations that it was just a courtesy, and reassurances that Dick doesn't have to do it if it insults the memory of the Graysons. Dick interrupts him mid-sentence with "I get it— and I love you too."
    • History Repeats itself when Bruce offers to formally adopt Tim Drake sometime after Jack Drake's death in Identity Crisis (2004). He gives Tim the exact same speech he gave to Dick and reassures Tim that he isn't trying to dishonor Jack Drake's memory or replace him as a father. Tim responds with a tearful hug.
  • In a way, Batman also has this with his own father. On several occasions, one can catch him wondering if his parents are proud of him and would approve of his decision, and Depending on the Writer he may or may not hold himself responsible for the circumstances of their death. His dad, in particular, plays a large role in his psyche, as he was by all accounts a smart, brave, noble Renaissance Man who divided his time between being a successful businessman, generous philanthropist, world-class surgeon, and devoted husband and dad. Bruce is sometimes depicted as somewhat ashamed that, though he is a heroic crimefighter on the one hand, on the other he is also a violent vigilante who dresses like a giant bat. When he compares himself to his dead father, he generally puts himself down.
  • He sometimes asks Alfred if his father would be proud or ashamed of him... and sometimes he asks Alfred if he is proud or ashamed of him. Alfred almost always responds that both of them are proud of him, sometimes even if he never asked. Alfred, after all, has always seen Bruce as a son, just as Bruce has always seen Alfred as a second father.
  • This is how Damian views Bruce, and the core of their relationship in the New 52. It's not that Bruce doesn't appreciate Damian, but he has no idea how to be an actual father to Damian and has difficulty trying to express his feelings to him, both as Robin's mentor and as Damian's dad. Alfred is trying to help him figure it out.
  • Among his other insecurities, Oswald Cobblepot "The Penguin" really wanted his mother to be proud of him.
• Cyclops to some extent with Xavier. In most versions and for a large part of his publication, Scott was motivated by a desire to impress his surrogate father. In fact, a large part of the reason he shifted so much in personality following Jean's (second) death was from him realizing how terrible a father Xavier truly was to him, and then experiencing first hand why he was like that.
• Kalibak lives for the approval of his father Darkseid. Darkseid repays Kalibak's devotion by constantly snubbing him in favor of Orion and giving Kalibak the Omega treatment whenever he fails to meet Darkseid's impossible standards — or just for the sheer hell of it. Darkseid's affection is limited to reviving Kalibak in order to give him another chance to prove himself and that's likely only because Kalibak's late mother Suli was the only person Darkseid ever truly loved.
  • Darkseid's other sons don't share Kalibak's desire for approval. Orion loathes his father and is a sworn enemy of Darkseid and Apokolips. Grayven constantly tries to escape his father's shadow one way or another — no easy task considering Grayven is a pale imitation of Darkseid in every possible way (a weaker variant of Darkseid's Eye Beams, same skin tone, similar physique...).
• Deathstroke is basically Batman's Evil Counterpart in this regard. He comes across as distant and verbally abusive towards his three children, but in reality, he loves them a great deal and secretly harbors immense guilt over his inability to be the dad they needed. His buddy Wintergreen suggested that this is because while Slade is capable of feeling emotions like love, he's so screwed up in the head that he can't actually express them like a rational human being.
• In Democracy, it's implied with Leander from the way he looks at his father and asks for advice before he sets off to Cardia.
• In Dr. Blink: Superhero Shrink, an eight-foot-tall blue-skinned HULK MASH!-Up has an emotional breakdown in Dr. Blink's office after tearfully admitting "MY DADDY DIDN'T LOVE ME!"
• Ajak from The Eternals used to be the only Eternal who could directly communicate with the Golden Celestial. Ajak took this as a sign of favoritism and did all he could to learn about the Celestials. After the series had a reboot, it was revealed that Makkari was the Celestial's favorite. Ajak did not take the news well.
  • Ajak was made to talk to the Celestials whenever they show up, it's just this one isn't like the others and likes Makkari (and Iron Man) better.
• The Flash:
  • Wally West has a severe case of this especially after Taking Up the Mantle from his late uncle and mentor Barry Allen. It gets to a point where he is in constant Heroic Self-Deprecation and it is being used against him. With character development over the years and a direct "So Proud of You" from Barry's own mouth, he finally moves past this.
  • In return Bart Allen picks up from where Wally left off and this time it's towards Wally himself. To get his "well done", he goes lengths of taking up Kid Flash mantle and reading the entire San Francisco library. It takes for him getting kneecapped by Deathstroke to make Wally notice it.
  • Later Wally's own children join this. While Wally makes sure to give their well done every time, Jai starts to develop a darker side after losing his powers.
• The Fox Hunt: After his epiphany, which began in the old Beaver Kill church, Shinji begins showing signs of this trope regarding his dad's superheroics. He dons a white version of his dad's costume, dubs himself "The Ghost Fox", and tries to take action against a bank robbery they're present at when his dad tries being purposefully passive. He's met with disdain and disapproval from Paul, who is actually worried for his safety, a reaction that causes Shinji to kick his father away before running off.
  • In a bit of an inversion, it's noted that Paul himself feels he has failed and been essentially "betrayed" by Shinji upon first witnessing The Ghost Fox's debut, since by this time, he's long since felt being a vigilante wasn't a good thing to aspire to. In fact, in his utter shock, he wonders where Shinji could have gotten "such a stupid idea" in the first place.
    Shinji: "Everything I am, you made me."
    Paul: "Then how do I unmake you?!"
• In Marvel's and Devil's Due's G.I. Joe continuities, Storm Shadow felt unwanted and underappreciated after his uncles praised Snake-Eyes's abilities above even his own. However, in a subversion, an assassin uses this resentment, which is by that point out in the open, to frame Storm Shadow for killing his uncle — Storm Shadow himself would never have considered such a thing.
• Pops up on occasion in both The Incredible Hercules and The Mighty Thor, with the eponymous heroes having similar troubles in pleasing their fathers, Zeus and Odin. Neither are particularly driven to distraction by it but it can be pretty irksome when you're one of the greatest warriors to have ever lived (a distinction that gets a lot more mileage in Marvel than it does in real life) and the best they can get out the old man is, "Is that the best you can do?"
  • Ironically, this is the same for their arch-enemies (and brothers) Ares and Loki respectfully. One of the key issues each villain has with the heroes is being The Unfavorite and seeking to earn their father's approval. Attempts to destroy their fathers are often a result of this as well: "Love me or die?" Making it worse in the case of Loki is that Odin does (usually) actually love all his kids... he's just really, really, really bad at showing it. At least one evil-future version of Loki threw a screaming fit seeing Odin say how proud he was of Loki and Thor.
    King Loki: Damn you, old man! Damn your one eye! YOU NEVER SAID THAT TO ME!
• Maus is a harsh and unsentimental look at the trope, made even more tragic by being a work of non-fiction. Art states outright that he feels he has spent his entire life trying to win his father Vladek's approval from his father's idealized memories and fantasies of his brother Richieu, who died in the Holocaust. With his dying breath, Vladek refers to Art as "Richieu", indicating that all his fears about his father's affection may very well have been spot on.
• Ms. Marvel (1977): Carol Danvers spent years hoping she could break through her father's sexism and get him to see the woman she was, not the girl he wanted her to be, and then get his approval. After saving his life as Ms. Marvel and only getting a curt "thanks" (after so much sexist ranting she actually punched him out mid-rescue), she finally declares she no longer gives a damn.
• My Little Pony Generations: Grackle and Dyre, daughters of the generation 1 witches, start off as this. Despite being treated cruelly by their mothers and repeatedly mocked for their supposed ineptitude, they still try to appease them and earn their respect, and try to get revenge on the ponies to prove themselves. It's subverted in the climax, however: Grackle finally realizes that not only their mothers simply do not care about them, but their approval isn't really of any worth to begin with. She vows to never use her magic to hurt others again and ends up befriending ponies, who have shown her much more kindness and understanding that her and Dyre's mothers ever did.
• A stunningly dark subversion in Garth Ennis' Preacher series. Jesse Custer breaks the back of the man who shot his father in front of his eyes, then later killed his mother (or so he thought) and generally acted like a world-class sociopath... all the while teaching Jesse to ride, shoot, fight and fix engines. What are Jody's last words to him? "Prouda' you, boy..." Custer reacts by snarling out "DIE!" and strangling whatever life is left in him.
• Rocket (2017): Castor Gnawbarque III is driven by two things: Greed and the desire to win his dead father's approval. And Castor Gnawbarque II was not a Corrupt Corporate Executive, but a "hardworking beaver of the old school", who wouldn't approve of his son's ways, so there wouldn't have been much chance of that.
• In Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics), Gen. Armand D'Coolette's pride in his son, Antoine, wasn't quite obvious to the latter until the former was on his deathbed in issue #168.
• Spider-Man:
  • Harry Osborn looks to his father this way, even more so in the Ultimate Spider-Man line, where Norman considers Peter Parker 'my boy' rather than Harry. Yet, he stops his rampage when the Ultimates bring Harry to confront him.
  • A more lighthearted Spider-Man example is Eugene Patilio, aka the Frog-Man. The reason for his costumed identity is not only because he wants his dad to be proud of him, but because his dad used to be a small-time costumed criminal called the Leap-Frog, and he wants to do good deeds with the old equipment to redeem his father. Problem is, he's not very good at it.
  • Spider-Boy: For all of Bailey's spunk and attitude, he clearly and constantly yearns for Peter's approval. The first thing Bailey does after realizing that he's been wiped from history is to try constantly pester Spider-Man until he agrees to hear Bailey out. During the flashback in Superior Spider-Man #1, Otto-in-Peter's-body gives Bailey a "The Reason You Suck" Speech after Bailey is affected by Mr. Negative's touch, calling Bailey as an "impostor" unworthy of his costume or powers and "a sad, broken little boy destined for failure"; this reduces Bailey to tears.
  • Spider-Girl wants her father Peter Parker to be proud of her. That said, after some initial (very justified) reluctance to seeing his daughter taking on the role of superhero, he IS very proud of her.
• Star Trek: Early Voyages: In "The Fallen, Part One", it is readily apparent that Captain Pike and his hard-nosed father Admiral Josh Pike have a distant relationship. When Pike returns home to Mojave to visit his father during the Enterprise's layover at Earth, Admiral Pike is curt and unwelcoming. He says that there can only be two reasons why his son is visiting: either there is something that his doctors are not telling him or he wants something. He then asks him which one it is. Captain Pike is hurt at his father's attitude, especially since the visit was motivated by Commander Kaaj luring him into a trap with a Forged Message saying that the admiral was on his deathbed (as seen in "The Flat, Gold Forever"). In "The Fallen, Part Two", Captain Pike admits to Number One that he is afraid that his father will die alone while the Enterprise is on a mission.
• Superman:
  • Lois Lane has something like this going on with her father, Major Sam Lane.
  • Deconstructed in Who is Superwoman? and Post-Crisis Supergirl stories. Superwoman commits abhorrent crimes in order to earn her genocidal and xenophobic father's approval. As long as she gets Sam Lane's attention and love, Lucy doesn't care who gets hurt or killed. In contrast, Supergirl is growing weary and sick of trying to please her mother only to get psychologically abused in return.
    Kara: Lana, what's wrong with her? Why is she so horrible to me? I do what she asks. I try so hard to help her, and all I get is her anger. Her disapproval.
  • In Superman: Secret Origin, Jimmy Olsen laments that his family will never approve of him, and they didn't expect much of him when he left for Metropolis. Superman internally contrasts this with his own parents, who responded to his promise to make them proud with the statement that they already were.
  • Michael Fleischer mentions in The Great Superman Book that Kal-El might very well have had a similar thing with his father, one of the universe's greatest scientists, if Krypton had not been destroyed (especially since in one flashback his mother Lara is shown expressing concern that Kal is a year old and hasn't yet fully mastered calculus, to which Jor-El agrees that he is "a little backward"). In fact, he might have been shy and unassuming, like Clark.
• Even though he continues the mentality of being The Lastof His Kind, Superman also is affected by this trope as he wants to honor his family's legacy and show his adopted home the caring and kind way Krypton had before its demise. How in ALL-HELLS is every comic universe infected with "bad-parenting"?!
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW), Krang sought the approval of his father, Emperor Quanin, until he finally Took a Level in Badass.
• Ultimate Marvel:
  • Ultimate X Men: Most incarnations of Quicksilver are this with Magneto, but Ultimate Quicksilver has this in spades - Magneto repeatedly condescends towards him, and requests that Cyclops call him 'Father' in Quicksilver's presence - until finally Quicksilver betrays his dad after being 'treated like dirt under your shoe his whole life', then puts on that iconic helmet in private after thinking that Magneto really died. He does the helmet thing all over again at the end of the Ultimates series. And when Magneto returns, he shoots out both of Quicksilver's knees (not for betraying him, but for sissyfying his organization), but later seems to show concern over his son's condition.
  • In Ultimate Fantastic Four, Victor Van Damme's driving obsession has always been to win the respect and love of his coolly aloof father.
• In White Sand, for all of Kenton's Rebellious Spirit, he admits that his determination to become a Sand Master is mostly caused by his desire to live up to his father's expectations, to the point that after Praxton's death, Kenton loses his ability to Master for a while.

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