The MCU is ripe with devout parents, guardians and caregivers from all across the cosmos, whose number one priority is — and always will be — their children. Some of them have had children for as long as we’ve known them, whereas others are freshly finding their footing in parenthood. Most of the time, however, their children are — or will be — superheroes in their own right, protecting this universe and every other from impending threats and following in their parent’s footsteps. We’re well-versed in the MCU’s extensive collection of successful fathers, but it’s time that we spread a little love for the inspirational mothers of Earth-616 and beyond.
We’re always recognizing the greatness of Tony Stark, Scott Lang, Clint Barton, and many of the MCU’s other awe-inspiring dads (and even wishing they’d adopt us), but as the saying goes: “Behind every great man, there is an even greater woman.” And that’s precisely who we’re here to celebrate; the diaper changers, the insomniacs, the living stress balls, and every dad’s greatest asset and partner-in-crime: the moms.
Pepper Potts
Here’s our prime example of a newbie when it comes to motherhood. After a literal decade of conspicuous flirting with her at-the-time boss, Pepper Potts finally let down her guard and allowed herself to begin dating the wealthiest, most charming man in all of New York City. Between the end of Iron Man 2 and the first Avengers in 2012, Tony and Pepper were implied to be officially dating, bickering back and forth incessantly like an old married couple — which is eventually what they’d become.
Tony and Pepper are revealed to have gotten engaged after the events of Spider-Man: Homecoming, then eventually wed in Avengers: Endgame and had a child together: Morgan Stark. We get a glimpse into Tony and Pepper’s future, but Tony — not wanting to lose all he has — goes back in time to fight Thanos and acquire the Infinity Stones to destroy him. Unfortunately, during the second snap, Tony could not contain the energy coursing through his veins, and it killed him. Since we last saw Pepper, she was raising Morgan alone. As any single mother out there can attest to, it isn’t easy doing everything yourself, but due to unforeseeable circumstances, Pepper has no choice — and she’s doing a magnificent job.
Wanda Maximoff
Perhaps the most famous of all the MCU moms, Wanda Maximoff — in the events of WandaVision — conceived an idyllic, illusory town called Westview using a hex, allowing her to live out her days in bliss alongside her husband Vision and two sons, Billy and Tommy. There’s no rest for the wicked, so Wanda’s selfish decision to enslave an entire town comes back to haunt her when Agatha Harkness, an equally powerful witch, undertakes the guise of Agnes and infiltrates Westview to take down Wanda’s dream world from within.
Known to comic-book readers as Wiccan and Speed, Billy and Tommy possess sorcery and super-speed reminiscent of the former Maximoff twins, Wanda and Pietro. Unlike Pepper, Wanda isn’t alone in raising the boys, as Vision is always on hand to pull his weight as the protector of the family. In the heart-wrenching conclusion to WandaVision, Wanda is forced to destroy her creation to clear her own conscience. She tucks the twins into bed, thanks them for choosing her to be their mother, then proceeds to erase Westview and all those within it, including Billy, Tommy and Vision. She might be morally conflicted at times and do the wrong thing for the right reasons (we’re looking at you, Multiverse of Madness Wanda), but she means well and tries her hardest, and that’s all a mother can ever do.
Maria Rambeau
Former United States Air Force pilot Maria Rambeau and founder of S.W.O.R.D., Maria befriended fellow pilot Carol Danvers, who would later become known as Captain Marvel. Although the pair parted ways for a short while, they were reunited during the Kree-Skull war so that Maria could help Carol recall her past life. Rambeau eventually had a child, which she named Monica, but since she was left to raise Monica alone, she appointed Carol to be her godmother.
During the infamous snap of Infinity War, her daughter Monica was lost, along with half the population. When Monica was resurrected by Tony Stark’s sacrifice in Endgame, she would learn of her mother’s death. It isn’t all bad, though, as Monica Rambeau is continuing Maria’s legacy by fighting alongside her mother’s best friend Carol in The Marvels. It was also Monica who helped Wanda Maximoff and the twins during the battle of Westview against Agatha. In fact, she saved Billy and Tommy’s lives from military forces, so that’s an example of motherly instincts kicking in.
Frigga Odinson
How could we ever leave out the first mother we ever met in the MCU? We first met Frigga Odinson in Thor, but she fell victim to the Dark Elves’ raid and was killed by Algrim in front of Jane Foster in Thor: The Dark World. The God of Thunder never managed to mourn Frigga quite enough, as when they reunited in Avengers: Endgame, he was still reeling from her loss. Frigga was a wise, benevolent and resourceful queen to Odin, Thor’s father and the king of Asgard. Although Loki, God of Mischief, was born a Frost Giant and a Laufeyson, we’ll still count Frigga as Loki’s mother as well, since she had a hand in Loki’s upbringing just as well as Thor’s.
When Frigga died, it was a loss for not only Thor, but also the entire MCU fanbase. She has been dearly missed since then, but her brief cameo in Endgame reminded us of just how intelligent and profound she really is. When Thor fears that he’s on the wrong path, she’s always there to steer him straight — even in death.
Janet van Dyne
Michelle Pfeiffer is a kick-ass mother in real life, so who could ever doubt that she’d be just as much of a successful fictional one? Wife of Hank Pym and the mother of Hope van Dyne, Janet operated under S.H.I.E.L.D. using the code-name Wasp, making her the original Wasp preceding Hope. She sacrificed herself to disarm a Soviet ICBM, thereby becoming lost to the Quantum Realm. In Ant-Man and the Wasp, Janet is finally liberated from the confines of the Quantum Realm and reunites with her daughter. We don’t get to see too much of Janet compared to some other MCU moms, but aside from being a super-genius in her own right, she also started the Wasp legacy, which will no doubt live on through Hope, then Hope’s child (if she ever has one), and so on and so forth.
Janet’s history with Kang the Conqueror is explored more in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, wherein we see what Janet’s life was like inside the Quantum Realm and how she stumbled across the Freedom Fighters after being tricked by Kang into repairing his Time Chair. She ultimately plays an invaluable role in putting an end to Kang’s conquering and proves indefinitely that whatever ‘it’ is, she’s still got it.
Queen Ramonda
Ignoring all events of Wakanda Forever (just kidding… but can we?), Queen Ramonda ruled Wakanda with an iron fist and a velvet glove alongside King T’Chaka before his passing. She is the mother of T’Challa and Shuri, whom she has always stood by. When T’Challa was defeated in combat by Erik Killmonger, however, Ramond was exiled from Wakanda and forced to give up her position of power among the council. After both T’Challa and Shuri were ‘killed’ during Thanos’ snap, Ramonda was made queen regnant, an authority that she held longer than expected after T’Challa died from an unexpected disease in Wakanda Forever.
Having always guided her son, whom she would now have to live without, Ramonda was heartbroken, placing all her faith in Shuri, who would become the last living heir to the Wakandan throne upon Ramonda’s death — which sadly came to fruition. Ramonda was killed during Namor’s attack, later on appearing to Shuri — who had become the next Black Panther to honor her brother’s legacy — in the Ancestral Plane.
Aunt May
She isn’t technically a mother, but she definitely embarrasses Peter Parker as if she is. After Parker lost both his parents and his uncle Ben, it was down to Aunt May to raise him alone, a job she gladly took on.
Although Peter tried his best to keep his secret identity hidden, May eventually discovered that her nephew was Spider-Man, but came to accept the fact. May, along with Peter, was killed during Thanos’ snap, but both of them were resurrected due to the actions of the Avengers during Endgame. May continues to support Peter’s antics despite thinking them dangerous, and when she started a relationship with Happy Hogan briefly, Happy become somewhat of an overbearing-at-times replacement for Ben Parker.
Ying Li
Ying Li was a guardian of Ta Lo, the wife of Xu Wenwu and the mother of Xu Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing. Li underwent special training to become a gifted warrior, and after a brief altercation with Xu Wenwu, she gradually fell in love with him in a sweet enemies-to-lovers arc. Li eventually left Ta Lo and pursued a family with Wenwu, giving birth to two children and never looking back on her decision to abandon both her people and the powers gifted to her by the Great Protector.
Ying Li lost her life to the Iron Gang while protecting her children, which led Wenwu to train Shang-Chi to do his bidding and exact revenge on the Iron Gang leader — which he did. However, Shang-Chi later distanced himself from his father, who had become obsessed with vengeance. Ying Li’s spirit lived on through the people of Ta Lo and she was survived by her sister, Ying Nan, and her children. If it hadn’t been for Ying Li, it’s safe to say that Shang-Chi might have turned out just like his father.