History Main / NotoriousParent

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'': Lisa Lisa, Joseph's hamon teacher, [[spoiler:is revealed to be his mother, Elisabeth Joestar. The reason she became a criminal was because she killed one of Dio's minions, who disguised himself as a pilot and killed Joseph's father, George II. But to the eyes of everyone, she just randomly killed an innocent pilot. She then became an infamous criminal and had to leave Joseph in his grandmother Erina's care and go into hiding on Air Supplena Island.]]

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': Felicity Smoak's father is Noah Kuttler, The Calculator, a fugitive cyber-criminal. In early series, all Felicity knew was that her mother forbade her having a relationship with Noah. It's not until Felicity meets Noah as an adult that she realizes it was for good reason. However, this realization comes only after Noah tries to woo her into a father-daughter relationship only to hurt her by returning to his criminal ways.

* In ''Fanfic/FromMuddyWaters'', Izuku Midoriya's father is [[BigBad All For One]], a supervillain most wanted and most feared.
* In ''Webcomic/{{REMNANTS}}'', Yang was raised by her father and deceased step-mom, but she's curious about the biological mother she's never known. She learns that her mother, Raven Branwen, is the most renowned female criminal on the planet. Seeing as how her younger half-sister Ruby follows a HeroicLineage, Yang worries that she's destined to follow in Raven's footsteps.

* A few examples from the ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' franchise.

* [[TheHero Luke Skywalker]] from ''Franchise/StarWars'' grew up on Tatooine [[{{Nephewism}} with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru]] while wanting to know about his father. Obi-Wan Kenobi tells him that Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi Knight, a pilot, and a good friend -- but leaves out the part where Anakin [[FaceHeelTurn falls to the Dark Side]] and becomes Darth Vader. When Luke finds out ([[LukeIAmYourFather from Vader himself]]), he does ''not'' take it well.

* In ''Literature/TheLostRedeemer'', Nahlia finds out that her father deserted the Templar Order (the very faction that's currently hunting her.)
* In ''Literature/TheDarkProfitSaga'' Jynn is the son of the infamous necromancer Detarr Ur'Mayan, and he's been living under an alias since his father's death. In the first book, the Temple of Al'Matra uses his parentage to blackmail him into joining their "Seventh Hero" quest, but the rest of the party figures it out when they run into a [[OurLichesAreDifferent liche]] who recognizes him (hence the second book's title, ''Son of a Liche'').

* In ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'', the Bluth family patriarch, George Sr., committed a host of financial crimes as the head of the Bluth Company, and also somehow blundered his way into committing treason when he built houses in Iraq during the sanctions when American businesses were forbidden from operating in Iraq. His kids spend much of the series having to live down their family's terrible reputation. [[spoiler:However, matriarch Lucille was actually the mastermind behind the crimes, and used George Sr. as a puppet to carry out the dirty work.]]
* In ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', Felicity Smoak's father is Noah Kuttler, The Calculator, a fugitive cyber-criminal. In early series, all Felicity knew was that her mother forbade her having a relationship with Noah. It's not until Felicity meets Noah as an adult that she realizes it was for good reason. However, this realization comes only after Noah tries to woo her into a father-daughter relationship only to hurt her by returning to his criminal ways.
* In ''Series/{{Once Upon a Time}}'', Hook's backstory includes having a criminal father who not only ran away to avoid capture, leaving young Hook and his brother behind, [[spoiler:he also traded both his sons into servitude in exchange for a rowboat to escape with]].

* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', neither parent of Gorion's Ward is someone you'd want for parents. Your father is Bhaal, ''the dead God of Murder'', and your mother was a priestess dedicated to him and just as willing to sacrifice you for his will. The first game is all about learning this fact while the second is trying to bear with your lineage.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', [[spoiler:Lonato]], rebels against the Church of Seiros, leaving his [[spoiler:adoptive son Ashe]] devastated and confused.
* John Marston from ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' was a gun-slinging outlaw in the WildWest who ran with the Van Der Linde gang (as seen in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2''). Unfortunately, he is also a father to [[ChildrenAreInnocent Jack Marston]], which makes it hard for John to be a good father due to having the law (and his past) creep up on him a lot. Eventually, his criminal life is what caused [[spoiler:his death]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS6E2EscapeFromTheCitadel Escape From the Citadel]]", [[spoiler:Finn]]'s father is finally revealed! Although, he's not very nice and heroic like his son; instead, he's an unscrupulous, irreverent, and selfish cosmic criminal who was arrested for reasons unknown and got thrown in the Citadel, a space version of TheAlcatraz full of dangerous criminals wanted across the universe!
* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Stan Smith's father, Jack, is a master thief and was known to never get busted.
* In ''WesternAnimation/FinalSpace'', protagonist Gary Goodspeed's mother, Sheryl Goodspeed, is a criminal who is under death sentence. On the other hand, his father gave his life to close the rift to Final Space. [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim What did a man so heroic see in a woman so notorious]]?
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Homer's mother, Mona Simpson, has been on the run from the law for most of her adult life after being fingered as one of the culprits behind the tampering of Mr. Burn's pathology lab in the 1960s. Most of her appearances on the show up until her death were trying to reconnect with Homer while staying one step ahead of the police.

* Warren Peace from ''Film/SkyHigh'' is the son of a heroine and notorious supervillian Barron Battle who was sentenced to a "quadruple life sentence." Because of this, he is ostracized at school, but later became the BullyTurnedBuddy of the protagonist, Will.

[[folder: Webcomics]]

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'': Lisa Lisa, Joseph’s hamon teacher, [[spoiler:is revealed to be his mother, Elisabeth Joestar. The reason she became a criminal was because she killed one of Dio’s minions, who disguised himself as a pilot and killed Joseph’s father, George II. But to the eyes of everyone, she just randomly killed an innocent pilot. She then became an infamous criminal and had to leave Joseph in his grandmother Erina’s care and go into hiding on Air Supplena Island.]]

* In ''Webcomic/RWBYCherish'', Yang was raised by her father and deceased step-mom, but she's curious about the biological mother she's never known. She learns that her mother, Raven Branwen, is the most renowned female criminal on the planet. Seeing as how her younger half-sister Ruby follows a HeroicLineage, Yang worries that she's destined to follow in Raven's footsteps.

* In ''WesternAnimation/FinalSpace'', protagonist Gary Goodspeed's mother, Sheryl Goodspeed, is a criminal who is under death sentence. On the other hand, his father gave his life to close the rift to final space. [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim What did a man so heroic see in a woman so notorious]]?

->'''Mona:''' Oh, Abe, you've aged terribly.
->'''Abe:''' What do you expect?! You left me to raise the boy on my own!
->'''Mona:''' I ''had'' to leave, but you didn't have to tell Homer I was dead!
->'''Abe:''' It was either that, or tell him his mother was a wanted criminal!

*** Then again, knowing how TheGovernment (or TheEmpire or the {{Knight Templar}}s if that's how one sees it) is, Dragon might count as a hero depending on how "justice" is viewed in the ''One Piece'' world.
** The Marineford arc reveals that Portgas D. Ace is the son of [[spoiler: the Pirate King himself, Gold Roger]]. Played with in that [[spoiler:Roger]] was dead before Ace was born, but this fact still makes the Marines want to hunt and execute him (though he's also a pirate himself so it helps).

* Creator/WoodyHarrelson's father Charles was a notorious hitman who received a life sentence for killing a federal judge.

* In ''Literature/TheDarkProfitSaga'' Jynn is the son of the infamous necromancer Detarr Ur'Mayan, and he's been trying to put it past him since his father's death at the hands of the kingdom's greatest hero. In the first book, the Temple of Al'Matra uses his parentage to blackmail him into joining their "Seventh Hero" quest, but the rest of the party figures it out when they run into a liche who recognizes him (hence the second book's title, ''Son of a Liche'').

* [[TheHero Luke Skywalker]] from ''Franchise/StarWars'' grew up on Tatooine [[{{Nephewism with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru]] while wanting to know about his father. Obi-Wan Kenobi tells him that Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi Knight, a pilot, and a good friend -- but leaves out the part where Anakin [[FaceHeelTurn falls to the Dark Side]] and becomes Darth Vader. When Luke finds out ([[LukeIAmYourFather from Vader himself]]), he does ''not'' take it well.

* In ''Webcomic/RWBYCherish'', Yang was raised by her father and deceased step-mom, but she's curious about the biological mother she's never known. She learns that her mother, Raven Branwen, is the most renown female criminal on the planet. Seeing as how her younger half-sister Ruby follows a HeroicLineage, Yang worries that she's destined to follow in Raven's footsteps.

* In ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'', the Bluth family patriarch, George Sr., committed a host of financial crimes as the head of the Bluth Company, and also somehow blundered his way into committing treason when he built houses in Iraq during the sanctions, when American businesses were forbidden from operating in Iraq. His kids spend much of the series having to live down their family's terrible reputation. [[spoiler:However, matriarch Lucille was actually the mastermind behind the crimes, and used George Sr. as a puppet to carry out the dirty work.]]

* Woody Harrelson's father Charles was a notorious hitman who received a life sentence for killing a federal judge.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope'', [[TheHero Luke Skywalker]] grows up believing that his father was a navigator on a spice freighter, until Obi-Wan tells him that Anakin Skywalker was a powerful Jedi Knight. Then [[TheDragon Darth Vader]] (the man who supposedly betrayed and murdered Anakin) [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack decides to tell Luke]] [[LukeIAmYourFather the truth]].