History Main / OedipusComplex

** While not as extreme in regards to this trope as Joseph, Jotaro in ''Stardust Crusaders'' dislikes his father figures such as grandfather Joseph and his entire motivation for stopping DIO is because his mother Holly was [[IllGirl dying]] because of DIO's actions. Bonus points the reasons for Jotaro’s delinquency are attributed to his DisappearedDad whom he actively dislikes.

The supplanting part is key here. Without it, you've just got CallingTheOldManOut--when someone calls his dad out for his transgressions, but doesn't supplant him. If the supplanting takes the form of murder, it's {{Patricide}} and MurderInTheFamily. If there's an explicitly sexual relationship, see ParentalIncest. If there's a partner who's ''like'' their parent, see LikeParentLikeSpouse. And if there's incestuous subtext ''without'' wanting to supplant anyone, then it's just IncestSubtext. See also ArchnemesisDad, which makes the father figures into outright villains while leaving out the Freudian implications. Compare JealousParent. Also compare WellDoneSonGuy--who actually ''wants'' his father's ''approval''.

''Theatre/OedipusTheKing''--the Greek Tragedy dramatized in 429 BC by Creator/{{Sophocles}}--is the TropeNamer. The TropeCodifier, however, is UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud, as Oedipus himself is [[ThisIndexIsNotAnExample not an example of the trope]]. Oedipus ''never'' knew who his mother and father were until it was too late. King Oedipus was '''not''' someone who secretly wanted to kill his father and sleep with his mother--he was a man who ''desperately didn't want either to happen'', but ended up doing so anyways because YouCantFightFate.

[[Rule63 On the other side]], where the conflict is between mother and daughter, it is also named after one of Sophecles' tragedies, ''Theatre/{{Electra}}''. Here the trope is PlayedStraight as Electra was [[SelfMadeOrphan quite vengeful]] after her father Agamemnon was murdered by her mother Clytemnestra. Also, see [[OffingTheOffspring "Laius Complex"]] and [[ParentalIncest "Jocasta Complex"]] for the parents' perspectives.

* Dr. Manga/BlackJack has some issues to work out concerning his parents. For example: when his [[DisappearedDad estranged father]] contacts and hires him to conduct reconstructive plastic surgery on his second wife Renka to make her the "most beautiful woman in the world," Black Jack decides to makes her look exactly like ''his mother''--half because he wanted to [[IronicHell constantly torment his father with the face of the woman he ran out on]], and half because he actually ''did'' think his once-gorgeous mother the was most beautiful woman in the world.
* Guts from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' almost averted this as he actually did care and want the [[WellDoneSonGuy approval]] of his adoptive father Gambino... [[AbusiveParents who treated him like shit]], while his adoptive mother Shisu treated him with genuine love. Moreover Guts actually [[{{Patricide}} kills Gambino]] (in self defense) and later after The Eclipse Guts's LoveInterest Casca has a [[https://i.redd.it/bk3zefy6s9101.jpg striking resemblance]] to Shisu. So yeah it's played straight-tish
* Lelouch Lamperouge, the protagonist of ''Anime/CodeGeass'', has the ultimate goal of learning who killed his mother, and then killing his father the Emperor, whether or not he's responsible. Of course, since momma Marianne is portrayed as only two steps short of sainthood, and poppa Charles is a SocialDarwinist {{Jerkass}}, his attitude may be justified. At least until Episode 21 of R2 where [[spoiler:it's revealed his mother Marianne, who wasn't really dead, doesn't give a damn about either Lelouch or his sister, who in turn was actually crippled by their dad Charles, all because she was Charles' co-conspirator in their AssimilationPlot the whole time. In fact she spins around giddily while talking about their shared plans, not even greeting Lelouch. Talk about AbusiveParents. Lelouch understandably snaps and calls them out for abandoning him and Nunnally in Japan and not bothering to look for them, instead focusing on finding C.C. and going forward with the plan, on the basis Lulu and Nunners didn't need to be ''alive'' to be reunited with their parents in [[AssimilationPlot Ragnarok]]. Lelouch then proceeds to erase both his parents out of existence.]]

** Gohan’s reasons for being attracted to the hot blooded and bossy Videl become suspect when he [[LampshadeHanging reflects]] how similar Videl is to his mother Chi-Chi. [[spoiler: To be fair to Gohan, it isn't really his fault since [[Anime/DragonBallSuper Super]] reveals it's right down in his Saiyan [=DNA=] to be [[AmazonChaser attracted to]] fiery women]].

* In ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'', Naota's father Kamon is constantly making passes at Haruko and Naota keeps catching them in NotWhatItLooksLike situations. Meanwhile Haruko is aggressively flirting with Naota. In the fourth episode, Naota snaps and accidentally kills Kamon, but it turns out to be a robotic duplicate of him, and his actual father is a decaying corpse in the closet. He comes BackFromTheDead later in the episode and they make up.

** In [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]], [[spoiler:the homunculus Envy's goal in life is killing Hohenheim. At the same time, he's immensely jealous of Edward because he is Hohenheim's ''real'' son--and, presumably, because he is the most similar to Hohenheim and [[FanNickname Hoju]] in appearance and personality. In the movie, he even succeeds not only in killing Hohenheim before Ed's very shocked eyes, but also in ''not'' crying "Daddy, why don't you love me?"]].

* Joseph Joestar from ''Anime/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' ''Battle Tendency''... look we can give Joseph some leeway since his [[DisappearedDad dad died]] and much like Oedipus he didn't actually ''know'' [[spoiler: Lisa Lisa was his mother]]. Thirdly it doesn't really help thanks to [[PowerOfTheSun Hamon]] your 50 [[OlderThanTheyLook year old]] mother [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MG53dNxz4SE/UMFE8DCt8mI/AAAAAAAAFFE/6uoF0le2QTQ/s1600/c8_c1.png looks like this]]. Still it was a FridgeHorror for Joseph when he realized he'd [[PeepingTom spied]] [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/975/281/3aa.gif on his mother bathing]]. You also could argue it was destined for this to happen to Joseph since he was such a MommasBoy to his grandma Erina.

** Hell you could argue Sarada has a Electra Complex given she antagonizes her mother Sakura to the point where she didn’t believe Sakura actually gave birth to her and yearns for her absent father Sasuke. Bonus points as Sarada latches on to Naruto as a [[ParentalSubstitute father substitute]] and is attracted to his son Boruto who has a similar personality to her father Sasuke.
* Marion from ''Manga/NatsuENoTobira'' is believed to have this, since his mother is always away with a boyfriend [[spoiler: and he later falls for an older woman named Sara.]]
* One of '''many''' interpretations of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', and interviews with Creator/HideakiAnno [[WordOfGod suggest that he was actually aiming for this]], since Shinji has a [[WellDoneSonGuy love]]-hate relationship with his [[AbusiveParents father]] and motherhood is a central theme of the series. [[spoiler: And most importantly, one of Shinji's love interest [[EmotionlessGirl Rei]] turns out to be clone of [[ParentalIncest his mother]] and her soul (or at least part of it) is part of his EVA Unit]]. In the manga, Gendou also turns out to have harbored feelings of jealousy towards Shinji for "stealing" Yui away from him. This is even lampshaded in Shinji's ({{Blooper Reel}}s only) rant:

** Domflamingo is more a {{Squick}} version, since like Oedipus [[spoiler: he [[{{Patricide}} kills]] his father Homing, and in Doffy's case it was directly ''because Homing caused the events ([[RichestoRags losing their nobility]]) that led to [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas Doffy's mother]] dying of [[IllGirl illness]]''. Plus Oda [[WordOfGod reveals]] Domflamingo had relationship with Viola who was ex-royal just like his mother]].

* Chibiusa of ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' is attracted to a literal younger version of her father and is usually in conflict with the younger version of her mother. Thus the perils of [[KidFromTheFuture time traveling family members]].

** Hell you can add Vash as well while he has no father, Knives (Vash's brother) tried PromotionToParent and failed being a evil JerkAss becoming Vash's main ArchEnemy. On the other hand Vash loves his adoptive mother Rem [[MommasBoy with a passion]] and bases his entire [[ThouShallNotKill philosophy]] around her, plus the [[Anime/{{Trigun}} anime]] suggests Meryl (Vash's LoveInterest) is a great great granddaughter of Rem and Milly the other female in Vash's life has the same pure personality as Rem.
* [[spoiler:"Syaoran"]] of ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' has a version of this, being in love with what appears to be an ''alternate universe clone'' of his mother. Instead of wanting to ''kill'' his father, he wants to ''be'' him. To the point that he's been going by his father's name since he was seven [[spoiler:his real name is Tsubasa]] and for several years (until it was revealed that he was the ''son'' of [[spoiler:Syaoran]]) he was thought to ''be'' his father by most of the fandom, as he looks exactly like him, acts similarly, has identical abilities, etc. The problem has later been justified or muddled, its hard to tell, [[spoiler:by the fact that his father is apparently [[MyOwnGrampa his clone]], and his mother is a clone of his own Sakura]]. At precisely which point in the either [[spoiler:4-man or 2-man loop]] (which one it is depends on perspective) this trope sets in is a matter best left to philosophers on illegal substances with mental disorders. The philosophers have the mental disorders. [[MindScrew Probably]].

* in ''Anime/EurekaSeven'', Maurice gains a crush towards his adoptive mother Eureka to the point he [[spoiler:''pulls a gun on Renton for stealing his mom's attention'']] near the end of the series.
* Manga/MyHeroAcademia: When he was first introduced, Shoto Todoroki absolutely loathed his father and adored his mother, with his ultimate goal being able to make it to the top without using the power he inherited from his father. It is justified however since said father subjected Shoto to brutal TrainingFromHell in order to satisfy his own ambitions ''since he was five'' and his mother was his only real emotional support through it all. His father's abuse was too much for his mother to handle and in a MomentOfWeakness, threw scalding hot water onto Shoto and his father had her sent off to a mental ward, which naturally led to Shoto (justifiably) deepening his hatred for his father. After a [[WarriorTherapist fight]] with TheHero, he learns that he shouldn't hold himself back just to spite his father and that his power belongs to him, even if its inherited. While he hasn't completely let go of his hatred for his father, he has learned to tolerate him as he understands he can still learn from him.

* ComicBook/{{Ultron}}, the killer robot nemesis of ComicBook/TheAvengers, hates his "father" [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]], and loves his "mother" [[ComicBook/TheWasp Janet Van Dyne]]. This is due to the fact that Ultron's A.I. was patterned after Hank's own mind.

* ComicBook/{{Thanos}} is an extra twisted example of this as seen in ''Thanos Rising''. He never got on with his father Mentor whom neglected him in his childhood while he often visited his mother Sui-San when she was institutionalized ''after trying to kill him as a baby''. [[spoiler: After snapping and [[StartOfDarkness becoming murderous]] Thanos eventually kills Sui-San but unlike his other victims he apologises before doing so, he doesn’t even hold it against her that she tried to off him as infant only wishing people had let her. To hammer the point home [[TheGrimReaper Lady Death]] initially appears in the form of an attractive dark haired green-eyed woman whose near identical to Sui-San and whom implores him to kill his father Mentor, which he does in a later comic]].

* Marvel provide a strange example with Nate Grey (ComicBook/XMan), who has a close--it is never outright stated whether it was platonic or romantic, but the general implication is much more the latter than the former --relationship with the psionic ghost (made physical by his vast psychic power)of Madelyne Pryor, when he instinctively reached out for his biological mother, Jean Grey (from whom Madelyne Pryor was cloned, making Maddie to be Jean's identical twin sister-daughter) when he arrived in Marvel-616 reality from the Marvel-295 (Age of Apocalypse) reality. Nate and Madelyne are effectively alternate reality biological mother and son or nephew and aunt and/or older sister-younger brother.

** You could make a good argument for ComicBook/{{Rogue}} having an Electra Complex. She has very troubled relationship with her adoptive mother ComicBook/{{Mystique}} who has [[EvilMatriarch abused her greatly]] in quite a few comics, Rogue eventually left and was taken in by ComicBook/ProfessorX whom she greatly admires and looks up to. Rogue also finds another paternal mentor in ComicBook/{{Magneto}}... who [[MayDecemberRomance she has a sexual relationship]] with. Notably while Rogue has no problem dealing out justice to Mystique, she’s showed reluctance when fighting Magneto.

** ComicBook/IronMan ''got this trope twice over'' as while Howard Stark frequently put Tony down, Maria loved him unconditionally and protected him from Howard’s drunken mood swings. [[spoiler: Then it’s revealed Howard and Maria were just Tony’s adoptive parents and his real father Jude was a evil ComicBook/{{HYDRA}} agent, but Tony’s mom Amanda is a good SHIELD agent, who again loves Tony unconditionally]].

* PlayedForLaughs in Creator/ChrisSavino's comic strip ''[[http://imgur.com/a/ikrgs The Complex Adventures of Eddie Puss]]'', where the young kitten Eddie consonantly tries peeping at his mom and one-upping his dad. For example, Eddie drops his fork during dinner to look up her skirt and in another comic he gets his mom to breastfeed him while his dad sits beside her, angry that she wouldn't fool around with him because of Eddie's presence.

* ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' has a lot of fun with this, but most obviously comes down on the side of inversion; neither Lorraine or George are aware that "Calvin Klein" is their future son Marty, but Lorraine wants to get very close to Marty (much to his horror), and rather than supplanting his father Marty has to do the exact opposite and build him up to make sure that his family fortunes end up okay.
** The [[Literature/BackToTheFuture novelization]], on the other hand, actually plays it ''straight''. Marty continually insults his father, calling him a nerd every chance he gets (''B to the F'' goes as far as to use the phrase "nerd racist"), and hating him for his severe lack of a spine. While he does insult his mom as well, and expresses disbelief at Doc's creepy "She hasn't given birth to you ''yet,'' so it's O.K. to get down and dirty with her" comments, during the actual make-out scene with her, he seriously gets ''into'' it. Ahhh, the things that change when you script doctor a movie...[[note]]The novelization was written before the movie's script was finalized.[[/note]]

* In the war drama ''Film/Conspiracy2001'', Dr. Kritzinger relates a story to Reinhard Heydrich about an old friend of Kritzinger who hated his abusive father but loved his doting mother. To the friend's surprise his mother's death didn't affect him all that much, but his father's death made him cry uncontrollably. The tragedy was that the son's hatred for his father became more important to him than his mother's love, turning him into an empty shell after the man's death.
* In ''Film/CrookedHouse'', Philip and Roger both harbour a deep resentment towards their father Aristide, and wish to supplant him as head of the family. For his part, Aristide took a great pleasure in keeping his sons solidly under his thumb. To add to the mix, Philip's son Eustace admits to having the hots for his step-grandmother.

** Anakin Skywalker was very obsessed with his mother. He marries an older woman who looks like his mother. His mother's death is one of the things that drives him to the Dark Side. He supposedly doesn't have a biological father, but Palpatine is hinted to have used the Force to create him and acts as a father figure. Obi Wan is also a father figure to Anakin. He kills both of them. Ironically, [[PapaWolf being a father himself had helped him turn away from the Dark Side]].
** Oedipus Complex seems run hard in [[InTheBlood the Skywalker line]]; just take a look at Anakin's grandson Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren, who definitely has a case. Despite his contempt for and murder of his father, Kylo ultimately can't bring himself to do the same to his mother. He also fixates on Rey, who bears a strong resemblance to his mother, [[spoiler: and kills his ''other'' father figure, Snoke, to save her life.]]

* ''Film/TheTerminator'' and its sequels is chock-full of this. It's even lampshaded in ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'', when Kate (Creator/ClaireDanes) shoots one of the machines. John admiringly says "You remind me of my mother."

* The Literature/DollangangerSeries of books by Creator/VCAndrews includes some heavy implications that oldest son Chris is attracted to his mother, enough to remain completely in denial to how her feelings towards her children have changed from love to apathy. In the last book of the series, Cathy's younger son Bart alternates between idolizing her and hating her (he's disgusted by her incestuous relationship with her brother, but continuously falls in love with women who are very similar to her).

** Interestingly, in the case of Voldemort, we see that it starts out as an inversion. He excitedly figures that he inherited his magical powers from his ''father'', because in his mind, his mother was too weak to have them because she died and feels compelled to find out about him not caring one bit about the love that he never gave him and for abandoning him as he only seeks to prove his own superiority through him. He kills him [[spoiler: as it becomes too much for him to deal with that he was a mere filthy Muggle.]]

** This is taken UpToEleven in ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'', when Mordred decides to get as close as he can to re-enacting the complex by [[spoiler: pretending that Arthur was dead so that he could marry Guenevere (the first thing noted when word of this gets out, is how the queen is old enough to be Mordred's mother).]]

* OlderThanDirt: The ancient Hittite story called "The Kingship of Heaven" tells the myth that may have inspired Hesiod's ''Literature/{{Theogony}}'': The god Alalu is overthrown by his son Anu, he's then overthrown by his son Kumarbi, and he in turn gets overthrown by his son Teshub. Teshub is a thunder god like Zeus, and Kumarbi bites off sky-god Anu's genitals, just as Cronos later castrated the sky-god Ouranos. Like Cronos, Kumarbi produces some of his children from his own body, though in this case it's male pregnancy resulting from said castration.
* In Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/LoveAndFreindship'', Augustus and Sophia to their parents.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Cersei is plenty incestous, but this is a supplanting-only example. Cersei doesn't hate or want to kill her father--she greatly admires him… and wants to supplant him anyways. She wants to be so much greater than him--so overshadow him--that when people look back at it their time in history, he will only be remembered as her father. ''She'' wants to be the power of house Lannister.

* In-story example: in ''Literature/TenderIsTheNight'', a group watches the aptly-named movie ''Daddy's Girl'' at the end of which a young woman comes back to her father. Although most of the audience is overjoyed by the ending, the psychanalist Dick Diver is described as wincing because of the obvious implications of Oedipus complex. Yes: somewhere, a psychoanalyst is wincing.

* An inversion occurs in ''Literature/WashingtonSquare''--Lavinia Penniman and Morris Townsend correspond heavily throughout the story (she fancies herself a match maker for her niece), and while she finds him attractive and charming, she also loves him like the son she never had with her late husband. Morris, on the other hand, despises her.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'': [[Literature/FateOfTheJedi Fate of the Jedi: Allies onward]], Luke's son Ben likes a girl who's similar to his (dead) mother, and sides with her over his father in every argument…

* Reversed (some psychologists have dubbed this "The Jocasta Complex) on ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful''. Forrester matriach Stephanie was positively ''obsessed'' with oldest son Ridge, much to everyone's annoyance and disgust, particularly her other children. Even favorite daughter-in-law Taylor finally got fed up with it when she realized that the real reason that Stephanie always supported her in the competition between her and Brooke is because Taylor reminded Stephanie so much of herself. Therefore, if she herself couldn't be married to Ridge, she'd settle for manipulating him into marrying someone just like her.

* Caroline and Will's bond is a PlayedForLaughs variant on ''Series/DefendingTheGuilty''. She insists on calling herself "Mummy" and keeps speculating about his sex life, while calling him "baby boy", and Will is not happy when he learns that Caroline is having an affair with Will's potential Evil Mentor Miles.

* The ''Series/{{Monk}}'' episode "Mr. Monk and the Three Julies" had the RedHerring suspect, a schizophrenic man named Matthew Teeger, being almost completely obsessed with his mother, almost to [[Film/{{Psycho}} Norman Bates]] levels, once even severely injuring his stepdad under the belief that the stepdad was hurting her, and even taxyderming his mother after she died in order to keep people thinking that she was still alive, including himself apparently. However, despite these facts, it turns out that he's completely harmless, or at least not the person targeting the various Julie Teegers.

* Tragic version in ''Series/StrangerThings'' Season 3 [[spoiler: as it turns out JerkJock Billy deeply loved his mother having treasured memories of being with her in his youth. However Billy couldn’t protect her against his abusive father and [[MissingMom she left]] breaking Billy’s heart and ensuring he’d turn out like his cruel father. This also explains Billy’s attraction to Karen [[LikesOlderWomen an older woman]] who resembles his mother. In the FinalBattle Eleven making Billy remember his mom causes his HeelFaceTurn from evil and perform a HeroicSacrifice]].

In the German satire mag "Titanic", they had a report from the Balkans claiming you don't need GPS to identify the state - just note whether mothers, sisters or daughters are the sex object of curses and insults. (Probably GPS is still preferrable...)

* Eugene O'Neill's ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' adapts a classic Greek tragic trilogy, Theatre/TheOresteia, relocating it to New England after the end of the Civil War. Incestuous undertones are a major motivation of the murderous actions of the characters--at the least, both of the children display unhealthy obsession with the parent of the opposite gender, and deep-seated dislike of the parent of the same gender.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' bleeds Oedipal subtext, no shortness of thanks to Dante's hot blonde love interest Trish who ''looks exactly'' like his hot blonde mother Eva albeit extremely sexualised. It also doesn't help that Dante [[MommasBoy prefers Eva]] over his father Sparda and shuns his demon-side in general. Creator/HidekiKamiya seeing this trope in effect, has tried counter claims of Oedipus by [[WordOfGod saying]] the relationship between Dante and Trish isn't romantic or sexual in nature. Unfortunately this message didn't spread across the all titles as in ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'' Dante and Trish can [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcT_n8tIPyRWbUbDQee1dJ6Ak-cab2JXdwTQrx5wLXtNAq-dgj6j replace Joe and his girlfriend]].

** Creator/NinjaTheory’s ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'' seems to avoid this... until you recall Dante has sex with two strippers dressed as angels at start of the game and remember that [[FridgeHorror his mother Eva, is an angel in this continuity]].

** Vergil does play this somewhat straight in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5''. [[spoiler: His LiteralSplitPersonality and SoulJar V shows great care and compassion to Trish, [[MakesSenseInContext whose naked when he meets her]] and it’s revealed Vergil resented Dante due to Eva seemly dying to protect him while he was abandoned. Dante explains to Urizen (Vergil’s SuperPoweredEvilSide) that Eva actually went looking for him, after securing Dante but was killed in the effort, Urizen refuses to listen however]].

** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' not only features a streamlined (but ultimately less hostile) version of the above Tidus/Jecht conflict, but has another example that you need to read inbetween the lines to uncover. [[OriginalGeneration Cosmos]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI Chaos]] have a substantial amount of FoeYay going on between the scenes. It is later on revealed that despite their status as the [[OrderVersusChaos Goddess of Harmony and God of Discord]], the two once benevolently ruled the world together in bliss, [[BeastAndBeauty apparently as lovers]]. [[UnfortunateImplications Now here comes the]] {{Squick}}: [[spoiler:It is heavily implied that Cosmos is some permutation of [[InteractiveNarrator Cid of the Lufaine]]'s wife, [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence her memories transferred into]] [[ArtificialHuman a construct made in her image]]. This was done to soothe the soul of Garland, Chaos' [[TheDragon Dragon]] and a former {{Tykebomb}} [[ChildSoldiers Kid Soldier]] who was HappilyAdopted by Cid and his wife. [[LateArrivalSpoiler For those not in the know]], Garland and Chaos (via a StableTimeLoop {{plan}}) ''are one in the same''. In other words, Chaos' [[LikeParentLikeSpouse partner is also]] [[ParentalIncest his adoptive mother]]. When he kills her, his act throws the multiverse into whack and [[DespairEventHorizon shocks him]] into a SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum, as [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds he]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone didn't want to live with the atrocities he committed]]. [[LoveMakesYouCrazy Without the presence of Cosmos]], [[DeathSeeker he saw no more meaning in his existence, actively seeking for the heroes to kill him, not only as a way to restore the balance, but to ease his torment]], and perhaps [[TogetherInDeath allow him to reunite with his beloved once more]].]] There are so many Freudian and Oedipal overtones just ''oozing'' from this.

* A good part of the reason why [[spoiler: Lord Arvis of Velthomer]] from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral'' is so fucked up comes from this, since [[spoiler: his father Viktor was a philandering asshole and rapist who killed himself once he found out his wife Cigyun cheated on him with Kurth Prince of Grandbell, and said mother ran away in shame afterwards and never returned (She was pregnant with Kurth's child, and ultimately fell victim to DeathByChildbirth). All of this happened when Arvis was seven years old: he grew up into a conflicted MagnificentBastard with ''serious'' issues with almost every female (except for his aidé Aida and his half-brother Azel's mother) to the point of ''killing'' whoever mentioned his idealised MissingMom in a bad light in front of him. It is heavily implied that the reason Arvis [[SurpriseIncest unknowingly]] fell in love with his half-sister is because she so greatly resembles their mother.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}: Innocent Sin'' is the most Oedipal game ever. [[spoiler: Ten years ago, the shrine where the main characters played as kids was burnt down (with two of them inside, no less) and Tatsuya's father was put on the case. He nearly found the culprit, Tatsuya Sudou (a different Tatsuya), and was kicked off the police force because Sudou's father is the foreign minister. Tatsuya became ashamed with his father for losing his job (and not looking for another one), and tried to break away from his family and become independent.]] Eikichi has had a bad relationship with his father [[spoiler:since the 1989 Tanabata Festival, at least]], who wants him to inherit the family business, a sushi shop. However, Eikichi hates sushi, and wants to become a VisualKei star (because of some other issues), and VisualKei is probably the least traditional thing in Japan, so Eikichi is stuck as the non-traditional son of a very traditional man. [[note]]At one point in the comedy CD, Eikichi's makeup washes off during the HotSpringsEpisode, and Tatsuya compares him to his father, causing him to say a BigNo[[/note]] Lisa's father wants her to be a "traditional Japanese lady", only he's a Japanophile who hasn't done much research, so "traditional Japanese lady" means "YamatoNadeshiko in a kimono" to him. She rebels by speaking Cantonese, doing more modern things, [[spoiler:and dating older men and experimenting with drugs for money.]] Maya's father [[spoiler:was a war photographer who had to leave a lot, and was eventually killed in action. She decided to become a journalist who balances her family and her work.]] Yukino's father walked out on her family, so she's a total tomboy, turned into a gangster (but she gets better before the start of ''VideoGame/{{Persona|1}}'') and has a thing for her boss, a slightly older man. Jun's father [[spoiler:was an occultist who believed that aliens lived beneath Sumaru City and Hitler was a Mayan sorcerer, annoying his mother (a model). She spread nasty rumours about him until he killed himself (or was possibly killed by Hitler's minions), and Nyarlathotep, the BigBad, disguised himself as the "cool dad" Jun told his friends about. Jun's mother abandoned him and he ran away from home to live with Nyarlathotep, eventually becoming the DiscOneFinalBoss, The Joker, and believing that Lisa, Tatsuya, and Eikichi ''killed'' Maya, his CoolBigSis. Oh, and the Sudous we mentioned earlier? Tatsuzou shut his son up in a mental asylum due to his schizophrenia and pyromania and forgot about him. Tatsuya Sudou is pretty pissed off by the time ''Eternal Punishment'' starts.]]

** Raz himself also has this going on, since he states that his father has him train constantly as an acrobat and rejects his attempts to use his psychic powers, as well as psychic gypsies cursing his family with SuperDrowningSkills, which leads to Raz's mental image of his father as a psychic-hating sadist. [[spoiler:Turns out at the end that his father is actually a psychic himself and was merely trying to help train Raz to control his powers, even helping him combat his FreudianExcuse incarnate.]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' Molly the monster goes through a brief period of this with Bob, but concludes she was just [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20061010.html confused about her feelings.]]
* In ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'', [[http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/ep0248.html Julie's big brother quarrelled with their father and left home.]]

* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic is terrified of his dad and has no misconceptions about what a prick he is, but acts like a LoveMartyr in StockholmSyndrome towards his mom.

** Steve with Francine became, in later seasons, an object of his confusing Oedipal emotions. In "Rubberneckers", Steve literally sings twice about how he would to have sex with Francine if she wasn't his own mother.

* Sterling Archer from ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' [[BerserkButton freaks out]] at the mere hint of anyone having sex with his mother and reacts even more hysterically whenever anyone shows interest in marrying her. So much so that he put a mind control chip in Len Trexler's skull to brainwash him into despising Malory, kidnapped Burt Reynolds when he started dating her, and suffered near-permanent amnesia (thinking he was Bob from ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'') when she actually did marry Ron Cadillac.

* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman:'' Sarah Lynn is implied to have shades of this. As a [[FreudianExcuse kind-of explanation]], her biological father wasn't present and her bear stepdad was heavily implied to having been [[PaedoHunt sexually abusive]]. She winds up sleeping with her [[ParentalSubstitute father by proxy]], [=BoJack=], whom she's known since she was three.

** It's briefly implied that [[NotSoDifferent Bloberta]] might have had an Electra Complex herself. Her mother was very strict with her and showed ParentalFavoritism towards her siblings. When her [[HenpeckedHusband much more understanding father]] tried to "try" to help her, she says "I love you Daddy," then he looks notably uncomfortable and leaves.

* Tsunayoshi Sawada from ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'' shows to have shades of this. He often acts coldly whenever his father [[DisappearedDad Iemitsu]] comes home, and is deeply angry with how often he neglects Tsuna’s mother and him to the point that Tsuna himself had assumed the man had already passed away, since he has never heard from Iemitsu for a long time. Also, Tsuna’s [[SatelliteLoveInterest crush]] greatly resembles and even acts similarly to Tsuna’s mother, Nana Sawada.

* Tsunayoshi Sawada from ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'' shows to have shades of this. He often acts coldly whenever his father Iemitsu comes home, and is deeply angry with how often he neglects Tsuna’s mother and him to the point that Tsuna himself had assumed the man already passed away. Also, Tsuna’s [[SatelliteLoveInterest crush]] greatly resembles and even acts similarly to Tsuna’s mother, Nana Sawada.

* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' is no stranger to some Oedipus thanks to a lot of the characters being a MommasBoy.

** ComicBook/CaptainAmerica loved his mother Sarah while his father Joseph was a drunken, gambling scumbag who [[AbusiveParents physically abused his wife and son frequently]]. It’s telling that Cap gets his {{Determinator}} from Sarah, also it helps Sharon Carter Cap’s LoveInterest resembles Sarah.

** If we're talking about Oedipus Complex in the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] then we can add Peter Quill from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' to the pot. As in the [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 sequel]] [[spoiler: we learns his father Ego killed his mother Meredith by putting a tumor in her brain... and Peter doesn't waste a second blowing Ego's human body away and then [[{{Patricide}} destroying]] him utterly. Plus the parallels with Quill's LoveInterest Gamora and his mother Meredith are [[https://youtu.be/TQcFJ2KYjmU?t=89 exhibited]] in the FinalBattle of the first Guardians movie]].

** For all his flaws [[EvilTwin Vergil]] probably had the most appropriate reaction to a hot clone of his mother in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3''

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}: Innocent Sin'' is the most Oedipal game ever. [[spoiler: Ten years ago, the shrine where the main characters played as kids was burnt down (with two of them inside, no less) and Tatsuya's father was put on the case. He nearly found the culprit, Tatsuya Sudou (a different Tatsuya), and was kicked off the police force because Sudou's father is the foreign minister. Tatsuya became ashamed with his father for losing his job (and not looking for another one), and tried to break away from his family and become independent.]] Eikichi has had a bad relationship with his father [[spoiler:since the 1989 Tanabata Festival, at least]], who wants him to inherit the family business, a sushi shop. However, Eikichi hates sushi, and wants to become a VisualKei star (because of some other issues), and VisualKei is probably the least traditional thing in Japan, so Eikichi is stuck as the non-traditional son of a very traditional man. [[note]]At one point in the comedy CD, Eikichi's makeup washes off during the HotSpringsEpisode, and Tatsuya compares him to his father, causing him to say a BigNo[[/note]] Lisa's father wants her to be a "traditional Japanese lady", only he's a Japanophile who hasn't done much research, so "traditional Japanese lady" means "YamatoNadeshiko in a kimono" to him. She rebels by speaking Cantonese, doing more modern things, [[spoiler:and dating older men and experimenting with drugs for money.]] Maya's father [[spoiler:was a war photographer who had to leave a lot, and was eventually killed in action. She decided to become a journalist who balances her family and her work.]] Yukino's father walked out on her family, so she's a total tomboy, turned into a gangster (but she gets better before the start of ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'') and has a thing for her boss, a slightly older man. Jun's father [[spoiler:was an occultist who believed that aliens lived beneath Sumaru City and Hitler was a Mayan sorcerer, annoying his mother (a model). She spread nasty rumours about him until he killed himself (or was possibly killed by Hitler's minions), and Nyarlathotep, the BigBad, disguised himself as the "cool dad" Jun told his friends about. Jun's mother abandoned him and he ran away from home to live with Nyarlathotep, eventually becoming the DiscOneFinalBoss, The Joker, and believing that Lisa, Tatsuya, and Eikichi ''killed'' Maya, his CoolBigSis. Oh, and the Sudous we mentioned earlier? Tatsuzou shut his son up in a mental asylum due to his schizophrenia and pyromania and forgot about him. Tatsuya Sudou is pretty pissed off by the time ''Eternal Punishment'' starts.]]

* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' features James Darmody, who is extremely close to his (thirteen years older) mother, Gillian. He is most definitely ''not'' close to his powerful father the Commodore, a creepy old man who is indicated to have sired James [[ChildOfRape through his past rape of Gillian]]. Eventually, we learn that [[spoiler: Jimmy once slept with his mother while both were drunk. He then kills the Commodore, in the same episode where this is revealed, and had earlier tried to have his father figure Nucky killed as well.]]

** OedipusComplex seems run hard in [[InTheBlood the Skywalker line]]; just take a look at Anakin's grandson Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren, who definitely has a case. Despite his contempt for and murder of his father, Kylo ultimately can't bring himself to do the same to his mother. He also fixates on Rey, who bears a strong resemblance to his mother, [[spoiler: and kills his ''other'' father figure, Snoke, to save her life.]]

[[Rule63 On the other side]], where the conflict is between mother and daughter, it is also named after one of Sophecles' tragedies, ''Theatre/{{Electra}}''. Here the trope is PlayedStraight as Electra was [[SelfMadeOrphan quite vengeful]] after her father Agamemnon was murdered by her mother Clytemnestra. Also, see [[OffingTheOffspring "Laius Complex"]] and [[ParentalIncest "Jocasta Complex"]] for for the parents' perspectives.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'', Emily's feelings for Corvo range from treating him as a ParentalSubstitute to having a crush on him, though she doesn't bear her mother any ill-will. (In fact, she seems to believe that Corvo would ''like'' to marry her mother but can't, and offers her own hand in substitute. She is only a child.) [[spoiler:It's confirmed in the sequel that Corvo is her father.]]

** ComicBook/{{Hulk}} is of course [[CentralTheme is in the same boat as Cap and Tony]]. Hulk’s father Brian was an utter asshole who frequently abused his son while Rebecca adored Bruce which only made Brian a JealousParent. When Rebecca tried to escape with Bruce, Brian killed his wife [[HarmfulToMinors right in front of little Bruce]] which awakened Hulk deep inside him. Maternal themes later in Hulk’s life with Betty Ross doting over Bruce and her father GeneralRipper Ross antagonising Bruce are likely intentional.

** ComicBook/{{Hulk}}’s is of course [[CentralTheme is in same boat as Cap and Tony]]. Hulk’s father Brian was an utter asshole who frequently abused his son while Rebecca adored Bruce which only made Brian a JealousParent. When Rebecca tried to escape with Bruce, Brian killed his wife [[HarmfulToMinors right in front of little Bruce]] which awakened Hulk deep inside him. Maternal themes later in Hulk’s life with Betty Ross doting over Bruce and her father GeneralRipper Ross antagonising Bruce are likely intentional.

** Future Trunks plays this straighter than Gohan since thanks to TimeTravel he runs into the same problem as [[Film/BackToTheFuture Marty Mcfly]] did when he meets his attractive younger mother Bulma. She even winks at Trunks when she meets him ands acts flirtatious around him leading to Trunks getting a LuminescentBlush. Trunks even starts to [[CallingTheOldManOut resent Vegeta]] for neglecting Bulma ([[MyFutureSelfandMe and himself]]).

'''Melisandre''': Does he wish to bed his mother in order to vanquish and then replace his father?
* The most CrossoverShip between Manga/{{Naruto}} and Manga/FairyTail is Naruto and Erza, most fics make the reason due to how the latter resembles the former’s deceased mother.

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[[Rule63 On the other side]], where the conflict is between mother and daughter, it is also named after one of Sophecles' tragedies, ''[[Theatre/{{Electra}} Ἠλέκτρα, ("Ēlektra")]]''. Here the trope is PlayedStraight as Electra was [[SelfMadeOrphan quite vengeful]] after her father Agamemnon was murdered by her mother Clytemnestra. Also, see "[[OffingTheOffspring Laius Complex]]" and "[[ParentalIncest Jocasta Complex]]" for for the parents' perspectives.

''[[Theatre/OedipusTheKing Οἰδίπους Τύραννος ("Oedipus Tyrannus")]]''--the Greek Tragedy dramatized in 429 BC by Creator/{{Sophocles}}--is the TropeNamer, and UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud is the TropeCodifier. Oedipus, king of Thebes, however, is [[ThisIndexIsNotAnExample not an example of the trope]] because Oedipus ''never'' knew who his mother and father were until it was too late. King Oedipus was '''not''' someone who secretly wanted to kill his father and sleep with his mother--he was a man who ''desperately didn't want either to happen'', but ended up doing so anyways because YouCantFightFate.

->''"A son exists to glorify the life of his father--as meaningless and worthless and that life might be. But if a boy is to become a man, he must glorify himself… and make a name even greater than his father's."''

** ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' adds the titular character to this as Broly has [[AbusiveParents abusive]] controlling relationships with his father Paragus while he has ShipTease with Sheelai who literally [[RomanticSpoonfeeding feeds him like a mother]] at one point. The only part of that’s left out is the {{Patricide}}... which Broly did in his original movie.

-->'''Stan:''' YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY MOMMA!

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Azula is DaddysLittleVillain and felt like she was the UnFavorite of her mother compared to Zuko. [[spoiler: As things fall apart in the end, she hallucinates her mother saying "I love you." This drives her into full VillainousBreakdown.]]
** Played straighter with Zuko as eventually hates his father Ozai and stops trying to win his approval. Conversely Zuko actively loved his aforementioned mother Ursa [[MommasBoy who doted on him]], causing jealousy from Azula.

-->'''[=BoJack=], regarding a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:''' You are ''way'' out of line!

-->'''''Commence sex.'''''

-->'''Walt:''' ''(right after being insulted and slapped by Mom)'' "Some day I want to marry a girl like her."

* Clay from ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'', largely courtesy of the fact his mother spoiled him rotten and ignored his father to the point of leaving him to eat Clay's leftovers. His Oedipus Complex is played quite disgustingly in the episode [[RuleOfSymbolism Nesting]], in which [[spoiler:he has a High Octane NauseaFuel moment in which he imagines himself naked climbing the legs of a chicken--[[AnimalMotifs representing his mother]]--and bathing in the egg fluids. Also Miss Censordoll takes advantage of him, only adding more {{Squick}}]]. Clay's antagonism towards his father is also very intense.

* One of '''many''' interpretations of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', and interviews with Creator/HideakiAnno [[WordOfGod suggest that he was actually aiming for this]], since Shinji has a [[WellDoneSonGuy love]]-hate relationship with his [[AbusiveParents father]] and motherhood is a central theme of the series. [[spoiler: And most importantly, one of Shinji's love interest [[EmotionlessGirl Rei]] turns out to be clone of [[ParentalIncest his mother]] and her soul (or at least part of it) is part of his EVA Unit]]. In the manga, Gendou also turns out to have harbored feelings of jealousy towards Shinji for "stealing" Yui away from him. This is even lampshaded in Shinji's ({{Blooper Reel}}s only) [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments rant]]:

** If we're talking about Oedipus Complex in the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] then we can add Peter Quill from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' to the pot. As in the [[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 sequel]] [[spoiler: we learns his father Ego killed his mother Meredith by putting a tumor in her brain... and Peter doesn't waste a second blowing Ego's human body away and then [[{{Patricide}} destroying]] him utterly. Plus the parallels with Quill's LoveInterest Gamora and his mother Meredith are [[https://youtu.be/hGJ6PioRueM?t=127 exhibited]] in the FinalBattle of the first Guardians movie]].

* It Marvel appears just loves this trope see several ''ComicBook/{{Avengers}}'' characters:

** Steve with Francine became, in later seasons, an object of his confusing Oedipal emotions. In "Rubberneckers", Steve literally sings twice about how he would to have sex with Francine if her wasn't his own mother.