10 DC Heroes With Surprisingly Tragic Origins

1. Mister Miracle

Mister Miracle is potentially the most fascinating example on this list, because unlike all the other characters here, the tragedy of his origin was staring us in the face all along. Everyone just chose to ignore it - at least until 2016, when Tom King and Mitch Gerads came together to tell a new story about the character - one that tackled Scott Free's trauma head on.

Jack Kirby's Fourth World stands today as one of the most unique and exciting worlds ever created, and Mister Miracle embodies that from head to toe. The basic premise is that the leaders of two warring planets - New Genesis (a place that stands for all that's good), and Apokolips (a place that doesn't) - decide to trade their children to broker peace. Highfather sends his son to live with his counterpart on Apokolips, while Darkseid sends his child, Orion, to live with Highfather. So far, so good - but things take a tragic turn pretty quickly.

Once he finds his way to Apokolips, Scott is raised within the torturous confines of Granny Goodness' orphanage. He's tortured repeatedly, all day, all night, and only escapes after another victim of Granny's abuse, Big Barda, falls in love with him and both escape to Earth.

Scott would adopt a colourful costume as Mister Miracle, but it's almost a mask to hide just how horrible his upbringing was. His biological father didn't care what became of him on Apokolips, and, in a tragic example of what real life abuse can do to people, he still harbours some love for Granny.

Exploring that trauma is what made King and Gerads' comic such a hit over the year or so it spent on the shelves, and it goes to show how even the most exciting premises can bring dark consequences to the fore.