There are many characters that we know of who’ve had a troubled childhood which kind of impacts how they feel about life and how they in their perfect sense try to fit in. Growing up they never really anybody to look up to or to find an embrace in someone’s company, so how did they cope up with this absence? Well, they did it they only knew how to, by making themselves tougher from the inside. But. Through many incidents in their lives, they gain perspective in their lives and connect to the understanding of making up to the loss of an emotional anchor, by allowing people to get closer to you and bringing down one’s emotional walls that might create distance. Here is a list of characters who portray themselves as the worst people out there, but are big softies on the inside.
Lobo
The meanest space bounty hunter from the Detective Comics Universe (DCU) on multiple occasions has proven to be a troubling nuisance to the Man of Steel aka Superman and even committed genocide against his people. But there is one thing even this hunter cares about more than anything else and that is a Space Dolphin. In an event during his childhood, a space dolphin approached Lobo with only Love towards him, which drastically altered Lobo’s feelings towards the Space Dolphins.
Hawkman
The man is a reincarnation of persistence, he is an individual with violent tendencies ready to swing his mace at anyone whom he believes deserves to feel his wrath. But, one thing about him has never changed no matter the number of times he has died over the years, just to be reincarnated next to probably the only goal of his life Hawkgirl. His never-dying intent of settling down with Hawkgirl always brings him back from the dead and makes him do it all over again.
Captain Cold
Leonard Snart aka Captain Cold is the epitome of being called a stone-cold killer, he has everything that makes him good at his icy tricks from a cold beam gun to giving slippery trouble to the fastest man alive aka Flash. He is one of the major antagonists in the Flash narrative and has bothered Flash on multiple occasions. But this stone-cold villain has a soft spot and her name is Lisa Snart aka Golden Glider, she probably is the only character who has been able to melt away Captain Cold’s heart.
Wolfsbane
Rahne Sinclair had a troubling childhood growing up at the hands of a Scottish minister, who almost tried to burn her at the stake once her mutant powers of a Werewolf manifested. Since then, Sinclair has been trying to fight off her urge to metamorphize into a Werewolf and release all hell on earth. She does not like to lose herself to her animalistic side, but what is commendable is that she has never gone sabretooth on the ass of the non-mutants considering everything that she has gone through and witnessed first-hand, at the hands of humans.
Doctor Doom
The big baddie of the Marvel universe is a wreak just waiting to happen, with his power-hungry notion always at the top of his agenda he is not your everyday supervillain. But this bad-ass protégé of bad has a soft side too, ranging from teaming up with Doctor Strange to free his mother’s soul from Mephisto to having a soft corner and an endearing relationship with his goddaughter – Valeria Richards. Many a time he wishes to put up a tough face for his subjects in the nation of Latveria but ends being generous.
The Punisher
Probably the best hero with the worst attitude has a soft side towards kids who have been orphaned by some tragic event or another. He the victim of such an event where he lost his family to a bunch of mobsters has a soft side, especially towards orphaned kids, and often treats them to a pizza outing whenever he gets a chance. This trait of Frank Castle was highlighted in a recent 2019 version of the comic series called ‘Punisher: Kill Crew’, in this story he sets off into space to deal with monsters who orphaned many kids in the ‘War of Realms’ crossover event. For a guy with a skull on a sleeveless shirt, it doesn’t kind of bide well with the character.
Cable
Nathan Summers aka Cable was the poster boy on all the comics released back in the 80s and the 90s. He was the perfect soldier from the future trained in numerous kinds of combats, with a knack for getting his hands dirty. Nathan Summers was not always this closed off because of the troubling situations in his life. In the X-Men comics of the late 2000s, Nathan Summers saves and adopts a kid, whom he names Hope Summers. The special thing about this kid is that she was the first mutant kid born after the M-Day event which witnesses all the mutants on earth lose their powers. Even though Nathan returns to his life of fighting evil, no one can ever take away the days where he raised a kid.
Deadpool
The wall-breaking mercenary with a mouth might be one of the happiest characters in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is capable of whacking almost anything for a few extra bucks, whilst crack a joke in doing it. Deadpool’s alter ego Wade Wilson had character development and got himself a daughter by the name of Eleanor “Ellie” Camacho, for whom he cares very dearly and will protect her at all cost. He even tried to pull off the hero thingy in the mid-2010s while swearing off lethal violence. Well, that didn’t last long because hey, what is Deadpool without lethal Violence without cracking lame jokes whilst doing them.
Batman
Bruce Wayne in the morning and crime-fighting vigilante by night, Bruce Wayne’s Batman is a one-man army who takes on hordes of villain threatening Gotham City. He may have a rule against slaying his enemy, but he makes up for that loss by employing fear tactics, martial arts, and using cool gadgets while kicking ass. But, over the past few years, we have witnessed the Wayne family grow, Bruce Wayne gives a home to a few select broken and battered children of Gotham and expands his crime-fighting family. From Dick Grayson to Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain to Claire Clover the list just keeps going on every year.
Wolverine
James “Logan” Howlett also known as Wolverine, is about the most aggressive any superhero could ever get. Take a man with missing memories, add in a bit of rage, adamantium plated skeleton coupled with a pair of adamantium claws and a never-ending ability to heal even the gravest of wounds makes for a bloody bath of a man-sized wolverine gone on a rampage. But even this ferocious beast has a weakness, his love of being a mentor. Over the many series we have seen Logan mentor mutants like Katie Pryde and Jubilee, the angry Canadian has a knack for caring for his kids without showing them that he cares for them.
