Real Parent

Tropes and genres
Tropes and genres
Synonym(s)	Biological Parent
Related tropes/genres	kidfic, Adoption Fic, Everyone Is Related
See also	crossover
	Related articles on Fanlore.
	Contents 1 Canon Uses of this Trope; 2 Fan Works 2.1 Buffy; 2.2 Gilmore Girls; 2.3 Hanson; 2.4 Harry Potter; 2.5 Marvel; 2.6 Phineas and Ferb; 2.7 X-Men; ; 3 Links;

Real Parent stories revolve around the discovery that a biological parent of a character, usually his or her father, is actually someone unexpected. This is a common theme in romantic novels, soap opera, drama etc., and explored in fanfic, especially crossovers. These discoveries can can be positive, leading to family bonding, self-discovery, an inheritance, etc. They can also cause problems; Real Parent stories frequently involve illegitimacy, with possible attached social stigma, and broken families. However, Real Parent fanfic is a largely heartwarming genre.

This trope is particularly popular for some fandoms and characters or relationships. Examples are Blair's Father - Blair Sandburg's canonically unknown father in The Sentinel, Severitus (trope) - Severus Snape being Harry's father in Harry Potter. Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter in the MCU.

This term should not be confused with other forms of revelation about the activity of an already-known parent, such as discovering one's father has a secret identity or a family secret. A related trope is the Adoption Fic in which a canon orphan is adopted by a different family, and "real parent" specifies their biological parents.

Canon Uses of this Trope

Spoiler alert!

Tanya Huff's Blood books revolve around the adventures of Henry Fitzroy, the vampire illegitimate son of Henry VIII.
Richard Castle's real father is revealed to be Jackson Hunt (or at least a person using that name), a spy and assassin.
In CSI Catherine Willows finds out that Sam Braun is her father while investigating a case in which he is a suspect.
In Doctor Who the identity of River Song's real parents is a major plot point. Unusually, she is aware of the situation before they are.
In Girl Genius Agatha Clay first learns that her real father is Bill Heterodyne, an adventurer and genius inventor, later that her mother may be The Other, one of the series Big Bads.
In the film The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) the main character is an amnesic pregnant accident victim whose identity cannot be traced. When her memory eventually starts to emerge, several years later, the identity of the child's father turns out to be an extremely important plot point.
Both in the Marvel comic books and the MCU, Loki's biological father isn't Odin but Lauffey, the Jotunn King.
The plot of Men in Black II to a large part revolves around the nature of the real parents of an apparently minor character.
NCIS Season 15 ends with a reversal of the trope as one of the characters learns he has been a father for several years.
Most characters in the Percy Jackson series are demigods, the child of a human and a god, bought up as human. This usually comes as a surprise, as does the identity of the responsible deity.
In Sanctuary Ashley's father is John Druitt, Jack the Ripper
Star Wars - "I am your father, Luke..." (and "there is another")
In Superman Returns Lois Lane's child Jason White is actually Superman's biological son.
in Watchmen the younger Silk Spectre eventually learns that she is The Comedian's illegitimate daughter.
X-Men's Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are the biological children of Magneto in most comics versions.

Fan Works

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

More complete and non-crossover works needed

Buffy

Bridges by Tassos; "After the collapse of Sunnydale, Jack gets a call about a woman he knew over twenty years ago...and the son he didn't know he had." (Stargate SG-1 crossover, 2004)
My Daughter... The What? by sevangel; "A year after Joyce Summer's death, Buffy comes across a letter that changes her life. With Dawn as her sidekick, she heads to New York City to find her birth father. Will the Stabler's accept the slayer and how does Dawn fit in?" (Law and Order: SVU crossover, 2006-7)

Gilmore Girls

Physics of the Spin by Mhalachai; "Rory Gilmore always thought she was Christopher Hayden's daughter, but things are a little more complicated than that..." (Stargate Atlantis crossover, 2008-9, WIP)

Hanson

Holding Onto Nothing by Allison Way; Taylor Hanson discovers that not only was he adopted, but there's a good reason why the boy he just met looks just like him.

Harry Potter

My Son the Wizard by savya398; "The summer after Harry's first year at Hogwarts a startling revelation is made that opens Harry up to an entirely new world. It changes his life in a way he never imagined. Now he has a family and all the craziness that comes with. After all when you're the son of Tony Stark, the one and only Iron Man, life is bound to be interesting." (Iron Man crossover, 2014-15, WIP)

Marvel

Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, and Blaine Anderson is Tony Stark's Son are relatively popular tags on Archive of Our Own.
A Widow's Tale by Mhalachai; "Their secrets have secrets. Steve's starting to figure this out." (Stargate crossover series, 2012-14, WIP)
Stress Testing by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel; "Sometimes Darcy thinks life would be much easier if her grandfather weren't a homicidal terrorist with metal-bending powers." (2007- WIP - now deleted, link via archive.org)
Lodestar by ShayneT; Worm crossover - "Taylor Hebert is the grandchild of Magneto, a villain from another world. She has inherited his powers. Is the world prepared for a mistress of magnetism?" (2018) - an unusual example of a real grandparent story.

Phineas and Ferb

Finding Dad by TeamPhineas.

X-Men

fathers and sons by M_Leigh: a post-X-Men: Days of Future Past story in which Erik Lehnsherr reveals that he is Peter Maximoff's father, which is canon but only hinted at in the movie.

Links