Egyptian God Triads And "Superhero Families"

Holy Family, Batman!

Is there anything more heartwarming to a comic book fan than memories of the classic "superhero families" characters like Superman & Batman had? It often seemed to be a trio: Batman, Robin, Batgirl. Superman, Superboy, Supergirl. Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Mary Marvel. Even Space Ghost, Jace, and Jan. What made that particular grouping so perfect, so catchy? The answer may lie in Ancient Egypt.

A swingin' Two Girls And A Guy triad

It was Egyptian custom to have one's gods/goddesses in sets of three: triads. These triads fell into two basic types: Father/Mother/Son or Two Girls And A Guy. While Two Girls And A Guy might have evolved into your basic Archie/Veronica/Betty and Jack/Janet/Chrissy, the Father/Mother/Son proved to be the preferred triad in Ancient Egyptian society. Father/Mother/Son was considered "perfect" because it represented the standard family unit.

The Osiris Family

One of the most famous of the triads is Osiris/Isis/Horus. Isis was her own "character," but often female goddesses were invented from male gods to round out a triad on the spot, forcing a crude "feminization" of an established name. For example, Horus would have a feminine suffix attached to it, creating Horît. And from Amon came Amonît.

Superman beget Supergirl...

...and Superman makes the Trinity

Now let's go back to the comic books and see how a similar phenomenon plays out. To complete the Batman triad, "girl" is added to Batman creating Batgirl. Now we have the triad of Batman/Batgirl/Robin. From Superman comes Supergirl, completing the triad of Superman/Supergirl/Superboy. Interestingly, the women in these superhero triads are not usually mothers, but "girls."

Johnny, Sue, and Reed

Even superheroes we might not think of as making the typical triad sort of fall into this pattern. For example, Reed Richards/Sue Richards/Johnny Storm. What about Ben Grimm? The two Richards and Storm are actual related family: a triad of two father/mother types and one younger "kid."

Classic "Holy Trinity" (with technically the feminine aspect divided up between Mary/Holy Spirit)

The reason the triad has been so long-lasting through the many centuries is because it is a primal archetype that has been "burned" in our collective unconscious. I mean, look at the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (an entity which is often considered "feminine"). Or Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity.

One thing to note is when superhero "families" get too big and bust out of the trinity archetype, they have less of a primal pull on the imagination of the public. For example, Batman now has several "boy"/Robin type figures in his "Bat Family" at the moment, as well as a Batgirl and Batwoman. In these cases, it is recommended that said "family" pare back down to the trinity structure, as to keep that iconic quality intact.

Current "Bat Family"

We then have to wonder if archetypal arrangements such as this were/are purposely used as a -- for the lack of a better term -- "marketing" tool. A better way to "sell" the idea of a Holy Trinity, for instance.

 

...and some more, a bit more unconventional:

Harry is around the same age as the rest, but he's more mature and "mentally" older

They seem all the same age here, but remember than Doctor Who is ancient, and thus the "paternal" figure"

Han is "coded" older, while Luke is more or less a "boy"

No females, but McCoy is "coded" female, in a sense, because he's the "sensitive" one (a bit sexist, but there you go)