Headcanons I have about Dr. Cortex's parents:
Both sides of Cortex's family descended from immigrants living in the United States.
Cortex's mother, Sharon, is Romani, and the family's traveling wagon was an heirloom from her side. Cortex's grandmother is her mother.
Cortex's father is Spanish. His surname used to be Cortez, but he wanted to Americanize his name to make it easier to find work.
Cortex's mother is a Christian while her husband is a Catholic.
Both parents met when they were young and working the vaudeville circuit, both trying to raise money for their respective families. They bonded instantly over both having bright yellow skin, a form of jaundice they shared and eventually passed down to their son.
Sharon was physically and emotionally abusive towards Cortex from the very start, and loved humiliating him most of all. Not only was Cortex an unplanned pregnancy after she already had 20 kids, but Sharon had a hard time giving birth to him due to his massive cranium.
Cortex's father was a neglectful, emotionally distant parent who figured Cortex wouldn't amount to anything. Cortex tried to make his father proud of him, but was never successful.
