5 best (and 5 worst) dads from sci-fi and fantasy

Second Best Dad: Duke Leto Atreides, from Dune

Frank Herbert’s Dune follows Paul Atreides, the scion of a noble house who travels with his family from the safety of their homeworld of Caladan to the inhospitable desert planet of Dune, which it is now Paul’s father Duke Leto’s job to oversee.

Like any young boy, Paul wants to make his dad proud. It shows in the way he dedicates himself to daily combat training, or in his eagerness to learn about the complexities of spice production and the proper way to wear a stillsuit.

Duke Leto is a devoted father who adores Paul — his only son — and who doesn’t hold back praise when he earns it. He’s also always ready to impart wisdom to Paul, hoping his son will take his words to heart and that they will help him grow into an honorable and respectable man.

At the same time, Leto respected his son enough to be honest with him when the situation was grave. Leto’s assignment on Dune is part of a complex ploy to destroy him by the Padishah Emperor, who had become jealous of the Duke’s popularity. Duke Leto doesn’t frighten his son, but is straightforward about their dire circumstances, and what they need to do to overcome them. He lets Paul sit in on his meetings with the Fremen, the native people of the planet, and out to see the legendary sandworms, which are crucial to the ecology of the planet. Duke Leto believes in his son, and knows that he will rise to the occasion when the occasion comes. And Paul does not let him down.