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[[Marvel Comics]] and [[DC Comics]], being the most prominent producers of comics, have led a sizable rivalry, sometimes friendly, sometimes not. This is sometimes reflected in the creation of characters.
You could argue that, given the sheer number of characters in comic books, certain superpowers will overlap. Occasionally a new character, even one who appears for a short time, seems suspiciously similar to another.
Usually, this is done as overt parody or homage. If not, it can be seen as one company ripping off the other; however, occasionally it happens by pure coincidence, and the characters become fondly remembered equivalents.
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Compare [[Counterpart Comparison]], [[Serial Numbers Filed Off]].
{{examples|Examples}}▼
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Goku from ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' is pretty much an Alternate Company Equivalent to [[Superman]]... if you ignore ''[[Journey to the West]]'' (''Dragon Ball''{{'}}s source) coming out a few ''centuries'' before Superman did.
==
* The grandest example of all is ''[[Watchmen (
* [[Marvel Universe|Marvel's]] [[The Sentry]] is essentially Marvel's [[
** Then there's Gladiator who is even more blatantly another Superman (his real name is Kallark, has heat vision and freeze breath, vulnerable to one specific type of radiation) not to mention a reference to ''[[Gladiator (
** There is also [[Squadron Supreme|Hyperion]] as an expy to Supes. To make matters worse, this character has many alternate reality versions, such as the one in [[Supreme Power]]. Marvel RRREEEAAALLLLYYY likes to have characters based on Superman.
** The most successful Superman equivalent is actually [[The Mighty Thor|Thor]]. They wanted to create a hero as powerful as Superman, in a different way. How to do that? Don't make him a man. [[Physical God|Make him a god]].
*** Yet for some strange reason, fans tend to regard the [[
** One could also make the argument that [[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]] is the alternate company equivalent of [[Superman]]. This isn't in terms of power, obviously, but due to their roles as leaders at each company. This was acknowledged in the [[Amalgam Universe]] crossover event, where one fusion character was "Super-Soldier" -- part Superman, part Captain America.
* Marvel has also had several Batman equivalents, starting with Nighthawk of the [[Squadron Supreme]] (of whom there have been at least three different versions) and [[Moon Knight]], who has a similar role, abilities, equipment and even a butler assistant. [[Daredevil]] is often seen as one as well and operates in a vaguely similar [[City Noir]] setting, and [[Iron Man]] matches well in the department of [[Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?|gadgetry]] and [[Crimefighting
** One of the Nighthawks even gained artificial wings, turning him into an ersatz of another Dc hero, [[Hawkman]].
*** Note that DC had their own masked hero named Night Hawk, but he was a gunfighter in the Old West (and apparently, a reincarnation of Hawkman!)
* Mongul of DC, who was created by Jim Starlin to rip off [[Thanos]] of Marvel, who was created by Jim Starlin to rip off [[Darkseid]] of DC.
* [[Suicide Squad|King Faraday]] and [[Expy|Nick]] [[Nick Fury|Fury]].
* Still in the [[Marvel Universe]], the original lineup of the superpowered Imperial Guard surrounding the Shi'ar empress Lilandra was composed of alternate company equivalents of DC's [[Legion of Super-Heroes (
** Which actually makes the aforementioned Gladiator a copy of [[Superboy]].
** [[Lampshade Hanging]] in a recent{{when}} issue of ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy]]'': Rocket Raccoon sarcastically calls Mentor, the Imperial Guard's green-skinned ubergenius, "Brainiac".
** Interestingly, after their first run-in with the Imperial Guard [[Wolverine]] would steal Timber Wolf counterpart Fang's costume and wear it for much of the team's adventures in space, meaning [[Mind Screw|Wolverine was wearing the suit of the guy based on the guy he himself was partially based on.]]
* Also Marvel: The company's 1980s-vintage [[The New Universe|New Universe]] line originally started with the idea of taking DC's most famous character concepts and doing them Marvel-style; however by the time the New Universe reached the stands, the only survivor of this concept was ''Star Brand'', based on [[
** That said, [[Quasar (comics)|Quasar]] is the Marvel-proper answer to Green Lanterns, as is [[
* [[Spider-Man|Green Goblin]] and [[Daredevil|Bullseye]] are considered each corresponding hero's answer to [[The Joker]], not just because of their status as [[Arch Enemy|Arch Enemies]] but because how they each have traits that only they truly share with the Joker, with the Goblin sharing the laugh, [[Large Ham|the ham factor]], the [[Manipulative Bastard|inhuman madness and intelligence]], and [[Joker Immunity]] (to a point). Bullseye shares the unknown identity, [[Improbable Weapon User|the unusual weapons]], and rivals even Joker for the title of [[Omnicidal Maniac|most insane man in comics.]] Nowadays though, the Green Goblin is the Marvel equivalent of DC's [[Lex Luthor]] and less so much as a Joker equivalent.
** Green Goblin was always more of a Crazy [[Lex Luthor]] than Joker. Especially since they are both [[Corrupt Corporate Executive
*** [[Norman Osborn]] has a persona of a manipulative [[Lex Luthor]] and a persona of a crazed Joker and will flip between the two at the drop of a hat.
**** While more of a villain for [[Marvel Universe|the Marvel Universe]] as a whole, Arcade is a pretty good match for the Joker. Both often use [[Amusement Park of Doom|Amusement Parks of Doom]] filled with [[Death Trap|Death Traps]], [[Affably Evil|have flamboyant dress senses]], [[For the Evulz|a sadistic sense of humour]] and the [[Manipulative Bastard|inhuman madness and intelligence]]. They also have a female assistant (Miss Locke and Harley Quinn) with which they treat in an abusive manner (although Miss Locke is older than Harley).
* There has also been a [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]] homage in [[DC Comics]]. ''Adventures of Superman'' #466 told the story of a space shuttle crew whose encounter with a [[Negative Space Wedgie]] gave them mutations reminiscent of the Fantastic Four; in a subversion, the results were [[Blessed
** Amusingly, he was the villain in the [[Intercontinuity Crossover]] ''Superman/Fantastic Four''. And he ''noticed'' the parallels between his origin and that of the Fantastic Four.
** The Fantastic Four and their origin are also homaged in an issue of [[Booster Gold]], where Booster stops a rocket launch and four suspiciously familiar astronauts complain about it.
** The final issue of the "Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite" (sic) Superman arc revealed an unusual fact about Mxyzptlk; he sometimes goes slumming in a universe that resembled the Marvel Universe, under the guise of a green-and-purple shapeshifting alien (in other words, Marvel's Impossible Man) while tormenting a quartet of heroes who vaguely resemble the Fantastic Four. The issue even borrowed the plot twist from Impy's first encounter with the FF, by having the FF walk away from their antagonist, essentially refusing to play with him. Later, though, after the two characters had developed in different directions, they confirmed themselves as separate characters, and really disliked each other.
** The Fantastic Four are themselves reminiscent of an older DC Comics team, the Challengers of the Unknown (also a [[Jack Kirby]] creation), albeit ones that became better known than the original.
* DC's [[Lobo]] is an obvious parody of the gritty [[Nineties Anti
** Lobo actually first appeared in the eighties.
** Lobo himself was parodied in Marvel when [[Deadpool]] meets up with a very similar character named "Dirty Wolff"
*** Deadpool himself is fairly similar to Lobo, both being the [[Heroic Sociopath]] played for laughs. They even both have Self-Demonstrating Articles on this website!
** The circle came 'round again when Marvel came up with Lunatik, an [[Up to Eleven|even more over-the-top]] (if that can be believed) parody of Lobo. It should be noted that both characters were created by the same person.
** Lobo also has another equivalent in [[Rob Liefeld]]'s Bloodwulf.
*** Of course, ''all'' of Liefeld's characters are stupidly overmuscled grizzled anti-heroes - this time he just meant it as a joke. The cover of the first issue of his comic features Bloodwulf smiling menacingly as Lobo's limp body hangs from his own chain, by the way. And the second issue features a cameo by Lobo as a drunken has-been.
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* DC's [[Swamp Thing]] and Marvel's [[Man-Thing]] are very similar, yet debuted within a month of each other, too close together for one to be based on the other. It may be worth noting that Len Wein, the creator of Swamp Thing and Gerry Conway, the creator of Man-Thing were roommates at the time. According to [[That Other Wiki]], Man-Thing co-creator Steve Gerber later asked Wein about Swamp Thing in order to distinguish the two characters more. It's also worth noting that both characters are extremely similar to The Heap from Hillman Periodicals, who predates either of them and is now in the public domain.
** There is a copy of WHAT THE? in which [[Captain Ersatz|Man-Thang]] fights Swamp-Thang over who stole whose origin.
* Same with Marvel's [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] and DC's [[
** Though DC's Legion of Super-Heroes may be the origin of much copied in the X-Men.
*** The Outsiders could also be considered a DC equivalent to the X-Men
* The authors of DC's ''[[Freedom Fighters (
* Marvel's ''[[Squadron Supreme]]'' is a direct take off of the classic DC ''[[Justice League of America]]'' lineup. [[J
** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in the ''[[JLA-
** Many consider the Avengers to be Marvel's equivalent of the Justice League.
** Most people forget that Marvel started out with JLA-equivalent ''villains'' called the Squadron Sinister, and it wasn't until a year or two later that their heroic counterparts the Squadron Supreme appeared. Making the Squadron Sinister a mild [[Take That]], a semi-[[Affectionate Parody]], or somewhere in between.
*** Definitely the latter. It was a mutual in joke between DC and Marvel, see the below entry for clarification.
* In the 70s, the [[Justice League of America]] faced a team of [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|Avengers]]-duplicates called the Champions of Angor. In the 80s, they joined forces with the remains of that team against duplicates of Sabretooth (Tracker), Doc Ock (Gorgon), [[Magneto]] (Dr. Diehard), [[Doctor Doom]] (Lord Havok), and Dormammu (Dreamslayer). Two members of the Champions would subsequently join Justice League Europe: Bluejay (based on Yellowjacket) and the Silver Sorceress (based on the [[Scarlet Witch]]).
** The original Squadron Supreme and Champions of Angor stories were the result of another pseudo-crossover, in the same spirit as the Crusaders stories, and instigated by the same writer (Roy Thomas).
** The 2007
* A [[Story Arc]] in ''Superman/Batman'' featured "The Maximums", parodies of both the [[Marvel Universe]]'s [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|Avengers]] and their [[Ultimate Marvel]] equivalents, the Ultimates. In the last issue, Mxyzptlk did a [[Lampshade Hanging]] on this, asking the other characters to guess who they were based on. (The in-story answer was that they were created by mix-and-matching aspects of Superman and Batman. What, if anything, this was meant to imply about the Marvel writers who created the Avengers is left as an exercise for the reader.)
** Ironically, the writer of that arc, [[Jeph Loeb]], went on to write ''[[The Ultimates]]'' themselves some years later.
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* Particularly (and intentionally) brutal ACE's of the Justice League, the X-Men, and the Avengers appeared in [[Garth Ennis]]' ''[[The Boys]]'' - Superman has a very nasty counterpart in the Homelander, Batman's is suffering from a brain tumor which induces sexual deviancy, Wonder Woman's is a completely disillusioned drunken slut, and generally, all 'heroes' are either utter bastards and bitches, or, if well-meaning, ineffective idiots.
* And again in Garth Ennis' ''The Pro'', which features a prostitute who accidentally gains superpowers and joins a JLA-equivalent whose members are at best borderline delusional ineffectives and at worst hypocritical perverts. This guy seems to have a major beef with superheroes.
* And in the early 80s, DC had Captain Strong, a sailor who got super-strength from [[G
* Another unusual Alternate Company Equivalent was the group of gargoyles encountered by Justice League Europe in ''[[Justice League of America|Justice League Showcase]]'' #1, based closely on the characters in ''[[
* The comic book series ''[[Planetary]]'' displays numerous examples of this trope in almost every issue, as the series focuses on the fantastic elements of popular culture and genre fiction as seen in a more 'realistic' context, often explored and examined from a skewed perspective; some are almost exact duplicates, others are loose homages. This includes versions of the [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]] (who in this universe are the villains, the chilling part being that they [[Super Dickery|aren't incredibly different]] [[Reed Richards Is Useless|from the originals]]), [[Hellblazer
* [[Kurt Busiek]]'s ''[[Astro City]]'' takes what sounds like the ''Planetary'' approach. As above, the range runs from near-duplicates ("The Furst Family", who act like the Fantastic Four, are all related, and have the same initials) to ones that sounds like Silver Age characters you must have known about but can't quite remember.
* [[Wildstorm]]'s [[The Authority]] has at least two counterpart teams in Marvel and DC. The titular hero of the ''X-Man'' comic visited an alternate world and met analogues such as Nicola Zeitgeist (Jenny Quantum), Thor (Apollo), Nightfighter (Midnighter), and City Dweller (Jack Hawksmoor). In the ''Superman'' comics, Superman faces off with the Elite over their extremely brutal and often fatal method of dealing with supervillains. Interestingly, two of the Authority's most recognizable characters, Midnighter and Apollo, are clearly based off of Batman and Superman, respectively. Ironically, a later series established Apollo as his universe's version of the Ray, a minor DC hero. (Probably because Wildstorm already has Mr. Majestic, a much closer Superman analogue who has met, and even briefly replaced, the original Man of Steel. As with many of the above examples, Majestic is more ruthlessly pragmatic in the use of his Superman-like
** Another analogue of [[The Authority]] appears in Gen13 volume 4: the Authoriteens.
*** They weren't this trope, they were a [[Spinoff Babies]] parody (The Authority and Gen 13 are published by the same company, and are part of the same [[Shared Universe]]).
** The Authority battled a team of A.C.E.s based on [[Marvel Comics]]' Avengers. The ones that were named were Commander ([[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]]), Hornet ([[The Wasp]]), Titan (Giant Man), and Tank Man ([[Iron Man]]).
** Apollo and Midnighter originated as part of a super-black-ops team also containing analogues of [[Wonder Woman]] (Amaze), the [[
** ''Planetary/Authority: Ruling the World'' also features [[Eldritch Abomination|nasty tentacly Lovecrafty versions]] of the Authority for about one panel. The Wildstorm universe is absolutely lousy with this kind of thing.
** They even riffed on themselves, really. In the Monarchy series (basically tl;dr in comic book form) the bad guys were a parody of the Authority...kind of. Really, their personalities weren't that far removed from the originals, the main difference was they were all reptiles and/or Lovecraftian monsters...for some reason, it was never very clear. Apparently [[Techno Babble|the Carrier spread the Authority's "bad vibes" through the Bleed or something]]. It was a [[So Bad
*** They were the authority of a parallel universe. In Stormwatch phd Jackson says that the doctor spiked his drink (lsd/drug trip) at the carrier party hinting it was Jackson wanting to be the "authority" and all the crazy situations they get into. He got over it. It seems as of Wildcats #22 the monarchy is indeed real but the book and the ending still does not make any sense in the Wildstorm Universe.
* Then there was the [[Amalgam Universe]] [[Crisis Crossover]] (sort of) that resulted from the Marvel vs. DC storyline - Amalgam Comics being an Alternate Company of Marvel ''and'' DC, whose characters were
* A minor DC villain, Zuggernaut, is obviously based on the [[
* Marvel's [[Deadpool]] looks suspiciously like DC's Deathstroke, both of them starting off as evil mercenaries; even their names are similar (Wade Wilson and Slade Wilson respectively, though Wade was not named until years and many writers after his intro) but through [[Character Development]], and Deadpool's [[No Fourth Wall]] ability, they're now completely different from each other.
** Acknowledged in ''Superman/Batman'''s first annual, written by former Deadpool writer Joe Kelly, which involves the heroes fighting both Deathstroke and their [[Evil Counterpart
** Even ''more'' explicitly acknowledged in the [[Deadpool (film)|''Deadpool'' film]], where one of the costume designs he considers is Deathstroke's iconic outfit.
* [[
** For a specific straight example of this trope, there's the villain [[Magnificent Bastard|Mammoth Mogul]], who is more or less an [[Expy]] of DC's [[Vandal Savage]].
* In [[Mark Millar]]'s graphic novel ''[[Wanted (Comic Book)|Wanted]]'', almost all of the main characters are thinly-disguised versions of popular DC and Marvel Comics villains.
* Cross-Pacific example! One issue of ''[[The Punisher]]'' has the titular [[Anti
** And in a back-matter side story in an issue of ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men Classic]]'' (a series that reprinted the [[Chris Claremont]] run of ''Uncanny X-Men'' with new stories often enhancing the main feature or focusing on a particular character), Sean Cassidy/Banshee, while still an Interpol agent, is on the trail of a jewel thief called [[Lupin III
* Another [[Anime]]-to-American-comics example: Japanese super-team Big Science Action in [[The DCU]] features pastiches of [[Ultraman]], [[Astro Boy (
** And another: in the 90's, there was a Japan-based hero team at Marvel called '''Big Hero 6'''. One member was called ''Lemon Honey'' and is believed to be based somewhat on [[
* A recent{{when}} arc of Marvel's ''[[The Incredible Hercules]]'' featured the Amazons as villains, and the main villain, Princess Artume, was an obvious stand-in for [[Wonder Woman]] (her name is that of the Etruscan Goddess of the Hunt, compared with the Roman one, Diana). It was revealed she had not been born from her mother, but had been created from a marble statue (Harder than clay... that Wonder Woman was made out of).
* The [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]] teamed up with a group called the ReCombatants who bore a similarity to [[Eclipse Comics]]' [[DNAgents]] (the name is a pun on "recombinant DNA"). At the same time, the DNAgents teamed with Project Youngblood, based on the Titans.
* The [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage
* In Thom Zahl's romance comic ''[[Love and Capes]]'', the hero, his best friend, and his ex-girlfriend are clear [[Expy|expies]] of [[
** All of the super heroes in ''Love and Capes'' are thinly veiled A.C.E.s, and they're not all based on DC characters. The whole thing is a super hero parody in sitcom form.
* ''Big Bang Comics'' eats this trope for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and has several snacks along the way. ''Every'' BB character is an A.C.E. of some [[The Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]], usually DC, character. A few qualities are mixed and matched, but most are very recognizable.
** Similarly, [[Alan Moore]]'s ''1963'' solely featured A.C.E.s of classic Marvel characters; Mystery Incorporated, for instance, forms a perfect 1:1 likeness to the Fantastic Four (Planet = The Thing, Crystalman = Mr. Fantastic, Kid Dynamo = The Human Torch, Neon Queen = Invisible Woman). Additionally, U.S.A. is [[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]], the Fury is Daredevil/Spider-Man, N-Man is the Hulk, and Hypernaut is a combination of Iron Man, the [[Silver Surfer]], and (for variety's sake) the Green Lantern. Joined by Infra-Man and Infra-Girl, they form a counterpart team to the original Avengers.
* Many [[Image]] Universe characters are these. [[Spawn]] is officially based on Venom and the Prowler (the latter mainly in design and origin and the former in powers and personality) and detective Sam Burke is Harvey Bullock with another name. Omni-Man and ''[[
* Most characters from [[Freedom Force]] and Freedom Force vs 3th Reich are analogues of famous Marvel/DC characters. We have Minuteman ([[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]]), the Ant ([[Spider-Man]]), Quetzalcoatl (Thor with little [[Captain Marvel]]), Law & Order ([[Cloak and Dagger (
** Although Time Master is probably closer in look and deed to Kang the Conqueror.
** [[Word of God]] says that Tombstone is their [[Batman]], but his biggest influence seems to be [[The Spectre]]
* [[Less Than Three Comics]] is full of these. Both Uncle Sams ([[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]]), Thunderbolt ([[The Mighty Thor|Thor]]), Blackbird ([[Batman]]), and Mr GL ([[The Flash]]) to name a few.
* [[The Punisher]] took the character of Mack Bolan, [[The Executioner]], from a series of men's fiction novels written by Don Pendleton and translated it into comic book form. Family killed by the mob, swears revenge, becomes a vigilante and winds up taking on every type of bad guy in the world.
* [[Perry Moore]]'s teen novel ''[[Hero (
* Aaron Williams's [[
* Nikolai Dante, from ''[[
* It didn't start off like this but since ''[[
* The relationship between DC's [[Green Arrow]] and [[Black Canary]] is mirrored in Marvel's [[Hawkeye]] [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|and Mockingbird.]] Their weapons and personalities are also all similar.
* DC has Amazo and Marvel has the Super-Adaptoid.
* Marvel has the [[Thunderbolts]] while DC has the [[Suicide Squad]]. Both teams are headed mostly be reformed villains or bad guys forced to fight crime.
* Marvel and DC have two futuristic superhero teams with ties to the present continuities: [[Guardians of the Galaxy]] and [[Legion of Super
* In recent years{{when}} Marvel has been trying to play up [[Ms. Marvel]] as their [[Wonder Woman]], even though she started as their [[Supergirl]]. [[Storm]] is sometimes thought to be a better equivalent to [[Wonder Woman]] as they are both the most popular female heroes of the companies and fought against each other in a crossover.
* DC's Cassandra Cain ([[
** To clarify: they were both [[Tyke Bomb|raised as assassins]] and had really crappy childhoods, they are both [[No Social Skills|severely lacking in social skills]] because of that, they have similar relationships with their father/mentor (depending on which girl you're talking about), they have similar skill sets and [[Waif Fu|fighting styles]], and they're both rather dark and intimidating in looks/costume design. On the other hand, X-23 is superpowered while Batgirl [[Badass Normal|is not]], and X-23 has a [[Dark Action Girl]] personality while Batgirl is quite [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|the]] [[Cute Mute|opposite]].
* As Hispanic (or Half-Hispanic) replacements for insect (or arachnid) based characters created (or co-created) by [[Steve Ditko]] this claim has been made about [[Blue Beetle|Jaime Reyes]] and [[Ultimate Spider-Man|Miles Morales]].
* In the introduction of "The Judas Contract" ''[[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]'' paperback, Marv Wolfman says he was banking on a perception of this by readers. Chris Claremont had at the time recently introduced young, cute, spunky, and slightly bratty Kitty Pryde to his ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|Uncanny X-Men]]'' to much positive reception. So when the young, cute, spunky, and slightly bratty Terra joined the Titans, people assumed she would be much the same. {{spoiler|From the beginning though, it was clear that Terra was absolutely opposite in personality from Kitty, constantly lying to and provoking her teammates and eventually revealed to be a spy for Titans arch-enemy Deathstroke and a full-blooded sociopath to boot. Wolfman admitted he was totally banking on the shock value of a "Kitty Pryde turns evil" revelation.}}
* Shiner a comic strip from [[Whizzer and Chips]] by the publishers IPC about a boy who always gets into fights is very similiar to an older strip in [[The Beano]] from rival publisher DC Thomson called Scrapper, the strip ran in the 1950s but it was a spinoff from Lord Snooty and his pals focusing on one of his pals. Unsurprisingly this pal is called Scrapper who was one of Snooty's original pals first appearing in the Beano's first issue in 1938 and the character still appeared in the Lord Snooty strip until the late 80s. Another strip in another of DC Thomson's comics [[The Beezer]] had a strip coinidentally called Scrapper also about a boy who always got into fights unlike [[The Beano]] strip of the same name this strip ran at the same time as Shiner appeared.
* In terms of resident [[Super Speed|speedsters]], DC has [[The Flash]] and Marvel has [[Quicksilver]]. Although there are beings capable of super-speed in both universes, both men are ''the'' best-known speedsters for their respective sides, both are considered the fastest, and they've been paired against each other in crossovers (which of them will win depends on the story and/or reader voting). The major differences between them include the fact that the Flash is a [[Legacy Character]] (at least four different individuals in DC's comic timeline have inherited the title from the Golden Age to now) whereas Quicksilver is the only known individual whose sole power is moving really fast; Flash is unquestionably a hero, whereas Quicksilver's gone through the [[Heel Face Revolving Door]] several times; and Flash gained his speed through a [[Freak Lab Accident]] (Speed Force connection notwithstanding), whereas Quicksilver got his speed by virtue of being a mutant.
** Another key difference between them is that The Flash can run at the speed of light, whereas Wolverines claws are unsheathed at a faster speed than Quicksilver can run.*
* DC's Amanda Waller and Marvel's Henry Peter Gyrich are both government officials who are suspicious of the superhero community in their respective universes.
* [[Tropes Are Flexible|A location example rather than a character one]]; DC's Dinosaur Island and Marvel's Savage Land are both [[Lost World]]s filled with [[Prehistoric Monster]]s.
* Ally Koch, Brittney Kornblum and Chris Koenig from the 2003 film ''[[Xtracurricular]]'' are deliberate counterparts to A-ko, B-ko and C-ko from ''[[Project A-ko]]'', which inspired the premise of the film.
== [[Literature]] ==
* CoreFire, Elphin, and Blackwolf from Austin Grossman's ''[[Soon I Will Be Invincible]]'' are all easily recognizable pastiches of [[Superman]], [[Wonder Woman]], and [[Batman]], respectively.
** Other characters are also less-obviously drawn from other Marvel and DC characters. The central superhero group is sort of like a cross between the Avengers and the JLA, Doctor Impossible is a bit [[Lex Luthor]] plus superpowers (and sympathy), Damsel is a bit Donna Troy + Ms. Marvel with some Storm thrown in, Rainbow Triumph is obviously Robin, Mister Magic is mostly [[Doctor Strange]], and so on.
* ''[[Fairest Of All]]'', a re-interpretation of the Evil Queen from [[Snow White and
* ''[[
▲== Live Action TV ==
▲* ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' and ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' have a similar relationship with their monsters, most notably with the Cybermen and The Borg.
* ''[[Power Rangers]]'' had a baddie that was a complete rip-off of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, looking as though they had stolen one of the costumes and added a few spikes and spines to make it look [[Darker and Edgier|more villainous]].
* ''[[Space: 1999]]'''s "Maya" was actively hyped as their [[Star Trek:
* ''[[F Troop]]'' is seen by some as a copy of the Glenn Ford comedy film, ''Advance To The Rear.''
* [[David Letterman]]'s "Small Town News" and [[The Tonight Show|Jay Leno]]'s "Headlines": both comedy routines where the respective hosts snark on oddly worded newspaper features. Letterman claims he came up with the routine during his career as a stand-up comedian, and among his many grievances with Leno is his theft of this routine.
* Keith Olbermann and his show ''[[Countdown
* [[Nickelodeon]]'s ''[[
** Arguably most of what they do is like this. ''[[
* WE tv is like this with TLC, with their [[Dueling Shows]] ''Little Miss Perfect'' and ''[[Toddlers and Tiaras]]'' (though the latter probably gets more ratings). We tv also premieres the same type of shows as TLC whenever they get one, for example their show about the parents of quintuplets came out right about the same time as ''[[Jon and Kate Plus Eight]]'', and more recently the show ''Staten Island Cakes'' with ''[[Cake Boss]]''.
* Parodied on ''[[
== [[Music]] ==
* Due to [[Disney Channel]] and [[Nickelodeon]] having affiliations with some record labels (Walt Disney Records/Hollywood Records for the former and Sony Music/Columbia Records for the latter), this is inevitable. Examples include:
** [[The Jonas Brothers]] or [[Allstar Weekend]] to [[
** [[
== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==
* Most Indo-European mythologies have very similar gods, either as the result of them having their origins in a single ancient religion or because both are personifications of the same concept. Examples include [[Classical Mythology|Hades]] and [[Finnish Mythology|Tuoni]], Apollo and [[Norse Mythology|Freyr]], and Zeus and [[Hindu Mythology|Indra]].
* Thanks to cultural syncretism, and on rare occasions, complete coincidence, Christianity shares many similarities with various other (older) religions. [[Jesus]] in particular seems to have several counterparts in other cultures, which makes a lot of sense if you think about it - most notably Horus, Mithra, and Dionysus (
==
* Demolition and the Powers of Pain were both Alternate Company Equivalent versions of the Road Warriors. Amusingly all three teams ended up in the WWE in 1990 resulting in Demolition matches with the Legion of Doom. The Powers of Pain were quietly split up.
* Abyss can be considered the [[TNA]] version of [[Kane (
* Originally AAA's La Parka Jr. was the Alternate Company Equivalent of WCW's La Parka (though the latter started in AAA, and thus they owned the mask). When WCW's La Parka joined CMLL, he was forced to become L.A. [[Par K]], Alternate Company Equivalent to the now Jr-lacking La Parka.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==▼
* The primary setting of the superhero roleplaying game ''[[
▲== Tabletop Games ==
▲* The primary setting of the superhero roleplaying game ''[[Mutants and Masterminds (Tabletop Game)|Mutants and Masterminds]]'' Freedom City, includes obvious equivalents for DC and Marvel characters, often even playing with similar names: a man with the last name Summers (like the X-Men's Cyclops) runs an academy for teenage heroes, though the character is more of a Batman analog, while the Centurion is the Freedom City's Superman.
** Not to mention the aforementioned school for teenage heroes is named the 'Claremont' Academy.
** Another example, albeit a more subtle multi-layered one, was Police Commissioner Barbara Kane. (A homage to police Commissioner Barbara Gordon from ''[[
** The ''Paragons'' setting for ''Mutants and Masterminds'' includes several characters who appear to be counterparts to heroes from ''[[GURPS|GURPS International Super Teams]]'', which is cited as an influence in its bibliography.
* Likewise ''[[
* Palladium Books' ''Heroes Unlimited'' states that one of the goals behind making the game was to allow players, if they wished, to make characters based on their favorite superheros from the comics. While it doesn't flat out tell you how to, to names of various superpowers make it pretty obvious (and easy) to make, for example, a Wolverine<ref>
== [[Toys]] ==
▲== Toys ==
* Bandai's Machine Robo line of [[Transforming Mecha]] (later licensed to Tonka as the Gobots) to Hasbro/Takara's [[Transformers]]. Or was it the other way around? Made even more confusing by the fact that Hasbro later acquired the Gobots license, but not the one for the original Machine Robo.
** To make matters more confusing, since Hasbro's acquisition of Tonka, Go-Bots occasionally show up in Transformers: Cy-Kill and Scooter were both killed by Jhiaxus, Cop-Tur and Leader-1 are Minicons (possibly homages rather than ACES), and Crasher (under the name Fissure, sometimes) has officially crossed over and leads a squad of Decepticons, and even has a toy out.
* Diamond Select Toys' [[Minimates]] to Medicom's Kubrick line, according to [[Word of God]].
* At some points, Playskool's [[Weebles]] to Fisher-Price's Little People.
* Lanard's The Corps action figures to Hasbro's [[G.I. Joe]] toyline. In fact, when Devil's Due, the company that did the ''G.I. Joe'' comics during the early-to-mid 2000s, lost the license to IDW, they ended up picking up the license to The Corps instead.
* One of Hasbro's offerings, Kre-O, is clearly meant to be their equivalent to [[LEGO]]; they'd previously ventured into construction blocks with the short-lived Built to Rule series, but that didn't catch on. Perhaps the second time's the charm?
* Matchbox toy cars to Hot Wheels toy cars (now they belong to the same company)
* The popularity of the ''[[American Girl]]'' line of dolls led to a number of imitators such as Target's ''Our Generation'' brand of 18-inch dolls made by Battat as well as Walmart's ''My Life As'', both of which are largely compatible with clothes and accessories made for American Girl dolls. Going on a more [[The Moral Substitute|moral]] direction, there is also [https://www.dollsfromheaven.com/ Dolls from Heaven], a faith-based line of American Girl-esque dolls modelled after Catholic saints and biblical figures.
== [[Video Games]] ==▼
* This also shows up in [[Fighting Game
▲== Video Games ==
▲* This also shows up in [[Fighting Game|Fighting Games]]. For example, {{media|1151067841104.jpg| here}} we have Mai, Yuri, Chun-Li and Sakura, the first two from SNK's ''[[The King of Fighters (Video Game)|The King of Fighters]]'' series and the latter two from Capcom's ''[[Street Fighter]]'' series. A great deal of [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshade Hangings]] are done in the prefight conversations ''[[SNK vs. Capcom SVC Chaos (Video Game)|SNK vs. Capcom SVC Chaos]]'', as the characters who resemble each other comment on the similarities.
** [[Joke Character|Dan Hibiki]] of the ''[[Street Fighter]]'' series was created as a [[Take That|parody]] of Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia, with some of Yuri's mannerisms thrown in. Similar to the above example, Dan is frequently mistaken for Robert in the crossover games due to a pronounced (and intentional) resemblance, and is also considered a counterpart of fellow goofball Joe Higashi.
** Of course, Dan was a response to Ryo and Robert, who were originally made as
** ''[[
** All these years later, and Capcom and SNK are ''still'' doing this. Back in 2000, SNK introduced [[The King of Fighters
** And let's not forget the recursive example of Iori-Remy-Ash Crimson. Remy, from ''[[
*** Both characters are from France as well, adding another parallel.
** A video game example: [[SNK]]'s ''[[Fatal Fury|Garou: Mark of the Wolves]]'' (1999) to [[Capcom]]'s ''[[
*** Few know that ''[[Art of Fighting]] 3'' had done it before either of them.
** ''[[
*** As of ''[[
** More recently, ''[[
** Midway gave us ''[[
* ''[[
** Positron is a [[I Love Nuclear Power|radioactive]] [[Iron Man]].
** Manticore is [[Batman]] with the fighting style of Green Arrow. (So basically, Batman.) That, or Hawkeye. And the friendly sparring between Statesman and Manticore resembles that of Captain America and Hawkeye in ''[[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]]''.
** Sister Psyche heavily resembles [[X-Men|Jean Grey]], down to being [[Heroes Want Redheads|a redhead]].
** Synapse, the token speedster, is generally considered an equivalent to [[The Flash]].
** Back Alley Brawler seems to have a little of [[Luke Cage, Hero for Hire]], and/or Wildcat.
** Lord Recluse is pretty much [[Doctor Doom]] with more lackeys. (And a touch of Doctor Octupus.)
** On the other hand, any player character which ventures too closely to a trademarked character was likely to get "generic"ed by the staff. After the game was revived in 2019, the same restriction was imposed to avoid unwanted legal complications.
* Just as [[Nintendo]] has ''[[
** [[Follow the Leader|Later]], there were ''Crash Team Racing, Atari Karts, Konami Krazy Racers, NASCAR Kart Racing, Sonic R''...
* Another video game example, ''[[The Great Giana Sisters]]'' were very, very similar to, [[Super Mario Bros.|well, guess who?]] Under pressure of [[Nintendo]], the game was withdrawn almost immediately after it was published. Maybe the makers should not have written ''the brothers are history'' on the cover of the C64 version...
** Ironically enough, it got a remake on the Nintendo DS of all things, as Giana Sisters DS. Though it's [[No Export for You|not available outside of Europe]].
* And just as the original ''SMB'' had ''Giana Sisters'', ''[[
* ''[[Mega Man (
* ''[[Adventure Island]]'' was literally Hudson Soft's version of Sega's ''[[Wonder Boy (
** Hudson also made their own versions of the ''Monster World'' games for the [[
** Hudson's TurboGrafx CD [[Beat
* [[Naughty Dog]] and [[Insomniac Games]], two of the most prominent western developers for the [[
* ''[[
== [[Web Comics]] ==
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** Can summon plant matter from seemingly out of nowhere and hide inside a sunflower: Jeral Cormier / Botan the Plant-Man or Samuel Smithers/Plantman?
*** Although Botan was ''intended'' as a parody of Sandman.
** The patriotic All-American: [[Nathaniel Hawthorne|Gray Champion]] or [[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]]?
** He tends to [[Walk the Earth]] looking for evil souls to punish and turns into a monster sometimes to do so: Extirpon, [[Spawn]], or [[Ghost Rider]]?
** Pilltar is ''[[Avatar (
** Has a female ward, wears black, hides in shadows, defends the defenseless, and the government hates his guts and has him labeled a terrorist whether or not he actually is one: Navyrope or [[V for Vendetta]]?
** It doesn't even just stick to picking on Marvel and DC. Lloyd K''olumn'' is a deliberate parody of Alec Baldwin as Nicholas Kud''row'' from the film [[Mercury Rising]].
** Vienna Dockler for [[Alias (TV series)|Sydney Bistrow]] ([[Don't Explain the Joke|Austria or Australia]]?)
** Lobe the Mexican Wolfman = [[Lobo]] but with [[One
* [[Spinnerette]] is pretty much a female Spider-Man, with a touch of [[Reality Ensues]].
== [[Web Original]] ==▼
* ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' example: The Vindicators, a group at [[Super
▲== Web Original ==
▲* ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' example: The Vindicators, a group at [[Super Hero School|Whateley Academy]], who have a rivalry with Team Kimba, are pretty obviously [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]]: Kismet as the Scarlet Witch, Captain Canada! as Captain America, Donner as Thor, Dynamaxx as Iron Man, Lemure as The Vision, and Sizemax as Giant-man. Elite League is pretty much this trope with the animated Justice League. The Good Ol' Boyz are a parody too, but not of a superhero team.
* ''[[Less Than Three Comics]]'' is practically made of this trope. From Uncle Sam (Captain America) to Thunderbolt (Thor) to The Shadow (Batman).
* There are several of these in the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'', most visibly the Neuman Family, who are pretty obviously a combination of the [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]] and the [[Power Pack]].
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
▲== Western Animation ==
* [[Toon Disney]] and the [[Nicktoons]] Network were Disney and Nickelodeon's equivalents to Turner's [[Cartoon Network]].
** Disney Channel and Nickelodeon have been almost equivalents ever since the Disney Channel's [[Network Decay|switch to a kids/teens only format]] in 1997. Later, they stopped making cartoons and left only their most popular cartoons (''[[
* ''[[
** To some extent, Terry and some of his Rogues Gallery are this to ''[[Spider-Man]]'' and his villains: Terry/Peter Parker- young hero who has to [[Wake Up, Go to School, Save
* ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' did a homage to Marvel's Defenders; the original team had the [[
** [[Fridge Logic|When you think about it]], using Hawkgirl for Nighthawk is a bit odd, since Kyle himself is the main Marvel Universe version of the Squadron Supreme's Batman-character. But Grundy couldn't have called Batman "[[The Nicknamer|Bird-Nose]]".
** You might be able to slot in Hawkgirl for Valkyrie instead.
*** Just make her "all the rest".
* The Justice League episode "Ultimatum" has a government-sponsored team of heroes created by [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke|genetic Experiments]]. These heroes are a somewhat less campy version of the [[Wonder Twins]] and the [[Token Minority]] [[Captain Ethnic|heroes]] [[Canon Foreigner|unique]] to the ''[[
*** Also, the Wonder Twins took the form of Tragic Badass.
* Disney and [[Cartoon Network]] have had
** ''Juniper Lee'' started out as an
* The ''[[
** Perhaps it's more like an [[Affectionate Parody]].
* Bun-Bun in ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy
** Hämsterviel is a ''hamster'', silly!
** Sounds suspiciously similar to ''[[
* In ''[[Batman:
* ''[[Detention]]'' was pretty much WB's alternate company equivalent to Disney's ''[[Recess]]''.
* In 2012, [[Cartoon Network]] began a block called DC Nation, featuring cartoons and shorts adapted from [[DC Comics]]. That same year, [[Disney XD]] began a block called Marvel Universe, featuring cartoons and shorts adaped from [[Marvel Comics]].
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
▲== Real Life ==
* Alternate Country Equivalents are common in Real Life, especially in the armed forces. The success of the M16's smaller 5.56mm round was copied by the Soviets for the 5.45mm AK-74 (not to be confused with the earlier AK-47, which it is derived from), and eventually the Chinese 5.8mm round. Happens with tanks, jets, even nukes. If it isn't at least based on another country's stuff, it's the original to be copied for some other country's stuff.
* Soft drink manufacturers love to do this. Just going with the Big Two...
Line 266:
*** Third party knock-offs will usually have names that make their origin blatant; for example, Kroger's answer to Dr Pepper is Dr Thunder.
* When you get right down to it, even the staffs at both DC and Marvel are pretty similar to each other.
** The [[Scapegoat Creator]] Editor: [[Dan
** The head writer in charge of most of the ongoing works: [[Geoff Johns]] and [[Brian Bendis]]
** The weird guy from the UK that indulges in postmodernism: [[Grant Morrison]] and [[Warren Ellis]]
Line 274:
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Superhero Tropes]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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