Captain Ersatz: Difference between revisions

Line 8:

The character equivalent of a [[Bland-Name Product]].

This character's design is a mix of legal issues and homage. Just as someone who wants to incorporate a Wal-Mart into a story but can't manage the [[Product Placement]] might use "[[Brand X|Box Mart]]," a person who wants to write [[Superman|Captain Original]], but can't because a rival comic company owns the trademark, will create [[Captain Marvel|Captain Ersatz.]] Sometimes, these characters are used as affectionate [[Shout Out|Shout Outs]] to a series or creator that may have inspired them. At other times, they are used as [[Parody|parodies]] or [[Take That|Take Thats]] against the original characters they're based on (and [[Biting the Hand Humor|possibly the company who owns them]]).

This character's design is a mix of legal issues and homage. Just as someone who wants to incorporate a Wal-Mart into a story but can't manage the [[Product Placement]] might use "[[Brand X|Box Mart]]," a person who wants to write [[Superman|Captain Original]], but can't because a rival comic company owns the trademark, will create [[Captain Marvel|Captain Ersatz.]] Sometimes, these characters are used as affectionate [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to a series or creator that may have inspired them. At other times, they are used as [[Parody|parodies]] or [[Take That|Take Thats]] against the original characters they're based on (and [[Biting the Hand Humor|possibly the company who owns them]]).

Done when an artist or writer wants to use a character but for whatever reason [[Exiled From Continuity|isn't allowed to]] at the present time, especially due to uncertainty of ownership, or else certainty that that character is trademarked into someone else's continuity and isn't going to be loaned out.

Line 31:

* Ronald [[McDonald's|McDonald]]: The Washington D.C. version of Bozo The Clown, played by Willard Scott, was so popular public appearances would require police to direct traffic. After the show was cancelled, local franchise owners asked Scott to create a similar character to continue the promotion. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML263lBEVRE Ronald McDonald was born.]

** The original incarnation of McDonaldLand was a blatant copy of the cast and setting of [[Sid and Marty Krofft Productions]]' 70s-era children's show ''[[H.R. Pufnstuf (TV)]]''. The Kroffts (who had turned down an earlier request from McDonald's to license the ''Pufnstuf'' characters for advertising) [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_legal_cases~~#H.R.~~_Pufnstuf_~~.~~2F_McDonaldland~~ sued and won], forcing McDonald's to not only pay damages, but to dramatically retool McDonaldLand.

** The original incarnation of McDonaldLand was a blatant copy of the cast and setting of [[Sid and Marty Krofft Productions]]' 70s-era children's show ''[[H.R. Pufnstuf (TV)]]''. The Kroffts (who had turned down an earlier request from McDonald's to license the ''Pufnstuf'' characters for advertising) [[wikipedia:McDonaldchr(27)s legal cases#H.R. Pufnstuf .2F McDonaldland|sued and won]], forcing McDonald's to not only pay damages, but to dramatically retool McDonaldLand.

* The Bombadier, a [[Large Ham]] [[Napoleonic Wars]] soldier played by Rik Mayall in adverts for Bombadier Real Ale, is what Lord Flashheart would have been if he'd appeared in ''[[Black Adder]] the Third'', except he says "Bang on!" rather than "Woof!" Mayall even uses the same voice.

Line 42:

* ''[[Angel Beats (Anime)|Angel Beats]]'' has Yuri, who looks like a color swapped Haruhi from ''[[The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'', only with straight bangs. She leads a group of students with a similar name to the group of students that Haruhi leads (SSS vs SOS) and even acts somewhat like her. Their backgrounds and goals are different, but their characters are pretty much the same otherwise. At least, initially.

* ''[[Angel Blade (Anime)|Angel Blade]]'' [[Hentai|H-series]] has a few characters that may be pretty familiar to some people, but the most-definitely-not-[[Kekko Kamen]] heroine is the most obvious example. Justified since AB is basically a parody of Kekko Kamen.

** At least two characters are CEs of [[Fatal Fury|Mai Shiranui]] (the director apparently includes one in every project he works on as a [[Shout Out]], two more are basically the lead females of ''Gowcaizer'' renamed, and one more is Mizuki from ''[[Gravion]]'' given the same treatment.

** At least two characters are CEs of [[Fatal Fury|Mai Shiranui]] (the director apparently includes one in every project he works on as a [[Shout-Out]], two more are basically the lead females of ''Gowcaizer'' renamed, and one more is Mizuki from ''[[Gravion]]'' given the same treatment.

* ''[[Bleach (Manga)|Bleach]]'' has one of the most famous Captain Ersatz, Orihime Inoue: ''Ushio and Tora'''s Mayuko is probably her long-lost twin sister. Shy and naive behaviour? Check. Second female lead? Check. Amazing supernatural barrier-creating and healing powers? Check. They even share the same ''freaking'' surname.

* ''[[Clannad (Visual Novel)|Clannad]]'' 's Fujibayashi sisters and ''[[Lucky Star (Anime)|Lucky Star]]'' 's Hiiragi sisters. Both pairs are twins, both have purple hair, the elder twin is a [[Tsundere]], the younger twin is quiet and reserved, they sport [[Tsurime Eyes|Tsurime]] and [[Tareme Eyes|Tareme]] respectively, both twins' hairstyles resemble their Ersatz counterpart's... Seriously.

Line 59:

* ''[[Soul Eater]]'' has [[Lucky Charms Title|Black]]☆[[Lucky Charms Title|Star]] who bears a striking resemblance to another [[Large Ham|loud mouthed]], [[Blasphemous Boast|overly confident]], [[Naruto|ninja in orange]] who's quite [[Highly-Visible Ninja|poor at being one.]] However, as the manga's progressed Black☆Star has matured and developed into his own character.

** If you compare the main cast to the one in [[Shaman King]], you can see a lot of uncanny resemblances. For example, Black☆Star looks like Horo-Horo, Death the Kid looks like Tao Ren and Stein is just like Faust VIII.

* ''[[Tenchi Muyo GXP]]'' has Seiryo Tennan and Amane Kaunaq who are a [[Shout Out]] to Tatewaki Kuno and Akane Tendo of ''[[Ranma One Half]]'', including the obsessive stalker-violent tomboy childhood "relationship" to one another.

* ''[[Tenchi Muyo GXP]]'' has Seiryo Tennan and Amane Kaunaq who are a [[Shout-Out]] to Tatewaki Kuno and Akane Tendo of ''[[Ranma One Half]]'', including the obsessive stalker-violent tomboy childhood "relationship" to one another.

* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh GX]]'' has Daitokuji-sensei who looks like a cross between [[Final Fantasy VII (Video Game)|Hojo]] and [[Fullmetal Alchemist|Ling Yao]].

* The title character of ''[[Kurohime]]'' is a [[Distaff Counterpart|gender-flip]] of [[Bastard!! (Manga)|Dark Schneider]].

Line 116:

* Another British comics example: In the 50s, when British publisher L. Miller ran out of ''[[Captain Marvel]]'' stories to reprint, he commissioned Mick Anglo to create a similar superhero, ''Marvelman'' (known in America as ''[[Miracleman (Comic Book)|Miracleman]]''). Due to the exceptional quality of these stories (particularly Alan Moore's 1980s revival), Marvelman/Miracleman became a beloved character in his own right.

* Still another British comics example: In ''[[Zenith]]: Phase III'', [[Grant Morrison]] used thinly veiled versions of characters owned by ''[[Two Thousand AD (Comic Book)|Two Thousand AD]]'''s rival comic publishers. Those he could actually get the rights to just appeared as themselves.

* The original ''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]'' comic strips didn't have the rights to the Daleks at first, so they used similar enemies called Trods. Eventually the company did get the rights to use the Daleks, so they took advantage of it by creating a storyline in which the Daleks EX-TER-MIN-ATE the Trods!

* The original ''[[Doctor Who]]'' comic strips didn't have the rights to the Daleks at first, so they used similar enemies called Trods. Eventually the company did get the rights to use the Daleks, so they took advantage of it by creating a storyline in which the Daleks EX-TER-MIN-ATE the Trods!

** [[Marvel Comics]] also created eccentric time-traveler [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/jagamble.htm Professor Gamble] and his enemies, the marauding robot army of [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/incinerators.htm Incinerators], Ersatzes (Ersatzii?) of ''Doctor Who'''s Doctor and the Daleks respectively, with [[Shout Out|Shout Outs]] galore. Rather odd, since Marvel UK published ''Doctor Who'' comics at the time, ''and'' the Doctor had already interacted with mainstream [[Marvel Universe]] characters.

** [[Marvel Comics]] also created eccentric time-traveler [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/jagamble.htm Professor Gamble] and his enemies, the marauding robot army of [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/incinerators.htm Incinerators], Ersatzes (Ersatzii?) of ''Doctor Who'''s Doctor and the Daleks respectively, with [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] galore. Rather odd, since Marvel UK published ''Doctor Who'' comics at the time, ''and'' the Doctor had already interacted with mainstream [[Marvel Universe]] characters.

** And now ''[[Community (TV)|Community]]'' has gotten in on it with ''[[Inspector Spacetime]]'', complete with a time & space travelling red telephone booth, a similar theme song and the Dalek knock-offs, the "Blorgons", who shout "ERADICATE!"

* Nearly all the (non-series-star) characters in ''[[Planetary]]'' were created as Captains Ersatz of some existing character or trope, simply so the Planetary team could interact with visitors from many continuities.

Line 179:

* Buck Wild from [[Milestone Comics|Milestone's]] ''[[Icon (Comic Book)|Icon]]'' is a Captain Ersatz of ''several'' different characters. His original costume and powers are clearly based on [[Luke Cage]], he later wore a suit to fly and teamed up with a patriotic hero like [[The Falcon (Comic Book)|the Falcon]] , got a special belt that gave him the power to shoot electricity like Black Lightning, and then finally became a grim soul avenger like [[Spawn]].

* Pretty much every villain faced by DC's ''Inferior Five'' is a Captain Ersatz of a character from a rival publisher. The evil agents of H.U.R.R.I.C.A.N.E. are based on the ''[[THUNDER Agents (Comic Book)|THUNDER Agents]]'', the Kooky Quartet on the [[Fantastic Four]] (with the nickname given to the Avengers after their first big roster shakeup), etc. Their version of Thor even mentions a comic book deal with a guy named [[Stan Lee|Stanley]], though he has to shave his beard off and bleach his hair blond first...

** Not to mention the [[Justice League of America|Freedom Brigade]], the parents of the Five themselves: Merryman (son of [[Captain America|The Patriot]] and [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/Miss_America_%28DC_Comics%29~~ Lady Liberty]), Awkwardman (son of [[Superman|Mr. Might]] and [[Aquaman (Comic Book)|The Mermaid]]), Dumb Bunny (daughter of [[Wonder Woman]]), The Blimp (son of [[The Flash|Captain Swift]]) and White Feather (son of [[Green Arrow|The Bowman]]).

** Not to mention the [[Justice League of America|Freedom Brigade]], the parents of the Five themselves: Merryman (son of [[Captain America|The Patriot]] and [[wikipedia:Miss America chr(28)DC Comicschr(29)|Lady Liberty]]), Awkwardman (son of [[Superman|Mr. Might]] and [[Aquaman (Comic Book)|The Mermaid]]), Dumb Bunny (daughter of [[Wonder Woman]]), The Blimp (son of [[The Flash|Captain Swift]]) and White Feather (son of [[Green Arrow|The Bowman]]).

* Black Cat is often thought to be a knock-off of [[Catwoman (Comic Book)|Catwoman]] due to their extremely similar costumes and motifs, as well as their [[Dating Catwoman|forbidden romances with superheroes]]. However, this is a misconception, as the Black Cat was conceived as a foe for [[Spider Woman]], and Catwoman did not start wearing her iconic black leather outfit until the 80's, long after Black Cat debuted.

** This is lampshaded in an episode of ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'', where Black Cat uses the alias "Selina Drew" (Catwoman's real name is Selina Kyle) when going undercover as a female prison guard.

Line 247:

** Mrs. Krabappel = [[Vampirella (Comic Book)|Vampirella]] ("Vampiredna").

** Krusty the Clown = [[The Joker]], natch.

** Plus a pair of groups, Oldblood and WildB.R.A.T.S. based on [[Image Comics]] [[Nineties Anti Hero]] teams [[Youngblood]] and [[Wild CATS|WildC.A.T.S.]] Ironically, the former team is made up of senior citizens.

** Plus a pair of groups, Oldblood and WildB.R.A.T.S. based on [[Image Comics]] [[Nineties Anti-Hero]] teams [[Youngblood]] and [[Wild CATS|WildC.A.T.S.]] Ironically, the former team is made up of senior citizens.

* The Nigerian hero ''Powerman'' was intentionally created in order as a black version of [[Superman]].

* ''[[PS 238]]'' is '''made''' of this trope. Virtually every main character is a [[Captain Ersatz]] of some other company's characters.

Line 259:

* [[Alan Moore]]'s ''Terra Obscura'' turned previously unrelated [[Public Domain]] Golden Age heroes the Black Terror and Tom Strange into ersatz versions of Batman and Superman. The other heroes were made to correspond very roughly to various other figures from the era, but none so much as those two.

** Alan Moore also created the ''[[Nineteen Sixty Three|1963]]'' mini-series for [[Image Comics]], with each of the six issues being an homage to [[Marvel Comics]] of the 1960's: #1 Mystery Incorporated (Fantastic Four), #2 The Fury(Spider-Man and Daredevil), #3 Tales of the Uncanny (U.S.A and The Hypernaut = Captain America and Iron Man),#4 Tales From Beyond (Johnny Beyond and N-Man = Dr. Strange and the Hulk), #5 Horus (Thor), and #6 The Tomorrow Syndicate (The Avengers).

* ''10th Muse'' supporting characters Venus/Mighty Maid and Wombat are, respectively, Supergirl and Batman (though ''both'' are female). Venus' introductory issue was an extended [[Shout Out]] to the Supergirl mythos, as it were, and Wombat actually murders her own parents outside a movie theater because she thinks it will make her a better hero.

* ''10th Muse'' supporting characters Venus/Mighty Maid and Wombat are, respectively, Supergirl and Batman (though ''both'' are female). Venus' introductory issue was an extended [[Shout-Out]] to the Supergirl mythos, as it were, and Wombat actually murders her own parents outside a movie theater because she thinks it will make her a better hero.

* In ''The Pro'', the League of Honor is blatantly a copy of the [[Justice League of America]]. To wit:

** The Saint: Superman

Line 271:

* Winky, Blinky, and Noddy, aka "The Three Dimwits," were [[Bumbling Sidekick|Bumbling Sidekicks]] to the [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] [[Flash]]. They were obviously ersatz versions of [[The Three Stooges]].

* Captain Strong, a more "realistic" (for comic books' version of realistic) version of [[Popeye]], has sporadically met up with Superman over the last forty years.

* Many of [[Sin City|Sin City's]] characters are [[Shout Out|Shout Outs]] to previous characters from pulp fiction and film noir:

* Many of [[Sin City|Sin City's]] characters are [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to previous characters from pulp fiction and film noir:

** Marv was created as "[[Conan]] in a trenchcoat."

** Dwight is quite obviously based on [[Mike Hammer]].

Line 297:

* ''[[Film/The Buddy Holly Story|The Buddy Holly Story]]'' had a fictionalized version of the Crickets (two members instead of three, names changed) because the real-life Crickets had already signed onto a different Buddy Holly project.

** The conspiracy-laden 1980s stinker, Down on Us aka Beyond the Doors about how the CIA killed Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison, you notice that [[The Doors|Morrison's band]] is never mentioned by name and have no resemblence to Manzarek, Kreiger, or Densmore. (not to mention, all of the songs in the film are original songs, which sound nothing like the songs made famous by said artists)

* Possibly Rufus from ''[[Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure]]'', [[Doctor Who ~~(TV)~~|a quirky, sophisticated fellow in a time-travelling phone box]]...

* Possibly Rufus from ''[[Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure]]'', [[Doctor Who|a quirky, sophisticated fellow in a time-travelling phone box]]...

* So many [[Spark Plug Entertainment]] characters.

* Officially, ''[[The Godfather (Film)|The Godfather]]'' isn’t about the Mafia at all. When the real Mafia began making complaints and threats, the filmmakers compromised, removing all references to "the Mafia" and "Cosa Nostra". So the film is actually about a fictitious crime organisation that just happens to be based around five fictitious Italian-American families – it’s usually referred to as "the Five Families" when mentioned on screen.

Line 304:

**** Averted in ''Part II'', where during the senator hearings, the words Mafia and Cosa Nostra are mentioned multiple times (here by an outsider).

* A series of ''El Látigo'' ("The Whip") films were produced in Mexico. El Latigo is a ''very'' close imitation of the famous ''gringo''-created hero of Old California, [[Zorro]].

* BBV seemed to specialise in ''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]'' Ersatzes:

* BBV seemed to specialise in ''[[Doctor Who]]'' Ersatzes:

** ''The Stranger'' was a direct-to-video series starring Colin Baker (who played the Sixth Doctor on the show) and Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown) as "The Stranger" and "Miss Brown", respectively.

** While BBV eventually did get licensing rights to various ''Doctor Who'' monsters, the Big Two remained exceptions. They never attempted fake-Daleks, but the Cyberons are, well, Cybermen.

Line 314:

** Similarly, before Sherlock Holmes lapsed into the public domain, several novels pitted Arsene Lupin against "Herlock Sholmes".

*** And actually continue to do so, in the French-speaking world at least.

* [[Douglas Adams]]'s book ''[[Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency (Literature)|Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency]]'' was based on a script he'd written for ''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]'' ("Shada") that had never been completed due to a studio workers' strike. The character of Dirk Gently was created to replace the Doctor in the book, and the character of Richard MacDuff created as a Companion figure. Dirk Gently proved such an engaging character that Adams wrote a sequel, ''[[The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul (Literature)|The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul]]'', and was working on a third book [[Author Existence Failure|when he died]].

* [[Douglas Adams]]'s book ''[[Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency (Literature)|Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency]]'' was based on a script he'd written for ''[[Doctor Who]]'' ("Shada") that had never been completed due to a studio workers' strike. The character of Dirk Gently was created to replace the Doctor in the book, and the character of Richard MacDuff created as a Companion figure. Dirk Gently proved such an engaging character that Adams wrote a sequel, ''[[The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul (Literature)|The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul]]'', and was working on a third book [[Author Existence Failure|when he died]].

** Similarly, ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy (Franchise)/Life, The Universe And Everything|Life The Universe And Everything]]'' was largely based on his proposed script for a ''Doctor Who'' story, ''Doctor Who versus the Krikkitmen''. The role of the Doctor was taken by Slartibartfast (and towards the end by Trillian), largely because none of the other shiftless main characters of the ''Guide'' universe fit the bill.

** ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'' actually borrows from both the above mentioned ''Shada'' and another Doctor Who serial, ''City of Death'', which Adams co-wrote. Compare the [[Big Bad]]'s plan in both.

Line 324:

* Michael Shea's novel ''Nift the Lean'' was written as a sequel to [[Jack Vance (Creator)|Jack Vance]]'s first Cugel the Clever novel before Vance himself wrote an official sequel. Thus, Nift is a [[Captain Ersatz]] of Cugel. However, since Nift is paired with a [[Barbarian Hero]] named Barnar, there's another level of ersatzes, as Barnar and Nift are respectively based off of [[Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser]].

* Minister Faust's ''From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain'' features several of these: Omnipotent Man (Superman), Flying Squirrel (Batman), Iron Maiden (Wonder Woman/Thor) and Fly Brother (Spider-Man).

* In a rather bizarre example, where [[Captain Ersatz]] meets [[Sure Why Not]] or who-knows-what, an erotic romance novel called ''The Stranger'' by Portia da Costa features an expy of [[Doctor Who ~~(TV)~~|the Eighth Doctor]]. He has the same name as the actor who played Eight (Paul), and is almost exactly the same other than the name <ref>and being described as taller and younger than I personally would describe him</ref>, including the [[Trauma Induced Amnesia|amnesia]]. And the heroine's surname, as some who've watched [[Withnail and I|Withnail & I]] may know, was the surname of another character Paul McGann played. Oddly enough, this all merits a sort of [[Continuity Nod]] in a [[Television Tie in Novel]] - the heroine is mentioned as someone the Doctor knew<ref>not, mind you, mentioned as someone he ''knew''</ref>. [[Fandom]] has speculated about which writer of the [[Television Tie in Novel|Television Tie In Novels]] is "Portia da Costa". So this means ''the Doctor'' has a ''published'' and ''semi-canon'' [[Narm|Narmful]] [[A Date With Rosie Palms|Date With Rosie Palms]]<ref>"Claudia realised that caressing himself was as much a comfort to the young man as it was an act of sex. He seemed reassured by his body's own responses. But that took nothing away from the eroticism of his performance."</ref>, among other things, out there.

* In a rather bizarre example, where [[Captain Ersatz]] meets [[Sure Why Not]] or who-knows-what, an erotic romance novel called ''The Stranger'' by Portia da Costa features an expy of [[Doctor Who|the Eighth Doctor]]. He has the same name as the actor who played Eight (Paul), and is almost exactly the same other than the name <ref>and being described as taller and younger than I personally would describe him</ref>, including the [[Trauma-Induced Amnesia|amnesia]]. And the heroine's surname, as some who've watched [[Withnail and I|Withnail & I]] may know, was the surname of another character Paul McGann played. Oddly enough, this all merits a sort of [[Continuity Nod]] in a [[Television Tie in Novel]] - the heroine is mentioned as someone the Doctor knew<ref>not, mind you, mentioned as someone he ''knew''</ref>. [[Fandom]] has speculated about which writer of the [[Television Tie in Novel|Television Tie In Novels]] is "Portia da Costa". So this means ''the Doctor'' has a ''published'' and ''semi-canon'' [[Narm|Narmful]] [[A Date With Rosie Palms|Date With Rosie Palms]]<ref>"Claudia realised that caressing himself was as much a comfort to the young man as it was an act of sex. He seemed reassured by his body's own responses. But that took nothing away from the eroticism of his performance."</ref>, among other things, out there.

* Most of the superheroes in Perry Moore's young adult novel ''Hero'' are blatant parodies of DC characters, [[Wonder Woman|Warrior Woman]] being the most obvious.

* ''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]'' again: In the [[Faction Paradox]] series the Time Lords become the Great Houses, who travel in Timeships (TARDISes) and are led by a War King who is clearly the Master. The Homeworld of the Great Houses was formerly defended by artificial beings called "casts" (Shaydes from the ''[[Doctor Who Magazine (Magazine)|DWM]]'' comic strip), and an attempt to produce semi-sentient casts created homicidal maniacs called "babels" (N-Forms from the Eighth Doctor novels). The Doctor himself is only referred to as "[[Perspective Flip|the Evil Renegade]]".

* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' again: In the [[Faction Paradox]] series the Time Lords become the Great Houses, who travel in Timeships (TARDISes) and are led by a War King who is clearly the Master. The Homeworld of the Great Houses was formerly defended by artificial beings called "casts" (Shaydes from the ''[[Doctor Who Magazine (Magazine)|DWM]]'' comic strip), and an attempt to produce semi-sentient casts created homicidal maniacs called "babels" (N-Forms from the Eighth Doctor novels). The Doctor himself is only referred to as "[[Perspective Flip|the Evil Renegade]]".

* In ''What They Did To Princess Paragon'' by Robert Rodi, the eponymous Princess Paragon is very obviously [[Wonder Woman]]. Other characters created by Bang Comics include Acme-Man ([[Superman]]), the urban vigilante Moonman ([[Batman]], complete with campy 60s TV series), and other members of the Freedom Front ([[Justice League of America]]). Bang's rivals Electric Comics, meanwhile, created the explorer-team The Quasar Quintet ([[Fantastic Four]]), the irradiated monster Sherman Tank ([[Incredible Hulk (Comic Book)|Incredible Hulk]]), and the superhero team The Offenders ([[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]]).

* [[Horde of Alien Locusts|The Vord]] in the ''[[Codex Alera]]'' are straight out of ''[[Starcraft]]''. If you're not thinking "[[Zerg Rush]] ''kekekekeke''" by halfway through ''Academ's Fury'', you're doing something wrong.

Line 352:

* ''[[Star Trek Deep Space Nine (TV)|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'' was created with the intent to include Michelle Forbes' recurring character from ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation (TV)|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'', Ro Laren, but the actress declined to star as a regular in the series. So the character of Kira Nerys was created as a near-identical substitute (abrasive personality, lack of trust in Starfleet).

* And ''[[Star Trek Voyager (TV)|Star Trek Voyager]]'' went as far as to cast the actor who had played Nicholas Locarno in TNG's "The First Duty" before changing the character's name to Tom Paris and altering his backstory to be more sympathetic.

** Though [[Word of God]] has [[Flip Flop of God|flip-flopped]] on whether this was done because Locarno was unrepentant and therefore unsympathetic, or because they didn't want to have to pay royalties to the writer of "The First Duty".

** Though [[Word of God]] has [[Flip-Flop of God|flip-flopped]] on whether this was done because Locarno was unrepentant and therefore unsympathetic, or because they didn't want to have to pay royalties to the writer of "The First Duty".

* Parodied on ''[[30 Rock (TV)|Thirty Rock]]'' when Jenna intends to star in a biopic about Janis Joplin, but because of legal issues, the pic will be about a Janis Joplin facsimile called Jackie Jormp-Jomp.

* The BBC did a [[Captain Ersatz]] ''[[The Danza|Danza]]'' in the case of ''Happy Ever After''. When its creator decided that it had run for long enough, he declined to write any more episodes and eventually jumped ship, retaining the rights to the show's format as he did. So the BBC took the central couple from ''Happy Ever After'', changed their surname and character bios, put them in another suburban house, and carried on from there. Terry Fletcher (played by Terry Scott) and his wife June (June Whitfield) became Terry and June Medford in the imaginatively-named [[Britcom]] ''Terry and June''. If that wasn't enough, the characters Terry and June are near-identical [[Expy|expies]] of Ron and Vera Baines, the couple that Terry Scott and June Whitfield played in the feature film version of earlier suburban [[Britcom]] ''Bless This House''.

Line 407:

== Radio ==

* BBV's ''Audio Adventures in Time & Space'', starring Sylvester McCoy as "The Professor" and Sophie Aldred as "Alice", Ersatzes of ''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]'''s Seventh Doctor and Ace (also played by McCoy and Aldred) actually attracted enough attention from the BBC that they had to hurriedly makes some characterization changes.

* BBV's ''Audio Adventures in Time & Space'', starring Sylvester McCoy as "The Professor" and Sophie Aldred as "Alice", Ersatzes of ''[[Doctor Who]]'''s Seventh Doctor and Ace (also played by McCoy and Aldred) actually attracted enough attention from the BBC that they had to hurriedly makes some characterization changes.

** Another line of BBV audios starred Nicholas Briggs (who had previously played the Doctor in non-commercial fanvids) as the Traveler.

Line 415:

** In a picture in the 3E Hero's Handbook, there's even a character wearing a shirt that says "Ersatz" on the front.

* Looking for 1980s cartoon Captain Ersatzes, then you won't be surprise that [[Cartoon Action Hour]] has more than its fair share. For I.E, the Black Widow from "Strikeforce Freedom" is a blonde hair version of [[The Baroness]] from [[G.I. Joe]].

* The Swedish superhero game ''Supergänget'' (published in English as ''Supercrew'') features some among their quick examples - The Weasel ([[Wolverine]], but female), The Tomani ([[The Incredible Hulk]] with a [[Shout Out]] to children's author Christine Nöstlinger) and Tapir Man ([[Spider Man|Rhino]], and being a caricature of a friend of the author), among others.

* The Swedish superhero game ''Supergänget'' (published in English as ''Supercrew'') features some among their quick examples - The Weasel ([[Wolverine]], but female), The Tomani ([[The Incredible Hulk]] with a [[Shout-Out]] to children's author Christine Nöstlinger) and Tapir Man ([[Spider Man|Rhino]], and being a caricature of a friend of the author), among others.

* Play in any tabletop game long enough, and you will see a player or game master create an ersatz rendition of a character from another story, whether it be from science fiction, fantasy, history, or even modern politics. In particular, the iconic Drizzt Do'Urden of [[Dungeons and Dragons]]' ''Forgotten Realms'' campaign world has [[Overused Copycat Character|spawned enough copies]] to qualify Drizzt-clones as their own population demographic.

* The card game ''Sentinels of the Multiverse'' features homages to several well-known comic book characters, like Legacy (Superman), the Wraith (a female Batman), Tempest (Aquaman with hints of the Martian Manhunter) and Ra (Thor).

Line 475:

* A curvy female mage who lives in a secluded part of the world, is an acquaintance with [[Knight in Sour Armor|a gruff older mentor]], [[Not Good With People|isn't very social]] and acts like a [[Deadpan Snarker]] to mask this personality flaw, and wears [[Stripperific|a cleavage-baring dress]] with [[Too Many Belts|a skirt made of belts.]] Now, did we just describe [[Final Fantasy X (Video Game)|Lulu]] or [[Dragon Age|Morrigan]]?

** [[Bullet Witch|Alicia]]

*** Lulu may be snarky, but is an incredibly good and ethical person. Morrigan is the [[Token Evil Teammate]] whose wanton cruelty has become something of a meme. Their roles in plot are dissimilar, their dresses are only similar in color (Morrigan's far more revealing and "rag-like," Lulu's elegant), and Morrigan is revealed to be quite an insecure, unworldly character compared to Lulu. Lulu openly is affectionate to people besides Tidus and is loyal to the central characters; Morrigan clearly has her own agenda. And the right answer is [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/Morgan_le_Fay~~ Morgana] or [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/~~Medea Medea] or [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/~~Circe Circe] or any number of the other inspirations for [[Hot Witch]], [[Dark Magical Girl]], and related tropes. This archetype is way too common for this comparison.

*** Lulu may be snarky, but is an incredibly good and ethical person. Morrigan is the [[Token Evil Teammate]] whose wanton cruelty has become something of a meme. Their roles in plot are dissimilar, their dresses are only similar in color (Morrigan's far more revealing and "rag-like," Lulu's elegant), and Morrigan is revealed to be quite an insecure, unworldly character compared to Lulu. Lulu openly is affectionate to people besides Tidus and is loyal to the central characters; Morrigan clearly has her own agenda. And the right answer is [[wikipedia:Morgan le Fay|Morgana]] or [[wikipedia:Medea|Medea]] or [[wikipedia:Circe|Circe]] or any number of the other inspirations for [[Hot Witch]], [[Dark Magical Girl]], and related tropes. This archetype is way too common for this comparison.

* ''[[Tales of Legendia (Video Game)|Tales of Legendia]]'' features the Oresoren, who are intelligent fuzzy creatures who are good with machines and have a [[Verbal Tic]]. Anyone familiar with ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' would recognize them as being similar to Moogles. It might be a coincidence... until you realize that one of the most significant Oresoren is named "Quppo", pronounced exactly the same as the verbal tic of the Moogles ("kupo").

* ''Human Grand Prix'' for the Nintendo 64 didn't have the rights to use the actual names of drivers, meaning that the game was filled with drivers with names such as Hamon Dill<ref>Damon Hill</ref>, Schael Mihumacher<ref>Michael Schumacher</ref>, Babens Rurrichello<ref>Rubens Barrichello</ref>, Hohnny Jerbert<ref>Johnny Herbert</ref>, Hika Makkinen{{hottip|*Mika Hakkinen}}, Lean Ajesi<ref>Jean Alesi</ref> and Vacques Jilleneuve<ref>Jacques Villeneuve</ref>, among others. This was rectified for the US/European version of the game, ''F1 Pole Position 64'', which had the actual racer names.

Line 530:

* Pochi in ''[[Legacy of the Wizard]]'' greatly resembles Bub and Bob of ''[[Bubble Bobble (Video Game)|Bubble Bobble]]''.

* The [[True Final Boss]] of the first ''[[Blaster Master (Video Game)|Blaster Master]]'' looks like an orange version of the Gouf mobile suit from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'', complete with the energy whip, shield, and [[Spikes of Villainy]].

* At least some of the player-species in the classic economics-edutainment game ''[[MULE]]'' are examples of this, the most obvious being the Packer and the Gollumer, who are respectively [[Pacman]] (with legs) and ''[[ET the Extraterrestrial (Film)|ET the Extraterrestrial]]''. The Bonzoid is pretty much a human-sized one-eyed [[King Kong]]. The Flapper and the M.U.L.E.s themselves bear more than a passing resemblance to the two types of [[Humongous Mecha|Imperial Walkers]] from ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]''.

* At least some of the player-species in the classic economics-edutainment game ''[[MULE]]'' are examples of this, the most obvious being the Packer and the Gollumer, who are respectively [[Pacman]] (with legs) and ''[[E.T. the Extraterrestrial (Film)|ET the Extraterrestrial]]''. The Bonzoid is pretty much a human-sized one-eyed [[King Kong]]. The Flapper and the M.U.L.E.s themselves bear more than a passing resemblance to the two types of [[Humongous Mecha|Imperial Walkers]] from ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]''.

* China has many online mon games, but some of them more like "Pokémon" in terms of gameplay. Altough at first one may think it's all original with those emoticon-like graphics, few games have few ''Mons'' that are ripoffs of certain Pokémon. For worse, they "evolve" from a completely different Mon. See [http://news.4399.com/aolaxing/yabi/muxi/201107-29-106726.html here] for an example. Of course there were used to be a plant-Kirlia/Gardevoir and Cyndaquil-like families, but they're probably taken down some time.

** Non Pokémon examples include the ersatzes of [http://news.4399.com/aolaxing/yabi/shuixi/201008-20-75843.html Crikey] from [[Ty the Tasmanian Tiger]] and [http://news.4399.com/aolaxing/zixun/201107-14-104276.html Amaterasu] (compare the pose!),

Line 565:

== Web Original ==

* Anyone who writes for [[The Erotic Mind Control Story Archive]] is [[Enforced Trope|forced to use this trope]] in their fiction. See, Warner Bros. slammed the site with legal threats in 1998 due to fan fiction on the site that used their characters. The site's webmaster deleted almost every single fanfic from the site and hasn't accepted any new fanfics since. Only four fanfics survive on the site to this day, but three of them are [[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]], and the fourth one is [[The X-Files]], both franchises that are not owned by Warner. Also, all four fics are [[The Artifact|legacy]]; they date from before 1998. To that effect, in the stories labeled "CB: Comic Book Superhero" and "SF: Science Fiction", you'll probably see characters that look exactly like Wonder Woman and Captain Picard, but have completely different names. The EMCSA also overlaps this trope with [[Gannon Banned]], as there are several other kinds of fiction banned from the site; however, on the official forums, there's a link to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine that you can use to get at the deleted stories.

* ''[[Open Blue]]'' has "Kukulu", a [[Super Deformed]] copy of Cthulhu, as one of its [[Powers That Be]]. He also happens to be their [[Series Mascot]].

* ''[[Open Blue]]'' has "Kukulu", a [[Super-Deformed]] copy of Cthulhu, as one of its [[Powers That Be]]. He also happens to be their [[Series Mascot]].

* ''[[Englishman]]'' uses blatant spoonerised names of any real life individuals who appear.

* ''[[The Angry Video Game Nerd (Web Video)|The Angry Video Game Nerd]]'' has spawned possibly enough imitators on ''[[YouTube]]'' to start a list. Noteworthy mentions include ''[[The Irate Gamer]]'' and ''Game Dude''.

Line 574:

* In the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'', there are many. More than many, really. Too many to mention. A short listing includes: Ultra-Man ([[Superman]]), Bungie ([[Plastic Man]]), Guardsman ([[Green Lantern]]), Achilles ([[Batman]]), Arachne ([[Spider-Man]]), The Damocles Directive (The Suicide Squad), Quantum (Captain Atom), The Golden Marvel ([[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] [[Superman]]), Morningstar ([[Power Girl]]), and Jock (The Taskmaster).

* Doctor Octogonapus, not [[Spider-Man|Octopus]], from [[The Lazer Collection]].

* [[Whateley Universe]] authors like doing this as spoofs. At [[Super Hero School|Whateley Academy]] the team The Vindicators is definitely the classic [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|Avengers]], with Kismet for the Scarlet Witch and Donner as a dopey [[The Mighty Thor|Thor]] (among others). And Elite League are all expies of the animated [[Justice League]] seven.

* [[Whateley Universe]] authors like doing this as spoofs. At [[Super-Hero School|Whateley Academy]] the team The Vindicators is definitely the classic [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|Avengers]], with Kismet for the Scarlet Witch and Donner as a dopey [[The Mighty Thor|Thor]] (among others). And Elite League are all expies of the animated [[Justice League]] seven.

Line 648:

* The wrestling episode of ''Ben10'' has a shocking number of comic book characters getting the treatment: [[X-Men|Wolverine, Cyclops,]] Wonder Man, [[Batman|Killer Croc]], even a gang boss based somewhat on Kingpin. The clincher? {{spoiler|Wolverine and Killer Croc were adopted by [[Spider Man|Aunt May]].}}

* On the 1981 [[Filmation]] series ''Blackstar'' respect for a certain no-longer-living [[JRR Tolkien (Creator)|author]] could not prevent the introduction of "[[The Hobbit (Literature)|Trobbits]]".

* A few episodes of ''[[Codename Kids Next Door (Animation)|Codename Kids Next Door]]'' mention a show called "Dr. Timespace and the Continuums" (''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]''). In the [[Christmas Episode]], they fight Yule-themed pastiches of the X-Men. Yes, including a [[Wolverine]] with candy cane claws.

* A few episodes of ''[[Codename Kids Next Door (Animation)|Codename Kids Next Door]]'' mention a show called "Dr. Timespace and the Continuums" (''[[Doctor Who]]''). In the [[Christmas Episode]], they fight Yule-themed pastiches of the X-Men. Yes, including a [[Wolverine]] with candy cane claws.

* The ''[[Batman Beyond (Animation)|Batman Beyond]]'' episode "Heroes" had three obvious references to the [[Fantastic Four]] in form of another superhero team called the Terrific Trio: the stand-in for Mr. Fantastic was changed to "the 2D man", the Invisible Woman gained ice powers and was dubbed Freon, and the Thing and the Human Torch were merged into one character, Magma. The idea is then ruthlessly deconstructed with the "accident" {{spoiler|having been set up by a jealous admirer}}. Plus the mutation not only causes an end to normal life, but eventually ''psychosis''. [[Take That|Then they all go rogue and die.]] And the Captain of the shield like organization is not Nick Fury mixed with J. Jonah Jameson with a Hitler mustache.

* The [[Genius Cripple|Disabled Professor]] in ''[[Family Guy]]'', whose name is apparently Steve, is an ersatz [[Stephen Hawking]], with a similar [[Machine Monotone]] voice.

Line 700:

[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]

[[Category:Captain Ersatz]]

[[Category:Trope]]