Counterpart Comparison: Difference between revisions

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Sometimes, the new character will never get free from the older one, no matter what he does.

Sometimes, especially in the case of a [[Legacy Character]] or [[Expy]] this can work as part of a [[Re Ditto]] and establish a difference between the two. A [[Legacy Character]] can win fan love by his desire to become better, or at last to equal his mentor. If an Expy exists in the same universe as that older character, this can be easily lampshaded with common people confusing them, which could lead to funny situations, and be good for character development. If they are not sharing a universe, then most of the time the new character is screwed. However, sometimes they can take revenge, proving that he is better than the old one and becoming more popular.

Sometimes, especially in the case of a [[Legacy Character]] or [[Expy]] this can work as part of a [[Re-Ditto]] and establish a difference between the two. A [[Legacy Character]] can win fan love by his desire to become better, or at last to equal his mentor. If an Expy exists in the same universe as that older character, this can be easily lampshaded with common people confusing them, which could lead to funny situations, and be good for character development. If they are not sharing a universe, then most of the time the new character is screwed. However, sometimes they can take revenge, proving that he is better than the old one and becoming more popular.

This is the first step to turning one of them into [[The Scrappy]], or [[Replacement Scrappy]] in the case of [[Legacy Character|Legacy Characters]] and the [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]. Often happens to [[Anti Hero Substitute]].

== Advertising ==

* In 2012, there was a series of commercials for Geox that featured a mild-mannered teenage girl who can transform at will into "The Geox Girl". The secret-identity version of her looks ''a lot'' like a human version of [[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|Twilight Sparkle]]. The commercial even ''says'' that she is always bursting with enthusiasm and ready to help a friend in need.

* In 2012, there was a series of commercials for Geox that featured a mild-mannered teenage girl who can transform at will into "The Geox Girl". The secret-identity version of her looks ''a lot'' like a human version of [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|Twilight Sparkle]]. The commercial even ''says'' that she is always bursting with enthusiasm and ready to help a friend in need.

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** On the subject of ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]'', it isn't uncommon for some poor sod to pop up in an anime forum and inquire about the similarities between Light Yagami and a certain [[Monster (Anime)|Monster Without a Name]]. If the [[Internet Backdraft]] on who the better villain is doesn't instantly erupt there, expect a very long, ''very'' [[Fan Wank|Fan Wanky]] [[Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny]] between the two.

** Comparisons are made between L and Ulquiorra. Both are pale-skinned [[The Stoic|stoics]] who end up fighting against [[Shinigami]] as the story's antagonists (although L is a [[Hero Antagonist]], even to those few who don't see Light as evil).

* As an inter-medium example, the protagonists of ''[[The Big O (Anime)|The Big O]]'', ''[[Code Geass]]'', and ''[[Darker Than Black]]'' have all elicited comparison to ''[[Batman]]''. ''[[The Big O (Anime)|The Big O]]'' has an animation style very similar to that of ''[[Batman ~~the~~ Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the Animated Series]]'', and protagonist Roger is a Bruce Wayne Captain Ersatz. Lelouch/Zero of ''[[Code Geass]]'' has been described as a "flamboyant Batman" and Hei of ''[[Darker Than Black]]'' has the [[Fan Nickname]] of "Chinese Electric Batman". Lelouch has a sort of Batman-esque costume, both characters use [[Evil Sounds Deep]] in costume, and Hei uses a [[Grappling Hook Pistol]]. Finally, Lelouch also elicits comparisons with the title character of ''[[V for Vendetta]]'', mainly for his [[Large Ham]] style and morally ambiguous characterization {{spoiler|also, a scene where Japanese dress en masse as Zero recalls the V-masks donned by English citizens}}.

* As an inter-medium example, the protagonists of ''[[The Big O (Anime)|The Big O]]'', ''[[Code Geass]]'', and ''[[Darker Than Black]]'' have all elicited comparison to ''[[Batman]]''. ''[[The Big O (Anime)|The Big O]]'' has an animation style very similar to that of ''[[Batman: The Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the Animated Series]]'', and protagonist Roger is a Bruce Wayne Captain Ersatz. Lelouch/Zero of ''[[Code Geass]]'' has been described as a "flamboyant Batman" and Hei of ''[[Darker Than Black]]'' has the [[Fan Nickname]] of "Chinese Electric Batman". Lelouch has a sort of Batman-esque costume, both characters use [[Evil Sounds Deep]] in costume, and Hei uses a [[Grappling Hook Pistol]]. Finally, Lelouch also elicits comparisons with the title character of ''[[V for Vendetta]]'', mainly for his [[Large Ham]] style and morally ambiguous characterization {{spoiler|also, a scene where Japanese dress en masse as Zero recalls the V-masks donned by English citizens}}.

** There's a reason for this - the same studio that did Big O also worked on Batman: The Animated Series. Roger was at least partly inspired by Bruce Wayne, while the art-style was similar enough to smooth over the differences.

* In ''[[Pretty Cure]] All-Stars DX'', Nagisa and Honoka of ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure]]'' visit the shop run by the family of Saki, Nagisa's ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star]]'' counterpart, and the family notes the similarity. Odd in that the original is compared to the [[Expy]], not the other way around.

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** And let's not forget the relatively short-lived Agent X, who made his debut right after the end of Deadpool's original run, had the same humor and powers, was heavily scarred all over, and even had supporting cast cross-pollination. Oh, and his speech bubbles had a different color from everyone else's, too. Even the ''characters'' thought he really was an amnesiac Deadpool {{spoiler|until the latter made his comeback in the last three issues of Agent X.}}

* [[Deadpool]] has actually [[Averted Trope|escaped this situation]]. [[Rob Liefeld]] originally created him as a [[Captain Ersatz]] of the [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]' enemy Deathstroke, but he later had some [[Character Development]] and turned into so different a character that you'd have to be nuts to compare them.

** Joe Kelly (the writer who cemented his status as a [[Crazy Awesome]] sex god) spoofed this in Superman/Batman Annual #1 , where Earth-Three Deathstroke is <s>Deadpool</s> an [[Lawyer Friendly Cameo|unnamed man who happens to look, fight, and snark exactly like a certain]] [[Crazy Awesome]] [[Lawyer Friendly Cameo|sex god]]. Turns out this character is an alternate Deathstroke.

** Joe Kelly (the writer who cemented his status as a [[Crazy Awesome]] sex god) spoofed this in Superman/Batman Annual #1 , where Earth-Three Deathstroke is <s>Deadpool</s> an [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo|unnamed man who happens to look, fight, and snark exactly like a certain]] [[Crazy Awesome]] [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo|sex god]]. Turns out this character is an alternate Deathstroke.

{{quote| '''Alternate Deathstroke''': Hold the phone ''and'' the ''mayo''! You're ''me'', just without the lacerations and foreign objects!<br />

'''Deathstroke''': Will you please just ''die''?<br />

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{{quote| '''Nathan:''' You're ''sure'' you're not Niki Sanders?}}

** Not only were they played by the same actress, but canonically, they were two-thirds of a set of identical triplets, so they were supposed to look exactly alike...

* Strangely, even a reality show can do this. ''[[Project Runway]]'' cast one of its most beloved contestants in Season 8, Mondo Guerra. Mondo just so happened to be short, gay, of Mexican ethnicity, fond of [[Bow Ties Are Cool|bowties]], and an impeccable tailor... which wouldn't be important except that Season 9 proceeded to cast designer Viktor Luna, who also happened to be short, gay, of Mexican ethnicity, fond of [[Bow Ties Are Cool|bowties]], and an impeccable tailor. While they came across quite differently in personality ([[Nice Guy]] / [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold]], respectively) and design-wise ([[Crazy Awesome]] / [[Boring but Practical]]), both eventually emerged to be regarded by large segments of the fanbase as the deserving winners of their seasons. In the end, {{spoiler|both got screwed out of final victory in favor of the [[~~Creators~~ Pet]], although Viktor's loss is more of a [[Broken Base]] situation than the universal fan rage that greeted Mondo's loss.}}

* Strangely, even a reality show can do this. ''[[Project Runway]]'' cast one of its most beloved contestants in Season 8, Mondo Guerra. Mondo just so happened to be short, gay, of Mexican ethnicity, fond of [[Bow Ties Are Cool|bowties]], and an impeccable tailor... which wouldn't be important except that Season 9 proceeded to cast designer Viktor Luna, who also happened to be short, gay, of Mexican ethnicity, fond of [[Bow Ties Are Cool|bowties]], and an impeccable tailor. While they came across quite differently in personality ([[Nice Guy]] / [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold]], respectively) and design-wise ([[Crazy Awesome]] / [[Boring but Practical]]), both eventually emerged to be regarded by large segments of the fanbase as the deserving winners of their seasons. In the end, {{spoiler|both got screwed out of final victory in favor of the [[Creator's Pet]], although Viktor's loss is more of a [[Broken Base]] situation than the universal fan rage that greeted Mondo's loss.}}

* In the ''[[NCIS (TV)|NCIS]]'' episode "Doppelgänger", the team worked with civilian law enforcement, which were all extremely similar to the main characters.

** Not only that, but CGIS Agent Abigail Borin is so similar in personality and mannerism to Gibbs, nearly ''every other character'' notices it, except of course for Gibbs or Borin.

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* Aside from the ''[[Tekkaman Blade (Anime)|Tekkaman Blade]]''/''Detonator Orgun'' comparison mentioned above, ''[[Super Robot Wars Alpha]] 3'' had a case with two of its original characters, Brooklyn "Bullet" Luckfield and Touma Kanou. They both look similar AND even sound similar (especially during attacks), despite having two different voice actors. Naturally, their respective love interests notice this similarity as well and proceed to [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshade]] the situation.

* Semi-rare cross-medium example: ''[[The Black Cauldron]]'' and ''Zelda'' -- especially ''[[Zelda II the Adventure of Link (Video Game)|Zelda II the Adventure of Link]]'' and the [[The Legend of Zelda (Animation)|'80s cartoon]].

* As many ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro Ni (Visual Novel)|Umineko no Naku Koro Ni]]'' fans like [http://i46.tinypic.com/s6n9l5.jpg pointing] [http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=472666 out], Battler Ushiromiya has quite a bit in common with [[Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney (Visual Novel)|another video game protagonist]] prone to [[Giving Someone the Pointer Finger|epic finger-pointing]] and [[What Do You Mean ~~Its~~ Not Awesome|melodramatic logic debates]].

* As many ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro Ni (Visual Novel)|Umineko no Naku Koro Ni]]'' fans like [http://i46.tinypic.com/s6n9l5.jpg pointing] [http://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=472666 out], Battler Ushiromiya has quite a bit in common with [[Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney (Visual Novel)|another video game protagonist]] prone to [[Giving Someone the Pointer Finger|epic finger-pointing]] and [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|melodramatic logic debates]].

** It's even more apparent when they appeared in [[Fighting Game|Fighting Games]]. Battler in ''Ougon Musou Kyoku'' fires blue projectiles and has an attack with two giant blue hands. Phoenix in ''[[Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3]]'' also fires blue projectiles and has an attack where he uses a [[Giving Someone the Pointer Finger|giant blue pointer finger]].

* [[Tales of Symphonia (Video Game)|Zelos Wilder]] and [[Dragon Age|Zevran]] of all people have quite a bit in common...

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* The Avatar, the protagonist of the ''[[Ultima]]'' series by Origin, is a hero from another world, the paragon of moral virtues who fights to protect the innocent. [[Superman|Like this guy]]. Furthermore the hero's archenemy is a [http://ultima.wikia.com/wiki/Guardian godlike otherworldly being] who seeks to rule the universe, has many worlds under his grasp, psychically manipulates others to do his bidding, and feeds off suffering and torment. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkseid Yes, you guessed it].

* ''[[Disgaea 4 a Promise Unforgotten (Video Game)|Disgaea 4 a Promise Unforgotten]]'''s [[Vegetarian Vampire]] protagonist, Valvatorez, has luckily managed to escape associations with [[Twilight (Literature)|a particular sparkly vampire]]... Because his [[Badass Cape|appearance]] and [[Large Ham|demeanor]] have instead convinced everyone that he's actually Vampire [[Code Geass|Lelouch]].

* Lampshaded in the Dynasty/ Samurai Warriors crossover ''[[Warriors Orochi]]'' with Nobunaga Oda and Cao Cao, both being [[Ambition Is Evil|ambitious]] and [[Well Intentioned Extremist|ruthless]] [[Anti Villain|Anti Villains]].

* Lampshaded in the Dynasty/ Samurai Warriors crossover ''[[Warriors Orochi]]'' with Nobunaga Oda and Cao Cao, both being [[Ambition Is Evil|ambitious]] and [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|ruthless]] [[Anti-Villain|Anti Villains]].

* [[God of War (Video Game)|Kratos]] and [[Asura's Wrath|Asura]] are compared to each other due to their rage issues and vengeance against their fellow gods (Though for many, the major similarities end there).

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* Coming from an episode of ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'', it became a fan meme to confuse [[Booster Gold]] (Uniform colors: Blue and golden-yellow) and [[Green Lantern]] (Uniform colors: GREEN, thank you).

* Characters from the Fire Nation in [[Avatar: The Last Airbender (Animation)|Avatar: The Last Airbender]] are sometimes compared to characters from [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]: Zuko is Shinji, [[Unfortunate Names|Azula is Asuka, Mai is Rei]], Ozai is Gendo, Ursa is Yui, Ty Lee is Misato, Iroh is Kaji and Zhao is Ritsuko.

* ''[[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'''s Rainbow Dash: A blue cartoon animal who can [[Super Speed|break the sound barrier]], has [[Anime Hair|spiky hair]], is very laid-back, loyal to her friends, and is admired by an orange-furred kid. [[Sonic the Hedgehog]]... A blue cartoon animal who can [[Super Speed|break the sound barrier]], has [[Anime Hair|spiky hair]], is very laid-back, loyal to his friends, and is admired by an orange-furred kid.

* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'''s Rainbow Dash: A blue cartoon animal who can [[Super Speed|break the sound barrier]], has [[Anime Hair|spiky hair]], is very laid-back, loyal to her friends, and is admired by an orange-furred kid. [[Sonic the Hedgehog]]... A blue cartoon animal who can [[Super Speed|break the sound barrier]], has [[Anime Hair|spiky hair]], is very laid-back, loyal to his friends, and is admired by an orange-furred kid.

* [[Donald Duck]] and [[Daffy Duck]]: Besides being ducks, both are the [[Ensemble Darkhorse]] of their respective companies, embody the opposite(and usually negative) qualities of the protagonist characters (Mickey and Bugs respectively), are prone to anger and jerkassery, yet prove to be more popular.