Evil Counterpart/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: When the villain is like the hero seen through a mirror, darkly.

  • Straight: Aleksandra is a genius who has grown from an impoverished, abused background to make amazing science-fictional advances in forensic science, and has revolutionized the world. Borislava is equally intelligent, and uses her intelligence to subvert Aleksandra's technology and justice system - and she came from a similar background.
  • Exaggerated: Everyone in the world has an Evil Counterpart, or Borislava is basically Aleksandra recoloured.
  • Downplayed: The similarities between Aleksandra and Borislava are present, but the story doesn't make much of it.
  • Justified:
    • Borislava is actually an evil clone of Aleksandra, with many of her memories.
    • Borislava had a similar upbringing as Aleksandra but choose to be evil.
  • Inverted: Aleksandra is an Anti-Hero Villain Protagonist, and she meets Chen, who had the same background as her but is a Messiah Hero Antagonist.
  • Subverted:
    • Borislava goes on and on about how her life was so similar to Aleksandra's life, how they're Not So Different after all - and then it turns out she was lying and she was actually the daughter of a rich philanthropist.
    • Or, alternatively, Borislava is not evil, but yes brainwashed.
  • Double Subverted: And then it turns out that Borislava's mother, although rich and loved by the public, abused her as much as Aleksandra's, and despite the class differences they really are very similar.
  • Parodied: ???
  • Zig Zagged: ???
  • Averted: Borislava is nothing like Aleksandra.
  • Enforced:
  • Lampshaded: "Man, why are all my villains basically me, but evil? Is God trying to give me a hint or something?"
  • Invoked: Borislava's family and Aleksandra's family knew each other, and since Aleksandra was obviously going to become good, Borislava's family forced her into evil in because "Aleksandra has to have an evil twin".
  • Exploited: Borislava is able to manipulate Aleksandra and/or predict her next move because "That's what I would do in that situation."
  • Defied: When she sees that Aleksandra is so similar to her, Borislava changes her methods from scientific genius to political power, thinking that being different will give her an edge.
  • Discussed: ???
  • Conversed: ???

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