This article was originally published on absolutelyconnected.com and has been republished here with permission.
Every supervillain is, in some way, a twisted version of the superhero they typically battle. This is why Batman, who is defined by order in both his thoughts and rigorous physical training, is the ideal enemy for the Joker, a character defined by disorder. While many villains mimic certain qualities of heroes, some go too far by acting as exact replicas of superheroes from Marvel and DC Comics. These supervillain doppelgangers are almost exact replicas or mental inversions of their heroic counterparts, similar to the figures from Germanic folk legends. In this article, we are going to examine some wicked doppelgangers who are both far worse than their heroic counterparts and way cooler than the superheroes they are based on.
Venom
Venom was first presented in 1988’s Amazing Spider-Man #299 by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, despite the fact that Eddie Brock and the symbiote debuted independently. Venom has all of Spider-skills Man’s as well as some of his own because the symbiote absorbed Peter Parker’s talents. Venom’s popularity in the 1990s is understandable given his famous monstrous visage.
Although the symbiote has formed bonds with other hosts, Brock’s vicious Venom is a sinister representation of a Spider-Man who has become too powerful. Venom flirted with the responsibility that defined Spider-Man when he became a “lethal protector,” making him an uncomfortable ally.
Wrath
No one can be any cooler than Batman. That hasn’t stopped many criminals from turning into “Anti-Batmen,” or criminals who are basically the opposite of Batman. In 1984’s Batman Special #1 by Mike W. Barr and Michael Golden, Wrath grew up to become a cop assassin after his criminal parents were murdered by a young Officer Jim Gordon.
The first Wrath died in Crime Alley during his first appearance after unintentionally setting himself on fire. A second, more capable Wrath appeared decades later. Elliot Caldwell built up a fortune when his criminal father was shot dead by a dishonest cop.
Bizarro
The flawed Superman clone known as Bizarro has been one of the hero’s most distinctive adversaries ever since he was first conceived in 1958. In newspapers, both Alvin Schwartz’s Superman comic strip and Otto Binder and George Papp’s Superboy #58 featured the simultaneous introduction of Bizarro. He was produced by a flawed “duplicating ray” in both media, which he eventually utilized to create the entire Bizarro World.
By allowing indie comics authors to run wild with DC’s heroes, Bizarro starred in the anthology graphic novel Bizarro Comics in 2002, which went on to win the industry’s top accolade, the Eisner Award.
Prometheus
In a twist on Batman’s origin story, Prometheus saw the murder of his criminal parents by law enforcement. He was already well-versed in criminal tactics when Grant Morrison and Arnie Jorgensen first introduced him in 1998’s New Year’s Evil: Prometheus. He had also established a base in the Phantom Zone. With the best technology available in the 1990s, he created a helmet that downloaded fighting techniques into his central nervous system via CD-ROM.
Although he defeated the Justice League all on his own, that first mission ended with a single well-placed crack of Catwoman’s whip which defeated and humiliated him.
The Crime Syndicate
Since its introduction in 1964’s Justice League of America #29 by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky, the Crime Syndicate of America has given a horrifying portrayal of a wholly corrupt Justice League. The Crime Syndicate comes from a planet with an upside-down morality where injustice and lawlessness are the common norm.
The Crime Syndicate has counterparts for the majority of DC’s heroes, including the Kryptonite-powered Ultraman, the Amazon-killing Superwoman, and Thomas Wayne Jr.’s nasty Owlman. While the Crime Syndicate maintains a tight iron grip on their world, the Justice League battles to maintain order in the chaotic DC Universe.
Black Siren
Early on in the Arrow series, Laurel Lance was Oliver Queen’s ex-girlfriend. She later found employment as Star City’s Assistant District Attorney. She took after her sister and transformed into the second Black Canary, a superhero who battled evil using sonic weaponry and martial arts.
In the parallel Earth-2, Laurel underwent a significantly different transformation into the evil Black Siren. She acquired the superhuman capacity to produce a piercing sonic scream after being ensnared in a dark matter explosion. Black Siren has faced up against the heroes of Arrow and The Flash as a member of a few criminal gangs.
The Other Symbiotes
Venom, despite his sporadic overexposure, is a surprisingly smart concept. Carnage has a lot going for him, and while he is simply a more severe version of Venom, he is still a compelling lead character in his own way. However, this cannot be stated of some of Marvel’s lesser-known symbiotes, particularly those that the Life Foundation intentionally manufactured in 1993’s Venom: Lethal Protector #4 by David Michelinie and Ron Lim.
The other symbiotes only made a few appearances before they were eliminated and united to create the new symbiote Hybrid. These symbiotes vanished into the background of the Marvel Universe.
Dark Beast
The alternate reality of the X-Men’s 1995 crossover “the Age of Apocalypse” stands out even in a series full of bleak settings. After Charles Xavier’s passing, Magneto created the X-Men in that alternate reality, and Apocalypse brutally governed the universe. When he made his debut in X-Men: Alpha #1, Dark Beast was one of Apocalypse’s mad scientists in this universe, unlike the well-known Hank McCoy, who was a founding member of the X-Men.
Dark Beast is nonetheless one of the more intelligent characters in the Marvel Universe despite his brutality, and the genuine Beast has even occasionally begged for his assistance.
Reverse Flash
Many villainous doppelgängers have troubled their heroic counterparts, but the Reverse Flash forced the Flash to destroy the DC Universe. While some characters have gone by the name Reverse Flash, John Broome and Carmine Infantino gave the title to Eobard Thawne in The Flash #139 in 1963. Thawne was born in the year 2550 and raised in that time period. He developed a fascination with Barry Allen’s Flash, acquired superhuman speed, and then went back in time.
Reverse Flash destroyed Barry’s life in the 2011 crossover Flashpoint by traveling back in time to kill his mother and kill his best buddy.
Magus
Magus, a cosmic religious figure who guards the Infinity Gems, is a dark mirror of Adam Warlock, a character created by Starlin in 1975’s Strange Tales #178. Magus was initially a corrupted future version of Warlock, but after Warlock used the Infinity Gauntlet to purge all the evil from his soul, Magus was transformed.
Magus successfully used the majority of the Infinity Gems of an incomplete Infinity Gauntlet in the original Infinity War, turning nearly every Marvel hero into their evil twins. Despite this, he was nonetheless detained in the Soul Gem, where he spent several years imprisoned as a ghost.
Cyborg Superman
In the “Reign of the Supermen” crossover, new characters attempted to take Superman’s place after he briefly passed away in 1993. This plot also gave rise to Cyborg Superman, one of Superman’s most dangerous adversaries.. Hank Henshaw, a spaceman introduced in Adventures of Superman #466, was the original version of the robotic antagonist. Henshaw transformed into Cyborg Superman by putting his thoughts into a Kryptonian robot body after his own body was obliterated by a space experiment.
Cyborg Superman was intended to be a villain thanks to his stunning design, which blended Superman’s recognizable appearance with the Terminator’s cybernetic exoskeleton.
Stryfe
Stryfe made his comic book début in 1990’s New Mutants #87 by Rob Liefeld and Louise Simonson, just like his hero counterpart Cable. Despite the fact that Cable was born in the present, he was sent into the future as a youngster to receive treatment for the deadly Techno-Organic Virus. His caregivers cloned him as a safety measure while he was on the verge of death.
Stryfe, the young clone, finally ended up under Apocalypse’s care, where the latter turned him into a dictator. Stryfe assumed control of Apocalypse’s army after his death, and pursued Cable back to the present.
Killer Frost
It was only a matter of time before Doctor Caitlin Snow, a member of The Flash’s support team, acquired the icy powers of her comic book counterpart. Although there were hints regarding Snow’s talents in the show’s early episodes, they weren’t actually demonstrated until Killer Frost, Snow’s Earth-2 counterpart, made her television debut.
Killer Frost’s life was a shadowy reflection of Caitlin Snow’s life, just like the lives of the other inhabitants of that parallel reality. She joined Zoom’s band of criminals after dropping out of school and gaining ice powers. She changed sides to support the Flash and his comrades.
Spider-Man Doppelganger
Most of Magnus’ heroic twins vanished after the original Infinity War was over. Spider-Man’s Doppelganger, in contrast to the rest, was able to survive the incident and has persisted in the Marvel Universe for decades. After Jim Starlin and Ron Lim created him in 1992’s Infinity War #1, Spidey’s Doppelganger connected psychically with the Demogoblin.
Spider-Man’s monstrous Doppelganger has made numerous cameos over the years, including Spider-Verse (2012) and 1993’s “Maximum Carnage.” The mindless beast has followed Shriek and Carnage since he was split from Demogoblin in the 1990s. The Doppelganger of Spider-Man has been a relatively minor character.
Vengeance
Ghost Rider is an incredible figure because of his fiery skull and distinctive motorcycle. Vengeance, Ghost Rider’s semi-villainous doppelganger, has a similar appearance to the hero, which is already a frightening design. Confoundingly, Vengeance, like Ghost Rider, was a Spirit of Vengeance who first served as a villain before turning into an antihero.
In 1992’s Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #8, written by Howard Mackie and Andy Kubert, Vengeance was formed as a result of Detective Michael Badilino’s Faustian bargain with Mephisto to exact revenge on Ghost Rider. After they resolved their differences, Vengeance joined the paranormal band Midnight Sons.
Black Adam
The adult superhero that little Billy Batson transforms into, whether he goes under the name Shazam or Captain Marvel, is one of DC’s most archaic and popular heroes. Black Adam, his ominous reflection, is one of DC’s most interesting and nuanced enemies, which is only fitting. Black Adam, also known as Teth-Adam, was an ancient Egyptian, who survived thousands of years to become Shazam’s main antagonist.
Teth-Adam gets his talents from the Egyptian gods, whereas Shazam gets his strength from Greek mythology. Adam lessened his reputation as an unambiguous evil in the 2000s and even joined the Justice Society.
Deathwing
One of the few comic book characters without even a single redeeming feature is Deathwing. Deathwing first appeared to be a future iteration of Nightwing, Dick Grayson, when he was established by Marv Wolfman and Tom Grindberg in 1991’s New Titans Annual #7. In order to safeguard the future, this figure traveled back into the present with a new group of heroes known as the Team Titans.
A much darker version of Raven corrupted Deathwing by guiding him toward a series of heinous deeds. While under Raven’s control, Deathwing gradually shaved his head and assumed an all-black leather appearance.
Kaine
Kaine didn’t have a good start in the infamous Spider-Man epic “The Clone Saga” of the 1990s. In 1994’s Web of Spider-Man #119, Terry Kavanagh and Steven Butler introduced Kaine, a disfigured, emotionally disturbed clone of Peter Parker who embarked on a killing spree. Kaine killed some notable individuals and left his victims with “The Mark of Kaine,” a hand-shaped scar.
In 2012, Kaine assumed the identity of the Scarlet Spider after reforming and turning into an uneasy comrade of Spider-Man. As a slightly more violent version of Spider-Man, Kaine defended the Houston, Texas, streets in the beloved television series Scarlet Spider.
Daken
Logan’s long-lost son, Daken, hunted down his father to kill him. Daken possessed three claws, two of which sprouted from his knuckles and one from his wrist. Daken was the first Wolverine for the Dark Avengers (Gorgon was the second), and he wore a brown and yellow outfit that was legendary and fans want it to be brought back. He also has a large Ed Hardy arm tattoo.
Eventually, Wolverine killed him, but during Rick Remender’s first run on the Uncanny Avengers, Apocalypse resurrected him back as one of the Horsemen of Death. He was incredibly foolish, but he persisted.
Superior Spider-Man
A dying Doctor Octopus performed a last-minute brain transplant into Spider-Man’s body. The creature was humbled when recollections of the things that made Peter a wonderful person flooded his mind. He made the decision to become a superhero, but in his own unique way. He is a superhero in the same sense as most super villains. And he made a lot of strange attempts to manipulate the individuals in Peter Parker’s life.
Although The Superior Spider-Man wasn’t overtly evil, he was ethically compromised and would beat villains to within an inch of their lives if they laughed at him.
Iron Man 2020
Arno was a Tony Stark brother who made the decision to use his sibling’s technology to rule the world and do horrible things. He frequently tried to battle Tony using time travel, but despite possessing a more sophisticated suit of armor, he struggled with it and kept losing. Arno Stark has genius-level intellect and an enhanced biology.
As Iron Man, he started to wear the Iron Man Armor Model 66. Arno is the Iron Man from 2020 who went back in time to 1984’s Machine Man #2. He behaved immorally while he was there, collecting rewards and generally smarming around..
Superwoman
Along with the other members of the Crime Syndicate of America, Superwoman first debuted in Justice League of America #29 (August 1964). Superwoman is a wicked parallel version of Wonder Woman who hails from a separate reality yet possesses many of the same traits as her. Ironically, Lois Lane is her real name.
Flight, regeneration, superhuman speed, hand-to-hand fighting, and superhuman strength are among her powers. Superwoman, like Wonder Woman, was an Amazon with superhuman strength and flight abilities. Her golden lasso, in contrast to most/all previous variations, could transform into any shape she wished, including a huge winged serpent.
Owlman
Owlman, a super-smart super-villain who made his debut in 1964, was designed to be Batman’s evil twin. Talon, another member of the Crime Syndicate of America who is essentially a mirror image of Robin, is also Owlman’s sidekick. Some of his powers and abilities are: Martial arts, eidetic memory, and flight.
He belongs to the Crime Syndicate of America gang, which was active on Earth-Three in reverse. The Earth-Three Owlman also possessed the capacity to momentarily take control of other people’s thoughts in some of the pre-Crisis Crime Syndicate appearances, however it is unknown how he attained this power.
Madelyne Pryor
Madelyne Pryor’s tale is among the more depressing ones in the Marvel universe because she is a Jean Grey clone. Madelyne was Mr. Sinister’s clone experiment and Cyclops’ first wife; she didn’t become evil until a string of bad occurrences happened to her. Extrasensory perception, flight, psychokinesis, telepathy, and eidetic memory are among her powers and abilities.
These powers were completely dormant while she thought she was human, but later manifested in ways that Jean never had. Madelyne also learned how to use her powers to teleport over long distances by psychokinetically shifting in and out of the astral plane
Evil Deadpool
Evil Deadpool was more of an unintentional antihero than an experiment gone wrong, in contrast to the majority of the other doppelgangers on this list. Evil Deadpool has no sense of guilt or morality and has all of Deadpool’s skills, including the ability to heal. Martial arts, immortality, superhuman strength, and teleportation are among other powers and abilities he possesses.
The different parts of Evil Deadpool have different costumes Deadpool wore over the years, such as the blue and yellow he used when battling the X-Men along with Cable, the classic, and the X-Men costume he used during the Heroic Age.
Trick Shot
Trick Shot, Hawkeye’s older brother, shares Hawkeye’s incredible archery abilities. He had been thought to be dead for many years, however Baron Helmut Zemo brought him back to life to exact revenge on Hawkeye. Among his skills and powers are: Master marksman and archer, tactician, acrobat and hand-to-hand combatant.
He shoots arrows with a composite bow, several of which have novelty weapons attached to them. These outcomes include: Entangling arrows which explode on contact, releasing a net, circling arrows can turn up to 360 degrees, hitting targets from behind or around corners and gas arrows which release knock-out gas on contact.
Grid
Grid is a robot with superhuman power that can take control of almost any computer system. It was built using the various Cyborg components. He plays a crucial role in the Crime Syndicate as well. Grid operated as a data hub for the Crime Syndicate’s plan to rule the world.
He played a key role in their strategy to take over the world’s telecom infrastructure one city at a time during the group’s manufactured global blackout. Since Grid is a computer software running on a device, it is unable to experience any emotions. His ultimate goal is to experience emotions.
Abomination
Abomination, also known as Emil Blonsky, was a former KGB agent who was exposed to gamma radiation. The Abomination is unable to return to his regular human form, and is frequently shown to be stronger than the Hulk. Unlike the Hulk, Abomination retained his full human intelligence.
Shape-shifting, healing factor, reality-warping and superhuman strength are among his skills and powers. The gamma radiation that caused the Abomination’s body to change strengthened his cellular structure and gave him an additional 800 pounds of bone marrow and tissue from an unidentified source. The Abomination possesses vast superhuman strength rated as Class 100+.
Ikari
Ikari, who is essentially Daredevil’s equal in every manner, developed his fighting techniques through a similar accident to Daredevil’s, giving him a special advantage when it comes to foreseeing his opponent’s moves. He is an expert in martial arts. Ikari claimed to have a radar sense just like Daredevil and donned a Japanese adaptation of his original outfit.
Ikari was employed by the evil Kingpin to kidnap Kirsten McDuffie and Foggy Nelson, two of Daredevil’s closest friends, in order to gain some leverage. When Murdock realized what the Kingpin had done, Fisk gave Ikari the assignment to kill Murdock.
Power Ring
Power Ring has the same talents and skills as the Green Lantern in the alternate universe. There is no doubting this character’s extraordinary strength, despite the fact that little is known about him. He is a member of the Crime Syndicate.
He wears the Ring of Volthoom; a magical weapon that draws its strength from a portion of Volthoom, the First Lantern. Because it thrives on the dread and panic of the wielder, it typically picks the most cowardly creature as its host. The Ring gradually drains the bearer of energy until only a husk is left of the bearer.
Ragnarok
Ragnarok initially appeared in Civil War comic #3 in 2006 as a cyborg clone of Thor. Although he has nearly all of Thor’s physical characteristics and superpowers, he is wicked. He has superhuman strength, flight, among other abilities.
The vast majority of superhumans cannot match him. He is almost impervious to harm and immune to common diseases. His bones and flesh are much denser than those of a human being.
Adrenazon
Adrenazon, who is She-Hulk’s arch nemesis, shares the same superpowers of strength and speed. After being rendered paralyzed in a vehicle accident, Adrian Lynch underwent a series of experimental surgery to get her superhuman abilities.
After the experimental treatment caused her to have a mental breakdown, she began to believe she was the Sensational She-Hulk. In her normal form, she is paralyzed from the waist and confined to a wheelchair.
Iron Monger
The Iron Monger, a pseudonym used by a variety of characters over the years, made its debut in 1982. The Iron Monger is bigger, stronger, and has more firepower than Iron Man’s original suit.
The Iron Monger armor, manufactured by Stane International and code-named I-M Mark One, is an armored battle-suit of “omnium steel” (a fictional alloy), containing various offensive weaponry including a powered exoskeleton that amplifies the user’s strength.