Biggest rip off characters?

[Namor ll]

Captain Marvel came first thus Superman is the rip-off character. .

you are misinformed, superman was out first. The creators of captain marvel were told by fawcett comics to "give them a superman"

 

[SlamAdams]

Moon Knight = Batman
Thanos = Darksied
Sentry = Superman
Ka-zar = Tarzan
Deadpool = Deathstroke

Most popular Marvel characters are reasonably original though.

Deadpool started as a parody. Is that really considered a ripoff?

 

[Namor ll]

Deadpool started as a parody. Is that really considered a ripoff?

id say so, the creators knew what they were doing. i read somewhere that liefeld brough deadpool to his partner and he said himself that it was straight up deathstroke

 

[The Endless]

Initially i think the character was more a straight up rip off but with a more wise cracking personality.

Then they eventually turned him into a walking satire of Deathstroke and characters of his ilk.

 

[SlamAdams]

id say so, the creators knew what they were doing. i read somewhere that liefeld brough deadpool to his partner and he said himself that it was straight up deathstroke

To me, ripping off implies trying to copy without anyone noticing. Making a parody is taking an actual jab at something

 

[SlamAdams]

Initially i think the character was more a straight up rip off but with a more wise cracking personality.

Then they eventually turned him into a walking satire of Deathstroke and characters of his ilk.

I think its the other way around. Pretty sure he started off as satire. I wouldn't call the Joe Kelly series a satire.

 

[Lobo]

I see the article was already written but off the top of my head that I don't think were mentioned yet

Man-Thing predates Swamp Thing
Fantastic Four was inspired by Challengers of the Unknown
Captain America-The Guardian

 

[Mace Dolex]

Someone mentioned it earlier but Rob Liefeld's Fighting American is so clearly a Captain America clone.

 

[Shikamaru]

id say so, the creators knew what they were doing. i read somewhere that liefeld brough deadpool to his partner and he said himself that it was straight up deathstroke

A parody cannot be considered a ripoff by its very own definition, since the whole point of a parody is to directly mock a certain concept or idea. Deadpool is as much of a "ripoff" of Deathstroke as Scary Movie is a ripoff of Scream.

 

[Majik1387]

Squadron Supreme is not a rip-off, it's a distinct parody/satire of Justice League.

As for Catwoman vs Black Cat. Catwoman came first, the romance angle and playful personality came from Black Cat first, and both have distinct differences nowadays.

Deadpool started off as a parody of Deathstroke, and then became his own character in itself.

Parodies/satires are not rip-offs.

 

[The Question]

Thanos is not a rip off of Darkseid. The only thing they have in common is a vaguely similar design. The two characters are like polar opposites on the spectrum of being a total bastard.

 

[Shikamaru]

Technically speaking, everything is a "ripoff" of everything else. Nothing is completely original; the key is to make something feel fresh and unique even if it's been done before.

To quote one of my favorite past professors: "Bad writers copy, good writers steal."

Bad writers blatantly mimic something to the point it lacks a different creative spin and feels almost like a carbon copy past superficial details. Good writers take something, turn it into their own thing and take it way farther than what that previous something took it.

While it's true that certain characters like Batman and the X-Men started out as "copies" of other characters, as the years progressed, they evolved and grew those concepts into far more complex concepts. Batman took the social issues Zorro and Shadow were battling, expanded on them and gave them a fully realized world through Gotham City and his fantastic rogues gallery. The X-Men took the idea of misfit heroes shunned by society and analogized it with various civil rights movements and Nazi Germany's treatment of minorities.

 

[mace1]

Marvel vs DC Nemesis

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[mace1]

I would SAY THE sentry and others are not rip offs,i would say inspired,because the sentry for example has his own power source etc.. and in mindset he is nothing like superman.

 

[mace1]

Here some talk from another forum.

@sog7dc said:

So here's the deal, anyone in this site that knows me knows that I am one of the biggest superman fanboys on the vine. Love him. And I feel it necessary to preface my comments with that as, after reading Paul Jenkins' "The Sentry" I must admit that Sentry is NOT even remotely a Superman ripoff aside from the "S" he wears and a few nods to the man of steel. Sentry, at least as Paul Jenkins wrote him, is his own VERY interesting and dynamic character. Not to mention this is some of the best art I've ever seen in the way of aesthetic beauty and storytelling. So yeah. We need to put an end to this myth. The way I see it Sentry is more like Plutonian than anything.....or rather Plutonian is like Sentry.

by cameron83

I agree. Many people only look at superficial similarities to a character,and label them "rip-offs". I've seen people say that Hawkeye was a rip-off of Green Arrow because they are both archers,that Killer Croc is a rip-off to Lizard because they are both humanoid reptiles. Sure,on the surface,you can find similarities between many characters,but once you look at them for what they truly are,they become something much more and you realize how unique and distinct they are. And HEY,some characters ARE deliberately inspired by other characters,some characters take inspiration from other characters (Superman from the Original Gladiator,Batman from The Shadow,Spider-man from The Web,Deadpool from Deathstroke,Maul from Hulk,Majestic,Apollo,Midnighter,etc),but become more and more distinctive and unique over time. Eventually,it's how I learned that Gladiator (Marvel) is so awesome. No idea is exclusive or original to another. I mean,do people call Batman a "rip-off" of The Shadow? Spider-man from The Web? No.
Once people start to actually read about the character other than looking at superficial things on the surface,they begin to truly appreciate the character. It's better to look at differences between characters,not half-assed similarities. Might as well call one hero a rip-off of another because they're both white,or that they can both fly,etc. So,put simply,I agree. Once you learn more about many characters,you begin to see how distinctive and unique they are and appreciate them. Also,as usual,SC sums it up perfectly.

@sc said:

Deconstruction. Sentry is a deconstruction of the Superman archetype which includes Marvelman, Captain Marvel (and others too, but Marvelman, and Captain Marvel are especially pertinent as it far as Sentry is concerned. Also like many deconstructionist works, Sentry and his story are deconstructions of the comic book medium and eras and tropes from those areas (example golden age writing, silver age writing) and this is why you get certain themes that bare similarities to other things. Empowered super pets, Watchtower's, hyperbole what have you.
Rip off is a hard term to apply as far as actual merit and exclusivity. The Rob Liefeld Smash character thats a purple Hulk? Maybe a good example off a rip off. Gladiator? Well yes his name is Kallark, combining Kal from Kal El and Clark from Clark Kent to get Kal Lark or Kallark… maybe a sign he is a rip off? Except you know, calling him Gladiator in reference to the idea Superman was inspired by Gladiator/Huge Danner? More of a comic in joke and homage. Also? Nothing wrong with a homage or imitation being quality. Or alternatively trying to say that because something is quality it can't be directly inspired by something else. Ain't no shame for a character in being inspired by another character. Ideas don't exist in bubbles. Writers and artists open their eyes and they start taking in influences that affect what they produce creatively.

by cameron83

this. But Gladiator's grown into something much differently than Superman. His evolution of character is rich.

hes-not-a-supermans-clone-hes-a-clone of

http://www.comicvine.com/forums/gen-discussion-1/i-don-t-think-sentry-is-a-superman-ripoff-1537100/





The sentry, why he is/isnt a superman rip-off....arguements please ...

http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/t...uements-please-not-just-statements.127458376/



Truth superman is a rip off fact
http://www.comicvine.com/sentry/4005-1454/forums/hes-not-a-supermans-clone-hes-a-clone-of-395816/

 

[mace1]

List_of_superhero_debuts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_superhero_debuts

 

[Batmannerism]

I suppose there are only so many variations on a theme you can have before we start seeing duplication.

Here's my thoughts. As Mace1 mentioned, there are some characters who are "inspired by" others, I think this is true, but then there are rip-offs. I think the key difference is when the characters are done well,
if they're good, they're inspired by, if they're crap, they're rip offs.


I'm just going to stick with the Superman ones though.

Gladiator - was developed as part of an homage to the Legion of Superheroes, what's neat is that John Byrne, who drew/wrote Gladiator's appearance in Xmen, then drew/wrote Gladiator's appearance in Fantastic Four, and then of course drew/wrote Superman.

verdict = inspired by.

The homage is totally clear:

Sentry.....well haven't read a lot of his stuff, but the big S and the powers look a lot like Superman. The stuff I have read was kind of annoying really, so IMO a rip-off. Yeah, I also see the lift from Miracleman/Marvelman (all depends where you buy it, in Canada it was Miracleman) too, although comparing Alan Moore's take on Shazam with
Sentry is like comparing the Mona Lisa with finger painting from the
neighbourhood preschool. Just IMO, but not even close. But hey, I'm biased because I'm a superman fan, but Miracleman was pure awesomeness, probably one of the best adult-themed superhero comics
ever !

Hyperion = not even inspired by, a complete lift, but since the Squadron Supreme were meant to be a parody of the JLA it works. The old Squadron Supreme limited series was awesome. So Hyperion works for me.
verdict = rip off, but a really good rip off, plus the name "Hyperion" sounds cool.

Supreme......well, haven't read enough of it to really form an opinion, but I suspect it's Alan Moore doing to Superman what he did to Shazam with MiracleMan. Just IMO. I'm sure someone will jump in
and say how it's totally different, but really ?

Majestic = Intended to be Superman with attitude.....but then part of what makes Superman so Super, is that he doesn't need attitude, he's super without it.
Anyway, not really decided on this one. Might be okay, which makes it an inspiration ? We'll see......

Surprised no one's mentioned this guy yet, basically Superboy with attitude, plus extreme violence.

I could keep going, but the reason Supes gets ripped off/copied so often is that he's the original Super-hero. And also, IMO, one of the reasons he'll always be # 1,
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery baby !

Another time I'll post rip-offs/inspirations that aren't based on Superman, because there are tons of those.

Really though, sometimes a rip off is intentional (usually as Parody) and if it works and we feel like we're in on the joke, it's cool.
but if it feels like the writer's just being lazy, then it sucks IMO.

Great thread though, big respect to the OP !

Cheers


BTW I'm more of a DC fan, but for some reason I always preferred Namor to Aquaman.

 

[mace1]

I still think sentry is inspired by and not a rip off.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I still think sentry is inspired by and not a rip off.

You can think the Moon is made of green cheese... Doesn't make it so.

 

[The Question]

I think we first need to better define the distinction between rip-off, homage, parody, and just having a few similar traits.


As my previous post shows, I think that despite their visual similarity, in practice Thanos really isn't anything like Darkseid.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Moon Knight = Batman
Thanos = Darksied
Sentry = Superman
Ka-zar = Tarzan
Deadpool = Deathstroke

Rich, have a butler, a nocturnal motif, and gadgets to follow the motif.
Similarities stop there between MK and the Bat.

 

[Havok83]

I didnt realize there was any similarity between MK and Batman.

I think we first need to better define the distinction between rip-off, homage, parody, and just having a few similar traits.


As my previous post shows, I think that despite their visual similarity, in practice Thanos really isn't anything like Darkseid.

then go ahead. Define it

 

[Silicon Surfer]

Batman himself is a rip-off of Doc Savage.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Night watch rip off of Spawn
Swamp Thing rip off of Man-Thing

Yeah, i know, i know; "Alan Moore is the shiznit, and blah blah blah". Doesnt matter. Man-thing was published first. (by 2 months)

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Swamp-Thing is cooler, Moore aside.
"Everything that knows fear, burns by the touch of the Man-Thing"