Comics characters w/ annoying (sometimes confusing) similarities: who do u like better ?

[BT18]

One of the cardinal sins of X-Men writers is just introducing a new character because they can't think of something to do with pre-existing ones. However a particularly annoying phenomenon is when 2 or more characters are introduced with shared traits or characteristics for no good rhyme or reason other than lack of creativity. Sometimes it ends up really not mattering that much because the characters really take off in a big way and become so rich from writers giving them things to do and personalities to do them with you'd never get distracted by the fact that they might be both:

blue, furry or fuzzy, acrobatic, introspective, noble sweethearts

I'll give you a bunch of examples in addition to who I'm obviously talking about there and ask you to chose who you like better. If you want to know the similarities you might not see in any given case I'll explain them to you. But here's the list. Many of them were introduced at relatively close time.

Beast or Nightcrawler
Proteus or Legion
Longshot or Gambit
Dazzler or Jubilee
Cable or Bishop
Lady Deathstrike (Yuriko Oyama) or Mariko Yashida
Yukio or Reiko

 

[JoWall]

Don't see it with nightcrawler and beast... sure the blue furry part, but the level of intellect and function on the team is pretty different, and their powers are very different.

As for preference

Nightcrawler
Legion
Longshot
Dazzler (not even close on this one... Dazzler kicks Jubilee's butt... I don't see too many similarities
Bishop... (never have liked Cable)
Mariko
Reiko

 

[Superbeasto]

I havent read the deadly genesis, but i hate the idea of a third summers brother, if that counts as a similarity

 

[BT18]

I havent read the deadly genesis, but i hate the idea of a third summers brother, if that counts as a similarity

no, that's not what I'm talking about at all.

 

[Abe Rush]

Lets see... I would go with these:
( Note: I don't really know all of them that well... )

Beast - I did not like him in the movie, but I prefer him to Nightcrawler ( slightly )
Legion - He's Professor X's brother right? He's an interesting character...
Gambit - No question there... Longshot isn't a great character, IMO. ( Mullet = )
Jubilee - Don't really know Dazzler, but none of them really appeal to me in any particular way. I guess I'm just picking the "least bad" on this one.
Bishop - I don't really like Cable, he's often presented as almost invincible ( which is boring )
Lady Deathstrike - To be honest, I don't know who the other one is...

... and for the last one, I don't know who they are

 

[cardslinger]

Beast
Legion
Gambit
I like Jubilee and Dazzler about the same.
Same goes for Bishop and Cable.
Mariko
I can't think of who these characters are.

 

[Exploding Boy]

Lets see... I would go with these:

Legion - He's Professor X's brother right? He's an interesting character...

Legion is Xavier's son

 

[Abe Rush]

Legion is Xavier's son

Oops... I wasn't sure about that one.
At least they are related ( that I got right )

Bah, I'm no good at this

 

[Joaqenix]

A better comparison for Jubilee is definitely Shadowcat. I guess maybe you're basing this off of powers, but characterwise, Jubilee is a total Shadowcat replacement. She was introduced (I'm relatively sure) almost right after Shadowcat left for Excalibur or whatever so she could fill the "sassy, cute young Wolverine sidekick" in Kitty's absence.

 

[BT18]

A better comparison for Jubilee is definitely Shadowcat. I guess maybe you're basing this off of powers, but characterwise, Jubilee is a total Shadowcat replacement. She was introduced (I'm relatively sure) almost right after Shadowcat left for Excalibur or whatever so she could fill the "sassy, cute young Wolverine sidekick" in Kitty's absence.

I'm not basing it on one universal trait. With some characters it's powers, others it's other stuff, but the main thing is it not (in my perception) being that easy a choice to make. A Shadowcat/Jubilee comparison is a clearcut case of the former character being superior.

A Dazzler/Jubilee is not. And another reason to chose that pairing is that Jubilee was basically a replacement for Dazzler, and both were sort of crappy marketing-based decisions. Jubilee could ALSO be seen as a replacement for Shadowcat in the aspect of being the young girl character of the team, but Kitty had been off the team for a while.

I'm trying to make questions that takes some thought. A Shadowcat/Jubilee comparison really shouldn't take any for an X-Men fan.

 

[Valechan]

Beast or Nightcrawler
Proteus or Legion
Longshot or Gambit
Dazzler or Jubilee
Cable or Bishop: How are these alike? One is a reluctant messiah, the son of a fabled order of priestesses and the other one is a cop. Just cause they're from the future doesn't mean they are the same. If so, any and all X-Men from the future should be on this comparison. I choose CAble nonetheless.
Lady Deathstrike (Yuriko Oyama) or Mariko Yashida : Again. Assassin and a simple woman. Nothing in common, nothing to compare.
Yukio or Reiko: who the heck is Reiko??

 

[Goddessreicho]

Reiko is the one who poisened Mariko. I think she was sent by the Silver Samurai. She was sent from Mariko's own clan or something like that. It was really cliche.

 

[BT18]

Cable or Bishop: How are these alike? One is a reluctant messiah, the son of a fabled order of priestesses and the other one is a cop. Just cause they're from the future doesn't mean they are the same. If so, any and all X-Men from the future should be on this comparison. I choose CAble nonetheless.

Having similarities, is not the SAME, as BEING THE SAME. They're were both

relatively new members of the X-Men in the early 90's

who were big guys with ridiculous big guns despite having energy powers

from the future / time travelers on mysterious missions ala Terminator

had ridiculous physicalities that were about 9-12 heads tall and as thick as collossus despite super-strength having nothing to do with their powers

written boringly badasser-than-thou with fittingly badasser-than-thou names

Lady Deathstrike (Yuriko Oyama) or Mariko Yashida : Again. Assassin and a simple woman. Nothing in common, nothing to compare.
Yukio or Reiko: who the heck is Reiko??

The 4 of them sort of all go together as underdeveloped Wolverine characters who commonly get confused with each other for that very reason in addition to their somewhat confusable names. If you don't get why people might confuse them you're living at a delusional level of geekdom.

 

[mad_harleyq]

wolverine sabertooth
the mariko and lady deathstrike makes no sense to me, the only thing the have in common is there race
and i dont think gambit and longshot either, maybe there behavior but not really, maybe chamber and gambit, they both have that bad boy image thing and im sure chamber is suppost so have an accent, jubes is just a re hash of everyone, dazzlers powers, kittys spunk and age

 

[Chamber_UK]

Don't forget...

Forge & Scalphunter
Rictor & Avalanche
X-Man & Cable


And don't forget the New Mutants & Hellions were created to be polar oppossites of each other

Wolfsbane - Catseye (Both have an animal form with transitional stage)

Cannonball - Jetstream (Both powers the same, though Jestream is a cyborg)

Karma - Empath (Both are psionics with the ability to influence others actions)

Moonstar - Tarot (Both have the ability to create illussions)

Magik - Roulette (Like the Scarlet Witch altering probability can be seen like magic)

Sunspot - Thunderbird (Both had superhuman strength)

Magma - Firestar (Both have fire based elemental powers)

 

[mad_harleyq]

i dont think it counts much if theyre related somehow so i wouldnt say x-man and cable, thats like saying jean and rachael

 

[Red Mask]

As team acrobat Gambit replaced Longshot, who replaced Nightcrawler, who replaced Beast. It's like RPG, you fill in the role.