History Main / CloneDegeneration

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': The "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E1TreehouseOfHorrorXIII Treehouse of Horror XIII]]" segment "Send in the Clones" has Homer with a cloning mechanism which results in him creating duplicates who are progressively dumber than he is. Eventually, they get to be so stupid that one of them is [[TakeThat Peter]] [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Griffin]]. Special mention should be made that [[spoiler:the surviving Homer is ''a clone''. The original Homer, who knew of the plot to fly a fake giant donut over a cliff to have the clones runs after it and off the cliff, was the first one off the cliff.]]

** A very {{Squick}}y version happens when Stewie decides to clone himself, creating "Bitch Stewie", a deformed, moronic servant to the original. Later, Stewie makes one of Brian, which is arguably more messed up. Eventually, both clones melt into a pile of disgusting, fleshy goo.
--->'''Brian:''' I'm not proud of this, but I have to lick that up.[[note]]In the [=DVD=] version Brian asks if his [=ATM=] card is in the puddle.[[/note]]
** Later, Stewie makes a perfect clone of himself, but this one is [[EvilKnockoff immensely eviler]] [[GoneHorriblyRight than him]], complete with SlasherSmile.

** In "[=CopyBob DittoPants=]", Plankton photocopies a bunch of [=SpongeBob=] clones to get the Krabby Patty formula. He used cheap toner to make them, so after a while, they all roll up and disappear from existence.
** In "Snooze You Lose", [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick attempt to make a clone of Squidward, which ends up being a mindless, gigantic version that escapes from their lab and goes on a rampage. At the end of the episode, he's shown to be a better clarinet player than the original Squidward when he uses a building as one.

* ''VideoGame/AdvanceWarsDaysOfRuin'': [[BigBad Caulder/Stolos]] has "children" that are actually clones of him. [[spoiler:As Dr. Morris explains in the epilogue, he expresses concern of Isabella's survival and lifespan if a pessimatic viewpoint of her life is a short and fleeting one. In addition, both Penny and Tabitha are clearly not right in the head, with the former shattered from many experiments, referring to her teddy bear as sentient beings. The final battle reveals that he himself is a clone of the original doctor, which explains his lunacy.]]

** The Asgard are a benevolent race who once looked like six-foot humanoid elf folk. They've repeatedly transferred their consciousness into new clone bodies for tens of thousands of years, with increasingly diminishing returns, so that in the present they're tiny, fragile aliens of TheGreys kind.

* During ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' episode "Everywhere Man" features a supervillain with a "Quantex" device that allows him to create duplicates of objects and fully sapient copies of people, himself being a clone of his creator John Marlowe who went rogue. Unfortunately, each successive Everywhere Man doppelganger comes out more ill-tempered and megalomaniacal, with some even voicing a desire to use their technology to TakeOverTheWorld when the initial Everywhere Man was ''just'' content with being an art thief and kidnapper.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E3TooManyPinkiePies Too Many Pinkie Pies]]", Pinkie uses the reflection in a magic pool to clone herself (and that clone clones herself, and those clones clone themselves...). All the clones look identical to the original Pinkie, but behave like [[{{Flanderization}} flat, exaggerated versions of the original]].

* The Nexus 6 generation of replicants in ''Film/BladeRunner'', though potentially physically and mentally superior to humans, have four-year life expectancies thanks to kill switches designed into their genes. Their creator describes it as "[[PowerAtAPrice the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very brightly]]". The androids of ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'', upon which the movie was loosely based, have a similar life expectancy, but this is due to technological limitations.
* The Creator/MichaelKeaton film ''Film/{{Multiplicity}}'', about a man who has himself cloned, has one of the clones cloned, and he came out rather... [[TheDitz special]].
* "[=GEFs=]", clone bodies used for hazardous occupations in the movie ''[[BodySurf XChange]]'', have a life span of only three days, after which they begin rapidly decomposing. Naturally, the protagonist gets stuck in one that's already been alive for two days. [[spoiler: The villain ends up in this body just as its time runs out-- then appears not to be dying at first, because its timer is a few minutes off.]]
** Same with the clones in the original novel ''Literature/{{Mindswap}}'' by Creator/RobertSheckley, on which the movie is ''very'' loosely based.
* ''Film/{{Moon}}'' (2009). [[spoiler:Each Sam Bell clone begins to break down physically and emotionally after three years. It's not clear whether this is a limitation of the cloning process or a built-in fail-safe in case the clones discover their true nature. Either way, each clone believes they're the real Sam Bell, and after putting themselves in the hibernation chamber for return to Earth are painlessly incinerated and replaced by another Sam Bell who believes he's at the beginning of his three-year contract on the Moon.]]
* WordOfGod for ''Film/{{Primer}}'' states that doubles created via TimeTravel are imperfect copies. This is the reason for Aaron and Abe's earbleeds and the degradation of their handwriting when they begin altering their past.
* Shinzon in ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'' suffers this, and one of the main complaints about the film is that he displays a bizarre lack of urgency over having just a few days left to live if he doesn't complete his plan, while his not-dying ally urges him to hurry things along.
* In Don Hertzfeldt's short film ''WesternAnimation/WorldOfTomorrow'', future Emily explains that clones deteriorated more and more with each generation.
* ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'': The ''Indoraptor'' was cloned from degraded DNA, including from the ''Indominus rex'' that had been dead for a while. Because of this, he looks rather thin and sickly, his scales are constantly flaking, and he is often gasping for breath. However, he is still incredibly dangerous.

* ''Literature/ThePrestige'': Averted. [[spoiler:Tesla's cloning machine is so perfect it's impossible to tell which is the original, even after years of cloning clones of clones]].

* In ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', this is what will inevitably doom one planet. The founders, reduced to five in number because of a spacecraft accident, had to resort to cloning themselves in order to have a sustainable population. When they try to "solve" (ultimately, just delay) the problem by getting clones of Riker and Doctor Pulaski, the Starfleet officers are not particularly happy with it. (Episode: "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E18UpTheLongLadder Up the Long Ladder]]")

* In ''Series/DarkMatter'', Transfer Transit is a relatively common way of travelling to another solar system by having an ExpendableClone with your memories created at the destination via BrainUploading. The clones disintegrate after three days, or immediately if they're killed. This is used to show whether or not a character who was killed was in clone form. The technology is intended to allow people to take long-distance vacations, but both the protagonists and antagonists abuse it to go into dangerous situations safely.
** [[spoiler:However, the plan was to reveal that [=CoreLactic=] can make clones that don't disintegrate, and that both One and the General faked their apparent deaths this way]].

--->'''Brian:''' I'm not proud of this, but I have to lick that up.[[note]]In the [[=DVD=]] version Brian asks if his atm card is in the puddle.[[/note]]

--->'''Brian:''' I'm not proud of this, but I have to lick that up.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' reveals that not all clones come out in perfect condition. Some, like 99, are malformed and unfit for combat (although 99 shows one does not need to be in perfect health to be heroic). With the death of Jango Fett in the first hours of the Clone Wars, the Kaminoans only have a small sample of his DNA kept in stasis which is undergoing natural cellular degradation, making such irregularities are becoming more common as they stretch out the remaining stock.

** In an episode, Frylock reveals that he's been cloning televisions every time the other Aqua Teens destroy one. Eventually, the latest television they make turns evil because having to clone the same thing over and over again causes its molecular structure to start breaking down, leading to this trope. Later in the episode, the Aqua Teens clone dollar bills and eventually end up making George Washington out of dollar bills.
** An earlier episode spoofs the trope with a physically mutated and clearly failed clone of Shake. Not only are the clone's attempts to pass himself off as the original [[PaperThinDisguise pathetically obvious,]] he also turns out to be much kinder and more rational than Shake, and Shake's friends [[PreferableImpersonator actually like him]] ''[[PreferableImpersonator better]]'' [[PreferableImpersonator than the]] {{Jerkass}} original.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' reveals that not all clones come out in perfect condition. Some, like 99, are malformed and unfit for combat (although 99 shows one does not need to be in perfect health to be heroic).
* Similar to above, ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch'' shows that the Jango Fett DNA has become so degraded that it would be impossible to safely produce more Fett clones (due to the fact that he died in the first hours of the Clone Wars and the Kaminoans only have a small sample of his DNA kept in stasis which is undergoing natural cellular degradation) and thus puts the Kaminoans in a precarious position trying to maintain their contract in any way possible with the newly-established Galactic Empire to provide them with Clone Troopers instead of switching over to recruitments.

* ''Radio/PokemonTheBirthOfMewtwo'' expands upon Mewtwo's origins from ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' and how cloning works in the Pokémon World. Because Mewtwo has an immortal life force taken from Mew's fossilized hair, he is the only one of the five clones to survive the process completely, those other clones being the Kanto starters and Ambertwo; the clone of Dr. Fuji's deceased daughter. Ambertwo is just one of many failed attempts by Dr. Fuji to resurrect her through the process, as the radio drama reveals that none of his Amber clones have ever lived past four years; even then they can only survive while in test tubes.

* Radio/PokemonTheBirthOfMewtwo further expands upon Mewtwo's origins and how cloning works in the Pokémon World. Because Mewtwo has an immortal life force taken from Mew's fossilized hair, he is the only one of the five clones to survive the process completely, those clones being the Kanto starters and Ambertwo; the clone of Dr. Fuji's deceased daughter. Ambertwo is just one of many failed attempts by Dr. Fuji to resurrect her through the process, as the radio drama reveals that none of his Amber clones have ever lived past four years; even then they can only survive while in test tubes and.

* The "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E1TreehouseOfHorrorXIII Treehouse of Horror XIII]]" segment "Send in the Clones" on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has Homer with a cloning mechanism which results in him creating duplicates who are progressively dumber than he is. Eventually, they get to be so stupid that one of them is [[TakeThat Peter]] [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Griffin]]. Special mention should be made that [[spoiler:the surviving Homer is ''a clone''. The original Homer, who knew of the plot to fly a fake giant donut over a cliff to have the clones runs after it and off the cliff, was the first one off the cliff.]]

* The Ring of the Nine Dragons from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' can divide one person into at most nine, but their intelligence is also divided, so in the end, you have nine people with only a ninth of your intelligence... and getting them back together is really hard.
** The notable thing about said ring is that it only does this to your average person, while Jack Spicer's clones were at least able to operate like normal people except for one bad one, and demons are apparently immune, as Mala Mala Jong's clones didn't display any differing behavior from the original.

* ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack'' the Animated Series has Quick Clones. Each clone was indistinguishable from the original, but after time, the clone would begin [[TalkativeLoon speaking nonsensically]] before melting into a pile of goo. The time until melting varied based on stress and physical exertion. Alternatively, any clone could be terminated by pushing a button located behind the ear.

* WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom's OppositeSexClone Dani Phantom melts whenever she uses her superpowers. [[spoiler:She gets better.]]
* An experiment in ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' has this when Stitch gets hit by a duplicating ray, splitting into multiple copies of himself. His creator, Jumba, explains that the more duplicates there are, the more their strength is divided between them. Lilo uses this later against Gantu when he gets a hold of the experiment and tries to create an army with the experiments he's captured; they're all so pathetically weak that the heroes easily waltz right through them.
** This trope was later averted in ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch'', when the titular Leroy is used as the base for a clone army and the clones are completely identical to the original, save for his outfit.

* A very {{Squick}}y version happens in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. Stewie has decided to clone himself, creating "Bitch Stewie," a deformed, moronic servant to the original. Later, Stewie makes one of Brian, which is arguably more messed up. Eventually, both clones melt into a pile of disgusting, fleshy goo.
-->'''Brian''': I'm not proud of this, but I have to lick that up.
** Later, Stewie makes a perfect clone of himself- but this one is [[EvilKnockoff immensely more evil]] [[GoneHorriblyRight than him]]- complete with SlasherSmile.
* The ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "Double Dipper" had Dipper make use of a magic copy machine when he needed a few extra hands. This works fine until he gets a paper jam [[FourIsDeath on the fourth clone]], resulting in a lumpy, wrinkled version of himself that speaks in incomprehensible "NYANG NYANG NYANG!" sounds. When Paper Jam Dipper melts near the end, he treats his death as a MercyKill.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', "Too Many Pinkie Pies", Pinkie uses the reflection in a magic pool to clone herself (and that clone clones herself, and those clones clone themselves...). All the clones look identical to the original Pinkie, but behave like [[{{Flanderization}} flat, exaggerated versions of the original]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' episode "Mandy the Merciless", a future is shown where Mandy has achieved immortality, became ruler of the world, and kept clones of Billy around. When the newest clone is incapable of noticing that Mandy is now an enormous half-worm half-human hybrid, Grim comments that he swears the Billys get dumber with each cloning.

* The ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' episode "Meltdown" sees Mr. Freeze cloned into a new body that seemed to lack the condition that he requires a special suit for survival in above zero temperatures, but the body began to show signs of this trope as it redeveloped the condition. Considering a piece of BackportedDevelopment was Victor Fries being bald despite a pre-Freeze Victor having hair in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', the baldness might've been an early sign of this.

** In "The Ricklantis Mixup", Citadel morning news is run by Rick D716, Rick D716-B, and Rick D716-C. D716 is normal, D716-B has a long scar on the right side of his face, and D716-C looks like he is seconds away from disintegrating.
** "Mortiplicity" has "decoys", robotic clones of Rick and the Smith family meant to take bullets meant for them while the others are away. As the episode progresses, it turns out that the decoy Ricks have created decoys of their own, and so on several steps until certain Ricks get lazy and make less convincing decoys made of straw, wood or other styles.

* [[BigBad Caulder/Stolos]] from ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars: Days of Ruin/Dark Conflict'' has "children" that are actually clones of him. [[spoiler:As Dr. Morris explains in the epilogue, he expresses concern of Isabella's survival and lifespan if a pessimatic viewpoint of her life is a short and fleeting one. In addition, both Penny and Tabitha are clearly not right in the head, with the former shattered from many experiments, referring to her teddy bear as sentient beings. The final battle reveals that he himself is a clone of the original doctor, which explains his lunacy.]]
* In ''VideoGame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'', this is what happens to [[spoiler: the playable Elektrosoldat. He's one of several clones of the local albino, Adler, and is revealed in his ending to [[WoundThatWillNotHeal be unable to heal from his injuries]].]]
* A subversion occurs in ''VideoGame/AxiomVerge''. Most of the game's bosses are all clones of the BigBad, but the cloning process isn't the reason they became [[BodyHorror biomechanical monsters with human faces]] -- rather, it's the effect of the pathogen he released on the game's world. Nonetheless, he still exploits this to create new soldiers for his defense forces. [[spoiler:The PlayerCharacter is also one of his clones and nearly suffers the same fate as the rest before the Rusalki intervene]].

* The Kaka clan from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' are all clones of Jubei, but appear to have been made with intentional defects, such as limitations on their reproductive ability that stops their numbers from exceeding 100 individuals. This trope may explain why Taokaka is [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} so]] [[GenkiGirl very]] [[TheDitz odd]], though the rest of the Kaka clan, and especially [[CoolBigSister Torakaka]], seem more put together. The Elder of their village seems resigned to the fact that this trope is, in the long run, going to lead to their extinction.
* This is the premise of ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans''. Unregulated use of nuclear weapons during the Martian War against the Blisk mutated [[TheGreys Furon]] DNA so that they can't propagate due to lack of genitalia. Fortunately, the Furons perfected the art of cloning, rendering them virtually immortal. Unfortunately, each new clone has degraded DNA, making the results more unpredictable and eventually leading to the extinction of the Furon race. Fortunately, this could be fixed via infusion of uncorrupted DNA, and eons earlier, a Furon mothership happened upon another planet and... [[MarsNeedsWomen frolicked]] with the planets' inhabitants, leaving their descendants with bits of pure Furon DNA. Unfortunately for us but fortunately for them, that planet is Earth.

[[folder:Film]]

* The Sisters in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' have to go through body adjustments specifically to prevent this. {{Justified|Trope}} because they were only made so that [[spoiler: Accelerator could kill them]].

* In the fifth ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners'' movie, [[spoiler:Enjou learns of his clone status the hard way. And then his arm falls off]]. The same movie contains a notable aversion with [[spoiler:Touko]], who is revealed to have created several clones of herself identical to the original in every way. This is a big deal, since the magical laws of the Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} normally enforce this trope, i.e. that any copy (clone) is always weaker than the original, so [[spoiler:Touko]] is the pretty much the only living magus to circumvent this law.

'''Dying Mamo clone:''' [[WhoWantsToLiveForever But is it not... everyone's obsession]]?
* In the manga of ''Anime/LostUniverse'', this is the fate of [[spoiler: Anise]], who was created as a clone of [[spoiler: Kane's [[CoolOldLady grandmother,]] Alisia]]. Or at least, it would have been if it hadn't been for [[spoiler: her using the Swordbreaker's [[CastFromHitPoints ultimate attack]]]] and [[NoBodyLeftBehind disappearing]] [[DyingMomentOfAwesome forever.]]
** The Spreader of Darkness averts this. But then again, he's secretly [[spoiler: [[EldritchAbomination Dark Star in a human body.]]]]

* ComicBook/{{X23}}, Wolverine's OppositeSexClone, possesses two claws on each hand instead of three. Things gets more complicated when Laura herself starts getting cloned. Most of of her clone "sisters" are killed because Gabby was the only one who also inherited Laura's HealingFactor, and additionally she only has one claw in each hand. Also, genetic degeneration is the entire reason why X-23 came to be, since Wolverine's genome was too damaged to make a perfect copy of him (her creators went through 22 attempts before producing a viable clone, hence the name).

* [[The Kaka clan]] from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' are all clones of Jubei, but appear to have been made with intentional defects, such as limitations on their reproductive ability that stops their numbers from exceeding 100 individuals. This trope may explain why Taokaka is [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} so]] [[GenkiGirl very]] [[TheDitz odd]], though the rest of the Kaka clan, and especially [[CoolBigSister Torakaka]], seem more put together. The Elder of their village seems resigned to the fact that this trope is, in the long run, going to lead to their extinction.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' features this, along with everything else from the cloning vat. But since this ''is'' a Tales game, it plays around with the trope too: [[spoiler:it turns out that getting a clone made can cause just as many problems to the original as it does to the copy. In the best case, the original develops severe health problems after a while. In the worst, the original dies ''as soon as the data required to create a clone in the first place is extracted'']].
** [[spoiler:Actually, in the best case, the replica is weaker but there is no particular degeneration in the original. In the very worst case, however, that of complete isofons, a different effect occurs. The original and replica are so entirely identical that both gradually begin to destabilize due to the interference of their matching fonon frequencies. Eventually, one or both will die, and their fonons merge, creating an individual with the memories of both the original and the replica. This is what the universe's physics says happened to Luke fon Fabre at the end of the game, according to some easily-missable sidequests with Jade.]]
* This is the premise of ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans''. Unregulated use of nuclear weapons during the Martian War against the Blisk mutated [[TheGreys Furon]] DNA so that they can't propagate due to lack of genitalia. Fortunately, the Furons perfected the art of cloning, rendering them virtually immortal. Unfortunately, each new clone has degraded DNA, making the results more unpredictable and eventually leading to the extinction of the Furon race. Fortunately, this could be fixed via infusion of uncorrupted DNA, and eons earlier, a Furon mothership happened upon another planet and... [[MarsNeedsWomen frolicked]] with the planets' inhabitants, leaving their descendants with bits of pure Furon DNA. Unfortunately for us but fortunately for them, that planet is Earth.
* Not necessarily clones, but close enough: In the ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' series, Kain used parts of his soul to resurrect a group of long-dead Sarafan warrior priests as his lieutenants, each receiving a smaller part of his soul than the last, which would directly affect their evolution in vampiric unlife: Raziel received the most of his soul and evolved the quickest, while Melchiah received the smallest part, making his body vulnerable to decay.
* This may explain why Taokaka from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' is [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} so]] [[GenkiGirl very]] [[TheDitz odd]]. Though the rest of the Kaka clan, also clones of [[spoiler:Jubei]] seem more put together.

* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' gives us Vault 108, which contains nothing but very aggressive clones of a dweller named Gary who can only say their own name as they attack. Notes left throughout the vault state that the first clone was fine, but copies made after that became more violent the farther they were from the original.

* Justified in the usual manner in ''VideoGame/{{Dystopia}}'', where clones are given a maximum life span of about 20 minutes, and their bodies decay very rapidly. This prevents enemies from finding any of the technology hidden in their bodies or any information hidden in their brains. In addition, combat clones are hastily assembled from cheap materials in about 15 seconds; and normal clones can take a few weeks to build but are intended for use by soldiers after they shed their combat clone bodies. At least, that's what they're promised by their [[MegaCorp employers]].
* ''VideoGame/CrisisCore: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is a prequel, giving us background on stuff like why Sephiroth went crazy and destroyed Cloud's hometown. A huge part of it turns out to be the emotional blows he suffered when losing his two closest friends to MistreatmentInducedBetrayal against [[MegaCorp Shinra]]; the primary mistreatment in this case being that Shinra had created them via genetic hacking and then, at some point in their thirties, their bodies started to break down. And that was when they found out they weren't just naturally talented best friends from Banora, where the scientist running the project apparently retired after Hojo got all the funding in order to make [[SuperPrototype Sephiroth]].
** Genesis, the one who actually went AxCrazy, may have minded that Sephiroth was perfect and the project that wasn't abandoned as much as the dying part. Never mind that Project G being mostly-canceled meant ''he'' got a ''childhood''; he had a GreenEyedMonster problem.
** The degeneration condition is like this, but Angeal and Genesis aren't actually clones, as such. Angeal may even be his mother's natural son, she just messed with her own body so much to get the cells to make Genesis that he came out weird. Or not. Incidentally, this means Angeal and Genesis are at least 1/3 brothers, which is not a fraction that's possible in nature and which also makes the fact that they're a popular ship a lot {{squick}}ier.
* Your uncle in ''VideoGame/QuantumConundrum'' cloned his cat after its death. The first iteration was okay, but the third iteration earned the nickname "Derp".
-->'''Quadwrangle''': I want to clarify that DOLLI is great for cloning inanimate objects, but she's not entirely capable with organic ones.
* Several gangs and factions in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' have clones of a hugely muscular man that is so strong and large that the clones can shrug off most weaponry, vehicular assaults, and explosions, which would make them perfect candidates for gang warfare. Because the cloning process hasn't been perfected, all the clones lack intelligence and are nothing more than mindless monsters who can barely speak, in comparison to their template, GeniusBruiser Oleg Kirrlov.
* ''VideoGame/ZankiZero'': [[spoiler:Partially inverted, as the clone protagonist grow stronger with each Extend they go through as the Extend Machine corrects for how they died. However, the machine is also imperfect and will generate "Waste" clones until it creates a successful human. The rest, mindless monsters called Creatures, are released into the wild.]]
* The Grineer Empire in ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' collectively suffers from it, due to every single Grineer being a clone of a clone of "[[ANaziByAnyOtherName perfection]]" birthed in industrial quantities. Their degeneration is so bad that they have to use extensive cybernetics to survive; Grineer soldiers almost always have cybernetic feet, and the only thing left of the Grineer Councilor Vay Hek is his ([[BodyHorror visibly cracking and flaking]]) face and lungs.
** Even then, the process that clones the Grineer has its occasional hiccup, creating "defective" clones that lack the fanatical devotion to the Grineer Queens, albeit they prove much healthier compared to the normal Grineer. [[AscendedExtra Clem]] is one such "defect", as are the [[DefectorFromDecadence Kavor]]. Grineer Scientist [[WickedCultured Tyl]] [[EvilSoundsDeep Regor]] is trying to not only reverse the degeneration, but begin creating even stronger and potentially immortal Grineer, and he's already got his [[EliteMook Manics]] up and running about...

* In ''VideoGame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'', this is what happens to [[spoiler: the playable Elektrosoldat. He's one of several clones of the local albino, Adler, and is revealed in his ending to [[WoundThatWillNotHeal be unable to heal from his injuries]].]]
* The Haltmann Works Company in ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot'' experiments with clones of powerful individuals on the planets they invade to [[UnwillingRoboticisation convert the organic life into more efficient mechanical beings]]. However, their cloning process is imperfect. The most apparent case is their clones of King Dedede, in which every single attempt was some form of failure and the one they settled on was molecularly unstable to the point of splitting into three gooey copies of each other. [[spoiler:They also made much more successful (though still imperfect) copies of [[VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe Queen Sectonia]] and [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2 Dark Matter]]. The latter of the two could only be replicated in its weaker swordsman form, since the original was an EldritchAbomination so alien in form that even the most powerful supercomputer in the galaxy couldn't properly analyze it.]]
* In ''VideoGame/SatelliteReign'', you possess an earlier iteration of the BigBad's resurrection technology, which means it still has some bugs. Specifically, your agents' clone bodies take increasing stat penalties with each death, meaning you have to abduct people off the streets to provide new cloning stock.

* This is a gameplay mechanic in ''VideoGame/EveOnline''. If your EscapePod gets destroyed and you have only a cheap clone back at your home station to use as backup, you run the risk of losing a lot of skill points, which can take ''years'' of real time to build up. It is therefore highly recommended that, once you've built up your skills, you invest in a higher-quality clone, especially if you're regularly venturing out into deep space beyond the reach of the SpacePolice.
* The second arc of ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'' starting from '''99'' up until ''2001'' focused on NESTS and their unethical cloning experiments. To see how that panned out, Kyo's clones are obsessed with one-upping the man they were sourced from, and while Zero himself is a NobleDemon who [[GracefulLoser graciously accepts defeat and goes down with his ship]], his clone is a complete psychopath willing to destroy a city with his KillSat for his own [[TheStarscream treasonous ambitions of power]]. It isn't just limited to mental instability - clones are also more often than not [[PowerIncontinence unable to fully control their powers]]. Just ask Nameless, who reduced someone to ashes merely by tapping them on the shoulder.
* A subversion occurs in ''VideoGame/AxiomVerge''. Most of the game's bosses are all clones of the BigBad, but the cloning process isn't the reason they became [[BodyHorror biomechanical monsters with human faces]] - rather, it's the effect of the pathogen he released on the game's world. Nonetheless, he still exploits this to create new soldiers for his defense forces. [[spoiler:The PlayerCharacter is also one of his clones and nearly suffers the same fate as the rest before the Rusalki intervene]].
** The game also plays this straight with the [[spoiler:Aborted Clone, whose cloning was hastily disrupted and is little more than a pile of red organs and half-formed gun with a human face and spine. If left alone, the clone will die on his own]].
* [[BigBad Caulder/Stolos]] from ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars: Days of Ruin/Dark Conflict'' has "children" that are actually clones of him. [[spoiler:As Dr. Morris explains in the epilogue, he expresses concern of Isabella's survival and lifespan if a pessimatic viewpoint of her life is a short and fleeting one. In addition, both Penny and Tabitha are clearly not right in the head, with the former shattered from many experiments, referring to her teddy bear as sentient beings. The final battle reveals that he himself is a clone of the original doctor, which explains his lunacy.]]
* ''VideoGame/HardspaceShipbreaker'''s LYNX Corporation has its ship disassembly crews cloned whenever they [[NoOSHACompliance inevitably]] die on the job and sends them back in like nothing. The technology was apparently imperfect some time ago, as [[MissionControl Weaver]] used to be a Cutter but some unknown cloning mishap took him off the field; since he sounds entirely normal otherwise, it's most likely something physical. And the technology still has imperfections; [[spoiler:Hal threatens all salvagers on strike with forcing them into work so deadly they need twenty resurrections a day until "your DNA comes apart at the seams" and they return as a useless blob]].

* ''VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney'' has clones becoming relatively commonplace. However, Agent 47 (a clone himself but not an example) stole his creator's notes in order to prevent further Agents from being made. As such, these clones are created with an imperfect procedure, which has resulted in a number of flaws - all the clones are albino, they suffer various physical ailments, and none of them can survive for more than a few years.
* During ''VideoGame/ThePersistence'', every clone printer sans one has gone haywire and started printing aberrant and murderous clones of the crew non-stop. Some lack eyes, some are abnormally large, and some weep loudly enough to cause physical harm, but all of them lack any of the intelligence or compassion of the crew they're cloned from.

* ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries'' had an episode where Sabrina made clones of herself, but one of the clones points out that the original’s powers become limited when cloned, as shown when Sabrina tries to hypnotize Gem into forgetting she ever saw the clones, but due to her magic being drained, Gem is able to regain her senses.

* Wiki/{{SCP|Foundation}}-[[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-038 038]], an apple tree that grows clones like fruit of whatever touches it's bark. Human and animal clones age rapidly and only last about two weeks.

* While it's not really cloning, ''per se'', the Texas Drones in ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' are nowhere near at the level of the original [[TheAce Texas]] [[spoiler:/Allison/Beta]], who in no small way, kicked '''EVERYBODY'S''' ass. Carolina takes down several of them with the assistance of [[spoiler:Epsilon-Church]], and the Reds, Blues and Wash show up just in time to help take down the rest.

** Averted in their flagship series, Machinima/RedVsBlue, which is based on the Halo series. In season 6, Church is revealed to be Alpha, a smart AI created from the mind of Dr. Leonard Church, the director of Project Freelancer. Alpha was tortured by his creators until it went crazy, shedding parts of his mind into AI fragments, and using the Director's lingering memories to rebuild his mind. An exact timeline hasn't been given, but a line from Tucker in season 8 about the teams fighting each other for eight years, suggests that Alpha-Church was alive for longer the seven-year lifespan of smart AIs before it was erased by an {{EMP}}. The surviving fragment Epsilon, which has since assumed the Church identity, has existed even longer, and has been confirmed by WordOfGod to have become Metastable.

* While it's not really cloning, ''per se'', the Texas Drones in ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' are nowhere near at the level of the original [[TheAce Texas]] [[spoiler:/Allison/Beta]], who in no small way, kicked '''EVERYBODY'S''' ass. Carolina takes down several of them with the assistance of [[spoiler:Epsilon-Church]], and the Reds, Blues and Wash show up just in time to help take down the rest.