History Main / EffectiveKnockoff

* In ''Anime/ACertainMagicalIndex'' magic pretty much runs on this trope. By using something called Idol Theory, magicians copy the tools, weapons, abilities, and feats of gods and legendary figures. The result is always inferior to the o only original, but can still be literally world-shaking, with the most powerful magicians crossing into VariantPowerCopying.

* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' has the Bluemoon Greatsword. It's the weapon used by Benhart of Jugo, and he believes it to be the legendary Moonlight Greatsword, which appeared in various games preceding Dark Souls II. In reality, it's merely a prop, and you can obtain the real sword later in the game. However, the Bluemoon Greatsword is still a powerful weapon in it's own right, despite it's damage not increasing with the player's stats.

* In early versions of the script for ''Film/AlienCovenant'', which was kept for the novelization, David's created Xenomorphs were this, being based on the work of the Engineer. While Creator/RidleyScott changed his mind and attempt to state that David was indeed the creator, Fox seems to have overruled this as ''TabletopGame/AlienTheRoleplayingGame'' called David's creations "Praetomorphs" and went with the intended explanation that David was merely basing his work off of the Engineer's.

* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' has the Bluemoon Greatsword. It's the weapon used by Benhart of Jugo, and he believes it to be the legendary Moonlight Greatsword, which appeared in various games preceding Dark Souls II. In reality, it's merely a prop, and you can obtain the real sword later in the game. However, the Bluemoon Greatsword is still a powerful weapon in it's own right, despite being a mere replica of the real thing.

[[folder:Real Life]]
Many of the aftermarket clone engines based on Harley-Davidson and Chevrolet designs were made to be at least to par with the originals they copied if not surpass them by a large margin e.g. with larger-displacement motors meant for customised hot-rods or scratch-made vehicles. So much so that Harley [[https://powersportsbusiness.com/uncategorized/2005/03/25/h-d-files-suit-against-ss-cycle/ filed suit]] against S&S Cycle and Delkron for alleged patent infringement. The [=RevTech=] brand of aftermarket engines sold by Custom Chrome for Harleys are a notable [[ShoddyKnockoffProduct inversion]] though, due to a reported litany of reliability issues, though some have just avoided them just because they aren't "American-made".[[note]]Not that Harleys themselves are 100 percent American-made though; a significant portion of the parts used were sourced from Asian suppliers.[[/note]]
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* ''Franchise/Nasuverse''

* Volpina from ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' is an EvilKnockoff of users of the Fox Miraculous created by [[TheCorrupter Hawk Moth]] using the power of the [[SuperEmpowering Butterfly Miraculous]]. She has all of the same powers that the Fox Miraculous bestows, but she is able to create as many [[MasterOfIllusion illusions]] as she wants. This is in contrast to Rena Rouge, the real owner of the Fox Miraculous, whose special power "Mirage" allows her to create one illusion before needing to recharge. [[spoiler:At the end of season 2, it is revealed that the assumed limitations on the heroes' powers are due to inexperience rather than a hard limit, suggesting that Volpina's apparent superior ability is owed to Hawk Moth's greater experience with his Miraculous, and that Rena Rouge could match or even surpass her with enough practice.]]

*** In a sense, the BigBad of the novel qualifies. Anria Maniiu is essentially a corrupted Heroic Spirit that is on the verge of becoming an [[DeityOfHumanOrigin artificial]] GodOfEvil because of the Grail's power, but his powers and skills are essentially knockoff versions of the ''actual'' gods of evil of the wider verse, the seven beasts. For instance, [[TheCorruption the corruptive ooze]] that plays a major role in all three routes is essentially a more fallible version of Tiamat's Sea Of Life, which leaves ''no'' wiggle room for resistance or an IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight. Because a somewhat weaker version of a powerful dark god is still a powerful dark god, the civilization of the world at large will still be screwed if it actually fully manifests (which doesn't really happen, though it gets progressively closer in every route).

*** In a sense, the BigBad of the novel qualifies. Anria Maniiu is essentially a corrupted Heroic Spirit that is on the verge of becoming an [[DeityOfHumanOrigin artificial]] GodOfEvil because of the Grail's power, but his powers and skills are essiantially knockoff versions of the ''actual'' gods of evil of the wider verse, the seven beasts. For instance, [[TheCorruption the corruptive ooze]] that plays a major role in all three routes is essentially a more fallible version of Tiamat's Sea Of Life, which leaves ''no'' wiggle room for resistance or an IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight. Because a somewhat weaker version of a powerful dark god is still a powerful dark god, thecivilization of the world at large will still be screwed if it actually fully manifests (which doesn't really happen, though it gets progressively closer in every route).
*** False Caster from ''Literature/FateStrangeFake'' creates false Noble Phantasms that work even better than the originals. Personally, he advocates for this trope, demanding his boss hire [[MythologyGag some mage he's heard about who can create dozens of imitation Noble Phantasms at once.]]

* The Unlimited Blade Works in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' is all about creating an unlimited arsenal of Noble Phantasms that are knockoffs. Shirou states that they can not defeat the original Noble Phantasms, but are still able to imitate their abilities to a close second. Gilgamesh is defeated by this Noble Phantasm because even though he has all the originals, he merely uses them as throwing objects, never utilizing them to their full potential. That, and being copies, they can be Broken, turning them into a single use version with a rank boost that bumps the power up to the same as the original. Since it's a copy you can always just make another one after breaking the first. And many abilities can't be effectively reduced at all, so a copy of say, Rule Breaker, is just as effective as the original because it's ability is absolute and not dependent on rank at all.
** False Caster from ''Literature/FateStrangeFake'' creates false Noble Phantasms that work even better than the originals. Personally, he advocates for this trope, demanding his boss hire [[MythologyGag some mage he's heard about who can create dozens of imitation Noble Phantasms at once.]]
** In the same work, Saber's Noble Phantasm is Excalibur, the Sword of Eternally Distant Victory, an imitation of the real Excalibur. It's definitely weaker than the original... but Saber can forcefully treat ''anything'' from a butterknife to a tree branch to an actual blade as Excalibur and fire off the Phantasm, making it next to impossible to effectively disarm him.

* In ''Fanfic/IncarnationOfLegends'', Bell's self-made Dragon Fang spell is a magical but inferior imitation of Kojiro's [[SimultaneousBladeSpam Tsubame Gaeshi]], creating a phantom blade that mirrors Bell's own sword swing to strike from two directions at once. While it's not as sublime or skill-intensive as Kojiro's signature move, it's still extremely rare super short chant magic and step towards Bell catching up to and potentially surpassing Kojiro, which the latter encourages him to do.

* ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'' has Replica unique items. These are essentially versions of already existing unique items with several key differences in their stats. For example, the Abyssus helmet substantially increases the amount of physical damage dealt and taken by the wearer. The replica Abyssus replaces physical damage with fire, cold, and lightning elemental damage instead, making it beneficial for builds utilizing all three elements. The lore suggests that these items were products of research by an unknown cabal of scientists. Despite going through hundreds of prototypes and perhaps thousands of test subjects, their attempts have only came ''very'' close to the original objects, but never exact.

* Chunnin Exam is a Knockoff of Hunter Exam, but is somewhat better.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''. Ork technology is either looted from enemies or built in vague imitation of their weapons (especially bolters). It annoys and horrifies the Adeptus Mechanicus to no end that such arms built with no respect for the techno-theological rules can often surpass their own wargear.

* Part of TheReveal in ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant'' is that the Dwarf relic, [[spoiler:the Scone of Stone was not stolen, but destroyed and that the supposed thieves are holding a replica instead]]. This trope comes into play when it's revealed that [[spoiler:the Scone has been destroyed and replaced with multiple replicas already, as Dwarf bread doesn't last forever. The one recovered from the supposed thieves proves a suitably accurate replacement]].